Your Work Can Be More Than A J-O-B

When we first relocated to Florida almost 20 years ago, Martha took a job in insurance since that was our area of expertise.  She was gifted in it and learned a lot but it was evident that it was not her calling, it was a j-o-b.  She eventually ended up running the bookstore where we attended church.  This job used many of the skills that she had accumulated over the years and allowed her to nurture her staff and customers, this was a calling. 

Do you have a job or a calling? A job is something you do, often for compensation. A calling defines who you are and what you are created to do.

So, what is your calling? Have you ever taken the time to consider the answer to that question? Does your calling change as you get older?

There are many ways to figure out what the calling is on your life:

1. Pray and ask the Lord to help you figure it out.

2. Ask those who know you best what they see as your natural gifting and calling.

3. Take some assessments – I love www.IdentityandDestiny.com

It's important to note that our skill sets don't define our calling, but they can allow us to complete our calling. For Instance, I like to talk. I like to sell.  I love to clean up messes. I love to build relationships. Those four skills can be applied in almost any organizational situation and have served me well in many of my jobs. Still, my overall calling has always centered on discipling newer believers and challenging them with the steps to take their faith deeper.

My calling assignment, specifically in this season of my life, is to equip and encourage workplace believers to understand that their workplace is a mission field for them and a place of ministry.

Do you wonder what your calling assignment is?  It’s never too late to explore and ask God to show you. Take a look at the steps above and start seeking the answers.

God has placed you in your current position at work for a purpose. How does your calling fit into that?  Sometimes it’s hard to understand.  We often look at our work as just a j-o-b, instead of a specific assignment from God. It’s possible that He is preparing you for something.  Don’t miss the opportunity He is giving you today.

Ask yourself these questions:

Why does God have you where He has you?

Why does God have you doing what you are doing?

Why has God placed you with the people you are doing them with?

With Prayer, wise counsel, and some research, you can understand who God created you to be, what He created you to be doing, and what your current assignment is. Then you will look at your work as more than just a j-o-b but also your calling. God has called you, are you listening?

Chip Roper with the Voca Center has a great perspective on this topic.  His interview with iWork4Him can help prepare you for your next day at work or your next career move. 

Don’t quit your j-o-b but ask God to help you see the calling at your job.  Maybe it’s been there all along and you haven’t been looking for it. For more encouragement in making your workplace your mission field, join the iWork4Him Nation.

Jim

About the Author, Jim Brangenberg

Jim's Mission: We are called to be examples of Christ to those around us. With that in mind, Jim is passionate about helping Christ followers connect their faith to their work!

Works Well With Others

In elementary school I remember a line on our report card for “Works well with others”.  Do you remember that?  Hopefully most of us got an S or S+ on that line.  What kind of grade would you get today if you were being graded on “Works well with others”?  I believe most of us would disappoint our teacher with our score.  That’s what collaboration is really – right?  Working well with others? 

In your job what does it really look like to collaborate, and does it really matter? Does it matter for the Kingdom?  Is Collaboration related to cooperation? Did Jesus call for us to collaborate, cooperate, or just fulfill the great commission? Am I ever going to stop asking questions and bring some answers?

 In our work:

The iWork4Him Nation encourages its members to put Christ in first place in all they do at work. They are working like they are working for the Lord (Col. 3:23).  Their excellence in teamwork will lead others to enjoy working together.  Other steps of the iWork4Him Nation encourage genuine work relationships that build trust.  These relationships can then lead to deeper conversations about life and who we are in Christ.  It’s like a circle that keeps on growing.  We work well with others in our work, and the Kingdom grows.  Let’s try to get an S+ for “Works well with others” in our work.

For the Kingdom:

Jesus was clear in John 17:20-21 that unity would cause the world to believe in Him. As He was praying, he said “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.  I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me."

Imagine that kind of unity that is so profound that the world believes in Jesus.  What will it take to bring that kind of unity to fruition within the body of Christ? Can you imagine what unparalleled selfless collaboration and cooperation could look like?  That is my dream!

The Cambridge Dictionary defines collaboration as "The situation of two or more people working together to create or achieve the same thing.

Cambridge defines cooperation as "The act of working together with someone or doing what they ask you."  Based on the Cambridge definitions and what Jesus said on unity – I would say that collaboration and cooperation are desperately needed to bring about Unity in the Body of Christ.  And what did Jesus say would happen when we have that kind of unity – the world will believe.  Listen, the people we work with need Jesus.  Collaboration and cooperation would go a long way to unite the 113,000 churches and the 84,706 Christian Non-profits in America and make salvation known.

Collaboration for the Kingdom involves bringing together Christ Followers committed to excellence. What does that look like?  A group of selfless, team players, humble, driven by Jesus' mission, and not intimidated by other collaborators who run in the same lane.  Those kinds of qualities might gain you an S+ on your report card for “Works well with others”.

A potluck is successful because everyone brings their favorite dish, made with love and the best ingredients.  When you put all the special dishes together you get a fantastic meal.

Kingdom collaboration is possible when Christ Followers come together with their gifts, talents, and abilities and put it all on the table and say, "This is what I have, can this help any of the rest of you?"  This makes for fantastic unity that the world doesn’t even know.

The Awaken Podcast Network is an example of Collaboration in the Kingdom where over 110 voices of the faith and work movement have been gathered together to proclaim in Unity that "Your Workplace is your mission field and your primary place of ministry outside of your home.”

So, practice Collaboration today with other Christ-followers who want the same things as you but can't get them accomplished without you. It's been 2000 years since Jesus spoke the words in John 17, its high time we focused our effort on bringing them to fulfillment with His Holy Spirit's help.  If we can do this, we might just earn an S+ for “Works well with others.”

For an iWork4Him interview to encourage collaboration listen to this episode.

Jim

About the Author, Jim Brangenberg

Jim's Mission: We are called to be examples of Christ to those around us. With that in mind, Jim is passionate about helping Christ followers connect their faith to their work!

It's The End of The World as We Know it

It's the end of the world as we know it.

• When Jesus was killed on the Cross, likely the disciples thought these very words, in Hebrew, of course.

• When Jesus rose from the dead, they likely thought these words again but for a different reason.

• In 300 ad, when Constantine adopted Christianity as the religion of choice for the Roman empire, likely the disciples of Jesus thought these same words – It's the end of the world as we know it.

But what about today? Is the world ending? Yes. This week? This month? This year? Only our Father knows.

Will our religious freedoms be squashed as the end nears – very likely.

Will we suffer for being followers of Jesus? Very likely, we will someday.

But… and it is a big BUT.  God is not surprised by our current events.  I have read the end of The Book, and the events leading up to the end are designed to lead a stubborn people to repentance. Does the United States of America have people who need to repent…YES INDEED. Do other countries have people who need to repent…YES INDEED.

Do not fret and do not fear for the Lord your God, the God of Heavens' Armies is fighting a battle for billions of souls on this planet. The enemy wants to destroy those souls, and our Father wants to redeem them.  If your actions and thoughts are focused on the latest political discourse, it's time to change directions. Focus on the lost and hopeless that work around you. They desperately need you to focus on your mission at work…being Jesus to everyone around you.

When COVID-19 hit, it was the end of a World as we know it.  The world may have changed, but your mission has not changed.  Your workplace is your mission field, and you may be the only Jesus a co-worker or employee may ever meet.  Live each day with the end in mind.

Would you like to hear more from someone who is changing their world?  Click here to listen to a couple in Rogers, Arkansas, who started a family business: drive-through coffee… and are changing their part of the world, one coffee, and one smile at a time.

Jim

About the Author, Jim Brangenberg

Jim's Mission: We are called to be examples of Christ to those around us. With that in mind, Jim is passionate about helping Christ followers connect their faith to their work!

Its Simple Really

If you are a listener to the iWork4Him Podcast, then you will understand when I say, “You are a workplace missionary.” Your ministry exists within your workplace – whatever that workplace looks like. As a workplace missionary, you represent the Creator God, Almighty King of the Universe, The Savior of the World, and the very Counselor of God. You are perfectly equipped to represent God in your workplace through fantastic work effort, a great work attitude, and a prayerful heart to bring Jesus with you to work every day.  With Jesus by your side and the Holy Spirit of God inside of you, no workplace responsibility is too difficult to face, and no relationship challenges too hard to bring healing.

Embrace the calling on your life as a nurse, salesperson, technician, cook, mom, elected official, business owner, etc. (too many jobs to list!) God has placed you right where He needs you to bring hope, healing, and peace to your workplace. He has you in your work to reach the lost through you. You don’t need to preach or pound people over the head with the bible, but you do need to be an open book with your life in Jesus on display.

This country needs healing, and it starts with you…right in your workplace mission field. 

Jim

About the Author, Jim Brangenberg

Jim's Mission: We are called to be examples of Christ to those around us. With that in mind, Jim is passionate about helping Christ followers connect their faith to their work!

Short Simple And To The Point

Your work matters to God. In 2021, you have been placed on the mission field of your workplace. You are there because the people you work with need to meet Jesus and your life with Jesus will be an incredible influence in their lives.

As you enter your workplace each day, ask God just two questions. 

1. Father, what do you have for me to do today?

2. Is there someone that I work with that needs a special touch of your friendship through me?

You are a gift from God to your workplace.  Know that! Believe that! Live that!

Jim

About the Author, Jim Brangenberg

Jim's Mission: We are called to be examples of Christ to those around us. With that in mind, Jim is passionate about helping Christ followers connect their faith to their work!

Do You Have 2020 Vision?

Happy New Year! Most of us will not mourn the passing of 2020. It was a year of fear and strife. It was a year of lost freedoms and lost loved ones. It was a year we may want to forget but will likely remember forever. When the year began, remember how many people said 2020 would be the year of 20/20 Vision & Clarity?  That the number of the year: 2020 represented so much hope and promise.  Did that play out?  I think it did, just not the way we expected.

In 2020 the U.S. Culture deemed the church non-essential. We saw church doors closed on penalty of a fine. The church was extricated from its buildings.  We saw this as a problem, but God can use it for good.  Removing the 4-walls from the church forced the church to be everywhere.  Our communities are hurting and hopeless, and the church is the messenger of healing and hope. 

So, where is the clarity for 2020?  Our country expressed its deep woundedness through the cultural tension it encountered.  Where is the clarity? Only Jesus can solve the pain and hurt that afflicts our great land. Clarity comes through understanding that buildings full of churchgoers do not solve community problems. When people are not in the church buildings but are in the community, they can solve the issues through love, empathy, and understanding.

Clarity 2021 focuses on putting that revelation into action and not losing forward momentum. The church, the Body of Christ, can bring hope to this land.  We can bring Jesus to every city and state, workplace, and home.  Jesus is the answer to poverty, marital discord, hatred, murder, and other violence. Jesus is the answer to World Peace too.

So, in 2021 what is going to be different for you. How will you take clarity into 2021 and apply what you’ve learned to the new normal, the new paradigm? How will you remain extricated from the church building and planted in your community to bring healing, hope, forgiveness, and love?  What does it look like for you?

For us? Martha and I will highlight your stories for everyone to hear the amazing work God is doing in your life, your work, and your community. Praise God for new beginnings and second chances. We get both as this year gets started.

1 Cor. 13:12  Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

Happy New Year.

Jim & Martha

About the Author, Jim Brangenberg

Jim's Mission: We are called to be examples of Christ to those around us. With that in mind, Jim is passionate about helping Christ followers connect their faith to their work!

The Best Christmas Gift Ever

Christmas morning when I was 7 years old, I had all the biggest packages under the tree. That year I remember getting a football uniform and the popular vibrating football game and many other things. Those gifts were significant, and I remember them well, but they weren’t my favorite Christmas gift I ever got…that was a few years earlier when I got my big wheel. Man, I tore the wheels off that thing. I would pedal up to the top of the driveway, go down fast, hit the brakes, and spin around. I loved my big wheel. I wish they had one for adults.

But truly, the greatest gift I ever got for Christmas was the truth about Jesus. It seems trite to write about it, and we all know that Christmas isn’t the day Jesus was likely born, but we celebrate it as such. Without Jesus, none of my Christmas’ would have been significant. Stuff is nice, but my relationship with Jesus changed my life for good. Everything about my life has been impacted by the gift of Jesus’s life on earth, including my marriage, my family, and my work.  My relationship with Jesus impacts even my neighbors. Now that is a great gift.

Jesus gave himself to us as a gift so that we could live life with Him at the center. That is amazing. I am thankful for you, and I am thankful for Jesus. He truly is the best Christmas gift ever.

Merry Christmas,

Jim & Martha

About the Author, Jim Brangenberg

Jim's Mission: We are called to be examples of Christ to those around us. With that in mind, Jim is passionate about helping Christ followers connect their faith to their work!

3 last-minute gift ideas for your employees this Christmas

It’s the week before Christmas, and all through the house (aka workplace, school zone, and living space), everyone is going stir crazy because they are stuck in that HOUSE together. Yep, I’m sure we can all relate to the shared space dilemma.

Have you been planning for gift giving this year, or has it snuck up on you?  Do you prepare gifts for the people who help make you successful? Allow me to make 3 last-minute suggestions to give your employees this Christmas. Everyone loves to get personalized gifts, but the gifts I suggest will last all year long.

#1. Time –Time is a gift that is always appreciated. When it comes to giving your time to your people, it is a gift of YOU that they need but can’t take. You have to give it.  When you give the gift of time to an employee, you are following Jesus’ example. He gave the gift of time to everyone He met. He was never in too much of a hurry to miss the people around him. He focused on people and loved them for who they are. So for Christmas this year, commit to give your people a certain amount of your time every day for the next year and commit to dedicated relationship-building time at least once a week. www.Kingdomatwork.com emphasizes the power of one-on-one time with their people.

#2. Prayer – The people who work you need to know that God loves them.  You might not share the verbal Gospel message during work hours, but you can pray for them anytime you want, and NOBODY will suspect a thing. I suggest praying for your employees by name every day and pray for their families too. Pray that God will give you eyes to see them as He sees them. Watch and see the miracle that happens in your heart as you pray. You will find a growing empathy for them, even the most difficult one of the bunch.

#3. Resources – The people that work for us need access to developmental resources. Tools that will help them understand who they were created to be and precisely what they should be doing. Allow them to invest in themselves by gaining access to resources that will make them a better employee and have a deeper understanding of their abilities.

Some of your employees may be believers. Please do not take them for granted because they are already believers. Look for ways to enhance their relationship with Christ by putting them in touch with resources that will encourage and equip them to live out their faith wherever God has them.

Remember it’s never too late to add these gifts to your list.  Give the gift of yourself this year through your time, prayer, and resources.  Merry Christmas!

Jim

About the Author, Jim Brangenberg

Jim's Mission: We are called to be examples of Christ to those around us. With that in mind, Jim is passionate about helping Christ followers connect their faith to their work!

A new recipe for you: AwakenPodcastNetwork.com

There are a few things that I consistently do in life.  I organize, share what other people are doing, enjoy a good deal, and pay attention to what God is up to in others' lives. 

God has been churning these together recently, and like a good recipe, when you add the right ingredients together, you get tasty results.  Read to the end to see the recipe that God's been creating.

When Martha and I started the iWork4Him broadcast in 2013 – we were one of only a few podcasts dedicated to talking about Faith and Work. Today there are dozens or even 100's, and we find more every day. We have interviewed thousands of people over the last 8 years on the iWork4Him show, and many of these ministry leaders, authors and organizational leaders have started their own podcasts.  There are podcasts specifically for business-people, Christian Working Women, financial advisors, Christian Counselors, and so much more. There are podcasts from many perspectives and cultural diversities produced by people who want to live out their faith in their work and share their expertise. These Faith and Work Podcasts are dedicated to inspiring you through faith stories to live out your faith in your workplace mission field. There are podcasts by great organizations devoted to discipling you to live out your faith in your workplace ministry…BUT WHERE DO YOU FIND THEM ALL!!!!???

In the past, the best way to find a podcast related to your faith and work was through a recommendation from a friend.  If you are like me, you want to see lots of choices and try a few for yourself.  A simple search on your favorite Podcast Platform will find a few, but there are so many more podcasts available and no great system for finding them.

The www.AwakenPodcastNetwork.com has pulled together the voices in the Faith and Work movement into one place so that you can quickly find a voice or two that challenge and teach you regularly.  The Awaken Podcast Network is a platform dedicated to Unlocking Gods Purpose for you in your Work. This one place can supply you with encouragement, challenge, wisdom, and guidance for today and every workday. You are a workplace missionary, and you have a workplace ministry.

The www.AwakenPodcastNetwork.com is just the place to get you started today in Transforming your workplace into a mission field.

Let's look at what ingredients God has been putting together in a recipe and its results.

1. God is stirring in Christians' hearts to live an integrated life in every sphere of influence – from Real Estate to Elected Officials to Coaches.

2. Podcasting continues to grow. Many people share their voice of expertise and have started to include the Biblical perspective openly.

3. A platform has been created to allow the organizing of these voices into one space.

4. Anyone can access this platform to find shows that will directly meet their needs and help them grow.

5. This web app is found at www.AwakenPodcastNetwork.com and can also be added to any website for a small monthly fee.

 Jim

About the Author, Jim Brangenberg

Jim's Mission: We are called to be examples of Christ to those around us. With that in mind, Jim is passionate about helping Christ followers connect their faith to their work!

3 ways to impact your workplace in 2021

Who makes the most impact in the workplace? Is it the management? The Business Owner? Or someone else? Have you ever considered that YOU may have the most impact to create a flourishing environment at your work?  It just takes a little appreciation know-how.

Chuck Swindoll says “Gratitude is a decision of the will, and if a decision of the will, the choice resides squarely with us. Deciding to be thankful is no easy task. It takes work.” 

Using appreciation as a tool in your work, takes practice. Appreciating others is a mindset AND a heart-set shift. Most of us WANT and NEED appreciation, regardless of what form it comes in. Is the art of appreciation a part of your work style? What about your leadership style? Have you considered the value of your words to those you lead?  Each of us can impact those around us for the good or the bad. 

Dr. Paul White recently said, “To those who value words of affirmation, criticism feels like a knife in the heart.”  I can relate to that.  I recall many times when I’ve worked hard to complete a project and the first words I heard were criticism.  It really did feel like a knife in the heart.  Now, it’s true that we need to be honest and give constructive feedback towards improvement.  I don’t want people to sugar coat things for me when I need to be corrected.  But Dr. Paul White teaches us how to do that while also showing appreciation.

To learn the languages of appreciation for yourself and others, visit this website:  Appreciation at work  When we started using these tools in our business, everyone started seeing big change.  Co-workers learned how to communicate with each other, staff started feeling more appreciated, and the culture improved.   Everyone learned that their job title doesn’t create impact, what we DO and how we show appreciation for those around us creates impact. 

Now is the time to set goals for the new calendar year.  Consider what you can do to create impact in your work.  Here’s 3 easy steps to get ready for 2021.

1.     Learn your language of Appreciation online.

2.     Apply the results

3.     Make an impact every day.

Dr. Paul White and his chief book editor, wife Kathy White, recently share their best nuggets on a recent iWork4Him PowerPod, from his books, chief among them is The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, which he co-authored with Dr. Gary Chapman (author of the #1 NY Times bestseller, The 5 Love Languages). Dr. Paul is a psychologist, author, speaker, and consultant who “makes work relationships work”. For the past 20 years, he’s improved numerous businesses, schools, government agencies and non-profit organizations by helping them:

• Create positive workplace relationships and improve staff morale.

• Eliminate the cynicism, sarcasm and lack of trust that often is associated with traditional employee recognition programs.

• Overcome the obstacles to help staff communicate authentic appreciation to one another.

God wants to use you to change your workplace culture, and he will empower you to do so. To hear the incredible stories of more men and women God used to make a Kingdom impact at work, download the first chapter of our new books iWork4Him and sheWorks4him for FREE.

And remember 1 Thes. 5:18, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

I appreciate YOU,

Martha Brangenberg

About the Author, Martha Brangenberg

Born into an entrepreneurial family, Martha has been involved in small business her entire life. Gifted with an attention to detail and a sweet sensitive spirit, Martha is a servant leader with a deep faith in Jesus.