10/15/25 - 2116: The Holy Spirit at Work - Literally

Jim: You've tuned into iWork4Him, the Voice of Collaboration for the Faith and Work Movement.

Martha: And we are your hosts, Jim and Martha Brangenberg, and our mission is to inspire every workplace believer to recognize their workplace as their ministry place, where they work with God every day. What can that look like in your workplace? Let's find out right now.

Jim: Some songs say that love makes the world go round. I think that's definitely true because God keeps our world spinning, but I digress. What really makes our world function and improve is business. Everything revolves around business. Even governments depend on business for funding. They may never want to admit it, but the world is driven by business.

That's why it's so important for Jesus following business people around the world to know how to let their faith impact all of their lives and all the lives that they influence through their business. Marketplace leaders around the globe need to know how much God wants them to be aware of their mission at work for his kingdom. What are all the pieces of that mission and how do we make sure those business owners know about it?

Katherine Burnett of Global Marketplace Leaders is with us today to tell us about the opportunities around the globe and how God is moving in the hearts of Jesus following business leaders everywhere. Katherine Burnett, welcome to iWork4Him.

Katherine Burnett: Aw, thank you. It's such a privilege to be here today and I just commend what you're doing to get the word out about the Holy Spirit and what Jesus does in marketplace. So thanks so much for having me on today.

Jim: It's been a monumental undertaking, but to get face to face with you - we're super glad to have you today, Katherine. We always do, for our first time guests on the show, we always ask this question: tell us your Jesus story.

Katherine Burnett: Oh, I absolutely love my Jesus story 'cause all our stories are so personal to the encounter of the Lord in our life. And I encountered the Lord in kindergarten at a Christian school. And a lot of people would say, that's pretty mundane. The Lord was drawing me even then. So I walked with the Lord throughout a lot of my early years. But growing up in a very tumultuous home, you decide that you can do it better than what you've seen. And so that took on a life of rebellion, and it was just the goodness of God that drew me back to that place. But it was actually through business.

So I got married, we moved to an entirely different part of the country. And I realized that I could no longer lean and rely on the Jesus I knew in my childhood. Oh, a nightly prayer. Just a, oh, hope you help me out. I actually had to encounter the living God for myself every single day, if I was going to walk in business with wisdom, with discernment, to know that he was leading me and guiding me. Proverbs 3:6 says, "in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your path."

So I came to this place in business where I was like, Lord, I need to know you. I need to acknowledge you in everything I do, 'cause I'm trusting you to direct my path. And God was so faithful. That's really when I think my Jesus story just took off. Like I knew him - as my husband and I say, we'd shaken hands with him, but to actually encounter him, to know him, to walk with him every day, did not start till I was in my twenties starting a business.

And so God was so faithful. It became less about me succeeding and more about me building something of significance in partnership with the Holy Spirit, to bring his kingdom into every area that he had placed me. And in a nutshell, that is my Jesus story of how the Lord just encountered me because of a desperation to know his direction, his plans, and to know his goodness for me personally outside of my parents' faith or outside of what I had seen growing up in a Christian school.

Martha: Such a great example and other people probably can relate to some portion of that, and that's why it's so important for us to be able to share that with each other. So obviously, you've made the connection of the Lord in your business. How did he give you a passion for global business?

Katherine Burnett: Oh, that's a great question. So I had built several companies. I was in real estate, land development, and in construction. And so fast forward, the church had always told my husband and myself as we had helped serve in some ministries that the highest call in our life was to someday be in full-time ministry. So we laid down very successful careers. We came to Global Awakening and went through the ministry school. We learned a lot, got theology set. It was such a good time for our family, but I still had this just passion to do business, but yet I was called to ministry and I couldn't reconcile the two together.

And I was sitting with a well-known minister and they told me, they said, Katherine, you're not called to separate the two. You're called to do both business and ministry. And it was in that moment that inside of me, it went off that like my identity has been placed so much in the higher call of Ministry, but my identity in Jesus should allow me to work both in business and in ministry.

And so to bring the two, the sacred and secular, together just became a burning passion for me and it has fueled everything with Global Marketplace Leaders. Global Awakening has come behind us and said, yes, we want you to minister to people in the marketplace. Psalms 24:1 tells us, "the Earth is the Lord's and everything in it." So if that's the case, it doesn't matter if it's ministry or marketplace, we are supposed to be serving him in every sphere he places us in. And I think that realization for me really just brought a new sense of purpose in my life. It also has caused me to want to perpetuate that to other people that I meet as well.

Jim: And I think it's really important that everybody understands that there's this misnomer that there's this highest calling of full-time ministry, when really there's no tiers in the kingdom of God. That the call is where God has you and you're to do ministry in that call. And because so many people go to churches where they're told you should quit your jobs and go into full-time ministry, and that's a disaster.

That's why the world looks the way it looks, like they way too many neat believers in the marketplace have quit their jobs to go into full-time ministry instead of taking that mindset shift and going to full-time ministry in their job, in their business, in their organization, whatever that organization may be.

Katherine Burnett: And one of the things too is, in business, that is 97% of the general population gets their full-time living from the marketplace. So that's our biggest mission field that we can possibly go into is the marketplace. And for a long time, the church hasn't realized that. And so it is a privilege to be able to equip people to send out into the mission field of the marketplace.

Martha: And just a little side note. If you have a job that you get paid for, you are technically a fully funded missionary in that work. So no fundraising efforts necessary. Now, some people may say I'm not funded enough, in whatever their job might be. But the truth of the matter is, you get paid to be who God has called you to be in every aspect, every minute, every second of your day at your work. We're very passionate about this very story. So Katherine, I'm just so glad that God has allowed you to live it out as a part of your life and getting to share that with our listeners.

Jim: So when you travel the world, when you deal world with business leaders around the globe, what is your main observation about Jesus following marketplace leaders around the world? Is there a commonality in how they think and how they act?

Katherine Burnett: The amount of times that we travel, we were just somewhere in the States last week. Two weeks ago we were overseas in South Africa. We were in Brazil right before that. And so we travel and get to see people in the marketplace and it really, it boils down to the fact that marketplace people do not realize that they have a call, just like you said, Martha, a paid missionary. And so we see them trying to honor God by maybe praying before they go to work or trying to honor God by being a person of integrity, which is awesome, but they haven't fully realized that they are sent, that they're commissioned, and that they're equipped to bring transformation of kingdom where God placed them.

It's not an afterthought, where they are working. It's actually a divine appointment. And so when they realize, Hey, this is a divine appointment. This is a set up from heaven where I am. It's not just a place for me to make money or for me to hire people that are good people. It's actually a place for me to bring influence from the Kingdom of Heaven. It is a totally different paradigm shift, and we see all the time that people just don't realize they're actually on kingdom assignment because they have believed the lie that it is just a job. It is just a way to pay their bills. It's just a way to get by until they retire or until they can do a more holy work.

The biggest thing as we travel that we see is they just haven't realized really that they're on assignment now.

Martha: Jim and I often talk about like we had the American perspective, because that has been our world. But what you're saying is there's even like globally this disconnect that is needing to be refined, or restored maybe is a better word. Because if Jesus changes our life, he changes all 24/7. That's one of the things that's, okay, we don't leave him at the door when we go into work. If the Holy Spirit indwells in us, he's walking with us everywhere we go. So do you see any difference between men and women as far as understanding that, or is it universally a struggle?

Katherine Burnett: I think it's universally a struggle. Men and women both were called to transform culture because the Bible says in the last days, I'll pour out my spirit on all people, and we need the Holy Spirit wherever we go. We need that discernment. We need the voice and the leading of the Holy Spirit to make strategic business deals. We need the leading of the Holy Spirit to know who to hire, to know when to change protocols or whatever for protection of company or employees. We need him. And it doesn't matter if it's male or female.

And generally I think the disconnect from their assignment, from what people view as their assignment versus the truth of what God sent them to do, is the same across all genders.

Jim: I love that. Speaking of men and women leaders, we're excited at iWork4Him to join forces with the US Christian Chamber of Commerce to invite each one of you to attend the April, 2026 Expo in Orlando, Florida called "Yes&." Visit the website swc2026.com and use the code iWork4Him for 10% off your tickets. Martha and I'll see you there as we get to emcee that event. That's swc2026.com. The 10% off code is IWORK4HIM.

So what is Global Marketplace Leaders doing about this problem, this disconnect, this consistent issue that believers think they should quit their jobs and go into a full-time "sacred" ministry instead of recognizing the marketplace as a sacred place? And instead of recognizing that they really have, they have an entrepreneurial call. They have a business call on their lives.

Katherine Burnett: That's a great question. So Global Awakening does a lot with pastors and leaders, and so our heart is to actually, we're creating curriculum right now to be able to be launched into churches, because we've had so many pastors that are high level pastors that said, can you create something? We just don't know how to disciple business leaders.

It's like foreign territory for them. 'Cause they've always been in ministry and they don't know how to connect with marketplace. So we actually have a team, there's seven of us right now, that are creating a curriculum that will be launched in partnership with churches where some of their strong business leaders can do small groups to train other leaders on how to hear the voice of God, on how to lead on integrity, on generosity, just the nature of God that they can display in their workplace.

We have coaching programs that we do. We take people on international trips. We have mastermind groups, and Jim and Martha, this is one of my favorite things that we do. We actually have groups that meet on a regular basis and we'll put seven or eight leaders in a room and they'll just throw out their problems. They'll be like, Hey, I'm having a problem with this employee. How would I handle this?

And through the power of the Holy Spirit, through wisdom and experience, we get some of the most phenomenal answers that help unlock things for business leaders. And it is just really neat to see the Lord move. And so that is one of my favorite things that we do with Global Marketplace Leaders is our monthly mastermind groups.

We do a lot of book studies. We're getting ready to launch one on catalytic leadership, but we just, it's really neat for us to be able to come alongside the body of Christ and be like, Hey, what do you need to train and equip your marketplace people? And so we're actually creating a curriculum a training program, one for business leaders and one for marketplace influencers. There is just so many things that is needed that we see not just in the US but across the globe. And so our team is super excited about what God is doing.

Martha: Okay, so I wanna take a minute here. I am imagining, our listeners are saying, okay, I want to be able to maybe bring a Bible study into my area of influence that can help people in a way that they're not reinventing the wheel. God told us a decade, more than a decade ago, don't reinvent the wheel. If people like you, Katherine, are already creating the curriculum. How do people engage with that? What does that look like?

Katherine Burnett: Yeah, so we are actually launching right now a pilot program for churches that wanna host it. And so Global Marketplace Leaders, you can go to Global Awakening.com to find out more about the programs and the things that we are launching. We are just doing final edits on it, eight week curriculum that we train 'em as well. So we're really excited about the things that are coming, but they can go to Global Awakening.com and find out a whole lot more.

Jim: So as part of your curriculum, is there mentorship involved? So in other words, there's some business people out there that get this and there's some business people out there that don't get this. And there's a lot of pastors that don't get it at all 'cause they don't understand business. It's one thing to educate and to really open their eyes in eight weeks, but it's a 80 year process. I mean, it's a lifetime process. How are you partnering up business leaders that actually understand the call of God in their lives with business leaders who are understanding this for the very first time, how? How do you make sure you perpetuate this so it doesn't just die off in week nine?

Katherine Burnett: No, absolutely. It's a great question. So we piloted a program with Global two and a half years ago that has now gone and around the world and is in underground church and other nations as well. And so we've learned a lot about how do you do discipleship?

And so my husband and I pilot a program for them. And so now we are doing the same thing in the business aspect. How do we raise up disciples long after the eight week curriculum is done? And so a lot of those curriculum basis will be done around small groups. Now, you guys both know there's a lot of type A business people that do things on their own time and don't want the connection, they want the information.

We have the ability to release curriculum for them, and that's great, but in an entire other program will actually have the discipleship model built into it. So we'll have strong leaders that walk them through it, but they'll also continue to facilitate discipleship even after that time is done. And so we're excited about that, and we're really excited to see what God is gonna do and how he's going to continue to train and equip long after the curriculum is done.

Jim: Do you guys ever get to interact with college students?

Katherine Burnett: Great question. My husband is a college professor of 25 years and we actually did a lot of college ministry prior to coming to Global Awakening. We saw thousands of college kids saved and we just have a heart for it. And so one of the things that actually the Lord has really been on our heart is how to engage the 18 to 25 year olds. Because as you probably know, a lot of people are in their thirties and forties and they're like, "there has to be more to life than just getting up and going to work." And so for so long everybody's been going after them to say, you're called with a kingdom purpose. Your job is something.

We are actually wanting to target the 18 to 25-year-old and really just dive into how to influence them before they ever graduate college to realize they're on a mission. They are sent, the sent ones into the marketplace. And so we're currently working on a program for them as well to engage them and to really hear their needs, but as well as cooperate with FCA and different programs at different universities, CRU, things like that, across the US that have already reached out and asked for information.

Martha: That's awesome. And I hear just hints of collaboration in there and I love that. Again, not reinvent the wheel, the people that already have the ins, let's get them the resources so that they can disciple this next generation. For iWork4Him, excellence is a core value, and we have several supporters of our ministry that are affiliate partners that really do represent excellence. SaferNet is a cybersecurity software created to protect your data and all your devices, computers, and cell phones.

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So what training do you give business leaders to use the supernatural as they serve at the pleasure of the king?

Katherine Burnett: This is probably one of my favorite aspects of Global Marketplace Leaders, is this supernatural. You know, how to hear the voice of God because the Lord knows everything and he has access to everything. And so as we're in partnership with him, he reveals things to us that help us. And so one of the things that we do is teach people how to hear the voice of God.

Another one is how to get a word of knowledge in a business setting. And just an example of that is I would do contracts in my construction business. And I would hear the voice of the Lord give me a number for what the contract amount should be. And at first I dismissed it and then I started realizing, oh Lord, you're trying to partner me with me in the supernatural for the benefit of the client and also for the benefit of my business.

So when I started listening to the Lord, it was always, generally the number was always higher than what I thought. But the client would always say, oh, that's less than what I thought the contract would be. And so I started partnering with a word of knowledge in business. And the scripture talks about it, but how you partner with the word of knowledge is just listening to the voice of the Lord. And then even small things, like I was sitting on a plane one day and I felt like the Lord said, Hey, you need to get work comp insurance for this new employee. And it was something that had slipped through the cracks.

And I was like, oh Lord, that's you giving me a heads up before an attack of the enemy would come. You're trying to protect. And so God is so gracious, if we'll just partner with the things that he's made available to us through his scripture, through his son, and I absolutely love teaching people how to do that.

Martha: I love that example, 'cause how many times have people, listeners might be listening right now and say, oh yeah, there was a time where I had this thought, that I should have gotten work comp and I forgot to do it, or maybe it was fixing a threshold in their entryway or whatever that might be, and they dismissed it rather than taking action.

I know that, Jim, over the years we have become way more aware of that still small voice because it's a warning from our Heavenly father, or like you said, partnering with us and saying, Hey, I have something that you need to know and I'm sharing it with you. And I think that's so valuable because so many, if we don't learn to listen, we end up with a lot of hitting ourself in the head saying, Jim uses the example all the time of, I knew I needed to move that ladder.

I felt this nudging that it was, I was a few inches off on something and then it was unstable or whatever that example might be in our lives is, it's the Holy Spirit partnering with us. And so I think that's such a great reminder and seeing it as a partnership rather than an anything else is a really valuable way to see it.

Katherine Burnett: And if we've separated at our job from Holy Spirit, meaning it's just somewhere we go and it's not a call, it's not an assignment, it's not a mission field, then we all, by default, separate out partnering with the Holy Spirit because it never crosses our mind. This is something we do. This is a task we do. And then we go back to serving the Lord at church and in our quiet time. But when we marry those two back together, it is that partnership that you talked about, Martha. I'm partnering with him every day, so he has keys, he has insights, he has wisdom in my everyday life for the advancement of the kingdom.

And we talked about excellence, but Daniel was excellent in Babylon and the king took notice. It brought advancement because of the excellence he carried. And when we hear the voice of the Lord in small things, that saves the company money or saves loss of life or injury, it brings notice to the king. And so it's one of those things that we cannot separate out, the call in our placement as a mission field in the marketplace.

Martha: And I feel for some reason it's really important to bring this up right now for our listeners and for each of us to be reminded. When God created me, he gave me certain passions and certain gifts and abilities. And that is why I've been driven by the work that I've done over the years.

And for Jim and I, when we were 40, we finally understood. Okay, God created us to be really good business people. He didn't expect us to put that aside in order to do something different, but to use it for him. And so even though we were doing it with excellence, we were doing it with integrity, we didn't really embrace that. You know what? God didn't make a mistake. He made me really good at these things for a purpose. And I think that there's a lot of us that need to be reminded of that on a daily basis.

Katherine Burnett: Absolutely. And my husband and I always joke and say that your pastoring gift doesn't stop when you leave the parking lot of the church. Maybe you're pastoring a small group at church or you pastor in the kids' ministry. That doesn't stop when you leave the parking lot, your gifts that God's given you go with you wherever you are. So we need to utilize those in pastoring the people that we work with, or being an evangelist and sharing the gospel or whatever it looks like, using hospitality as an inroad to people's heart that does not stop outside of the church walls. And we just encourage people in the marketplace to use their God-given gifts wherever he's placed them.

Jim: Katherine Burnett, great conversation. We've covered so much, but I wanna make sure people really plug in with you after today's show, Global Awakening dot Com's a website, but I believe you could do gml.Global Awakening.com in order to be able to get to the Global Marketplace Leaders section of that website, gml.Global Awakening.com.

Katherine Burnett, thanks for being with us today. Appreciate it.

Katherine Burnett: Thanks so much.

Jim: And make sure you guys check out SaferNet on our way out of the show today. Check out check out SafeNet, just for all the protection on all your computers, safenet.com.

You've been listening to iWork4Him with your hosts, Jim and Martha Brangenberg. We're Christ followers. Our workplace, it's our mission field, but ultimately iWork4Him.