Connecting Faith and Work

Reen and Linda Waterman, founders of Your Refreshed Life, help people renew, reignite, and re-energize so they can take whatever transition point they are at in life and bring their faith into that new season of life.

In this episode of Connecting Faith and Work, Reen and Linda share how they read and study the Bible in order to live it out. They encourage listeners to draw nearer and nearer to God until they realize they are living each day for Christ.

Linda points out that when Jesus speaks, it includes action. If we just take one verse a day and invite God to make it real in our lives, we will be transformed. Reen discusses the importance of bringing everything we hear from pastors and what we read back to the Bible to confirm the truth of the content.

Finally, Reen and Linda discuss discovering and using your passion as a ministry to spread the truth of God's Word.

"Use your passion as a vehicle to deliever the message of the Gospel; that's your purpose." - Reen Waterman

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Reen and Linda Waterman, founders of Your Refreshed Life, help people renew, reignite, and re-energize so they can take whatever transition point they are at in life and bring their faith into that new season of life.

Reen and Linda share that we live in a culture where people are disillusioned and need encouragement. This all starts from a position of renewal and rest. Reen and Linda share some wise counsel on how to find rest and renewal.

Reen and Linda also share how they pause to hear from God, and what to do when you feel that you aren't hearing anything. The core of understanding God's will for life is create time for worship, Scripture reading, and prayer.

"We all need to bring our faith out of the doors of our home and church and reach our culture." - Linda Waterman

Reen and Linda share some advice for how to bring your faith out of your home and church. First, you need to have clarity in your heart and mind about what you believe and how God has brought you to that point. Second, build relationships with the people around you and be intentionall about share what God has done in your life.

Visit the Your Refreshed Life website to learn more about Reen and Linda's work.

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Steve Swain, president of CNH Machine, has been intentional about building a culture where it is ok to take risks, ok to speak your mind, and ok to live out your faith.

"Aligning truth, trust, and traction on the underpinnings of a God-centered culture is working really well for us." - Steve Swain

Steve shares that in the last two months, they have set corporate sales records. Everything is the same, and yet the team is producing at an amazing rate. Why is that? Because they are working together. Why is that? Because they trust each other.

At CNH Machine, they hire for character and train for skill. When Steve sees a new employee on the floor, he makes a point to go introduce himself. He intentionally says just his name and not his title. He makes small talk with the new employee, asks questions, and strives to be welcoming and build trust.

One key piece of this as a leader is to avoid putting yourself up on a pedestal. Steve will grab the broom to sweep the floor if it's dirty. If the phone rings and no one is around to answer it, Steve will. No job is below him. This builds a culture of trust, and when you trust your team you are able to take time away.

"We are not what we do. We are not what we have. We are not what others say about us. We are children of the one true King. Plain and simple. And no circumstance is going to change that. When we rest in that, given circumstances become less impactful in our lives because we are resting on something else. Grace wins every time." - Steve Swain

Learn more about CNH Machine by visiting their website.

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Steve Swain, president of CNH Machine, takes seriously the fact that he is second to God in his business.

He shares that the concept of a work/life balance doesn't work. In that scenario, you have to choose between work, life, faith, etc. It is an either/or situation. Instead Steve believes that it is a matter of being centered in a God-world. We ought to be asking how we can make room for our personal or business lives in the midst of our God-life.

"Wherever your feet are, there goes the kingdom." - Steve Swain

Bob and Steve discuss the reality of living a centered life in an uncertain world. Steve says the secret is recognizing that he isn't the one handling everything; God is. Steve realizes that he has a choice to try to control his surroundings, or to submit to God's plan for his day.

"One of the best things I do is shut my door and pray, seeking a next step. When we go first to the good Shepherd and pray with a thankful heart and give Him our anxiety the fog in the road lifts just a little bit, enough to take one step forward. The other thing that happens is with the energy we are no longer spending on anxiety we have energy to take that step. The third thing is that when that step occurs and we see some improvement there it is so specific that we have no choice but to give God the glory." - Steve Swain

Learn more about CNH Machine by visiting their website.

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The executive management of the companies connected with Betenbough Homes have a leaders guide that outlines the principles which they follow. Rick Betenbough, CEO of Betenbough Homes, and Casey Brewer from Kingdom at Work discuss how they strive to be developmental in their leadership and organizational structure. They develop a lot of management internally, and they want to bring people into the organization who are a good fit with their core values and have the ability to do fulfil their role in the company.

"Leadership is not for the leader; leadership is for the people." - Rick Betenbough

Betenbough Homes is not an evangelism platform; you don't have to align with the beliefs of their leadership team to work for them. Rather, the leaders at Betenbough Homes desire to help those they lead become their best selves. They care for the people they lead, and seek to help them grow. Rick says people are attracted to leaders who lead for the benefit of the people.

Learn more about Kingdom at Work and Betenbough Homes.

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Rick Betenbough and his dad went into business together to build low-income housing.

"I had an idea that we should build a bunch of homes, and my dad had an idea that we should honor God while doing so. We know that our businesses belong to the Lord and that it is his ministry in the marketplace. Kingdom at Work is a movement in the marketplace. God wants His people all over the world to stand up wherever He has planted them and for His kingdom to come in that place and through their leadership." - Rick

In 2014 Rick had the oprotunity to give the operational leadership of the company to a young, competent team. This allowed him to take a step back and Kingdom at Work emerged in that season. Casey Brewer joined that effort at the Marketplace Communications Manager.

"We partner with local leaders and men and women of influence. We talk about God's Kingdom in the marketplace. We seek to inspire, equip, and ignite business owners, executives, and organizational leaders by hosting events and workshops, offereing leadership coaching, and sharing stories of kingdom impact. God is at work in the marketplace, there is no doubt about that!" - Casey

A core offering of Kingdom at Work is a three-day workshop for senior leadership teams. The workshop allows time over three days for God to be at work in the lives of the leaders in attendance. Together they seek the Lord in a new and deeper way. The team at Kingdom at Work believes that God wants to move in the marketplace through His leaders, and that He does so through leadership teams. Together, these teams change the culture to a kingdom culture inside a business.

"When a kingdom leader engages in a kingdom style then a kingdom culture emerges and the kingdom of God advances." - Casey

Rick, Casey, and the Kingdom at Work team want the experience of the workshops to extend beyond just three days.

"Attendees are invited to engage with us. Teams come see us and we go on site with them as needed. As they ask the Lord to guide them they are going to hear what they need to do. We just want to walk alongside them and be available to them. We are excited to engage with them by phone and visit in addition to the workshop." - Rick

Kingdom at Work and Ambassdors for Business are partnering to bring mini-sessions to the Twin Cities area on September 5th. Details will be available on the Ambassadors for Business community events calendar as they are available.

"The sessions will offer the opportunity to meet other business leaders who are asking some of the same questions and feel God moving them. There is power in gathering together to hear from the Lord, He shows up. Learn how important our work is to God, how we work alongside Him, and how He has called us to transition from being leaders in the marketplace to being spiritual leaders of the people that God has entrusted to us in the marketplace." - Rick

Learn more about Kingdom at Work and Betenbough Homes.

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Mina Carlson, founder of Wilhelmina Ministries, coaches people through career change or a life transition by utilizing several tools. The process isn't lengthy, but does include several key aspects.

Mina shared that she starts with understanding where the individual she is coaching is at in their life and faith. She also takes them through a strengths assessment and a gifts assessment. After gauging their health and key relationships, Mina takes all the information they have compiled and helps the individual identify a plan of action to get them where they want to be.

Mina's coaching follows the E5 framework:

Engage - where are you right now in your life and faith?

Mina shares that she often sees people get caught up in what is holding them back from the dreams and vision they have for their life and their work. They need someone to listen and share a picture of how they can change and grow. Mina believes that we people focus on their strengths, they find the confidence to move forward fast into what they have been called to do.

Learn more about Wilhelmina Ministries here: https://wilhelminaministries.com/

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In part one of this series, Bill Bojan shares the analogy of the polished arrow. In this episode, he takes this analogy further and shows how the trinitarian model of governance allows for organizations to build strong structures.

We need leaders of virtue.

By far, the majority of problems in organizations happen because there is a breach in the structure. That breach infiltrates the culture and leadership and eventually a crisis happens. We don't pay enough attention to our structures, but they often cause the problems we see.

In any good governance structure there is an oversight dimension (e.g. a board of directors), an execution dimension (e.g. the CEO), and a verification dimension (e.g. an independent complience function).

Learn more about integrated governance, take diagnostic assesments, and access a library of best practices at Solomon 365.

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The word governance means to steer or to navigate. Bill Bojan shares how governance is a way for us to guide and steer life and business correctly. Bill discusses how the Great Commission, which most Christians are familiar with, is Jesus giving His followers a charge based on the authority He has from God.

Bill warns that when we don't steward our lives, businesses, and resources in the way God wants us to, our authority is corrupted. This is a call to Christian, American, Leaders to follow God's plan for leadership and governance. If we will turn back to God and do things His way He will heal us and heal our land.

Additionally, Bill shares the lesson the polished arrow from Isaiah 49:2-3. Being a polished arrow means we are in the Lord's quiver, but we are accountable to the Lord for how we use our giftings.

Connect with Bill: [email protected]

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The Five Capitals provide an excellent framework for living life to the fullest. Capital and investment is the language of the corporate world and Brandon Schaefer, founder of Five Capitals, has taken this language and translated it into the framework below. He discusses this framework with Danita Bye, coach and author of Millennials Matter, and host Bob Willbanks.

Take the Five Capitals Assessment: https://fivecapitals.net/live-prioritized/

Brandon encourages listen to take a courageous step. To make a move and then keep moving.

Find Danita's book and connect with her here: https://danitabye.com/

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