Faith Collides

Robert Dail never imagined he would have a career in the army. At a young age, he wanted to become a lawyer and enter politics. But it was also then when he committed his life to the Lord.

Robert’s father was a blue-collar worker at a navy base in Virginia, and that was what prompted Robert to join the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), a military preparatory program in college. Other than the fact that his father was a military man, Robert needed financial assistance. So, he joined the program half-hearted. It also didn’t help when the instructor told him that he would need to work in logistics. This meant Robert had to learn how to plan, procure and transport things like weapons, food and shelter. It wasn’t the manliest area in the program, but that was where Robert realized he was a natural at logistics.

By the time Robert graduated from college, he had found out that he didn’t get into law school. He didn’t have a backup plan. But soon realized that since he had received a college degree and completed ROTC, he could join the US Army as an officer. So, he decided to try it out for two years.

What was supposed to be two years turned into 33 years. Robert retired as a Lieutenant General, ranking 15 out of 1.5 million soldiers. Robert shares how a series of events happened that opened the doors for him to pursue an incredible career in the military. But also, how the ultimate door closed when he didn’t get four stars, and how he had to voluntarily retire from the US Army at 55 years old. Robert opens up about how he and his family were devastated, and how he picked himself up to see the breadth of opportunities for him in business.

Since his retirement in 2008, Robert became the President of the US subsidiary of Supreme Group and eventually the Chief Commercial Officer of Supreme Group. He has also served and continues to serve on the Boards of several prestigious military and government-focused entities: ADS, Inc., LMI Government Consulting, iDirect Government Inc., Institute for Defense Business at University of North Carolina, National Technologies Associates and Flag Officer Advisory Council at Arizona State University.

When Robert looks back at his career, he believes God’s plans have had precedence over his own plans. Even through the highs and lows of his career, Robert says he couldn’t have planned it better.

Special thanks on this episode: Robert and Anne Dail, Hunter and Betsy Rawley, and Joel Arias

 

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Faith Collides podcast is hosted by Grace Huang from Lux Mundi.  More information: www.lxmundi.com

On July 28, 2019, GOOD TV released a speech from Jeremy Lin, and the media went viral on how Jeremy Lin hit rock bottom in his career because he feels like the NBA has given up on him. It was newsworthy because Jeremy Lin was on the Toronto Raptors, the same team who won this year’s NBA championship. And this was a historic win for Jeremy when he became the first Asian American to receive an NBA ring.  

But the challenge was, Jeremy hardly played during the Finals. Also, his contract with the Raptors was ending after the season, and he was soon entering into free agency, which means he would need to secure a new contract with another team.

Unfortunately, his prospects did not look promising. Since Linsanity, a record-setting streak of high-scoring games when Jeremy played for the New York Knicks during the 2011-2012 NBA season, Jeremy had sustained serious injuries. He would go on to play in six other teams until he joined the Raptors in 2019. And after a mediocre performance with Toronto Raptors, it didn’t seem like any teams were planning to sign him for the next season.

So when Jeremy flew to Asia during his annual off-season tour, Jeremy was very disappointed. He opened up to his fans about hitting a career low on GOOD TV.  GOOD TV is the first Christian TV station in Taiwan, and every year since 2011, Jeremy has openly shared about his faith on this channel. But it was especially difficult for him to share this year, but at the same time, he decided to make it a meaningful message. 

During his speech, Jeremy Lin broke down in front of a large auditorium of Taiwanese fans. He was not just crying because he was disappointed in having a crushed dream to not 'be the best basketball player he knew he could be,' but he was fighting to trust God through it all. That’s when he said:

“I've given more of myself to God every single year. And every year, it gets harder.

And in English there's a saying and it says, once you hit rock bottom, the only way is up. But rock bottom, just seems to keep getting more and more rock bottom for me.

And so free agency has been tough, because I feel like in some ways, the NBA has kind of given up on me.”

 

Many people share about their failures after they’ve seen their successes. But not Jeremy Lin. His speech was powerful because of his openness and humility to trust God - even in the midst of uncertainty. He also goes beyond his personal career disappointment to share the hope and faith he has to others who are also going through a tough season. Jeremy shares about the prayer he said before his speech.

“I told God, I said, ‘Man, if you want me to get up here, and cry in front everybody I will,’ because if the most powerful thing I can do is not to be a great player on the court, but to get up here, and share every last one of my failures with you. And if that's what it means to not give up, then I'll do it. And I just want to encourage you guys, don't disqualify yourself from what God wants to do in your life by giving up.”

 

Jeremy’s trust in God is contagious. He later goes on to give a response time, which can be viewed on GOOD TV.

A lot of what Jeremy had to say really hits home and speaks to what we’re trying to do at Faith Collides. Because like Jeremy, we can often feel alone or confusion on ‘what’s next’ for our careers, even asking God where he is in the midst of it. It’s a good reminder that God is still there to sustain you. He’s still there to use you to bless others - even if rock bottom seems to get more and more rock bottom. Don’t lose hope. Like Jeremy Lin - make your hope and faith rooted in something real, something beyond your circumstance.

 

Note: On August 27, 2019, Jeremy announced on Instagram that he will be joining the Beijing Ducks. So,

Peter Irvine grew up doing what he needed to do to make ends meet.

Peter’s father had several odd jobs performing blue-collar work while his mother stayed at home. At 14 years old, Peter started working at an advertising agency because his family expected him to contribute to the household income, and Peter viewed his job as a something he had to do to pay the bills.

But as Peter got older, his understanding of his faith grew, which he says challenged him to do his work better. In this episode, Peter shares how he began to apply Biblical principles to his role as National Media Director, how his church Hillsong encouraged him to have more vision in the workplace, and how his small group leader Nabi Saleh told him about the opportunity at Gloria Jean’s.

Peter shares how the original Gloria Jean’s concept, a coffee chain that started in the US in 1979, needed to be tailored for the Australian market. It was a difficult start opening up the first stores, but once Peter and his partner Nabi got it right, the coffee chain grew to 300 stores in the first 10 years. And in 2015, they sold the business to a publicly listed company Retail Food Group for approx. 150 million US dollars.

Peter is now an author, keynote speaker, author and consultant. He provides practical advice and resources on his website.

 

 

Special thanks for this episode: Peter and Sue Irvine, Brian Andrews, Farah Thalji, Michelle Haines and Ruth Ng

 

Support Faith Collides podcast with a review --->  http://bit.ly/FaithC0llid3s

Faith Collides podcast is hosted by Grace Huang from Lux Mundi.  More information: www.lxmundi.com

Ken knew he wanted to be a pilot at 8 years old. But his career path took several twists and turns.

In his mid-50s, when most people think about their retirement plans, Ken decided to leave a comfortable role at Southwest Airlines to start up two commercial airlines - one in the US and one in the Middle East. When oil prices skyrocketed in 2008, Ken was faced with shutting down the newly launched airline SkyBus. Ken moved on to start and run the operations for the first low-cost carrier in the UAE- flydubai- for the next 11 years until his retirement at 72 years old.

Ken opens up about how his faith and how the counsel of his wife and children shaped his life choices and major career decisions.

Special thanks to friends who contributed and provided support to produce this episode: Ken & Dianne Gile, Jessica Chang, Ben Barber, Jon Chiu and Shaina Lee.

 

Support Faith Collides podcast with a review --->  http://bit.ly/FaithC0llid3s

Faith Collides podcast is hosted by Grace Huang from Lux Mundi.  More information: www.lxmundi.com

Faith Collides is for people who think faith can collide with work. It’s a show about people of faith who are executives, experts, entrepreneurs in their field, from all around the world, who actually try to make faith relevant in their lives. Grace dives into the life stories behind how they navigated through career highs and lows, and how faith plays into life at work.

Grace sits down with Ken to get his perspective on a range of topics as a working professional in the aviation industry. He's learnt to grow his assets and shares how - like buying collectibles which appreciate in value. He touches on millennial consumers and how airlines are changing to cater to the next generation of spenders. He thinks technology will change the future of aircraft and might even change the way pilots fly planes. Finally, Ken talks about unchecked emotions as one of the root causes of why working professionals fail.

 

In case you’re wondering, Ken mentions a couple readings for your reference:

1. “True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership” By Bill George

2. “How Will You Measure Your Life”  By Clayton M. Christensen

Grace sits down with Ken to get his perspective on a range of topics as a working professional in the aviation industry. He's learnt to grow his assets and shares how - like buying collectibles which appreciate in value. He touches on millennial consumers and how airlines are changing to cater to the next generation of spenders. He thinks technology will change the future of aircraft and might even change the way pilots fly planes. Finally, Ken talks about unchecked emotions as one of the root causes of why working professionals fail.

 

In case you’re wondering, Ken mentions a couple readings for your reference:

1. “True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership” By Bill George

2. “How Will You Measure Your Life”  By Clayton M. Christensen