Follower of One : Missions For The Rest Of Us

Listen - Yesterday we talked about how we make time so we can be interrupted. Today, I want to reflect on this passage again today because we live in a different environment. We're talking about Luke 10:30-37 and the Action Week of the Marketplace Mission Trip. 

Everyone who needs our help isn't lying on the side of the road bleeding. We live in a culture where even people who are in financial difficulty can hide it. Listening to others shows appreciation which is our 2nd Daily Activity. But it also is a way we can hear God when he prompts us. Ask great questions today. Ask people to tell you more. Ask them to explain what they say. You may find opportunities to bless others simply because you made time in your schedule and you then took the time to ask. And if you don't talk to anyone today, you can still practice how you will respond when someone asks you why you follow Jesus. The more you listen, and the more questions you can ask, the greater the likelihood that Jesus will give you a job today. And when he does, step into the role. Do what the Samaritan did. Trust God and take the time.

Don't forget our 5 daily activities, Pray, Appreciate others, Know what you believe, Serve others and Speak for yourself. God will use you in the lives of others when you punch in with him every morning and then do what he says! 

Make Time - We're still talking about the story of the Good Samaritan. Notice today appreciation in action. This Samaritan made time for the man he found on the road. He considered the interruption as being something from God. He took responsibility for his environment.

Part of being a Follower of One is owning your responsibility. God selected the people you interact with every day. There are no accidents. God provided you for people along the road of your day. Years ago there was a study done where seminary students were told they had to get across campus to give a talk in the Good Samaritan. Along the way, there was a person who lay injured and in need of help. The key factor in whether or not those students stopped to help was how much time they thought they had. 

We need to build time into our lives if we want to experience the call of Jesus. We let our tasks and our circumstances drown out the opportunities he provides. Everyone you meet today is an opportunity to appreciate someone and listen to Jesus. What will you do?

Thanks for taking part in the Marketplace Mission Trip. If you're no on this trip, what's stopping you. Go sign up for the next one at MarketplaceMissionTrip.com. It will change the way you integrate your faith and work.

Go - Today, wherever we are, we represent Jesus. This week, I hope to make all of my illustrations for these next 5 podcasts from the story of the Good Samaritan. This is found in Luke 10:30-37. 

Today on the Marketplace Mission Trip, our message is to "Go." Everywhere we go, we have an opportunity to join Jesus. He's working all the time in the life of everyone we meet. Four men were going down to Jericho from Jerusalem. Jesus tells us the first one was beaten and robbed. Three others followed. The first 2 were too busy or had some other reason not to help. 

Notice the first two were church leaders. They passed the man who had been robbed without doing anything. Do you see the people you work with? I mean really see them? Do you have any idea what's going on in their family, or in their career? In the Great Commission, we're told to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). The word translated "go" could also be translated "as you go" or "having gone." As we go today, or wherever we are, we make disciples. Our 5 daily activities are designed to help us keep our faith present every day.

Today, as you go, will you look around? Will you pay attention? Will you see God in your interruptions or will you see obstacles? 

And maybe you're not on our Marketplace Mission Trip. If you follow Jesus, this is a great exercise we take periodically to help us get on mission with Jesus. We so easily get swept up on our own agendas. This is a 2-week exercise to remind us to see things from Jesus' perspective. Learn more and sign up for the next trip at MarketplaceMissionTrip.com. You can even get some training and assistance so you can lead this mission trip exercise for a group of your friends. Check it out at MarketplaceMissionTrip.com.

In this week's episode of the Follower of One podcast, Mike brings back Rick Boxx. Rick is the Founder & CEO of Unconventional Business Network. Unconventional Business Network is a nonprofit focused on building and training a network of Unconventional Business Leaders to learn and model biblical principles in their workplace. Please welcome him back to our community! 

Episode Breakdown

1:05 - Unconventional Business Network & Rick Boxx

3:50 - UBN turning Digital

8:50 - UBN Events Update

13:35 - Choosing to Make the Network

18:50 - Mission Field at Home

19:30 - Connect with Rick at UBN

Going Digital Can be a Blessing in Disguise 

We are at the tail end of the pandemic. A lot has changed and for many of us, that means things are even more digital than they were last year. This means that most of our work is either remote or becoming more digital every day. One of the main things that Rick discusses with Mike is the switch from in-person meetings to digital ones. Unconventional Business Network was built upon regional meetings where everyone would get together and share ideas and processes to help grow in their faith and business at the same time. This quickly became an online meeting space and to Rick's surprise, some people even wanted more frequent meetings now that everyone was not in a central location. Some of the obstacles we face, even through our work, can be blessings in disguise. When God shuts one door, he always opens one more, if not several others! How have you proven to be flexible in your work? Can this be applied to your faith as well? Churches, companies, people, businesses, and organizations, have all been affected the same way. How can you be a part of the solution? 

Interview Quote

" It's been a fun journey to be able to work with business leaders around the globe, and see what God is doing to help people integrate their faith in their day to day work"

Connect with Rick

Unconventional Business Network

Upcoming Virtual Events

Business Leader Groups

LEADING Assessment

Connect With Follower Of One

Join us over in our Online Community, get social with us; Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn and subscribe to our YouTube channel. Listen to our podcast on your way to work and subscribe using your favorite podcast app. Be a part of our next Marketplace Mission Trip!

If the Lord washed our feet, and possibly even the feet of the one who would betray him, then We talked Wednesday about preparing how we will answer when someone asks us why we're serving them. Today, let's talk about how we Speak for Ourselves. This is our fifth daily activity. We've been talking about them all week. They are 1) Pray, 2) Appreciate others, 3) Know what we believe, 4) Serve others and 5) Speak for ourselves.

In 1 Peter 3:15 is where I get the idea. We're told to give a reason for our hope, but with gentleness and reverence in the New American Standard Bible. Other translations have the word respect, or fear. I think it means both. That's why I think about being cautious. I respect the opportunity and the consequences. I respect what's at stake. If I get a chance to explain to someone why I have served or appreciated or gone beyond what others might expect, this is a chance to bring Jesus into the conversation. That's why I practiced on Wednesday. I want to have thought through what I say. And today, or whenever I get the opportunity, I speak for myself.

I'm no biblical authority. But I do know some of how God has worked in my life. So when I speak, I talk about what happened to me. This keeps me from telling others what they have to do. I don't know. That's between them and God. I just know what I did and what I experienced as a result. That's my version of being cautious. I don't want to overstep my opportunity or my responsibility.

So today, let's focus on what God has done for us. Then we're free to live a life that is given away so that others might see Jesus. When they ask, we speak in the first person, with humility and caution. The rest is above my pay grade. It's God's job.

where can we draw the line? Are there people we just wouldn't be expected to serve? It seems like we must serve people we suspect might hurt us. It seems like there's no job that is beneath us, either. 

What will it take for you to serve others? Do you need it to be warmer, or do you need more time? Are you too busy or should you have more money in the bank? What things must be "right" before you will go out of your way to serve someone else? Jesus washed the disciple's feet and it's possible that the man who betrayed him was in the room.

So what kind of a challenge crosses your mind. I prayed for you. I pray you will have an idea right now of a way to serve someone. Then, please send a note to [email protected] and let us know what you did. Did you take action? What happened? What would you do differently? What kind of idea did you implement. Let's get busy serving others today. That's what ministry is: service. You can become a full-time minister the moment you decide you will serve others full-time. So what are you waiting for?

Know what you believe - Here's a man who was formerly possessed by an army of demons. They just left the man, went into a herd of pigs and the pigs all rushed into the sea and drown. This man has only been with Jesus less than a day, maybe only a couple of hours. And he wants to go with Jesus, but Jesus gives him a job.

Notice here and in Mark 5, which I also discuss, Jesus tells the man to tell others what Jesus did for him. That's what Jesus asks us to do, too. Has Jesus changed you? Has following Jesus changed your life? Remember it like it was this morning. Think about the things Jesus has done in your life. Our minds are full of so much stuff, our to-dos and our commitments and our desires. Imagine Jesus saved you this morning and your life from then until now has taken place in time warp. How would you summarize what Jesus has done for you? Cook it off to one or two sentences. You want to give a curious coworker or customer just enough info to challenge them to ask for more. We don't want to be the type of people who give a ton when we were asked for a couple of ounces. If people want to know more, they'll ask. 

Point your brain today. Bring it under your control. Think about the great things Jesus has done for you and how he had mercy on you. You'll have a better day at work, but you'll also have a great answer to this question when someone asks. Practice saying it out loud. Write it down. Get a friend and take turns asking one another, "Why are you doing this?" Then listen to the answer. Help someone else with this. This answer is key to opening the door to Jesus for your coworkers, customers and friends. Tomorrow, we'll talk about how to make our lives more inviting, too.

Appreciate Others - Our heart follows our treasure. If we place value on others, we will appreciate them, and love them. Jesus talks about laying up treasure in heaven. The only thing we can do that will last forever is the impact we have on others. If they live forever, we can hope that our service to them lives. 

I focus on laying up treasure in heaven by appreciating people. Do we need to give away everything we have to gain treasure in heaven? I don't think so. But I want to be willing to give up treasure on earth for treasure in heaven. I hope to help others move one notch closer to Jesus every chance I get. That's how I see laying up treasure in heaven. If they draw nearer to God, and live forever, I hope my work matters. That's why I want to invest my time and energy in others. This is my way of spending my life toward a noble goal?

What's your treasure? Are you focused on your treasure to the exclusion of others, or does your treasure include the people God brings across your path. It's no accident you're alive now, hearing this. The people you work with and for are no accident either. When I decided to believe God is almighty, then I realized I had to believe he was in control. I want to represent him in every relationship, and since Jesus came to love people, I can work on loving them too.

Pray - Today we begin our mission trip with prayer. Prayer needs to be first in everything. Jesus makes this plain statement. God knows what we need before we ask him. How should that inform our prayers? What should we pray when we know God already knows? 

We talk about 3 kinds of prayers on the Mission Trip, but there are others. We focus first on punching in, saying "Here I am!" to God. 

Then we pray for others. Ask God to guide you to confirm to his will in their life. He loves them and he died for them. Ask God to give you ideas of things to do or say that will cause them to move one notch closer to Jesus. 

One way others will see God in me if if I'm grateful even for the negative things that happen to me. I'm so selfish, I tend to interpret everything by how it affect me. But I'm not at the center of God's universe. He is. When I remember who he is and how powerful and good he is, I should be able to be thankful for everything that happens. We're told in Romans 8:28 that God causes everything to work together for good to those who are called according to God's purpose. 

There are other types of prayer. Ask God to make you someone who prays more than you ever have during these 2 weeks and see how God changes your workdays.

In this week's episode of the Follower of One podcast, Mike speaks with Thomas Carlson. Thomas is the founder of ECatalyst. ECatalyst helps entrepreneurial ecosystems in the developing world to launch businesses, create jobs, grow economies, and generate sustainable solutions to local problems. Please welcome him to the community! 

Episode Breakdown

1:00 - Meet Thomas & ECatalyst 

4:45 - Ecosystems in Entrepreneurship 

10:10 - Developing World & ECatalyst

12:35 - Creating Ecosystems 

15:25 - Open Networks Working with Everyone

19:45 - Thomas' Story to Christ

22:05 - Tips to Marketplace Christians 

Ecosystems Matter to Business

Local surrounding systems matter to Entrepreneurship. You are a part of one right now, whether it is in your current job or your local community, you are a part of something bigger than just yourself. This is true to our faith as well! Do you want to start your own business? Do you have an idea? Do you think it has a very particular impact on society? Who, what, how, and when you choose to do business matters! Starting a business might be the solution. If you create the right ecosystem, you can sustain yourself for the foreseeable future. Mike and Thomas talk about how ECatalyst creates this for aspiring clients and this just might be what you need to take the next step. 

Work with Everyone that Matters

It doesn't matter what faith people around you have in your support system. What matters is using your faith to direct your efforts, and the rest will come. You have an obligation to God to act with passion. True evangelism isn't about converting, it is about speaking the truth and using our faith to make everyone around us better for it at the same time! You need to love people, bless people and treat them as your own. We are all ministers!

Interview Quote

"You as business people, are minister.  We are all ministers, and that has to be at the core of everything we do! I challenge you to see what is beyond right in front of you and see what else is out there."

Connect with Thomas

Thomas' LinkedIn

ECatalyst Website

ECatalyst Facebook

Connect With Follower Of One

Join us over in our Online Community, get social with us; Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn and subscribe to our YouTube channel. Listen to our podcast on your way to work and subscribe using your favorite podcast app. Be a part of our next Marketplace Mission Trip!