Follower of One : Missions For The Rest Of Us

What does it take to follow Jesus. Here Peter, Andrew, James and John are called to leave everything and follow Jesus. But are we all called to leave everything? What is it about this call to these men? How can we make an application here? Is this one verse sufficient?

What about what Paul's instruction to Onesimus (Philemon 10)? Onesimus was a slave of Philemon. He apparently escaped and ended up in prison with Paul. Paul gives him a letter to take to Philemon where Paul asks Philemon to forgive Onesimus. This is a great story of redemption, but it also shows the calling of different people.

I think most of us are called to stay where we are. Mike said that was his story, too. His career took him to a number of places, but he never went to work for the church until he started Follower of One. How can this apply to us today? 

Reflect on Mike's definition of ministry. You can leave your ambitions and your goals and stay in your present job as a fully-funded missionary - someone who lives on-mission with Jesus. Want to try? Head over to MarketplaceMissionTrip.com and sign up for the next Marketplace Mission Trip where you can try this out. There's a trip starting this Sunday and if you don't hear this message when it goes live, there will be other trips. Just check the dates at MarketplaceMissionTrip.com. 

How would you imitate God? First, we would need to study him. We would need to read what he wrote and examine what he's done. We would even have to sort through some writings and actions of the people who claim to follow God. 

Paul sums up this whole section and begins another one with these 2 verses. What does it mean to imitate God? Mike gives us some ideas today. We take the initiative to be loving and just. God is loving and just. He is so much more than we are, it's hard for us to grasp. Sometimes we think he loves without regard for justice. And other times, we think he is just without regard for love. 

He is more than we can ask or imagine, but we can imitate him. Otherwise Paul's instruction would be a waste. We walk in love, like Christ did. That's enough. Jesus even gave us the great commandment which is to love God and love people. Ask God to show you how to love him and others today. He will guide you. Let's practice our 5 daily activities, praying for others, appreciating others, knowing what we believe, serving others and speaking for ourselves. That is one way we can love God and others.

We can practice even more. Go to MarketplaceMissionTrip.com and put in your email address. You'll spend the next 2 weeks practicing these daily activities in your workplace. You'll see how you're in a position to be a missionary, making an eternal difference in the lives of others, right now. Head on over and check it out. The next Trip starts this Sunday at 3 PM Central. Join us?

If you listened yesterday, you know we have some new room in our wagon. We were challenged yesterday to get rid of bitterness, anger, wrath and malice. If you got rid of them, you've got place for something new. Today, can you take some kindness to work? 

Do you ever dread going to work? Mike did. He talked about how he could get wound up before he ever got there. Often the days turned out like Mike expected. If he anticipated misery, he got it. But often, when he was excited, looking forward to seeing people he appreciates, he often found joy at work. If you're low on workplace joy, change your method using this verse as a guide. 

Put kindness, compassion and forgiveness in your tool-belt rather than the 6 things we talked about yesterday. Almost everyone would like there to be more kindness, compassion, and forgiveness in the world. But often, we want someone else to bring it. We can't control others, but we can certainly regulate the amount of kindness, compassion and forgiveness we distribute every day. Why not ship double the kindness today? I don't think you'll run out. Try it and see.

And speaking of trying it, sign up for the Marketplace Mission Trip. It starts with a kick-off call this Sunday at 3 PM Central. Join us for 2 weeks of practice bringing kindness, compassion and forgiveness to work. Let's see if your workplace changes when you do! Learn more and sign up at MarketplaceMissionTrip.com.

Bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander and malice. Those sound like social media, don't they? Why do we jump to these levels when we argue or disagree with people but we have the separation of social media. Could it be these are a trap. 

Mike mentioned each. There is little good here. Do you catch yourself harboring any of these. Some translations say we put them away, and other say we let them be put away. Either way, we make a choice. We either take part in this list of nasty activities or we don't. Can you catch places where you start down this road? Paul warns us to stay away from these 6.

Don't forget next week is our new Marketplace Mission Trip. Learn more at MarketplaceMissionTrip.com. We're working to get a new tool built that will enable people to lead their very own trip rather than just going with us. We hope this tool will allow us to reach more marketplace Christians and make a difference in many more lives. Please join us, and even if you can't, why not consider making a contribution to help with the cost. This isn't free, but we don't charge. Voluntarily join us and watch God's people become more visible, and make a difference in every workplace. 

What does it mean to grieve the Holy Spirit? While Mike isn't terribly certain, he presents some challenging ideas. Some of those ideas come from what we talked about last week, which are the verses that precede this verse. Others may include those in the verses following. 

Do you examine yourself to see if you line up with the will of God? Every place we miss the mark may be a place where we grieve the Holy Spirit, especially when we know better. Our problems often aren't that we don't know what to do. Rather we don't do what we know. Ask God to show you today how you can cooperate with as he works in the life of every person you know. What can you give away today that put you on mission with the Holy Spirit? What can you do to be more like Jesus? 

Listen to God? Get to know Jesus better in the word of God and by attending a church. Everything we do to grow our knowledge of Jesus, seeking his wisdom can be used by Jesus to make himself known to others. Our job is to help others move one notch closer to Jesus.

And don't forget, if you'd like to practice, sign up now for our next Marketplace Mission Trip. You can find out more and sign up at MarketplaceMissionTrip.com. 

In this week's episode of the Follower of One Podcast, Mike talks with Ladey Adey. Ladey is a publisher and together with her daughter Abbirose, they provide mentoring to Authors who are looking to write their books. They work across multiple genres and believe that everyone had a book inside them! Please welcome her to the community! 

Episode Breakdown

1:15 - Meet Ladey Adey

3:05 - Book Publishing by Ladey

6:40 - Successful Business Networking Online, Book by Ladey

9:20 - Tips for Networking w/ Marketplace Christians 

10:45 - The Follow Up

13:20 - Digital Fatigue 

15:29 - Remote Jobs and Faith at Work

21:55 - Stay True to Your Faith

27:45 - Connect with Ladey

Digital Faith at Work

We are in a new age. After the pandemic, the world has changed and new challenges arise. As Christians, many of us might not work in a traditional workplace anymore but there is still work to be done. Ladey and Mike talk about her book "Successful Business Networking Online" and this is important to us today. How do we integrate faith at work remotely? The answer is the same as before! Faith has to be apart of you. The difference is how you show your faith over a Zoom call rather than in person. Subtle differences make the biggest impact. We highly suggest you pick up Ladey's book for practical advice on how to use your faith in a remote workplace! 

Stay True To Yourself

Our relationship with Christ is our foundation of how we should live. Ladey talks about staying true to herself in how she conducts business. What does this mean for you? You have certain values that you hold dear and should be held above work. When meshing the two together, it is important to stick to your faith and know that if the other person does not share the same values, there might be a point at which you know the relationship will not work out. This isn't to say you can't work with them but in Ladey's example - as a book publisher, she will not work with someone who wants to use swear words in their books. Do you have something similar in your business process? Let us know in the comments! 

Interview Quote

"You have to make the Faith part of You, You have to stand up to the point where you acknowledge that you are a Christian"

Connect with Ladey

Ladey's Website 

Ladey's Twitter 

Books Available 

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!

Do you speak unwholesome words. In my self-talk and in some of my regular speech, I'm a bit casual and can talk more like our culture than I care to admit. So this verse is a particular challenge and a prayer for me. 

Fortunately, God still allows me to be a part of his kingdom. He has grace for me, but in the areas of anger, my choice of words and my diet, these are areas where I struggle. In this verse, we're told what to do. I need to block these words. I need to be someone who ships grace, all the time. My selfishness dictates more than I care to admit. Rather I need to take every thought under control (2 Corinthians 10:5). I've been careless with my thoughts for too long.

Let's not give ourselves a pass here. Rather, ask God to show you how to stop your thoughts. Don't let the word escape your mouth, but rather replace it with grace. I can't just stop the words, I must replace them with something else. May I be a grace-speaker. When we transform our own way of talking and thinking, Jesus will become visible to our coworkers, customers, vendors and friends. 

And don't forget to head over to MarketplaceMissionTrip.com and sign up for the next mission trip. It starts a week from Sunday. And this will be the first trip using our new Mission Trip tool. Check this out and help us refine it for future groups!

Do you steal? Mike gave several examples of things we may do that could be considered stealing. But in the end, this question us up to you and your employer. Do you make sure your employer gets a great value out of hiring you? If you're in business for yourself, do you make sure your customers get excellent value?

Every cut corner is theft. Sure, you don't want to give away too much, but can you give away too much when Jesus died in place of the very people who killed him?

As you are sharing, remember to also sign up for the Marketplace Mission Trip. Head over to www.MarketplaceMissionTrip.com to learn more and sign up. Even if you've taken the trip before, this trip will be the first one using our new tool which makes it easier to collaborate with others and pray for one another. Try it out with us. 

Mike talked about how this passage is something he feels unqualified to discuss. What's the difference between sinful anger and not-sinful anger? And how can we keep our anger in check? 

What is the object of your anger? Mike said he thought selfish anger was sinful. Remember sin is simply missing the mark, or coming up short of God's plan and expectations. We all miss the mark (Romans 3:23). But we don't have to. Can you contain your anger and limit your anger to injustices, primarily for others? We should be angry when we see sin in the world. When someone takes advantage of someone else, or when someone in power harms people under their authority. 

But all anger can be given to God. When we give it to him, and do it quickly, we cooperate with God. Our separation from God in anger doesn't fill us, nor is it an opportunity for the devil to drive a wedge into our life. Verse 27 literally says we give the devil a place when we harbor anger. We make room for him. 

Today, focus on giving God your anger. This is another way of putting off the old self and putting on the new one. And don't forget to check out the Marketplace Mission Trip. Our next trip begins April 11 with a kick-off call that afternoon. Learn more and sign up at MarketplaceMissionTrip.com.

How often do you lie? I'm afraid I do it much more than I want to admit. I withhold parts of the truth and I exercise discretion in some areas. Granted, all are not lies. All truth doesn't need to be known. But this passage suggests we must begin by telling the truth. Can you judge yourself on how truthful you really are? 

Listen to yourself today. Put off falsehood and put on truth. Ask God to show you where you bow up because you are trying to tell someone what they want to hear. Then ask him to show you what you need to do. Ask God to give you truthful ways you can share bad news with love and empathy. 

Also, check out the Marketplace Mission Trip. This is a 2-week exercise that will equip you to integrate your faith into your moment-by-moment day. Over time, you'll get where you think about and pray for people more and your faith will be more real during your working hours. Learn more and sign up for the next trip at MarketplaceMissionTrip.com.