Follower of One : Missions For The Rest Of Us

Everything we do with our faith is impacted by sin and the fall. Our knowledge comes up short. Everything we think, say or do about God comes up short. It's incomplete, inaccurate, and it misses the mark. Outside of the Bible, every book, every article, every preacher comes up short. Every. One.

But there are 3 things that will last and matter forever, faith, hope and love. These things are. God made it that way. Our confidence in him, and our hope in him will matter. And they will never come up short. Additionally, our love of God isn't the end of the conversation about love, it's the beginning. We show our love for God when we love his people. We can love God and love people forever. God created a great calling for us. I don't know what degree of love for people we will have when we get to heaven, but I know we will love God.

Paul reminds us that our love matters. Love counts for all time. Jesus said we would not lose our reward for even a cup of cold water offered because we follow and love Jesus. Where can you love better? Do you have the guts to ask Jesus and then act on his response?

Why not practice loving others? The next Marketplace Mission Trip starts next week. Sign up by Saturday to join us. Go to MarketplaceMissionTrip.com to learn more and sign up. There's no cost, but we will ask you to pay it forward for others. Sharpen your skills to intentionally walk with Jesus daily. You'll be glad you did.

Love never ends. Love is one of the few things we will do once we fully come to terms with God and who he is. Love never goes out of style. Loving someone else will always work. Notice that what we know, what we say, and even our relationship with God will all change one day. But Love will never go out of style.

Have you ever spent time with a friend or someone who told you they loved you but they never showed it? This whole chapter tells us love without action is meaningless. But even action without love is also meaningless. Love is ingredient that doesn't go out of style. Love finds a way. And love seldom shows up best through what we say. Our prophesy, or our teaching about God, our knowledge, our tongues will be done away.

How does love motivate you? Do you love the people you work with? For many years, I did not. I wanted to get back out to my suburb, and to my real friends. I think my coworkers knew it. They knew where my heart was. They knew I followed a savior who was all about love, but I wasn't living what Jesus taught. I loved the people like me and not the people around me.

Where does your love need to show up better? How can we help you? The next Marketplace Mission Trip begins in a week. Learn more and sign up at MarketplaceMissionTrip.com. And invite one of your church friends. You'll integrate your faith and work like never before, and experience the joy of seeing Jesus work through you. Don't miss it.

In this week's episode of the Follower of One Podcast. Mike talks with Anne Small. Anne is President and Founder of Blessed by Networking where they help professionals build a successful network of strategic partners, referrals, and increased revenue through faith-based Support for Business Professionals, Non-Profit Organizations, and Ministry all while building strong leaders. Please welcome her to the community!

Episode Breakdown

1:05 - Meet Anne Small

3:05 - Anne's Story to Christ

5:10 - Why Blessed by Networking?

9:10 - Blessed by Networking is Different

18:25 - Anne's Thoughts on the Marketplace Mission Trip and Ministry Mindset Challenge 

20:55 - Anne's Tips on Moving Forward with your Faith

24:00 - Connect with Blessed by Networking

Be Different Yet The Same

One of the main themes in this episode is how to be different with your faith. Anne talks to Mike about Blessed by Networking and how through the network itself, it has inspired change in the way these Christians live their faith beyond Sunday. Yet the question remains - How are we different? How can we build an aura around us that makes people want to know more about us? To stand out, you have to bring something to the table that helps others around you recognize that this conversation, this interaction, this project, this weekend, and this story is different when you are around. We want to be the same too. So, what does that mean? It means that while we want to be different, we also want to lead by example and have others in their walk with Christ act differently as well. Through a group effort, we all are unique but have the same goal. In conclusion, be different but the same! 

Stay Connected to Learn and Know

Networking is what Anne Small does extremely well. In her discussion with Mike, Anne talks about how you have to be purposeful when networking yourself and your business with others. Ask yourself, why do I want to connect with this person/team? What are my goals by connecting and building this relationship? We learn that networking can become a connection that enables you to learn new things every day. If you want to be better in your job, you speak to like-minded people who are building something better than what you have, right? That is the goal but it doesn't stop with learning new information. You also want to be in the know! Know what your relationships are doing on a daily, weekly, or even monthly business so you can reflect that energy to your microclimate which is your daily life. Don't forget, we are not perfect so there will be mistakes. How are you handling your obstacles that come your way? This is more important than anything and shows your character as both a Christian and a business professional. Get after it!

Interview Quote:

"The Church is the People, it is not a building. We are finding that out right now, more than ever... We need to be supporting each other as a whole." 

Connect with Anne Small

Anne's LinkedIn

Blessed by Networking

Blessed by Networking Facebook Group

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 

Look at this list of qualities. Love doesn't have all of these things, it causes all of these things. When you're patient with others, it's because of love. When we're kind or free of envy, that's love. Imagine yourself guided and directed by agape love. You demonstrate these qualities with everyone. There are times I fail to demonstrate these qualities with the people I claim to love, much less the ones I don't love or the ones I don't know. 

What can you do today to practice these behaviors? Don't focus on the behavior. Focus on the other person. When I do what the other needs, I will do these things. I will not be rude, I will not be self-seeking.

Love makes all the difference. Do you often question your own motives? It's so easy to go through the motions without really caring for the people we serve. I get convicted by my own selfishness. I feel like my life is a constant struggle to consider others more important than myself (Philippians 2:3).

Paul basically says that if we don't love people, our actions, our ability, our charity are nothing. They don't count and they don't matter. Bold talk. Especially coming right on the end of a conversation about spiritual gifts. What difference does this make? What challenge pops into your mind when you think about everything you do? Do you do your tasks because you love the people you serve, or do you do it so you can get it done; get your box checked; get on to the next thing?

We need practice. Why not join us on the next Marketplace Mission Trip. We start another one in a week or so. There's no cost, but you will be challenged to put your faith in action. Join us. Go to MarketplaceMissionTrip.com and sign up.

How does your relationship to Jesus affect your daily life? Do you spend moment by moment each day with him? Are you so familiar with God that you begin to look like him, act like him?

Today, Mike continues the thoughts from yesterday. His own story is about trying to be a full-time Christian, or a full-time minister. Ministry is helping others move one notch closer to Jesus. Mike realized with that definition of ministry, that he could be a full-time minister, if he could be about God's business all the time. The book, About My Father's Business by Regi Campbell helped Mike understand a practical, relevant, timely way to serve others and integrate his faith and his work.

And don't forget to check out the Marketplace Mission Trip - a free, 2-week exercise to practice being a full-time minister in your workplace. Our next one begins in a few days. Go to MarketplaceMissionTrip.com to learn more and sign up!

Don't you love it when the superhero shows up. They put aside their costume and reveal who they really are. And their real self makes a difference. We all want a little of the superhero to show up. We want to put off our have-to in order to be who we were made to be.

Jesus had this experience when he was 12. After 3 days, Mary and Joseph find him in the Temple. For now, let's agree they weren't neglecting their child. Times were different. They were distraught when they found him, but his response is what interests us today. Jesus reminds us who his Father is. And he also reminded them and us, that he had to be about his father's business.

When we act out of our true identity, we are aligned with our Creator. Not so much our earthly father as our heavenly Father. He is the one who created us. He gave us our purpose, gifting, calling and strengths. They're baked in. We can shed our costume as we learn about our Father and we learn to be about our Father's business.

The book, About My Father's Business: Taking Your Faith To Work by Regi Campbell is a wonderful book on how to practically be about our Heavenly Father's business at work. This book made a big difference in Mike's walk with God. You might be interested to check it out.

If you watch much TV, you'll hear someone suggest that you need to call their number or buy their product so you can "get what you deserve." You deserve it. This is owed to you. Go and get what you deserve. 

Today's verse tells us what we deserve. In episode 230, Only One Category of People, we talked about how we all fall short of God's plan and glory. Today, we learn about the result. Because we fall short, we earn death. Check out the word translated "wages." It means wages, what we deserve because of what we've done. In God's eyes, we all have violated our relationship with God and we deserve death. 

Check out the Faith at Work Prayer Network. We meet on the 2nd Wednesday of every month at noon Central time to pray for God to move in his people in the marketplace. Would you like to join our call? Click this link to register for the September call and we'll send you the information. Or if you miss the September call, click here to join our Facebook or LinkedIn groups so you will be updated for future Prayer Network calls.

In this week's episode of the Follower of One Podcast, Mike talks with Patti An Ridgeway. Patti Ann is a former Real Estate investor, Holistic Health Coach, and Entrepreneur through Project Feed it Forward. Project Feed it Forward partners with Isagenix to love and serve others all while glorifying God along the way. Please welcome Patti Ann to our Community!

Episode Breakdown

1:00 - Meet Patti Ann Ridgeway

2:20 - Patti Ann's Story

6:25 - People and Stories Through Project Feed it Forward

8:15 - How Patti Ann First Came to Christ

11:05 - Project Feed it Forward Breakdown

15:40 - Experiencing Joy through Miracle of Multiplication 

20:45 - Patti Ann's Advice for Faith in the Workplace

24:00 - Patti Ann and The Marketplace Mission Trip

27:35 - Being a Link in the Chain

29:05 - Connect with Patti Ann

Start Thinking About Others

We are all made in the image of God, but we fall short and that is what it means to be human. We start introspectively with our faith. What does it mean to believe in God? How do we act appropriately? What kinds of things are abundantly clear to us through his teachings? Then, we apply those lessons into our lives but it doesn't stop there! Mike and Patti Ann discuss what it is like to go beyond ourselves when glorifying God. Patti Ann is doing so through her business Project Feed it Forward, and I highly recommend that you check out how she embodies God through her work. At some point, it becomes less about you and more about how you inspire change and community based on God's word. So, when is the last time you paid it forward? What tools do you use to do so? Mike has a great example (detailed in the podcast) with a Subway gift card. Let us know in the comments what compels you to think of others and what compels you to act. We would love to learn from you!

God Opens Doors

Opportunities are abundant, even in a pandemic world. You just have to look a little harder at your situation. Luckily, if you have had any experience in following God's plan or seeing God open doors for you, you might be well aware that they are not as obvious as they seem in hindsight. Patti Ann talks about how she came to be with Project Feed it Forward and what it took to follow God's plan and not her plan. She also gives great advice during her time with Mike that explains what it was like for her to accept what God was putting on her doorstep. If you are struggling to know God's plan for you we have some questions to ask - What are your God-given talents? How can you use those gifts to give back to your community? What are you looking for in life? Does this match up with what God has laid before you? The end goal is to be happy, healthy, and putting God first above all else. Be persistent in this endeavor. You don't just have one chance to do it right, God is forgiving and he does that for a reason.

Interview Quote:

"We get to a point in life where it is not about us anymore... What can we do? How can we impact people? How can we leave a legacy for our children?"

Connect with Patti Ann

Patti Ann's LinkedIn

Project Feed it Forward

Project Feed it Forward 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 

Do you ever notice how people fall into classes or categories. Often, when talking with friends, you'll hear a friend say, "You know, there are 2 types of people," or two political parties, or two groups of whatever. Two, or 3 or 4.

Paul points out how, in one regard, we are all alike. We all fall short. We all recognize this, but we seldom remember this principle when it matters. When we stand before God, how we have dealt with our falling short is all that will matter. 

Today at work, everyone you work with is like you in this one way. We have all fallen short. We can't help it. We all blew it before we knew. But how can that knowledge propel us as marketplace ministers. We need to appreciate others. Our world needs appreciation. Everyone in it struggles for appreciation. We try to receive it, show it, be worthy of it, get more of it. Appreciation is in short supply. But if we can remember this simple fact today, maybe that will make us better at giving away the very love and appreciation God has given us.

In a few days, the next Marketplace Mission Trip will begin. Will you be on it? This is a 2-week experience to help you focus on your own mission field, where you work and live every day. You don't need to take any time off of work. Just head over to MarketplaceMissionTrip.com and sign up.