Follower of One : Missions For The Rest Of Us

Truth produces strength. When you think about it, you know that trust provides some strength. When we do the right thing, we gain a confidence knowing we can trust God. I can endure more hardship knowing that it came through truth than through deception.

That's true for life, too. When we know we did the best we could, or when we know we did the right thing, the consequences are easier to endure. There is value in a clear conscience - not one that is based on ignorance, but one that is based on truth. Peter challenges us to keep a clear conscience, doing what we know to be right.

And he goes one step further, too. Our conscience gives us peace. We trust God to use our actions to convict those who slander us. Deep down inside, when we are slandered, the rightness of our actions and motives will serve to make a difference in those who slander us. This doesn't seem too true today. It seems so much of what we read everyone has evil motives and evil actions. But let's be a people who listen to God, do what he says and then trust God for the outcome.

Please share these podcasts with your friends. And please let us know what issues you have at work. Help us help you. Thank you for being a marketplace minister.

In this week's episode of the Follower of One podcast, Mike speaks with Steven Crawford. Steven has over 31 years of senior sales experience, the current President and CEO of Crawford & Grey and the current Director of Sales for McGhee Productivity Solutions. McGhee Productivity Solutions (MPS) is a performance consulting firm based in Denver, CO specializing in change management and productivity effectiveness. MPS empowers individuals, teams and organizations to increase performance and work-life synergy by creating sustainable cultures of alignment, focus, integrity, and accountability.

Episode Breakdown:

0:55 - Meet Steve Crawford

2:10 - Steve's Story

5:50 - Giving you life to Jesus

6:50 - McGhee Productivity Solutions

10:55 - How Steve's Faith is Integrated at Work

16:20 - Steve's Thoughts on Faith Mattering at Work

18:15 - Bringing in the Light

21:50 - Pressure in the Business Environment

Vulnerability 

There are several reasons we justify to not take action. Vulnerability is among the top reasons and ironically it is one of the most important reasons to take action with your faith. Steven and Mike discuss how when we are vulnerable and use that vulnerability to open honest communication between God and our Coworkers, life becomes better. You have to be vulnerable to let God into your life. Have you chosen to leave everything up to God? There are only so many things we can control, but exponentially more things we can't control. Being vulnerable is not a weakness but a strength with God. Use this strength to change the lives around you for the better!

Bringing in the Light

During the conversation with Mike, Steven shows one of the key things that McGhee Productivity Solutions uses to start off meetings of any kind. It is called "Bringing in the Light". They use this term as a metaphor for using your energy and thoughts to build a better reception of information, ideas and collaboration just before a meeting. Steven talks about how this is different for every person. If you are a Christ-Follower, bringing in the light might be praying before a meeting or maybe it is just a quick meditation to get your mind ready for collaboration. Whatever the strategy is, what works best for you is the goal. How do you bring in the light before a meeting? How do you prepare yourself to build a better collaboration between your coworkers or employees? Take this time to think and build upon this!

Connect with Steven

Steven's LinkedIn

Steven's Youtube Channel

Steven's Twitter

McGhee Productivity Solutions Website

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

What does salt have to do with being a disciple? And how does this line up with this, our last day on the Marketplace Mission Trip? Salt changes the things it comes into contact with. It adds flavor and preserves. Jesus just made some bold statements about being a disciple. Many pastors interpret the passage before this as a command that we must quit our jobs and sell our possessions and go "into ministry." But I believe Jesus is simply making a point. If we love our stuff, we won't flavor and preserve those around us. 

On this last day, let's remember why we follow Jesus. I hope you have experienced the joy of working alongside him this week. That joy is our motivation. In the next chapter, in Luke 15, Jesus tells stories of how people give up everything they have for things they value, a sheep, a coin. In this passage, he's reminding us that what we have following Jesus is more valuable than anything else. As we reflect on all Jesus has done for us, we will speak for ourselves selves and we will be his disciples. We will remain salty, making a difference in our workplaces.

Remember what Jesus has done for you. Love the future with him more than our past and our sin and we will remain salty. He will sprinkle us on our workplaces and our families and our lives will matter. And we can continue to speak for ourselves, explaining to others why we're different, and leaving them to make their own choices.

Finally, please, right now, ask God who you should invite on the next Marketplace Mission Trip. Then, both of you can go to MarketplaceMissionTrip.com and sign up. Thank you for making an eternal difference and being a missionary in your world, too.

When we deliver excellent work, we show others we trust Jesus. When we cut corners or act out of selfishness, we show how little we trust.

Daniel and his 3 Jewish friends were shown favor by God and before the king because they trusted God and stood up for what they believed. They each worked in the service of a pagan king. God opened doors for them, and also let them go through some famous trials because they served the kings well. Remember Israel was in captivity. God didn't tell his people to resist the king, but rather these men delivered excellent work and it became part of the biblical story.

Let's serve others today by delivering quality work. We show respect for our peers and our bosses, and we also reflect well on our faith. As a follower of Jesus, we can trust him and serve others with excellence because that's exactly what Jesus did.

Jesus became one of us. He laid aside his position as God, and put aside all of the power of being God and came to live and die as one of us.

Every day, we serve in a workplace with others. Some are Christ-followers and others are not. When we listen to them, we make the first move to being "with" them. Our appreciation of them, helps us build trust, respect. As we appreciate others, especially those who are not like us, we build bridges, unity. We deliver peace.

Remember to listen to others as an act of appreciation. Let's not be so quick to speak as James 1:19 says. Rather when we are quick to listen, we become more like Jesus. We lay aside our pride and join the people we're with today. Jesus knows where we are. When it's time for us to be around other Christians all the time, Jesus will make that happen. But who we're with today, let's be with them in so that we might help them see Jesus. One way we can do that is to listen to appreciate and understand.

Check out Episode 112 from back in April on this same passage to think more about how this passage calls us to live differently.

A priest works for God. Peter tells us that we were not a nation, but now we're God's nation - God's priests. Even the passage this relates to in Isaiah 61 mentions that we're priests and ministers. We serve others on behalf of God. We do it so he becomes visible. Today, remember your forever job is a priest. Work for God today while you work for your boss or your customers.

Make time for people. Come in a little early or stay a bit late. If you're working from home, don't blow your commute time on Facebook. Show up a bit early and do some extra work to bless a coworker. Don't wire your day so tight that no one can interrupt you. You're a priest. Do your most important job and let God do his part. You are called by God to do what you do today, so that others may move one notch closer to him.

The first 80 years of Moses' life is encapsulated in 1 chapter. Uniquely qualified to lead Israel, he has been in exile for 40 years, in the middle of nowhere, tending sheep. But one day, God shows up and it turns out Moses was right where he needed to be. 

Jesus says, "As you go" in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). Wherever we are, God is there (see Psalm 139). He's working his plan and arranging things so that all of us can have a closer relationship with him. Wherever we are can be holy ground. God put us where we are today. Do you often try to get out of your circumstances? Today, as you go, look for the ways God may use you in your circumstances. Moses said, "Here I am." Well, here you are. Will you be God's person today?

Please also remember to tell someone else about this podcast today. Please pray that God will mobilize you and the other Christ-followers where you work. Please also join us as we pray for marketplace Christians all over the world through the Faith at Work Prayer Network on Facebook or LinkedIn.

God created us with freedom to choose. We chose slavery to sin. Jesus comes and dies for us to restore our freedom to choose, but we must choose to obey him. He is Lord. One day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess (Isaiah 45:23). When we see God for who he is, we will no longer have any choice. But Jesus gives us the choice again here, just before he is murdered in John 13:13.

Forty-one years ago, I was hit by a car. For the first few days, they weren't sure I would live, then function normally, then walk. By God's grace, I did end up fully recovering with some scars and some numb places. But it was a long year. That day, I didn't obey Jesus. I didn't choose to follow Jesus for another 9 years. But I was given the choice. Every year on the anniversary of that wreck, Oswald Chambers' My Utmost has a great entry on this verse. Jesus is Lord with a capital "L". We choose to follow him and obey him and he does the rest. We choose not to, and he also does the rest. We get to choose.

Who will you obey today? Will you obey yourself and continue to live out your death sentence? Or will you choose to follow Jesus and live? We're so fortunate to have another choice again today. Let's make it count!

In this week's episode of the Follower of One podcast, Mike speaks with Todd Miechiels. Todd is the founder and co-founder of both The 3:15 Project and StoryDrive respectively. The 3:15 Project empowers Christians to know and share their story while StoryDrive helps cultivate and produce stories that drive growth. Please welcome him to the podcast!

Episode Breakdown

1:05 - Meet Todd

1:40 - The 3:15 Project

7:00 - Recent Stories

9:35 - The Story Drive

13:20 - Upcoming Events for The 3:15 Project

15:55 - Tag Cloud

22:20 - How to Connect with Todd

The Power of Your Story

Everyone has a different story and place in this world. The power of your story is prevalent in Todd's company The3:15 project. When is the last time you told your story? How you came to Christ should not be boxed in to when you are baptized. Everyones story should act as a consistent reminder of what it is to be a Christian and the path we take to get there. There is always something to learn from your bothers and sisters in Christ.  What is holding you back from telling your story?

Social Change

The "social" change we are speaking of in this episode is social media. The "Tag Cloud" that Todd created was a visual representation of several Christians' words they used on their LinkedIn. The result showed that these Christians had no words that their faith was an integral part of the way they conducting themselves to the outside world. This isn't a good or bad thing but a very important question to ask. Why are we afraid to put our faith out in the world on social media? What could we do to be better at this? 

Connect with Todd

Todd's LinkedIn

Todd's Twitter

The 3:15 Project

StoryDrive

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

When we act out the ideas Jesus gives us to put others first (Philippians 2:3), many will want to know why. Many think we all live for the same things, our self, the pursuit of happiness or success, wealth, ease. Christ-followers look beyond this life to success in eternity. And that belief alone can propel us to serve others when it seems that very act will be to our detriment.

When we serve others, they will ask. They will want to know why we bless them or put them ahead of ourselves. The natural is "me first." But Jesus' followers put others first.

What do we do when they ask? We give them a reason. Two days ago, we discussed the need to know what we believe. Today, let's practice answering the question, "Why are you doing this?"

This question is a great way to introduce Jesus into a dialog with a coworker or customer. A simple one or two sentence answer that states how Jesus commands us to serve others is all it takes. From that moment forward, your friend will be curious about why you follow Jesus.

Practice your answer today. Make sure you use "I" and "me" statements and keep your relationship intact. We give a gentle, respectful answer that explains our own motives and it's up to our friend or coworker to compare their own life to a life following Jesus. In this we join Jesus in his work of redeeming mankind.