Dr. Chip Roper is an entrepreneur, speaker, and executive coach who leads the VOCA Center. The VOCA Center is an organization based in New York City that serves people all over the world. They offer professional solutions to problems that are rooted in Biblical wisdom. Dr. Roper shares their mission and vision for ministry in the marketplace in this episode of Follower of One.

You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...

• Learn more about Dr. Chip Roper and the VOCA Center [1:00]
• How the VOCA Center chooses projects [5:14]
• Learn more about the VOCA Center coaching program [9:52]

Resources & People Mentioned

• The VOCA Center
• Resilient Faith at Work Podcast
• VOCA Center Career Navigator

Connect with Dr. Chip Roper

• Connect on LinkedIn

Subscribe to Follower of One: A Faith at Work Podcast

Audio Production and Show Notes by - PODCAST FAST TRACK

What is your net worth? "For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?" Luke 9:25 ESV One of the recurring questions I experience in life is what would happen if I gave more of my stuff to help others. I use the phrase "my stuff" because I grew up in the days of George Carlin. Our "stuff" is a reference to our possessions, our riches, our things. I wonder what would have happened if I had given more of it away. Jesus is in this series of statements that we've been discussing for a few days now. We live in a world where we know that one day, our money will be worthless. I heard someone once describe it as owning the currency of a government that was about to be overthrown. We know the end is coming. So why would we hold on to the money? Why wouldn't we take all of the old money and purchase things that would have a value in the new economy. This is exactly what Jesus is questioning here. What good is it if we accumulate a bunch of wealth today that will be worthless tomorrow? How silly would we feel? Many of us work our whole lives to save up money and have a lot of stuff. Then we die and it all goes to someone else. If we do this in the extreme, we forfeit ourselves, according to Jesus. We have another Marketplace Mission Trip coming up in just a few days. This is a 2-week exercise to practice following Jesus rather than forfeiting ourselves. Check it out and request an invitation at www.MarketplaceMissionTrip.com.

Would you like to make the most of your life? "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save it." Luke 9:24 CSB How can we save our life? I don't know first hand, but I'm pretty sure everyone who ever lived has transitioned out of this life. Some believe the story just ends. The Bible teaches that we have a life that lasts forever. We begin enjoying that life when we trust Jesus. We can live that life enjoying ourselves or not. It's our choice. We only need to make one choice. We choose to follow Jesus and we get to enjoy that life from that moment and forever. If we never trust Jesus, we miss out. Would you like to enjoy life forever? For me to read this verse and it make sense, I had to think about what Jesus was calling life. There must be some difference between the life that lasts forever and the one I'm living right now. If I want to save my eternal life, I need to lose my temporal life. I give it away. I live following Jesus even though it doesn't seem to make sense. Just thinking in terms of my flesh, I should grab all the gusto and go for everything. I should take anything I want and put me first. But when I trust Jesus, deny myself, take up my cross and follow him, I put others ahead of myself. I serve rather than seek to be served (Mark 10:45). I consider others more important than myself (Philippians 2:3). What will you do today? Dont' forget to go visit and share Carey Green's Morning Mindset podcast. Head over to www.CareyGreen.com to catch today's episode. And please join us for the next Marketplace Mission Trip. Request an invitation at www.MarketplaceMissionTrip.com.

What does it mean to "take up our cross?" And he said to all, "if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Luke 9:23 ESV Being crucified on a cross was a horrible way to die. Actually it was more of a torture that resulted in death. The Romans had made it into a science. It was hours of excruciating pain and suffocation that only eventually ended in death. When Jesus talks about taking up a cross, he's referring to crucifixion. He's adding to the picture of denying ourselves. He's not talking about eating less, or not having sweets. He's not even talking about dying in a quick and painless way. He's talking about volunteering to die a miserable death in place of someone else. It's pretty graphic. And he's telling his disciples this early in his ministry. He is probably thinning out the crowd. Why? Giving up our rights to ourselves is the only way to God. Fortunately, he doesn't make us do it all at once. Fortunately Jesus' death paid for the gap between what is required and what we do. I think we can't even begin to understand how wide the gap is. All we can do is thank God that we don't have to understand. We need to trust. When we trust God, how does that transform our day today? What can we do to be part of his calling while we're here? If you get a chance, go check out The Morning Mindset. It's another 5-minute podcast by my friend Carey Green. Check out today's episode at www.CareyGreen.com. Carey is inviting his audience to join us on the next Marketplace Mission Trip. We have one starting in just a couple of weeks. Request an invitation at www.MarketplaceMissionTrip.com

How often do you deny yourself of something? And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me." Luke 9:23 NASB95 What does it mean to deny ourselves? Our online community, Follower of One got its name from a conversation I had with some friends. The conversation was about leadership and someone said a leader was someone who "had followers." I said I never followed anyone. I don't think any leader really "has" anyone. People choose to submit, join, cooperate, invest. But "follow" always seemed like I needed to become a passive, do-what-I'm-told kind of person. After that conversation, the Holy Spirit convicted me. If I don't follow Jesus, my life doesn't work. My eternity becomes a blooper that I can never take back. Imagine having 80 years to get something right and blowing it forever. The only right answer is to follow Jesus instead of anything else. In the end, it's following ourselves or others. We can't help but follow. Jesus didn't call us sheep all the time for no reason. My biggest obstacle to following Jesus is me. You don't have me as an obstacle. You're too busy dealing with you. We are each our own worst enemy. That's why Jesus very clearly states in just about every translation of this passage the words, deny himself. We must tell ourselves "no!" That is step one. But the negative isn't motivation. We need to focus on something else. We focus on Jesus and do what he did. Let's talk about that tomorrow. Check out the Morning Mindset podcast. It's a 5-minute daily devotional podcast like Follower of One but it's done by Carey Green. Check it out at www.CareyGreen.com. Also, why not join us and practice denying yourself. Go to www.MarketplaceMissionTrip.com and request an invitation to our next Marketplace Mission Trip.

Should we be telling others about Jesus? But He warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and raised up on the third day." Luke 9:21-22 Why did Jesus tell them to keep the secret of his true identity? I think it was because the time was not right. We're instructed to make disciples of all nations now. It was Jesus final command, the Great Commission. We were also told that we would be his witnesses. But at this point in time, to people who didn't know who Jesus really was, they were to keep quiet. Jesus had enough distraction, and misunderstanding already. Even among the disciples, there was confusion. Before the Holy Spirit was given, telling others about Jesus would have been a distraction. Besides, he points out that people don't receive this kind of news well. They were going to cause Jesus to suffer, be rejected and be killed. Everything has a time. Jesus was encouraging them to wait until the proper time. But this is Luke Chapter 9. They don't understand. Do we understand what we will need to endure? That's our topic for tomorrow. If you get a chance, go check out our friend Carey Green's podcast, the Morning Mindset. You can find a link to it at www.CareyGreen.com.. And also, please join us on our next Marketplace Mission Trip. This is a lab exercise for our faith. For 2 weeks, you can try some practical ideas to share Christ's love with the people you see every day. And I promise, you won't be asked to break any company policies, either. Check it out and request an invitation at https://MarketplaceMissionTrip.com.

I read "My Utmost for His Highest" every year and every year I take notes. So as I read through each passage the next year, I see those notes and think about how far I've come. Or, I see where I still struggle with the same problems.

When we started Follower of One six years ago, I was still working full-time. But I wanted to realize a way that my faith could take up more of my life. I was frustrated because I'd look at these notes and realize I still struggled with many of the same problems.

It's one of the reasons why I created Follower of One. Listen to this episode to learn more about building a community of like-minded people and the goal of this community.

You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...

• The purpose of Follower of One [1:05]
• Why Follower of One focuses on faith at work [3:24]
• Building a community of like-minded people [6:15]
• The goal of the Follower of One community [10:36]

Resources & People Mentioned

• My Utmost for His Highest
• Equipping Christians for Kingdom Purpose In Their Work

Connect with Mike Henry Sr.

• Follower of One
• The Follower of One Community
• Watch on YouTube
• Connect on LinkedIn

Subscribe to Follower of One: A Faith at Work Podcast

Almost everyone who knows about Jesus has an opinion. Do you live your life according to your opinion of Jesus? And it happened while he was praying alone , the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them saying, "Who do the people say that I am?" They answered and said, "John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again." And He said to the, "But who do you say that I am?" And Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God." Luke 9:18-20 NASB I ask the same first question of you. Look around you? Who do your friends say Jesus is? Who do the people in your community say that he is? Who do the people in your country, or on this planet say he is? We all live our lives according to our real opinion of Jesus. What we say we think of him may not line up with how we live. So when you look at the world, what conclusion do you draw? Notice how Jesus takes their answer and turns it. In the end, our eternal life, our happiness and our satisfaction, joy, peace, freedom all ride on one idea. Who do we say Jesus is? Check out The Morning Mindset. This is another daily devotional podcast by my friend Carey Green. They're helping promote our next Marketplace Mission Trip, so please search for his podcast and check it out. You can find out more info at www.CareyGreen.com.

How do we join in God's vision for our world? "Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith." Habakkuk 2:4 NASB95 Would you like to see the best you can imagine come to pass? I believe what God is doing will end up being the best I can imagine. And I know in Romans 8:28 that God causes all things to work together for good to those who are called according to his purpose. So the vision, God's plan as it is revealed to us, will come about. Those who are proud and arrogant will miss out. But those who want to be right with God humble themselves and listen to him out of faith in him. We benefit from the vision in the long run. Now I confess, I wish I lived this way with confidence. And we can clearly get this wrong and suffer some pretty extreme consequences. But what gets us right with God is faith. It puts us on God's side of the vision. Today in your interactions with others, remember we have been given some great promises and we can freely live serving others because we follow Jesus. How will you let your faith in Jesus change the way you live? Will you continue to live scared about the future, or can you open up and be more generous with your time and resources? Can you do something for someone even though they can't pay you back? Today is another day when you have the opportunity to live like you trust Jesus. What will you do? Join us in Follower of One and let's live helping others move one notch closer to Jesus. Check it out at www.FollowerOfOne.org.

Can you be certain about the future? For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it testifies about the end and will not lie. Though it delays, wait for it, since it will certainly come and not be late. Habakkuk 2:3 CSB Do you have trouble communicating the vision of things as you see them? When God gives us a vision it will come to pass. It has a time. I confess, this is a challenge for me. But I'm old enough now to have seen several ideas come to pass. Many didn't end up like I thought. I probably wasn't listening to God. Others happened much later than I thought or they took place differently than I thought. I don't profess to know the future. I am certain about the future, but not my ability to see it or guess it. God's vision will in-fact happen. In fact, God, who is outside of time, has already seen to it. He's in charge. God is answering Habakkuk. He was asking God about the things he saw that were coming and he wasn't happy. But God's answer was about the certainty of God's plan. God will execute his plan. And his plan is to save all who will be saved. Today, we can trust that God is on schedule and everything is A-O-K. He isn't surprised or frustrated in any way. What we face is part of his strategy. That's why we're free to forgive and love our enemies. God is driving. Still, things can be hard. Let's look for God in what we do every day. Let's draw near to god and encourage others to do the same. We can be part of God's vision or we can miss it entirely. Would you like to be in a community of people who live and work every day to walk in our eternal purpose? Check out our online community at https://community.followerofone.org.