iWork4Him Podcast

Almost all of us use one when we need to find out how to get from here to there, from home to a vacation destination, from a friend’s house to your favorite coffee shop in the next town over.  We all use a GPS to find our way which in most cases involves coordination with a map app on our phone. No one uses a paper map when they have a GPS and a cell phone around. So, what do we do when we need help navigating life. Navigating around the challenges we face, the obstacles in our way and the sin in our life. Where do we turn? We turn to the Words of God in the Bible. He speaks Truth and it guides us. If you are like me, you may need a guide along the way and that is why Martha and I have invited Nolen Rollins to join us today on iWork4Him. Nolen has written a study called GPS Life Journey www.GPSLifeJourney.com This is a resource we all can use as we navigate living out our Faith at Work.

Nolen Rollins was blessed to be raised in a Christian home and decide to follow Jesus at age 9.  He is grateful that by the grace of God he did not rebel as a teenager.  After spending 30+ years as an Executive Pastor of several mega churches he found himself sitting on the stage of a church looking out into the congregation and seeing many retired CEO’s that weren’t living in their greatest potential.  Living in SW Florida Nolen was in the center of an area with possibly the most retired CEO’s in the country and they were being used in the church to direct traffic.  Now, there’s nothing wrong with directing traffic, it’s just that they may have greater potential. 

Nolen ended up developing GPSLifeJourney.com to help others discover their purpose.  They have had participants now in over 25 countries and more than 12,000 people, from ages 13 – 89 years old.  Nolen’s own purpose is to help others discover their purpose, so he is most fulfilled leading these classes.  GPS actually stands for Gods Plan for Significance.  When we discover this plan for significance we are energized to live in that purpose. 

Nolen says that most people actually stay in their profession when they discover their purpose as often God is going to give you your purpose in the context of your normal life.  You don’t need to leave your professional career and go to seminary to fulfill your purpose, unless God reveals that as your purpose.  You can live life to the fullest when you know you are making a difference.

GPS Life Journey can be done virtually or in person.  Check out their website for more details at www.gpslifejourney.com

Business transformations are happening in Minnesota. “Ambassadors for Business” are helping to connect business peoples’ faith values and work, more consistently. Interviews of several of AFB 400+ members and AFB’s impact on their leadership.

Featured Guest: Bob WillbanksMinistry/Workplace: Ambassadors for Business

There are over 4 million Primary and Secondary school teachers in America. There are millions more in higher education. What does it look like for you to live out your faith at work in higher education?  Dr. Tara JG is with us today from Buffalo NY. She has a Dr. in Women’s studies and she is the CEO & Founder of TMJ Consulting where she provides innovative solutions for higher education. Dr. Tara is joining us on iWork4Him to talk about Higher Education and living out your faith in your work.

Dr. Tara JG met Jesus during college.  Her and a friend liked to sit in the back of a church and listen to the preacher.  Eventually she decided to attend the women’s ministry and on her first visit accepted Jesus as her Savior.  For the past 17 years she has worked in Higher Education in many different facets.  Today she helps others navigate higher education and provide innovative solutions through her consulting firm. 

Dr. Tara says we need more pioneers to go beyond their fears and be strong and courageous in education.  We had a great conversation about listening to students and getting to know them and their dreams.  Through her experience she’s been involved in women’s groups to help each other advance and succeed in high education.  It’s amazing to hear how the women work together not in competition but encouraging and helping each other to succeed.

Dr. Tara has a group that she prays with early each morning and meets a couple times per month on Saturday to keep her grounded in her faith and fellowship with other believers.  A mentor once encouraged her to work smarter not harder and later she discovered that mentor was watching her actions and following her faith.

The XYZ’ers are having a quarter-life crisis! The up and coming Millennial + generations are having their mid-life crisis EARLY, in their twenties! Hear about this dilemma facing the younger generations and hear some solutions to dealing with it.

Featured Guest: Paul SohnMinistry/Workplace: Paul Sohn – Promise Keepers

Fame. It’s attractive and it’s mesmerizing. So many of us have had at least one moment in our life that we thought being famous would be awesome. But as a Christ Follower, fame takes on a different meaning. You may be famous but it’s no longer about you, it’s about Jesus. How do you use your fame for His glory and His Honor? And what happens when your fame starts to fade or an illness takes you out of the limelight, how you react to your circumstances is being watched by everybody. Then fame may not be all that you were hoping for.  Today we talk with Singer, Songwriter, Artist and Comedian Kelly Lang. She has sung alongside some of the greatest singers of our time, performed in front of huge audiences and been on many TV shows and she has a story to tell when that fame and career was threatened by cancer. Walk with us as we talk with Kelly Lang about her story.

Kelly Lang was born into a loving family where her dad was a road manager for Conway Twitty.  Her life was surrounded with famous people but her dad often told her to not be like the people that let fame get to their heads and treat others badly.  She became a Christ-follower at the age of 12 and was involved in her youth group and church.  God gave her many opportunities to perform in and around Nashville and grew her confidence as a performer. 

16 years ago Kelly wrote a song for a friend as she watched her console her dying husband and kept telling him she wasn’t going anywhere.  After her own serious bout with breast cancer Kelly’s song has become the voice of a hospital commercial where she was treated for her breast cancer.  God used her words to not only minister to a few but now thousands that are struggling with hurt, pain, suffering, and loss in this season. 

Kelly Lang sees her work as her ministry.  God has shown her that her breast cancer wasn’t a death sentence but rather a life sentence while she is here on earth.  Everyday is an opportunity to live and make a differene in those around her.  Early in her career she was encouraged to sing at church and perform Gospel music, but she understood that she could minister to those that may not enter a church if she performed elsewhere.  So Kelly knows that when she is performing in a bar she can be a light to someone there.  She knows that having confidence in her path and trusting her personal friendship with Jesus allow her to be strong and not compromise. 

Kelly is doing interviews and podcasts so she can share her message of all that God is doing and using her music, songwriting, artist and comedy as the platform.  You can watch the song video of I’m not going anywhere.  https://www.kellylang.net/videos

What is our soul’s purpose? Author Craig McAndrews helps us Christians discover how to live our faith at work practically vs. theologically and to be active in what God has prepared for us.

Featured Guest: Craig McAndrewsMinistry/Workplace: Soul Purpose, Inc.

You know it’s always amazing when a bunch of Jesus followers from all over the country get together.   The mutual camaraderie and mission pull us together as brothers and sisters in Christ.  The excitement is palpable and inspiring.  Now for the last 14 months we haven’t had events and we have barely gotten together with people in our own neighborhoods let alone our country. But the Country is opening up and God is on the move. As is our calling, we are covering a move of God called the Christian Leadership Alliance. Their mission is dedicated to equipping Christian non-profit leaders to a high level of excellence while protecting and projecting the Gospel message to the lost and hopeless of our land. Martha and I have grown very fond of the Christian Leadership alliance and their leader Tami Heim. We invited Tami to join us today to talk about the Blockbuster event The Christian Leadership Alliance is hosting in Orlando in June. A Perfect time to break out of quarantine lockdown and join a 1000 others in pursuing excellence with others in the kingdom.  Tami Heim is here to talk about all things Outcomes Conference and their theme for 2021 – Thrive.

The Outcomes Conference 2021 June 15 –17, 2021 Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Hotel – Orlando

Tami Heim shared with us how the Christian Leadership Alliance prepares leaders of non-profit for the uncertainty of tomorrow.  This was a huge benefit in 2020 as many non-profits had to adjust and learn how to function during the pandemic. 

God has taught her to wait, be patient, and listen to Him for guidance.  As a leader these can be difficult to do, but they paid off as God provided miraculously for the increased expansion of The Outcomes Conference to several countries because of the digital approach last year. 

This year’s theme of Thrive is increasingly important as non-profits learn what it really means to thrive both personally and corporately. 

LATE BREAKING NEWS:  The Outcomes Conference early bird pricing has been extended to May 7th and you can find out more at www.outcomesconference.org Jim and Martha Brangenberg are this year’s emcees for The Outcomes Conference.  We look forward to seeing you there!

How can you engage your church in faith at work? Hear about a faith at work ministry that will do that for you. The Call to Work ministry has the answer and a program to get your church (the ‘old dog’) “learning a new trick”.

Featured Guest: Tracy MathewsMinistry/Workplace: The Call To Work

Jesus LIKES me? Why care about that? That’s just a slice of our discussion with Matt Bird from the UK, who was back with us to talk more about relationships, cycles and great snippets of Bird-isms to change your perspective!

Featured Guest: Matt BirdMinistry/Workplace: Relationology International

iWork4Him is a show solely focused on the intersection of our Faith in Jesus and our Work. When these two collide – fantastic things happen all around us. People start to benefit from you following Jesus whether they believe in Jesus or not. That’s when the enemy goes full on frontal attack. He wants to compromise your reputation at work so that your testimony is no longer attractive.  What is one way he does this? An Affair with an office mate.  Whether you are a man or a woman, A committed follower of Jesus or one just finding their way in being a Jesus Follower, the enemy wants to see you fail.  How do we protect our reputation and the reputation of our savior? We need to affair proof our marriages. We need to have a solid ground to stand on at home so that our steadfastness isn’t compromised at work. Even if you are not married, an affair at work will significantly dismantle your witness as a Christian.  Today joining Martha and I in this conversation is Rhonda Stoppe with www.NoRegretsWoman.com She has written many books. We use The Marriage Mentor all the time that she wrote with her husband Steve and today’s topic will come from the pages of Real Life Romance, which we will give away today.

Rhonda Stoppe returns to iWork4Him for another great interview about marriage.  She recently commented on one of our iWork4Him PowerThoughts about the need to Affair-proof marriages in the context of our workplaces.  Her book Real-Life Romance and also The Marriage Mentor are great resources for helping to strengthen marriages at home and to help affair proof them. 

Rhonda and Steve have been married for 39 years and she knows that they continue to need to be transparent with each other and take their advice from scripture.  When they were new parents Rhonda found herself dressing up for church on Sundays and appreciated the compliments of a gentleman there.  After a few weeks of getting compliments she approached Steve and basically explained the situation and told him he needs to compliment her more, as she was looking forward to the compliments of the man at church.  She knew this behaviour could have bad consequences and that is how most affairs get started. 

Applying that story to the workplace is pretty easy.  We need to set good boundaries and clearly protect our marriages.  We can do this by strengthening our marriages and making them a priority.  We shared the 72-hour intimacy rule with her and Rhonda is going to add that to her messaging.  Rhonda encouraged women to pursue their husbands.  This is a successful way to affair proof your marriage. 

Rhonda is offering a free ebook – “A Christian Woman’s Guide to Great Sex in Marriage” when you sign up for her newsletter:  http://www.noregretswoman.com

There is a road to recovery for an affair.  God has forgiven us as far as the East is from the West.  Don’t stop protecting your marriage.  When the kids leave and our lives change we shouldn’t look elsewhere for attention.  Rhonda encouraged marriages to be careful even in our virtual relationships while we work distantly.  It can quickly get out of control. 

For more great insights to affair proof your marriage check out Rhonda Stoppes website at http://www.noregretswoman.com. It is always fun to have Rhonda as a guest on iWork4Him.