What You'll Hear:

Crate has spent 30 years in technical sales in the Food Industry He's the father of 3 children and went through a divorce and remarried He facilities a Men's Ministry at his church in Winston-Salem

God is concerned with our work and wants us to be happy Crate would love to be in ministry full-time but he's not going to push that. People are more a slave to their work than they are to the Lord Instead of saying to someone at work "I'll pray for you", just go ahead and do it right there As our lives change, God will show us different scripture for what we need

Intro Crate Hall grew up in the mountains on the border of Virgina and West Virginia.  His family always had summer vacations in North Carolina and relocated to NC when he was fifteen years old.

He graduated from NC State University with a major in Food Science.  He has 30 years experience in the food and pharmaceutical manufacturing industry.

God led Crate to his wife Loretta in 2011 and they married in 2012.  He's the father of three children that range in ages from nineteen to eleven years of age.

God's given Crate a heart for encouraging others to intimately know Jesus and have a continually deepening relationship with our Lord and Savior.

Crate currently facilitates the Waterboyz Men's Ministry at Freewater Church in Winston Salem, NC. Q&A When did you become a Christian I grew up in a home that revered God, but I really didn't have a relationship with Him, so I would say it was when I was thirteen.  There were other times when I listened to Him more intently particularly in dark hours

God has shown me in many ways that I'm following the right path Can You Give me Examples of Those Times Someone asked me to officiate their wedding.  I saw online ways you could get ordained but I couldn't agree with their doctrine.  I had been taking some Bible classes.  I started talking about it with my pastor and he surprised me to say he was going to ordain me.  I'm a bit concerned about how others see this since I don't have a Bible degree and others spend years in seminary before being ordained

I don't believe in coincidences any more.

Church sign shared by Dave "coincidences are God choosing to be anonymous" Talk About Being Comfortable Praying For Your Career Success I'm not a multi-tasker, I tend to be focused and put things in boxes, and I was doing this with the Lord.  I couldn't think of how God could be concerned with my work or that it deserved to be prayed for, or even if I deserved career success.

I've since come to believe that God is concerned with our work and He does want us to be happy.

We need to walk with love and integrity and be there to encourage others, to understand that the Lord loves us, the salvation He's given us, and the comfort we have.

I pray before a meeting with a customer. What Type of Work Do You Do? I'm kind of in sales, but more of a consultant.  I go into Food, Beverage, Pharmaceutical facilities where they have problems with inefficiencies and we offer different solutions.  I travel a lot and meet a lot of different people.

I like it, but I struggle a bit with the travel.  My 2 boys are 15 and 11.  On the other side, there's trade-offs where I have more freedom and flexibility in my schedule.

My heart is in the ministry and I'd love to be in ministry full-time, God may want me to be there, but at this point that door hasn't opened, and I'm not going to push that, I'm trying to balance it. How Do You Discern God's Will With Regard to Your Occupation? I'm still trying to figure it out.

I like encouraging others while I'm working.  Take advantage of opportunities to show others they don't have to go along with the crowd just to fit in.

We are to live our life, be that example,

What You'll Hear

Steve Ham had a great Christian upbringing, but didn't put his trust in Jesus until his early 30's Steve's brother Ken Ham was concerned about the dogma being taught when he was a teacher in Australia Ken and others joined to form a defense for the Bible against secular ideas

Apologetics gets us back to the basics.   The best thing we can do is ask questions, like "Are you sure about that?" There are a lot of challenges in education today, particularly in the government school system, but also in  homeschooling.  Their ministry rates Christian universities at www.christiancolleges.com For all men, our work is a mission God has given to us Read and share the word of God with your family as much as possible.

Intro Steve Ham is the Senior Director of International Ministries for Answers in Genesis, which is an apologetics ministry dedicated to helping Christians defend their faith and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

He is married with two children and has a master of divinity from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Steve is a regular speaker and writer for the AIG ministry and has a passion not only for creation apologetics, but for providing support for strengthening the worldwide church in the great mission of the gospel.

Among his authored materials, the Answers for Life evangelism course has been used effectively to see many people come to faith in Jesus Christ. Q&A* When Did You Become a Christian? In my early 30's when I truly put my trust in Jesus, even though I had a tremendous upbringing Tell us About Answers in Genesis Started by my brother Ken Ham and some other men in Australia.  He was concerned about the dogma that was coming out of school when he was a teacher, a naturalistic, atheistic philosophy.

They were impacted by Henry Morrison, founder of the Institute for Creation Research, the leader of the modern Creationist movement

They set out to give a defense for the Bible against the secular ideas What is Apologetics and Why Is It So Important It doesn't mean we're apologizing, it comes from a greek word which means we're defending our faith and providing an answer to questions about our faith How Can Men Practice Apologetics at Work? There are many ways.  We can talk about the latest political or social issue.  It's best to just ask questions, e.g. "what do you think about that?"

Apologetics gets us back to the basics, what do we believe and why do we believe it, and why do we have authority to speak on this matter

Just speak with people respectfully and lovingly

By asking questions you show respect for the other person

It's important that you know where you stand on these issues before you enter into a conversation What Are Some of the Biggest Challenges Christian Men Teachers Face The history for teachers in the U.S. changed in the 1920's with the Scopes Trial (the Monkey Trial), since that change the education systems have really embraced a naturalistic focus and evolution being the main worldview.

Today, evolution is now stated as the only fact and Creation is relegated to a belief system only

They have a bankrupt philosophy which dominates the teaching environment

Even in some Christian schools they try to fit the millions of years into Creation What is the State of Homeschooling Today? We go to many homeschooling conventions.  It's good and bad.

I'm encouraged by the number of families who see the worldview issue and want to help their children and are willing to put the effort in and take a greater responsibility in the education of their children.

At the same time, I'm concerned that some of the text books that are used in homeschool are no different than a government school program when it comes to this issue.

What You'll Hear:

Fred was raised in a small village in Ghana.  They had to walk a mile for water and carry it on their heads His father first came to America to Oklahoma City to go to the University.  He was then badly injured and was able to bring his family to the U.S. to care for him Fred became a Christian after a bus ministry came to their apartment complex and invited them to church

He joined the Navy after his mother died.  He was tempted by the atmosphere but the Holy Spirit helped him. He needs wisdom when dealing with people who want to argue about politics and religion when he's at work in the Merchant Marines. We should never give up when it comes to our faith and our fight

Intro Fred Abakah was born in Ghana, West Africa and came to the United States in 1976, residing in Oklahoma City, OK.

His mother passed away three months before he graduated from High School in 1988.  In 1990 he enlisted in the United States Navy.  He went on to serve a successful 20 year military career, serving on the USS Missouri during Operation Desert Storm and retired from the US Navy in 2010.

Since then he's been working as a merchant marine/ship's engineer primarily in the Gulf of Mexico.

Fred and his wife Irene have three sons, Jabriel, Jedidiah, and Jeremiah. Q&A* Why and How Did You and Your Family Come to the United States? My father came through a foreign exchange program after hearing about America from my uncle.

He was accepted to a University in Oklahoma.  He came in 1974 and was working and going to school.  He worked in a factory and had a bad accident so that he needed someone to care for him 24 hours a day, so his sponsor asked if someone back in Africa could come and care for him.  My father asked for his wife and kids to come over. What Was Ghana Like? We lived in a village in the town of Bisease.  We would have to travel a mile or two to fill buckets of water from a well and carry on top of my head.  Our family lived together in a house called a compound, with grandparents, parents, and children all together.  We would bake things in a mud oven and had an outhouse for a bathroom. When Did You First Become a Christian? After moving to the U.S. we lived in an apartment and I learned the language quickly.  Every Saturday some Christian men would stop by and then we would ride the bus to church.  At age 10, I realized God was speaking to me and I answered the Holy Spirit at an altar call. Tell Us About Your First Job Right out of High School I worked for one of our church members at their meat factory.  I was called Smiling Fred. How Did You Get Into the Navy? I promised my Mom I would join the Air Force.  After she passed away, I lost interest in the military but thought about it more and joined the Navy.  It was fun and an adventure. Do You Have Any Stories to Share? I was in Thailand.  The men were living in sin.  I had someone back home thinking of me that kept me in check.  I almost went along with the crowd, but the Holy Spirit spoke to me and instead I gave my Bible to a young girl. Tell Us About Your Current Job I work for the Merchant Marines.  Not exactly Navy but we're still sailors.  They carry supplies and goods and did so in past wars.  It's a tough lifestyle, being away from home, having to deal with different personalities.  Religion and politics will start an argument every time.  You have to have wisdom in how to deal with each person. Spirit Round What is the Greatest Misunderstanding Men Have About Their Work Most people say they love their job but the truth is most people are doing it because they need the money.  Most people would rather be doing something else.  The right thing to say is "It's a great place to work" or "I enjoy working with the people".

What You'll Hear:

How Chris saw Adding Silhouettes as God's mission for his car business They have tried and implemented several ways to add silhouettes, including a different sales model, hiring a corporate chaplain, putting Bibles in the lobby and in the glove box of new cars It took much longer to implement the first change than he ever imagined.  He lost confidence in himself and the business actually was losing money.  He leaned heavily on the Psalms and hired a consultant

"Doing Businss by the Book" by Larry Burkett showed him how to read Proverbs with business glasses He doesn't argue with those who say faith should be a private matter, but he feels scripture directs us differently We have to continually remind ourselves that our identity doesn't come from our work but from God If you have conflict with others at work, remember that they're wired differently from you If you want to share the gospel at work, focus on building intentional relationships

Intro Chris Patton is President of the Mike Patton Auto Family in LaGrange, Georgia, operators of Honda, Ford, Lincoln, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram franchises.

Along with his brother (and partner) Brian, Chris is a third-generation owner and grew up working in every department in the business, beginning at the age of 10.

He assumed his current position as President/CEO in 2000.   The Mike Patton Auto Family has approximately 100 employees and retailed over 2,000 new and used vehicles in 2015.

Chris also writes a blog called Christian Faith at Work.  He is writing it to business owners and leaders who are trying to figure out how to integrate their Christian faith into their businesses.

By including the resources accumulated over the past nine years of learning to use the business as a vehicle for ministry, as well as real-life examples from his experiences, Chris teaches readers how to run their business from an eternal perspective. Chris and his wife Kim live in LaGrange, GA with their three children. Q&A* When Did You Become  a Christian? 10 years old.  Grew up in the church.  At my Grandmother's house. Asked her questions and I knelt at her green vinyl couch. Tell Us About Your Business and This Concept of Silhouettes I came to realize God wanted more from me than just Sundays and that He put me in business to impact people and do ministry through that business.

I came across 1 Corinthians 3.  Whatever we build will be tested by fire on judgment day.  I pictured our business being scorched and tested by fire and all that was left were Silhouettes, those who had been impacted for eternity by the business.  My mission became adding silhouettes. List For Us A Few Ways You Live Out Your Faith Through Your Car Dealership We moved from a commission based pay system to a flat pay system, so they're incentivised to do what's best for the customer.

We rewrote our Mission Statement and Vision Statement and made sure they were faith based.

We hired a chaplain through Corporate Chaplains of America.  He comes by twice a week and leads two Bible studies.

We put a New Testament copy called "Owner's Manual for Life" in the glove box with each new car sold.

We have pocket copies of the Gospel of John in the waiting area.

I give a devotional monthly.

New hire training I teach a one hour training session on our values.

We have an employee crisis fund. Talk About the Process of this Transformation This does not happen overnight.  The first transition to the new sales model took 18 months and I underestimated the rate at which people can change.

My advice would be to pick one thing, make sure you think it through, involve your leadership team, and make sure it's right before taking on something else.

Be patient, but once it's not working,

What You'll Hear:

Chett's faith walk including being a prodigal son His work with other men, including trips to Jamaica How he started meeting Christians in the workplace and witnessing by using the loss of a small screw

How to pray for people at work We should go to God first and ask for His plan, not ask Him to bless our plan

Intro Chett Levering has been married 31 years to his wife Debbie.  They have 3 children. Chett has had several careers, including in the building industry, with the merchant marines, and currently a field service engineer for Markem-Image where he's worked for over 23 years. They attend Agape Faith Church in Clemons, NC.  He's a Band of Brothers Facilitator.  He's a life group leader and has been in counseling ministry at His Mansion Ministries in Dearing, NH. He's currently among the second wind of the overcomers.

Q&A* When Did You Become a Christian? 7 years old.  Baptist Vacation Bible School.  It was too easy so I did it 3 or 4 times.  I knew it was real when I told my Mom the truth about eating some cake. How Did You End up in North Carolina? Born in South Jersey until 18, joined Merchant Marines.  Became a prodigal son.  Then rededicated myself to the Lord.  Then was called to New Hampshire.

Got married and had kids and worked in construction then got into making printers.  Moved to NC for work.  He freed me up to leave the frozen chosen.  It took a while to find the right church.  Band of Brothers is a bi-weekly meeting on Saturdays. Tell Us About Going to Jamaica Once a year we go there and help a friend with a project.  About 10 guys.  Build classrooms. Different projects.  Get to meet and get to know men. Tell Us What Happened to Change Your Frustration Not Meeting Christians in the Workplace The Spirit led me to believe it was the questions I was asking, the way I was communicating.

The first week I met three Christians.  I did this by dropping a screw and I would say "That's an act of God".

They would say "what?" and I'd explain that I pray for God to show me where the screw is.  I can share that same testimony every plant I go to.  It opens up an easy conversation. Tell Us About the People You've Met This Way At least two come to mind.  A good friend who was a prodigal son. I said to him "Get behind me Satan!".  He started changing then and going back to church.  Now we talk regularly.

One of the greatest feelings is when someone says "your lifestyle impressed on me".  That's glory to God.  Another was our company was bought and then merged with another business and the management changed.  I started praying for the benefit of those who persecuted me. The Spirit Round What do you think is the greatest misunderstanding men have about their work? Sometimes we get busy with work and we're waiting for Friday and dreading Monday.  We need to expect God to show up Monday through Friday.  It changes your whole thinking.

In the morning I'm praying I'll be a vessel for the Lord for someone I'm going to meet.  So I give my best all the time.

I tell my kids to make sure the people they're working around know they've been in the presence of a living God. That means you're taking your belief in Christ seriously enough that you're being conscious about the people who are watching you in the workforce. How Important is it for Us to Be a Model of Integrity at Our Work That's extremely important.  There's two sides to that.  There's the integrity side and the other side is our flesh.  We're always going through that battle.

Part of integrity is admitting our mistakes and being able to rectify or allowing someone else to do something wrong and rectify that. Give Us a Tip for Sharing the Gospel at Work The Bible says a lot of people are going to Hell.

  What You'll Hear:

How Dave became a Christian when he was climbing the government ladder with Potomac fever How he was guided by Chuck Colson on what to do next Dave went to work for Ronald Reagan, in charge of legislative affairs

Reagan was convinced he was spared in the assassination attempt for a reason After 30 years in government, Dave became a Pastor and then founded WACMM Over 16,000 men have attended 170 WACMM events We are not what we do, the purpose of our work is to join with God in His work Excellence at work needs to come from our heart, not to impress people You don't need to close the deal the first time you meet someone at work

 Intro Dave Brown is the Pastor-at-Large of the Washington Area Coalition of Men's Ministries (WACMM), a non-profit, non-denominational ministry to develop and encourage ministries to men in the mid-Atlantic region.

Dave served thirty years in the Federal Government holding senior policy and management positions in the U.S. Congress, the Executive Office of the President and the Executive Branch.  From 1981-1989, he served as an appointee of President Ronald Reagan.

In 2001 he became Men's Pastor at McLean Bible Church in McLean, VA.  Since 2006 he has been the Director of WACMM and he currently pastors at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, MD.

He speaks on biblical manhood and men's issues across the nation.  He is the author and producer of Fireproofing Your Marriage, Family and Life Seminar, and Calling Courageous Men Seminar.

Dave is a 1969 Honors graduate of Ohio University and the Senior Managers in Government Program at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.  He received his theological education from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) in Deerfield, IL and Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) in Oviedo, FL.

He and his wife Susan have three adult children. Q&A* Becoming a Christian Became a Christian in 1980 at the age of 33

Was climbing the government career ladder and realized the ladder had been against the wrong building

The only Christian he knew was Chuck Colson, Chuck told him that God would show him what he should do next Working for Ronald Reagan Rather than being called to ministry out of government, Dave was called to ministry in government when he was asked to join Ronald Reagan's staff

Reagan wasn't as tall as you'd think but had a strong presence, very comfortable in his own skin, came not to prove himself but knew he was on a mission

After the assassination attempt Reagan was convinced he was spared for a reason and was very determined

Reagan never demanded loyalty but he got it in remarkable ways

Reagan wasn't very public about his faith, but since then we know about his devotional life, prayer life, and conversations he had about his faith

Reagan and Lincoln both knew the nation's future rested on their shoulders and critical decisions that had to be made Working in Government for 30 years Before being saved, Dave was very ambitious in government and had "potomac fever", after being saved he still wanted to make a difference but it was with an eternal focus

Dave was in charge of legislative affairs for Reagan, working with 535 representatives and senators

Learned how to take criticism, both political and personal Pastoral Ministry and Para-church Ministry (WACMM) Last 5 years in government, Dave got his seminary degree and in 1998 when he retired from government he became a pastor

In 1999, he was one of eight men who had been involved in Promise Keepers and had a heart to minister to men who met in a tire store and formed a band of brothers and started training in manhood theology principles

Over 16,000 men have since attended over 170 events they've held in the Wash DC area

Spirit Led Men at Work Podcast

Shownotes Some of What You'll Hear in This Episode

My testimony (past) A bit about me and my interests (present) The format for this podcast (future)

Intro My name is Dave Hilgendorf.  I'm a Christian, married with 3 daughters, I work as an engineer, and I'm a part-time author, blogger and podcaster.  On the Spirit Led Men at Work Podcast, I interview Christian men from all walks of life, with varying job titles, who all have one thing in common.  They're all choosing daily to be led by the Holy Spirit at their work.  Because of that they're prospering, glorifying God, and have joy and purpose at their work.  And you can too. Summary of this Episode I share the story of 4 men who are at a men's breakfast, and how on this podcast I want to have a man 3/man 4 type of conversation more so than a man 1/man 2 conversation.

I share my testimony by splitting my life into sets of 7 years each and with an emphasis on the people who have had the greatest influence on me.

My first 2 sets of 7 up to age 14, I grew up in Chicago and then Wisconsin.  My father and mother were my primary influences, as well as 2 particular teachers, Mrs. Bruhl and Mr. Lisius.

From age 15 to 21, I wanted to be a writer and worked at a daily newspaper free lancing.  I share why Monte Hanson made such an impact on me.  In college I had a sinful lifestyle which I regret but thank God for redemption.  I struggled with choosing my major, ending up with Chemical Engineering.  I was primarily money driven.  This is relevant, I think, since selecting our vocation and the type of work we do will be one of the things we discuss on the podcast.

From age 22-28, I worked in R&D for General Mills in Minneapolis, MN.  I loved my work and was part of several product launches and received a patent.  John Church, the man who hired me, had a big influence on me in terms of his professionalism, focus on results, and people skills.

From age 29-35, I was married briefly and left engineering to become my "own man" as a real estate entrepreneur.  I bought, sold and rented hundreds of properties.  I had some success but ultimately amassed too much debt and my business failed.

From age 36-42, I became a born-again Christian, met my wife Kari and adopted her 2 daughters Rachael and Rebecca and we had another daughter together, Renee.  I was involved in men's ministry and Promise Keepers, filed bankruptcy, and I returned to engineering.

From age 43 to my present age of 47, I have prospered in my career and am blessed immensely with my family.  I wrote a book "Jesus is at Work" and started blogging at DaveHilgendorf.com about living out your faith at work.  I changed the name to SpiritLedMen.com when I decided to start a podcast "Spirit Led Men at Work".

I'm not too big into sports.  I'm interested in politics and I'm very conservative but won't talk about that on the podcast.   I like audio books and one of my favorite authors is Ted Dekker.  I like Christian music, particularly Third Day, David Crowder, Red, Jesus Culture among others.

The format of the podcast will have a Christian focus, not self help.  I'll focus on men and on work.  I'll interview men from all different occupations, not just entrepreneurs, and occasionally ministers.  I'm not an expert and will approach this as being one of you searching and exploring what it means to be Spirit led at work.

Episodes will be 30-60 minutes in length.  I'll start out with an episode every 2 weeks but as soon as I'm confident I can stay committed to it I'll switch to one each week.  Episodes will come out at 5am on Monday mornings. Links from this Episode (and others I didn't have time to mention) Christian Music Third Day (love their music and lyrics)

David Crowder (also love this video for O Praise Him it captures how I feel sometimes in wors...