The Workmatters Podcast

Toxic workplace or a company where people actually flourish? 

Simmons Foods CEO Todd Simmons shares how faith, integrity, and putting people first built a healthy company culture. Third-generation leader Todd Simmons talks candidly about carrying CEO pressure as a Christ follower, the product recall that tested his company's integrity, and why ego has to be dealt with before healthy leadership can grow. 

Todd also shares how Simmons Foods cares for nearly 10,000 team members through chaplaincy, generosity, and on-site health clinics built around shift workers' lives. Plus: why grace for yourself is where leading others well begins.

⏱️ CHAPTERS 

00:00 Intro 
01:00 Toxic culture vs. a company that puts people first 
02:10 Meet Todd Simmons 
04:28 How faith became part of Simmons Foods' culture 
07:47 Healthy cultures make room for bold ideas
09:15 Handling pressure as a Christian CEO 
14:53 When your faith is tested: the recall decision 
18:37 Integrity requires action 
20:19 Building a people-first culture 
22:00 On-site clinics for hourly team members 
25:46 Should you put yourself first? 
29:49 Grace, boldness, and caring for yourself 
33:19 Take the next step: Work Matters Institute

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🔗 CONNECT WITH TODD

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-simmons-3255936/

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🎓 TAKE THE NEXT STEP

Ready to connect your Sunday faith to your Monday work? Join the Workmatters Institute - a transformational 10-session course covering practical teaching, spiritual formation, leadership development, and workplace discipleship.

👉 Learn more: https://workmatters.org

🔔 Subscribe for more conversations on faith, leadership, and finding purpose in your work.

This episode is sponsored by Schuber Mitchell - https://www.schubermitchell.com/

#WorkMattersPodcast #FaithAndWork #ChristianLeadership  #WorkplaceCulture #ChristianEntrepreneur #PurposeDrivenWork

Over 70% of professionals say they've struggled with imposter syndrome at some point in their career. 

In this episode, Darrell and Brandon sit down with Bryan Fittin, CEO and founder of Go Rogue Studio. Bryan shares how he felt like a fraud leading a team of 40 at 25 years old, and why the feeling didn't go away even after landing Walmart as a client. 

Together they talk about how imposter syndrome shows up at every stage of a career, why it isolates us, and how Christian professionals can respond through practical tools and a clearer picture of God's posture toward them. The tools include naming your inner critic, seeking small wins, and practicing gratitude.

⏱️ CHAPTERS
 0:55 Welcome to the Work Matters Podcast
 1:42 Why 20,000 people search for imposter syndrome every month
 2:30 What is imposter syndrome? A working definition
 3:40 The hidden loneliness of feeling like a fraud
 5:15 Bryan's story: one of Verizon's youngest managers
 7:55 How imposter syndrome shows up in your 40s, 50s, and 60s
 13:56 Boldness vs. bravery
 15:05 Reject it, embrace it, or deny it? What the Apostle Paul teaches
 16:56 Recognize it, then go get a small win
 19:21 How the kingdom of God flips the script
 20:43 Name your imposter
 21:53 Where is God when the imposter is loudest?
 22:55 "No condemnation": how God sees you
 25:27 Wisdom from a trusted circle of advisors
 29:15 One takeaway: gratitude and "cease striving"
 32:17 Where to find Bryan Fittin
 32:43 Take the next step: Work Matters Institute

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🔗 CONNECT WITH BRYAN

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/fittin/
Website - https://goroguestudio.com/

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🎓 TAKE THE NEXT STEP

Ready to connect your Sunday faith to your Monday work? Join the Work Matters Institute - a transformational 10-session course covering practical teaching, spiritual formation, leadership development, and workplace discipleship.

👉 Learn more: https://workmatters.org

🔔 Subscribe for more conversations on faith, leadership, and finding purpose in your work.

This episode is sponsored by Schuber Mitchell - https://www.schubermitchell.com/

#WorkMattersPodcast #FaithAndWork #ChristianLeadership  #WorkplaceCulture #ChristianEntrepreneur #PurposeDrivenWork

Learn three practical ways to pray when your job is hurting you, and why God isn't offended by angry, confused, or desperate prayers.

Hosts Keisha Fowler and Darrell Harvey get honest about what it feels like to be broken by work, whether it's a toxic workplace, burnout from emotionally heavy work, or a job that looked perfect on paper but wasn't. 

They share personal stories of prayer for problems at work, offer real strategies for prayer when overwhelmed, and walk through three prayer frameworks you can use the next time work hurts.

⏱️CHAPTERS

[00:00] Intro

[01:03] Welcome to the episode: how to pray when work hurts

[01:33] When work breaks us 

[03:42] Darrell's story: the job that should have been perfect

[04:10] Where do you even start praying in the pain?

[05:00] Petition prayers: "Get me out of here, God"

[08:14] The long road to healing

[10:19] You're not alone: the power of community

[13:18] Prayers that soothe you while you're still in it

[14:13] The wall between two prisoners: pain as connection to God

[16:19] Slowing down and bringing your body into prayer

[21:51] Three frameworks for prayer

[22:14] Framework 1: Praying through liturgy

[23:47] Framework 2: Writing your own liturgy

[25:05] Framework 3: Reminding God who He is

[26:36] The Prayer of Unknowing (Thomas Merton)

[27:44] Closing: Work Matters Institute

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🎓 TAKE THE NEXT STEP

Ready to connect your Sunday faith to your Monday work? Join the Work Matters Institute - a transformational 10-session course covering practical teaching, spiritual formation, leadership development, and workplace discipleship.

👉 Learn more: https://workmatters.org

🔔 Subscribe for more conversations on faith, leadership, and finding purpose in your work.

This episode is sponsored by Schuber Mitchell - https://www.schubermitchell.com/

#WorkMattersPodcast #FaithAndWork #ChristianLeadership  #WorkplaceCulture #ChristianEntrepreneur #PurposeDrivenWork

We’re back with Season 3 of the Workmatters Podcast!

In this first episode the Workmatter’s team answers the question every believer eventually asks about their job, purpose, and place in God's story.

Whether you're behind a desk, on a job site, or between jobs right now, this conversation tackles the doubt that creeps in when work feels menial or disconnected from faith. 

Darrell, Brandon, and Keisha dig into what the Bible actually says about faith and work, why most of us start the story of work in the wrong chapter (curse, not calling), and how finding purpose at work starts with seeing your skill set as something God is genuinely proud of.

⏱️CHAPTERS
[00:00] Intro
[01:09] Does My Work Matter to God?
[06:58] Why We Doubt Our Work Matters
[08:46] The Real Story of Work (Genesis 1 vs. Genesis 3)
[14:12] Exodus 31: God's Bragging Rights Over Your Skillset
[19:20] Why Unemployment Wounds Our Humanity
[24:49] Learning to Receive When You're Used to Giving
[29:33] 3 Practical Ways to Remember Your Work Matters
[33:16] Closing & Work Matters Institute

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🎓 TAKE THE NEXT STEP
Ready to connect your Sunday faith to your Monday work? Join the Work Matters Institute - a transformational 10-session course covering practical teaching, spiritual formation, leadership development, and workplace discipleship.

👉 Learn more: https://workmatters.org

🔔 Subscribe for more conversations on faith, leadership, and finding purpose in your work.

#WorkMattersPodcast #FaithAndWork #ChristianLeadership  #WorkplaceCulture #ChristianEntrepreneur #PurposeDrivenWork

Faith and Work - How to live out your faith at work with wisdom, legal clarity, and courage, without making it weird.

HR and employment law expert Julia Oltmanns (Coca-Cola Consolidated, Zurich, Strategic People Partners) joins the Workmatters team to unpack what it actually means to be a disciple of Jesus at work - legally, practically, and relationally. 

From starting a Christian employee resource group to praying before your day even begins, Julia shares hard-won wisdom on discernment, workplace boundaries, and building trust-based relationships that naturally open the door to faith conversations at work.

⏱️ CHAPTERS 
 [00:00] Intro
 [01:07] Meet Julia Oltmanns: HR, employment law & faith
 [03:31] Staying "neutral" vs. living out faith at work
 [04:54] Julia's awakening: what God really wanted from her at work
 [06:55] Starting a Christian employee resource group at Zurich
 [09:13] Whole-life discipleship and the faith-work gap
 [10:54] Practicing your faith at work — legally
 [12:18] Sharing your story without making it weird
 [14:01] Discernment: knowing when and how to engage
 [16:16] Demanding your rights vs. showing love
 [19:03] When your faith request gets denied
 [21:26] Persecution, blessing, and being a disciple at work
 [22:20] Case study: how Coca-Cola Consolidated shows up for employees
 [24:47] Living out love as a workplace pillar
 [25:58] How love opens doors to faith conversations
 [29:21] One thing to try tomorrow: start with prayer
 [31:14] Where to find Julia Oltmanns

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🔗 CONNECT WITH JULIA

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-oltmanns/

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🎓 TAKE THE NEXT STEP

Ready to connect your Sunday faith to your Monday work? Join the Work Matters Institute - a transformational 10-session course covering practical teaching, spiritual formation, leadership development, and workplace discipleship.

👉 Learn more: https://workmatters.org

🔔 Subscribe for more conversations on faith, leadership, and finding purpose in your work.

#WorkMattersPodcast #FaithAndWork #ChristianLeadership  #WorkplaceCulture #ChristianEntrepreneur #PurposeDrivenWork

Finding Purpose at Work - Realtor and nonprofit founder Jennifer Cristofaro shares how a near-fatal heart attack rewired the way she saw success, calling, and business as a mission field.

Jennifer, co-founder of Mission House Real Estate and the food-truck ministry For the Love, unpacks what it looks like when your vocation and your mission stop competing and start working together. 

Darrell and Brandon dig into faith and work integration, Christian leadership in business, and what it actually costs to build a company around generosity instead of gain.

⏱️ CHAPTERS
[00:59] Meet Jennifer Cristofaro
[02:52] "I stopped dreaming for myself and started dreaming for others"
[04:00] Her favorite quote on committed, thoughtful action
[06:37] The origin story of the For the Love food truck
[07:51] Living on "the edge of yikes"
[09:11] What Neighbor Night is really about
[10:14] Lives changed around the table
[13:09] Growing to 4 locations, 1,400 people fed weekly
[14:18] Why real estate is kingdom work
[16:41] Navigating hard ethical moments in business
[17:27] "People are the purpose. Work is the mission field."
[18:11] Discerning the Holy Spirit's voice in daily decisions
[19:51] Building a Christ-centered team culture
[20:34] The heart attack that changed everything
[23:11] 3 things you can do right now to rethink your work
[26:19] Where to find Mission House Real Estate & For the Love

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🔗 CONNECT WITH JENNIFER
Mission House: https://missionhouserealestate.com/
For the Love: https://www.forthelovenwa.com/

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🎓 TAKE THE NEXT STEP
Ready to connect your Sunday faith to your Monday work? Join the Work Matters Institute — a transformational 10-session course covering practical teaching, spiritual formation, leadership development, and workplace discipleship.
👉 Learn more: https://workmatters.org

🔔 Subscribe for more conversations on faith, leadership, and finding purpose in your work.

#WorkMattersPodcast #FaithAndWork #ChristianLeadership  #WorkplaceCulture #ChristianEntrepreneur #PurposeDrivenWork

Faith and work integration means wrestling honestly with how fast the world is changing, including AI, without losing sight of who we are.

In this episode, you'll learn why every leader is headed toward a defining moment: will you treat people as a cost to manage, or as true image bearers of Christ entrusted to your stewardship?

Darrell sits down with Matt Randerson, Founder & CEO of Human Culture, to explore christian leadership in business through the lens of AI adoption. Matt shares why efficiency isn't the whole story, how leaders can redeploy human capital instead of cutting it, and why using AI doesn't make you "less human"  it can actually reconnect you with your calling to create as an image bearer of God.

⏱️ CHAPTERS

0:23 – Welcome to the Workmatters Podcast

1:00 – Meet Matt Randerson, Founder & CEO of Human Culture
2:28 – Family update: baby #2 on the way
3:20 – Matt's faith story and how he landed in business, not ministry
4:49 – Why Matt started Human Culture: protecting the human element
6:19 – What Human Culture actually does for organizations
7:41 – How leaders and companies are really responding to AI
8:54 – Why AI's rapid rise triggers identity questions
10:06 – The moment every leader will face: commodity or image bearer?
12:09 – Jensen Huang's quote on imagination vs. layoffs
13:56 – Redeploying human capital instead of cutting it
17:16 – AI, distraction, and our relationship with God
17:55 – Rewiring the narratives we tell ourselves about AI
20:39 – Is using AI "cheating"? Wrestling with integrity
22:50 – Reintroducing friction: Matt's practice for staying human
26:03 – Two practical steps: engage your narrative, go create
28:39 – Rapid-fire: unplugging, stargazing, and country music
30:15 – How to connect with Matt and Human Culture

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🔗 CONNECT WITH MATT

Human Culture: https://www.humanculture.ai/

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-randerson/

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🎓 TAKE THE NEXT STEP

Ready to connect your Sunday faith to your Monday work? Join the Work Matters Institute — a transformational 10-session course covering practical teaching, spiritual formation, leadership development, and workplace discipleship.

👉 Learn more: https://workmatters.org

🔔 Subscribe for more conversations on faith, leadership, and finding purpose in your work.

#WorkMattersPodcast #FaithAndWork #ChristianLeadership #BlueCollar #FamilyBusiness #EdgertonGear #CraftsmanWithCharacter #WorkplaceCulture #ChristianEntrepreneur #PurposeDrivenWork

He swore he'd never come back to the family business. 34 years later, Dave Hataj — along with his sons Jason and Caleb — is running Edgerton Gear as a place where faith and work aren't separate at all.

In this episode of the Work Matters Podcast, Dave, Jason, and Caleb Hataj open up about generational dysfunction, burnout, a father-son surrender in the middle of the night, and what it actually looks like to bring God into a blue-collar machine shop every single day.

🔑 In this episode:
- Why Dave initially refused to return to the family business
- The 20-year wrestling match that finally broke in a moment of surrender
- How burnout and health struggles reshaped Dave's leadership
- Caleb and Jason's honest take on growing up in the shop
- Breaking generational cycles of dysfunction
- What "embracing the suck" really means
- Three practical ways to bring your faith into your workday

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
00:41 – Meet Dave, Jason & Caleb Hataj
01:24 – Introducing Edgerton Gear & Craftsman with Character
02:23 – When faith and work first clicked for Dave
03:08 – Regent College and the calling he tried to run from
03:45 – The vocational test that sent him home
04:29 – Wrestling with God for 20 years
05:33 – The bedroom surrender that changed everything
06:54 – From "prison" to "happy place"
07:31 – Burnout, health issues & changing the culture
08:37 – Losing employees who wanted "the old Dave" back
10:34 – Caleb's winding path back to Edgerton Gear
12:23 – Jason's story & Dave's dinner-table faith lessons
13:56 – The Isle Royale trip and healing as a family
15:56 – Discipleship of work & breaking generational cycles
17:52 – "Embrace the suck": what stress reveals in us
19:46 – What it's really like working together as family
21:07 – Advice for young people starting their careers
22:11 – Why work itself is good — not just a means to an end
23:40 – Jason's honest struggle to keep God in focus daily
25:45 – Encouragement for every listener
26:17 – 3 practical ways to practice your faith at work
29:12 – Recap: awareness, brokenness, influence
29:46 – Where to find Edgerton Gear & Craftsman with Character
30:29 – Closing thoughts & final encouragement

🔗 CONNECT WITH DAVE, JASON & CALEB
Edgerton Gear: https://edgertongear.com
Craftsman with Character: https://www.cwcharacter.org/
Dave's book: "Good Work: How Blue Collar Business Can Change Lives, Communities, and the World"

🎓 TAKE THE NEXT STEP
Ready to connect your Sunday faith to your Monday work? Join the Work Matters Institute — a transformational 10-session course covering practical teaching, spiritual formation, leadership development, and workplace discipleship.
👉 Learn more: https://workmatters.org

🔔 Subscribe for more conversations on faith, leadership, and finding purpose in your work.

#WorkMattersPodcast #FaithAndWork #ChristianLeadership #BlueCollar #FamilyBusiness #EdgertonGear #CraftsmanWithCharacter #WorkplaceCulture #ChristianEntrepreneur #PurposeDrivenWork

Finding purpose at work — Idalia LeJune shares how a career plateau and season of burnout led her from a "check-the-box" faith to a genuine relationship with God that transformed how she shows up in the workplace every day.

A first-generation Mexican-American and senior relationship manager in the financial industry, Idalia spent over 25 years chasing achievement before discovering that true purpose at work isn't about the next title or paycheck. In this episode, she opens up about choosing obedience over optics when she stepped back in her career, the workplace conflict that cracked her open to a new way of leading, and how integrating faith at work became her personal mission field — no overseas trip required.

⏱️Chapters

[00:00] Intro
[00:45] Meet Idalia: Senior Relationship Manager & 2025 Rising Star 
[02:09] Her Dad's Work Ethic and What Drove Her Early Career 
[04:59] When Faith Was Just a "Check the Box" 
[05:55] The 2023 Breaking Point — Career Plateau, Unbalanced Life 
[07:03] The Trifecta: How She Reset Her Spirit, Body, and Mind 
[07:37] The Biggest Career Decision She Ever Made 
[09:36] How She Found Work Matters and Said Yes to the Conference 
[13:34] What Happened in the Parking Lot After the Conference 
[15:37] A Workplace Conflict That Changed Everything 
[17:16]Faith at Work Without Leaving Your Job 
[20:41] What God Is Doing in Her This Year: Obedience and Listening 
[22:07] The Airplane Story — When God Nudged Her Toward a Stranger 
[29:09] Advice for Anyone Feeling the Stirring Right Now

🔗Resources & Links

https://www.workmatters.org/

https://www.corebridgefinancial.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonswoboda/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrel-harvey-80703a60/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/idalia-salazar-lejune-98352321/

If this episode encouraged you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your pastor or a coworker who needs to hear it.

What happens between Sunday morning and Monday morning? For most Christians, there's a significant gap, and it's costing them in the workplace. 

In this episode, we sit down with Matt Rusten, President of Made to Flourish and author of the new book Pastoring for Monday, to talk about one of the most overlooked areas of discipleship in the local church: work.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• The current state of faith and work discipleship in local churches — and the three most common gaps
• Why most pastors resist adding "one more thing" — and how to reframe the conversation
• How Made to Flourish comes alongside churches through ideas, training, and multiplying leaders
• And more!

⏱️Chapters

00:00 — The Sunday-to-Monday Gap: Why Most Christians Feel Alone at Work 

01:02 — Introducing Matt Rusten & Pastoring for Monday 

03:08 — The Current State of Faith & Work in the Local Church 

05:28 — Why Pastors Resist (And How to Change the Conversation) 

09:24 — What Is Made to Flourish? Ideas, Training & Multiplying Leaders 

14:20 — What Happens When a Church Says Yes to Workplace Discipleship 

18:29 — The "Missionary Elevation" Problem & How It Hurts Workers in the Pew

20:10 — How Work Spiritually Forms Us (Including Through Struggle) 

22:16 — Matt's Five S's: A Simple Commute Practice to Meet God at Work 

26:19 — How YOU Can Help Your Church Disciple People for the Workplace

🔗Resources & Links

• Pastoring for Monday by Matt Rusten — available on Amazon and major book retailers
• Made to Flourish: madetoflourish.org
• Common Good Magazine — subscribe at madetoflourish.org
• Connect with Matt - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-rusten-95000940/

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Want to go deeper? Take the Workmatters Institute Course — a 10-session online course connecting Sunday faith to Monday work. Visit https://www.workmatters.org/our-courses to get started.

If this episode encouraged you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your pastor or a coworker who needs to hear it.