Intro: Welcome to the iWork4Him podcast. I'm Todd t Riley, producer of the iWork4Him Radio Program, the Voice of the Faith and Work Movement. Our mission is to transform the workplace of every Christian into a mission field. What does that look like in your workplace? Let's find out right now.

Jim: This episode of iWork4Him was previously recorded for the Christian Leadership Alliance's Outcomes Conference podcast, where leaders come to invest the best of what they know

into other leaders.

Martha: Remember, if you have influence over just one person, you are a leader. Together, let's listen to this podcast and learn more about leading God's way. Enjoy.

Jim: We have an incredible conversation today coming up with Margaret Fitzwater, executive director of Train developed care with the Navigators, t d c Train , Develop, care.

We'll be focusing on how Margaret and her team lead and strive to create a culture of belonging at the Navigators everywhere they do Navigators TDC training, Margaret Fitzwater. Welcome.

Margaret Fitzwater: Thank you. Appreciate that.

Jim: Yeah. So before we get started talking about your leadership role and the perspective of how God is using you to create a culture of belonging within Navigators TDC, tell us how you keep your faith strong and your leadership Christ centered.

Margaret Fitzwater: Well, actually it kind of has to do with overall rhythms of life, I think is probably the best way I could say that. And I would say there's probably a couple of things that are pretty key to that. And the first is my daily time with God, which a lot of people have, but I just, I live on that.

My daily time in the word I always have a journal with me. I record the treasures of the day, you know, whatever kind of stands out to me. So I always have a pen and paper, and I'm always listening for what God - how he might redirect my day. I generally, you know, kind of plan my day the night before, and frequently I add or subtract from that day after my time with the Lord.

But it's always very instructive and good. And I just, you know, I love in John 1 , it says, in the beginning was the word. The Word was with God. The word was God. The word was life. In him was life. And the word is just life giving to me. So that, that is probably the first thing that kind of keeps it central in my life.

But the other thing has to do with this rhythm is Sabbath. And I'm a pretty big stickler on Sabbath. I have been for a long time cuz it was a game changer in our family's life 20 years ago. And basically every week if I teach, or if I'm working on Sundays, it's another day of the week.

I don't keep it legalistically, but every week I feel like there's gotta be 24 hours where I rest, I reflect, I renew. Spend extra time with God. I do things that are only life giving on that day. I don't have dos and don'ts, but I don't do things that take life away. I do things, you know, lots of fun things.

Friends, friends, family. I usually go to church, you know, but just things that actually give me life. But that really helps to kind of reset the week every time. Cause it's countercultural. Our culture is so not The way of the Lord, and it just, it's like I need that weekly reset.

Martha: So, Margaret, give me an example of something that you consider not life giving, because I'm always like, okay, I, I get the things that are obvious, but what kinds of things do you really try to avoid?

Margaret Fitzwater: Well, I'll tell you, you know, actually my work is life giving. But I do try to avoid that. So maybe I, I misspoke a little bit on that, but, I try to make it different. Cuz I do think variety diversity in our life is really helpful. I try to avoid work, like, I do not do emails.

I, you know, my staff knows if they send me an email, I will not see it on Sunday. You know, generally I, like I said, some Sundays are different and some Sundays I, I do need to get emails. But I, I don't do I just don't do work things. I don't, and I don't do things that I don't wanna do. I don't clean house on Sundays.

I mean, there are times when I have to do those kind of things, but it's not the norm.

Martha: Got it. Well, thank you for expanding on that just a little bit more for us. So as we think about the theme for the Outcomes Conference for 2022, which is I Belong, how have you found some ways of creating a culture of belonging at the Navigators TDC?

Margaret Fitzwater: Yeah, so the TDC, I, I feel like that this culture of belonging is really critical to our mission. So I think mission criticality is really important to us. TDC is trained, developed care, and I have five teams that, that are, are part of our, our ministry and it's our all, all of our training for all of our 2,700 staff across the globe.

Especially the US and all lifelong development, all care. Our, we have coaching, leadership development, all those things, all those people functions kind of, kind of come under us. And so if you think about that belonging, that's so critical. That's sort of our central identity. We are a Christian ministry who we are equipping believers every day. We come alongside people who are, are part of the kingdom, those who are not, but we're coming alongside everyday ordinary people to help them do the same, you know, do what we're doing. It's kind of the second Timothy 2:2 principle. Teach others to teach others to teach others.

So that belonging, if we don't have that ourselves, how can we impart that to others? And we are training our staff, And so if we are not doing that ourselves and have that belonging, so it's, I just feel like it's critical. But we have a team, so our team models that our team is all in sync with that, you know, we don't have I think we're all in unison and trying to see that we live and work and breathe out of our belovedness to our, our Lord and Savior.

And so I think that's really important. We do a lot of prayer and community because of that. We have a thing called Tuesdays Together. Which is twice a month that I think is very helpful. That builds our community and helps that belonging, helps every, every one of our staff to belong. So the first Tuesday together, the first of the two tuesdays is a strategic one and we try to do different strategic presentations and discussions so that everybody feels like they're part of what we're doing. It's really important and that they belong and that what they're doing is really important to our organization. And then the, the other Tuesday of the month, the second Tuesday, second Tuesday is is where we celebrate.

 we celebrate anniversaries birthdays. Wins. But it's all, I mean, I think we don't do enough celebrating in the Christian world and I think that helps us to belong as well. And it just makes us feel special and loved. So I'd say those are probably some really key things.

Do you find any?

Jim: I was gonna say, do you find any challenges though in, in creating a culture of belonging? What do you run into that, that are challenges?

Margaret Fitzwater: Well, I'll tell you on these, like these Tuesdays togethers, we have to do this kind of zoom and in person, cuz we have a lot of people here in Colorado Springs at our headquarters, but we also have 40 or 50 people out scattered across the country.

And so doing anything on Zoom, I think is a real challenge to creating this culture of belonging because there's still a lot to touch to, to having that face-to-face that it's really harder to do. I mean, I would rather do this face-to-face with you guys. That would be a much more natural kind of thing.

Jim: We'd rather be Colorado springs.

Margaret Fitzwater: I mean, I don't know if you can see outside.

Jim: Oh, we, I love the snow and the ice. Are you kidding? Great.

Margaret Fitzwater: Oh. But this, you know, the culture of belonging, I think it is a difficult thing to try to work at because it's a countercultural thing cuz that's not where our world is. But to really get, help people to understand that belonging thing, I think we kinda, we have to get below the surface. We have to get to know people and, and it's just a little easier face-to-face I believe. But I think it is important to spend, it takes a lot of time. That's probably one of the biggest challenges, I think is just finding the time because people have to be heard. They have to be seen. In order to belong, you know, they want you to care about them, the whole person for that belonging. That's where that identity, that belovedness come from, right?

Jim: You're listening to the Outcomes Conference Podcast. As we talk with Margaret Fitzwater from Navigators T D C. We'll be right back.

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Jim: Hey, welcome back to the Outcomes Conference Podcast as we talked today with Margaret Fitzwater from Navigators TDC, that's train develop Care.

Margaret, what are the top two core principles that guide you daily as a Christian leader?

Margaret Fitzwater: So, probably the first is probably integrity. I grew up in a family and had friends who I think I witnessed a lot of duplicity in people's lives. And I think it just gave me, it just drove a really deep desire in my own heart to not live that way.

And so I think integrity is huge. And if you think about - and that's not the way all people think about integrity - but it comes from the word integer, wholeness, you know, kind of the inside being the same as the outside. And it is just it's really important to me that people see, that they see the walk, that I talk, that they, if I teach something, I try to model it.

I don't ever do it perfectly, of course, but because I'm, I'm certainly in, in process. But I certainly do my best and I don't teach things that I don't believe. So, you know, if I teach it, I try to practice it and our whole team does that too, so that, that integrity. We have kind of a phrase we use a lot: inside out. And we try to, we do our, our teaching, our training, our development really starts kind of with the heart and flows out.

That's the way that we feel like Jesus' ministry was, was inside out. So that integrity is big. And then I touched on this earlier when I just said something about the word, but the word really is a huge guiding factor. And, it's a key value in that. I really feel like it's important that leaders live and lead from the word and not just overlay it.

And I've seen that so much. I've seen that in a lot of Christian ministries where they'll do teaching that is, it's good teaching. And they'll say, oh yeah, it's that way in the scriptures too. Or they'll overlay a scripture. And when we start each day and each day when we are thinking about Jesus during the day, and, and his word is guiding everything we do - not everything. I mean, you know, there are choices that he just gives us. He doesn't really care about that.

But for the most part, when we're living from the word, it's different than just adding it onto our lives or just having it to be a part. I want it to be a part of everything. So those are probably the, the key.

I think it also drives a different way of leading and it probably more often infers the way of things or the how versus the what. I am very goal oriented and I have learned over the years that the way I do things is probably a lot more important than what I do.

Martha: Sure. So as you are in your role at T D C, which is train, develop care for the Navigators, you are helping other people in so many ways with those aspects, training, developing and caring.

How about for yourself? What does it look like to pursue learning and how does that play a role in your life as a leader?

Margaret Fitzwater: Yeah. So it's huge. I've always been a big fan of lifelong learning, so I'm a, a life and leadership coach. That's one of the things that we do. But I do it personally too. I only do a few.

I have like five people that's primarily younger leaders that I try to pour into, that I prioritize in my life. But but I, I'm actually pursuing my International Coaching Federation certification so that I'll be a better coach. I wanna continue to learn to be a better listener, to ask better questions, to do all the things that good coaches do.

So I'm, I'm constantly growing and those kind of things. And just practicing skills. I do a lot of phone style coaching, not just Zoom too, because I find that it helps me to learn to be a better listener, which is so huge cuz I have to listen a little harder when I'm on the phone to be able to see people without actually having that visual in front of you.

Jim: That's a good point.

Margaret Fitzwater: That's a lot of what I do and I'm, I'm always in, you know, bible studies and small groups. I think that we learn a lot in community. The team that I lead are the directors of those five areas that I mentioned and a couple others. We as a team, we're always growing and learning together. We're always doing some kind of study or book or whatever.

Jim: so the Navigators, a lot of people think of the Navigators that think of college ministry, you know, on campus ministry. I mean, that's where I grew up with the Navigators on campus, but the Navigators are so much more than that today. Tell us about your current mission and some of the places that you branch out.

Margaret Fitzwater: Yeah, well our mission is kind of the great commission, so it's pretty, you know, making disciples who make disciples, who make disciples. In fact, sort of our motto is, you know, to know Christ, make him known and help others do the same. So that opens up a pretty broad arena. And we have several areas of focus.

I'd say we have disciple makers for life, which is churches, the workplace, twenties, neighborhoods. We have a large military ministry. We have large international ministry. And then we have what we call sort of more of our business units that are huge ministries and that's, we have Nav press, Glen Eyrie - the Glen Eryie actually has a castle people come and stay. We have all kinds of events there all the time that are really awesome.

And then we also have Eagle Lake camps that are not just Eagle Lakes, that we have gorgeous, wonderful camps. Our kids actually went to Eagle Lake camps before we were Navigators but here in Colorado Springs. But they also have Eagle Lake on the road, so they're taking that road camp all over the place in the summers with churches primarily. So lots, lots of, lots of places.

Martha: Wow.

Jim: Oh, fantastic. We're talking today with Margaret Fitzwater from Navigators TDC. Love for you to check 'em out online. Margaret, is there a specific website for the navigator's TDC program?

Margaret Fitzwater: Yes. Would you like for me to send that to you?

Jim: No, just go ahead and mention it on the, on the show here today.

Margaret Fitzwater: Well, Navigators.org .I think you could do slash TDC. Or you could go and find the ministries and then go down to TDC, that can work on it. I will tell you exactly what it is. How about that?

Jim: That's fine. When we come back for a break, you can tell us exactly what it is. You're listening to the Outcomes Conference Podcast. As we talk with Margaret Fitzwater from Navigators TDC.

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Jim: Hey, welcome back to the Outcomes Conference podcast as we talking with Margaret Fitzwater from Navigator TDC. Hey, what was that website then Margaret?

Margaret Fitzwater: TDC. Navigators.org. We have a new website, so I sit in there going is it dot com or Dot org, but it's TDC.Navigators.org.

Jim: Very good.

Martha: Excellent. So Margaret, as you look at Navigators TDC today, what are you most enthusiastic about in terms of pursuing your mission and impact going forward?

Margaret Fitzwater: So probably the thing I think I'm most excited about is just Being able to lead where I am and the areas that we all lead together are, what we're really trying to do is to help people be healthy in soul, equipped for the work and hopeful for the future, really to see them thrive, to see them fruitful, to see them flourish. And that gets me excited when I, when I can, you know pour into others. And I think the way that we try to do it, we, we try to live like some of those values I told you about and the way we live this way of life.

That is the way that Jesus talked about, is really kind of operating in from an overflow of what he gives to us. And so I think it generates enthusiasm and excitement and when you see fruit growing, it's pretty exciting. So I think it does that, and I, it's just a fun thing to do.

The way Jesus ministered was relational. It was intentional. It was generational, and that's what we're trying to help people do. So I think that's, that's pretty exciting. You know, the, just being able to to come alongside people in ways where you see them really begin to bloom and flourish. And I think, I think one of the reasons why that is so important to me is I, I was in the corporate world for lots of years and I always used to evaluate everything from sort of a strategic impact, kind of where do you get the most bang for your buck?

And I think when you are equipping leaders or equipping equippers of equippers, you know, kind of thing, you know, that's kind of more bang for your buck, but , you see the strategic impact on people and on this world, cuz I, I really feel like only Jesus can help this culture that we're in, this larger non kingdom culture that we all live in.

And I feel like that the navigator's life to life, the way that we just come alongside everyday people, I feel like that we have in some ways kind of the secret sauce of being able to, to help people thrive cuz that's what we were made for. But also to kind of fill in the gap of lots of Christians in that, you know, that kind of, that duplicity thing.

Cuz I think the people that I know who don't, who are not a part of the kingdom right now, their biggest complaint seems to be the Christians that they know. And that just really disturbs me. And I feel like this life disciple making is kind of the way you come alongside people as they live life naturally. And, and help 'em show God's way.

Jim: As we close out today's podcast, Margaret, one of the things we'd love to just point out is the Outcomes Conference podcast and the Christian Leadership Alliance. It's all about leaders coming to invest the best of what they know into other leaders. Margaret, what leadership idea or thinking, would you like to share as an investment in our listeners here on the Outcomes conference podcast?

Margaret Fitzwater: So I, I think that that probably it's that Christianity really is -following Jesus is about a way of life that's different from the world and its way of doing things.

It is a way of life that is intentional. It's a slowed down spirituality, and that's hard for me. I'm a fast person. I, you know, walk fast, do everything fast, and I have learned to slow down. I need to learn more, to slow down and listen to Jesus and enjoy his belovedness so that I actually am living from my belonging in him.

My belovedness as his beloved daughter and bless him and let him bless me and be able to really take that in. I remember this, this way of life. Actually. I love the Old Testament as well as the new, the whole Bible, but in Isaiah, Isaiah 30, God's people have been following a very different way of life, not according to God's rules at all, and not not following him.

And he said, these people are far from me. You know you're paying lip service. And he, anyway, he tells them, he says, in repentance and rest is your salvation and quietness and trust is your strength. I think that's verse 15. But then he goes in verse 21, he goes on down and he says, and this is, God actually said this first, not the Mandalorian.

He said, this is the way walk in it. And I think that walking in this way of life is what we were made for. It's the way of Jesus. And I'm excited cuz it has to do with the belovedness and belonging. That's the core. That's the identity that we live from and that's why I'm really excited about this Outcomes conference too.

Martha: Such great words, you know, and tying it all together and how God's been revealing that to you. And we can, we can talk more about that, but I think the whole idea of belonging in every culture of work gives a lot of people a lot more purpose. To be able to know that they belong and it's a safe place where they can live out their calling, that God has given them.

Jim: And that slowing down thing? I had somebody speak that over to me as well this year. Slow down, you'll get there faster. It's a great one. Margaret Fitzwater with Navigators TDC . Thanks so much.

Margaret Fitzwater: Thanks. Appreciate it.

Outro: Did you know that God has a calling on your life? It's true. He's called you to bring Jesus to the world.

For some that may look like a pulpit or a foreign mission field, but for most of us it looks like a construction site, a cubicle, a hospital, or a classroom. Wherever it is that you work, live, volunteer and invest, that is your mission field. To learn more about integrating your faith into your work and retirement, check out our books.

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