7/17/24 - 2051: Work - An Extension of Your Faith

Jim: You've tuned in to iWork4Him, the voice of collaboration for the faith and work movement.

Martha: And we are your hosts, Jim and Martha Brangenberg, and 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: If we were to conduct a poll of everyone listening today and they ask you, Are the tech giants evil? Are they a lost cause? Should we all be paranoid about their end goals of controlling thought, commerce, and religion? Almost all of you would say yes, and yes! But what if I told you that each of the major tech companies has allowed groups of Jesus followers to gather together to pray and fellowship and grow in their faith?

Google, Intel, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft. Each of these companies and many more are allowing believers to come together and live out their faith at work. Today, our focus will jump to Microsoft and the Christian ERG - employee resource group. That's really not an ERG, but it's an ERG.

And well, we're going to let Lori Kim tell you all about it, Lori Kim is here to tell us and talk about the amazing things happening in Microsoft and beyond in her hometown, the windy city of Chicago, Illinois, Lori Kim, welcome to iWork4Him.

Lori Kim: Thank you. Thank you so much, Martha and Jim, for having me here today.

And before I share the story, I wanted to give a quick the expectation of the perspective, the stories I'll be sharing today are based on my personal experiences, including my faith journey and how I integrate faith at work and in my ecosystem. So these are my own personal views. And I intend it for general information purposes only, and they do not represent official statements or positions of Microsoft.

Jim: So noted. So noted. We get that. Good job. So what she's saying is that Microsoft does not endorse What she's gonna say, and that's just fine. We got it. We want to hear your Jesus story. Tell us your Jesus story

Lori Kim: Thank you. So I grew up as a pastor's kid. I'm a pastor's kid in an immigrant family. I immigrated to US when I was 11 years old with zero English. So culture shock, language shock, right? The local church, The Chicago divine community was a cornerstone of our lives, right? So my understanding of God was shaped by the hands and hearts of the people You know, hearts of our church community. And if I can be honest, I often wrestle with the disconnect sometimes that happens between my belief about God and my personal experiences, especially at times struggling to connect with the invisible God, through our challenges, especially as an immigrant family. So with the humble beginning, we were more in a survival mode, if you will, with no permission to really express my feelings.

And I was expected to be that perfect pastor's kid, right? So I struggled with perfection, to be honest. And I feel like I was forced to grow up, mature quickly. And I learned early on that, coming from humble beginning, that complaints don't get you anywhere. Only actions matter. So my identity became tied to my accomplishments, confidence in doing and working hard and that eventually led to burnout. And my father, who was a pastor, was diagnosed with stage four cancer and he battled for a couple of years. And it was really hard for me and for our family at the time.

And I had this dangerous prayer. I didn't realize that it was dangerous at the time. And I prayed that God, I want to learn the secret to be content no matter the circumstances because I'm losing joy. And then came the three years of storm and on the day my father passed away I lost both my father and my job, which was my identity at that time. And shaking my sense of identity and the grief was really hard.

Grief is the loss of anything in life and it is very personal, and it's a long and painful process, especially when you lose someone, especially in your family. And I think in my experience is in three parts. So first is the loss. I lost my father. A second is the grieving process, and there's a whole process that comes with grief, the healing journey that really begins with surrendering our whole lives and every moment of our lives to God. And finally, the remaking of life, the transformation, right?

And I feel that when our pain meets our purpose, it becomes our calling and we don't waste our pain, right? And God transformed me through the years of storm growing in wisdom, the emotional maturity and also the relational maturity took place in that years of storm, right? And teaching me how brevity our life is, to choose fear of God over fear of men, and the importance of it having the eternal perspective, right? And I began to see my work as an extension of my faith and finding the unity. There's no divide between secular and sacred, right? There's only one life. And the peace shalom that it comes in everything that I was doing and learning to integrate faith and work.

And as a recovering workaholic finding and joining a Christian employee group at work even before Microsoft as North America provided a sense of belonging and a fresh perspective on the ultimate meaning of work through God's eyes, through God's lens, right? And this renewed vision and also this view, the growth mindset and also the gospel mindset, has really energized my whole life. And it really allowed me to experience God within my work. True calling isn't in what you're doing, and I believe it's in what you're, who you are doing it for.

So that big realization through the transformation took place and I, my life is a testament that God will make a way for you. Doors have opened that I didn't even know existed. So many stories around that, right? And situations worked out way better than I could have imagined was possible, right? And I, as I look back on my journey, I'm just filled with awe and gratitude, right?

For all the blessings and challenges, that have come in my way. And I still remember, praying for the things I have now. And I'm super grateful for the trials and tribulations. I have known some costs, even though I don't want to revisit that, right? The storm, right? And I don't wish that for anyone, but it was very important for me to go through that learning process that I'm grateful for all the people and the prayers that have guided me where I am today. And very honored and privileged to serve God, by serving our neighbors and sharing stories like how I am sharing today, because I really believe that our faith grows when we share stories, just like Jesus shared parables, to spread the good news, right?

And I give all glory to God for this amazing opportunity. And thank you again, Martha and Jim, for inviting me and for our listeners, to leaning into my Jesus story. Thank you.

Jim: So talk to us about how that Jesus story has impacted you in the high tech world, as you ended up with a job at Microsoft and got involved in marketplace ministry for Microsoft. How did that understanding that you gained during those storms transform how you looked at your work in the high tech world?

Lori Kim: Thank you for the question. I love it because living out our faith is important part of who we are, our whole authentic self at work. And God grows our soul through our work in our development and how we show up at work as Christians and we experience God in new ways. And the maturity takes place as well.

And I feel like in today's virtual world, we were just talking about that, right? Where there's no casual water cooler conversation, if you will, right? To share personal stories and deepen relationship. There's nothing quite like the energy that comes from having a belonging, a sheer sense of community, right? Sharing stories as our faith grows, and also fostering connection, energizing possibilities, right? As Brene Brown says, connection is the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued. And, having the opportunity at at my work, we have a Christian group called Marketplace Ministry for Microsoft.

And our vision and what our mission is, as a Christian faith based inclusive group, is to invite not only Christians, both believers and unbelievers, right? Our allies and our extended community so that they can be inspired. We are inspired together to learn and grow together, engaging with our One Microsoft Growth Mindset culture so we can bring our whole self to work, including our faith and be the best that we can be. And it's a wonderful opportunity that we have.

Jim: We want to talk in detail about that, but really first we want to give a shout out to one of our great sponsors, Martha.

Martha: Yeah. So SaferNet is - you're in the tech world. And so maybe even some of the people that have never listened to our show before are in technology because they're listening to your story, Lori.

But SaferNet is a company that we rely on here at iWork4Him and in our personal life because they are protecting our computers so that we can do the very things we're meant to be doing and keeping out the bad guys. Keeping the filters on, keeping everything in place to help us have a safe environment for our business and our home.

So SaferNet. com is where you can go to learn more about their VPN, the filters, everything that they have to offer to protect us so that we can keep doing the work that God has called us to do and do it safely and to keep everything intact.

So Lori, I would love to hear from you how you see yourself actually living out your faith at work. What does it look like in your day to day?

Lori Kim: So for me as Christian, as believer, it's a reflection of our relationship with our God and representing him in all spheres, including the marketplace, which is our work. And I feel like our work becomes a ministry and we partner with God, right? Where we apply gospel truth and we nurture our souls and experiences, presence in every challenge.

So our vocation is more of a divine calling, not just a job, living out the great commission, embracing our gifts and serving others with love and the way we do that is, you know, at Microsoft what we do is with our Christian group we have a weekly Bible study and we also have weekly prayer meeting and we have what we call a monthly wisdom.

Jim: Hang on. Hang on. You're talking about all this group stuff. We want to know how Lori Kim, in her role at Microsoft, is living out your faith. What does it look like? How does it impact what you do on a daily basis? Cause we, we're going to talk about all the great stuff that's going on with the Microsoft or what marketplace, what do we call it again? Sorry. Marketplace ministry at Microsoft. We know that there's a lot of good stuff going on there, but for Lori Kim personally, as a tech person, what does it look like for you to live out your faith?

Lori Kim: Yeah. So gospel is personal, right? And I believe. The world needs who God made you to be. And for me to fully live my calling to God's love in service of others is very important. And the way I show up at work is to reflect God's love for others, right? And that takes creating a space where we can connect and worship and draw together. And also, listening, deep listening and showing that we care, that we are here for them. And I do that not only at work, but also through volunteer work that I do. So I serve in a couple of nonprofit organizations to reflect God's love for others and to invest in the legacy impact.

Martha: When you say reflecting God's love to others, sometimes that's not easy in our workplaces. And so it's, it sounds like it's such a simple concept, when we and our listeners and Jim and I and you, we've all experienced that where, boy, there's sometimes it's really hard to reflect God's love.

Jim: Sometimes people are just hard to love.

Martha: And I think that's why then that what you were saying about your marketplace ministry for Microsoft is so important because it helps you to build that up and to reinforce it and to encourage each other's as you're living it out so that you can hold each other accountable when you know who the other believers are at work. It's mmm, that wasn't really reflecting God's love, Lori, in that moment. So how is that Christian group helping you then to reflect God's love?

Lori Kim: Discipleship, I think is how I would explain it, listening and spending time and really getting to know people as people and building the relationship, that one on one in a relationship, I think, is very important. Because the closer that you get, to know the person, the greater impact you can have, not only in that person's life and also for yourself, because you need that proximity, to really fuel that empathy, right? And to show them the love of Jesus in the ways that we can. Sometimes, yes, it is messy, but I think it's so worth, keep trying and holding each other accountable and showing up for one another and having that encouragement for one another is huge in this journey.

Jim: So you mentioned a lot of different things going on within your workplace and Microsoft's got offices all over the world. And it's got tens and tens of thousands of employees. But you mentioned that marketplace ministry at Microsoft, you get monthly meetings, you pray together. Talk to us about what you're doing. Cause you got people coming in from all over the world.

Lori Kim: Yes. So we have our weekly Bible study on Tuesday. We have alternating times, right? Because we do have different time zones. We have people from Pacific and also out of country as well. So we do have alternating times and we have weekly prayers for our company that happens on Wednesday.

And we have our monthly wisdom events that usually takes place on a Friday. We are taking some more break right now, but we're hoping to resume in September. And this is where I had my Esther moment, because especially when I first started at Microsoft, because we're not a formal employee resource group yet, it wasn't as easy to find it at first, right? I actually learned about our Christian group at Wheaton College Center for Faith Innovation Executive Forum, and that was my Esther moment to say, how can we make this easier for people that are hungry to look for this belonging?

And that's when I shared the idea about having the monthly wisdom program, right? Where it's an open, safe space for Microsoft families, both believers and unbelievers, right? How do we interact informally, frequently and making our big company feel small as well? We started having this on a monthly basis on different topics that we as human beings are hungry to learn so we can thrive in wisdom.

Bring people together from all different, time zones and locations. And we can do that because of technology and ignite the transformation. And how can we be a blessing for one another and spark the curiosity to learn about what is it about us, that we have this wonderful time together to grow in wisdom, right? And that brings so much joy and excellence to our work. So I just love that we have this time because, when you have this faith based inclusion and diversity as part of that, and we do have our website that has all the inclusion and diversity that I'll be sharing with you in case any of our listeners are interested in learning more. But I feel that when we have the faith and work connection, when we have that integration we strive for excellence in our role, right? And having integrity and having the genuine care for our coworkers, because I think it really makes a huge difference for us to do our best work as a result.

Martha: Sure. We all know Microsoft is global, but you also have boots on the ground. You live in the windy city of Chicago. So you know, we hear, unfortunately, you always hear the bad news, right? So tell us how God is actually moving in Chicago. What are you seeing happen there that maybe we aren't hearing?

Lori Kim: Yes. Thank you for asking that. So we do have many stories and movements that are reflecting the good in Chicago, right? And the historic too, right? I AM movement. And there's also the spiritual church movement. I should do a quick research to find out the historical side of it.

And we have the Moody Bible Institute that was founded in Chicago as well. But the current, the strong current of hope and encouragement that we have going on right now, through the windy city, we have the faith and work movement that's happening, right? So I serve on the Chicago team and faith and work movement is one of the largest global networks of corporate workplace of fellowship that we have where we meet together, right? Encourage one another, right? And we catalyze strategic cities for spiritual renewal. And we impact the companies that impact the world in positive ways, right?

So we have workplace groups, coach leaders, and we connect with marketplace community and through the Chicago events that I serve on the team, we have focus groups and we also have faith and work workshop, where we share how we bring faith in our ecosystem and we share stories and we have seminars and we have events around Chicago, a lot of good. God is on the move.

Martha: That's exactly what I was thinking in my head was God is on the move. And that's why we asked the question because I think people need to hear that God is at work, in our work. And that is happening in Chicago.

Jim: Is there a website that you could plug for that faith and work movement? What was that?

Lori Kim: Absolutely. I will share the website with you. So you can please share the link with our listeners.

We have faith and work movement and there's also the religious freedom business foundation. There, there's all this amazing movement that is going on and why bringing our whole authentic self is only good for business, right? And it's really encouraging people, especially in this time of struggle, right? We have been living that anxious generation now, right? So I think it's really important that we lift each other up and encourage one another.

Jim: The only people living in anxiousness are the people that are caught in traffic in Chicago right now because it doesn't matter what time of day they go to Chicago, there's traffic on the Kennedy, the expressway. It's always traffic. All right.

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Martha: You know what's really neat about ePaymints is that it's actually run by a couple of Christian women that are leading that organization. So Lori, as we think about Christian working women and you're in the middle of a huge organization, so there are probably a lot of women also in that type of a role listening right now. Can you speak some words of encouragement to them as they seek to live out their faith and their work?

Lori Kim: Absolutely. Actually, I have three reminders that I wanted to share as the encouragement. First embrace all that God has made you to be. We can do it all as working woman, right? I'm a mom of two girls and puppy. And maybe not all at the same time and definitely not alone, right? Because there is time for everything and season for every activity under the heavens, right? Our journey may be our own, but we don't walk it alone, right? So that the support system that you have, the sources of strength that you have, and trust that God empowers everyone, right? Those that are ready to serve with love.

And number two, the beauty and the power of prayers, right? Your prayer plants seeds for the future, leaving a lasting legacy. So trusting God's plan, even through suffering, pray as long as it takes, right? And believe in the transformative power of our persistent prayer.

And finally, remember to rest, bless yourself with the rest, right? And you will be able to bless the world with your great work, and the importance of having a sacred rhythm. Whatever that may be for you, be still, still finding the time to be still in God's word, right? So that you can move forward in a sustainable way with joy and remembering to rest in him moment by moment is so important.

Jim: But I just, I want you to go deeper because everybody listening that is married to a woman or is a woman knows that life as a Christian working woman is significantly more complicated than life as a Christian working man because your role as wife and mother accentuates the challenges of working How do you balance that at home because you also talked about all the volunteer work you're doing, you got two teenage daughters Oh my Goodness, two teenage daughters is so much drama.

Martha: Don't rush it. Teen and preteen.

Jim: It makes me have a hot flash to think about those teenage daughter years again. Specifically, where do you go to get encouragement as a Christian working woman? Where do you, what's your resource to go to, to get encouraged to say, I can do this?

Lori Kim: Bible. And I think it's really important to, for me I start the day, I call it the miracle morning in his presence and reading even just one verse in Bible helps me to stay present in his presence. And to be reminded that he is for me and he is here with me and then he'll walk through whatever life throws at me together is huge, right? And knowing that I'm not alone in this and having a support system, your sources of your strength, right? Your family and your friends, right? And having a belonging at work like Christian group.

It's so important. I engage in employee resource group, a woman at Microsoft, right? And families at Microsoft because having that belonging and knowing that you're not going through this alone is huge encouragement and always starting the day in his presence in prayers and knowing that God's got this. Because God's got this, you've got this, right?

Jim: That's fantastic. I love that.

Martha: Such a good word. Any last final words of encouragement you want to give to the audience?

Lori Kim: I would just just repeat the same thing, the importance and the power of prayer and having your team of people, I call them life giving people, joy giving people, right? And with you throughout the time and just remembering not to give up and pray as long as it takes and fight to the finish line, there's no turning back, right? And having that eternal perspective, gospel lens. It's really helpful, especially when life gets really hard.

Jim: Lori Kim, thanks for sharing your story and a little bit of your journey and how God's using you in the high tech world. Thanks for being on iWork4Him today.

Lori Kim: Thank you so much.

Jim: You've been listening to iWork4Him with your host, Jim and Martha Brangenberg. We're Christ followers, our workplace, it's our mission field, but ultimately, iWork4Him.