Virtue – the quality or practice of moral excellence or righteousness. When we were kids Virtue was held in high regard. IS Virtue still held in high regard?  Where do we find virtuous people?  Where do we find people even talking about virtue? Anywhere? And the ultimate question, where do we find those leading virtuously?  Well our guest today is in search of those leading virtuously around the country. He is interviewing them, studying them, and sharing their insights with others in his Leading Virtuously Podcast as well as putting their virtuous insights into practice in his business Spirit Consulting.  Today we talk with Christopher Gomez, a man on a mission from God to find those Leading Virtuously.

Christopher Gomez was no stranger to religion but from age ten to thirty he really didn’t think much of it.  One day God intersected his life in a very real way and Christopher was drawn back into a relationship with our heavenly Father.  He started attending a non-denominational church where as a musician, the music really drew him in.  Fast forward to Chris’ recent experience where he was really seeking to understand what sphere of influence he was supposed to impact and was repeatedly pointed to business.  He has been working in business for years and truly started being intentional this past year or so in allowing his walk with the Lord to impact his everyday.  This interview with Christopher gives some great examples of how God has used him with clients as well as during the work hours just praying for someone he and his wife encountered that needed healing.  God can use us every hour of the day if we allow Him to be in charge.  Through his own podcast, Leading Virtuously, Christopher has met and interviewed some great leaders that teach not only the listener but also the show host.  His audience loves to hear the lessons and allow them to impact and challenge their own lives.  Listen to this complete interview and allow it to impage you today.

Featured Guests: Christopher Gomez

Ministry/Workplace: Spirit Consulting & Leading Virtuously Podcast

YouTube Video Interview

The Urban Islands Project in conjunction with NextWave.community posed a question to us. “How do you plant an iWork4Him church?” “How do you do this in an urban environment?”  We tackled these questions and more as we spoke to the NextWave.community about iWork4Him and how a church focused on work and the value of work can transform a community by meeting the needs of the community before you start inviting people to church. Enjoy the challenges we offered in this conversation. If you are a pastor of a local church, some of these conversations may cause you to look at things differently. Be warned.  Its always fun to see what God is doing all over the country and this group of church planting pastors is a dynamic group trying to meet the needs of rural communities and urban communities.

Our theme for the month is Reinventing Church Funding. In preparation for our interview, I’m posting a article entitled “Lean Staff, Robust Mission.” The point of the article is to help our audience of church leaders expand their imagination concerning the purpose of the people they lead. We want to help them shift from seeing congregants primarily as volunteers for staffing church programs to viewing them as activated disciple makers serving Jesus where ever they go. I believe your core message is in perfect alignment with this shift in thinking.

• Tell us about your family

  • 3 kids – all married – 6 grandkids – all over the country, MN, MO, Northern Fl.

• Tell us about your experience with the Church

  • Both of us grew up in the church

  • Both committed our lives to full-time Christian ministry at 13

  • Both had an entrepreneurial call on our lives

  • Tried to enroll in seminary and twice the Sr. Pastor of our church came and said – Church leadership is not a good fit, we need more “Lay” ministers

  • Lived our lives as entrepreneurs having been told “church is church and business is business – they have nothing to do with each other” and “business is a necessary evil” – did those pastors know Jesus was a business guy??? Did they ever read the bible?

• Tell us about your podcast

  • iWork4Him is a show dedicated to unlocking God’s purpose for Christ Followers in their work. We highlight workplaces faith testimonies, great written resources and ministries that are actively involved in discipling workplace believers at all levels of an organization.

  • 8 years running

  • 1800 shows

  • 3000 guests

  • Daily 1 minute all over the nation

  • Weekly podcasts

• You have said (something like) the most underutilized missionary resource of the Church are the church members themselves. Talk to us about what you mean by that?

  • What I said is this, churches are designed around what pastors have been taught in seminary. Build a little kingdom and get lots of subjects. The bible talks about the church as a manufacturing plant. Everything produced is useless unless it is put into production. NO WHERE does it say in the scriptures that ONE person has everything the Holy Spirit has to say for the week. Pastors rarely know lost people. Workplace believers are surrounded by them – we need to send them on mission.

• What are some healthy ways that church leaders can interact with high capacity parishioners?

  • Love them

  • Live life with them

  • Earn their trust and admiration

  • Invite them into your life

  • Let the Lord lead them to give you money.

  • They are tired of being asked all the time. They want to invest not only their money, they want a place to invest their money where they are wanted for what’s in their life too.

• If you were starting a church from scratch, what habits would you build into the rhythm of the church?

  • Throw all the old ideas away

  • Stop thinking of church being on Sunday and realize that The Church is in action all 7 days a week

  • Stop thinking a building is the central focus and realize it is a tool and often an ostracizing one at that

  • Love on your community – learn about it, what it needs, work to meet those needs, then share Jesus in action – The local church needs to be seen as the solver of community problems through the power and provision of God – not the government.

  • Understand that your role as pastor is not leader, it is chief servant. Your role is not central to the life of those who go to your church – Jesus is and His Holy Spirit

  • Have a manufacturing plant mentality – don’t know what that is? Go work at one for a month

  • Help each person that you touch to see an attribute of God at work, in their work – Jon Van Sloten – Every Job a parable book

  • Study your bible from an MBA perspective not an MDIV perspective – lots of business, government, politics, education, etc. going on there.

  • Share the podium each week with others who are seeing the amazing hand of God in their lives – don’t be afraid if they say the wrong words, if God is working, everyone needs to hear about it.

  • Forget office hours. Work the streets. Go see everyone who goes to your “church” in their work. Stop expecting everyone to come to you – go to them – let them know you love their work and see God’s hand of blessing on it.

• Other questions

  • What ministries have resources we can take advantage of?

  • Who else is doing what we are doing?

  • How can I make sure I am not wasting Kingdom Resources when I am starting my urban ministry.

Featured Guests: Steve Pike

Ministry/Workplace: Urban Islands Project & NextWave.community

YouTube Video Interview

Its fun to share about the exciting things God has asked Martha and I to do with iWork4Him over the years. With this year rolling out two new podcasts – iRetire4Him and sheWorks4Him as well as the new www.AwakenPodcastNetwork.com. In addition, we will be rolling out 3 new books, our first ever, all in the names of our podcasts – iWork4Him, iRetire4Him and sheWorks4Him. Mike Henry host of the Follower of One podcast found on the www.AwakenPodcastNetwork.com wanted us to tell his audience what was going on with iWork4Him and then we turned the tables on Mike and talked to him about his Marketplace Missions Trips and his Marketplace Missions Trip in a Box. It’s a great conversation with one of the many collaborators from within the Faith and Work Movement.

Mike Henry is the real deal.  God allowed us to meet Mike several years ago when we all just started being obedient to discover our purpose in the Faith and Work movement.  His genuine desire for collaboration keeps us coming back for more.  Have you ever gone on a short term mission trip, raised your funds, prepare for the travel, have an amazing time serving and come back home changed?  This is a wonderful experience and we encourage everyone to do it at least once.  What we fail to realize is that our workplace is a mission field we can prepare to visit every day!  Listen to our conversation as we talk with Mike Henry from Follower of One about his aha moment about his mission field and now 100s of Christ-followers have gone on missions trips to their work.  God can use each of us every day in our fully funded mission.

Featured Guests: Mike Henry

Ministry/Workplace: Follower of One & Marketplace Missions Trips

YouTube Video Interview

You could call him my mentor, but he never knew my name for the first 8 years he was mentoring me. You could call him one of the founding Fathers of the Faith and Work Movement, but he would tell you there were many more that came before him. You could call many things, but Martha and I have grown fond of calling him friend. Os Hillman with MarketplaceLeaders.org is just one of 125 collaborators on www.AwakenPodcastNetwork.com. He was so excited about this demonstration of collaboration within the Faith and Work Movement that he interviewed us to find out all about the history of where the www.AwakenPodcastNetwork.com came from and what we plan on doing with it.  Enjoy the conversation between the three of us.

It’s not often that Jim and Martha Brangenberg are asked to share their story.  God is moving in unique ways, and after being entrepreneurs and running their businesses, God directed them to start iWork4Him.  Collaboration has always been a core value for the Brangenbergs, and recently God gave them the idea to put that into practice.  In 2013 when iWork4Him first hit the radio waves, there were not many other talk shows around Faith and Work.  Now, many years later, through the growth of podcasting, there are literally hundreds of Christ-followers that are sharing their stories, encouraging listeners, and proclaiming the gospel through podcasts.  These podcasts can be found if you know the Host personally, are aware of their work or ministry, or through a random search in the podcast apps.  Where can you go to find an assortment of podcasts that might help the listener in their specific line of work?  Where can you go to peruse the variety of voices speaking about faith and work?  Until now, this hasn’t been possible. 

Announcing the launch of the Awaken Podcast Network. A gathering place of over 100 different podcast voices within the Faith and Work Movement, so you can quickly find a voice or two that challenge and teach you regularly.

APN is designed to help you unlock God’s unique purpose for you at work.

This one place can supply you with encouragement, challenge, wisdom, and guidance for today and every workday. You are a workplace missionary, and you have a workplace ministry.

Find a voice that will inspire and equip you to vibrantly live out your faith at work today!

Sit back and enjoy the conversation between Os Hillman and Jim and Martha Brangenberg and then visit the Awaken Podcast Network to find a voice that will inspire and equip you to vibrantly live out your faith at work today!

Os Hillman

Featured Guests: Os Hillman with Jim and Martha Brangenberg

Ministry/Workplace: Market Place Leaders & Today God Is First - Awaken Podcast Network

YouTube Video Interview

When I was a kid, men were men, and boys were boys, and we were good with that. Men defended the honor of women and fought the wars, and they were respected as bosses and fathers.  Then the cancel culture kicked in. In the name of Women’s liberation, they demeaned, de-masculated, and canceled men so that they are portrayed as idiots, sex starved, and singularly minded on TV. Now, hear me when I say this. Women did need to be raised up in our country and our churches. They still need to be raised up to equal status in over 100 countries around the world.  That is not the point of this. We needed to teach men to be Godly men without telling them that their testosterone was wrong.  Where is the church in all this? Sixty years later, where are all the men in the church. Men are addicted to pornography, and men are leaving their wives for the pipe dream in the cubicle next door. Where are men learning and being mentored and discipled by other men to be the kind of Man that God wants them to be?  Where do men go to learn this?  I found just the place. A place where men can hear from men about struggles and victories both at home and at work. Real men with real stories with God as the central character. That’s my kind of action.  Blake Mattocks is passionate about men being Godly men. So passionate that he started  www.365Christianmen.com and he is here to tell us about it.  Don’t disconnect just because you aren’t a man.

Blake Mattocks was angry.  He decided to join the Marines at age 18 in hopes that he could blow things up and not get in trouble.  Blake shares his journey through the military, back home when his mom dies, and then eventually in Bible college and as a pastor.  In 2018 Blake admittedly blew up his relational world and vocational world with an emotional affair.  He and his wife fought to save their marriage and decided to stay in their church. 

A leader approached him in his church with a vision of 365 Christian Men.  The vision was to use stories to inspire men to dig deeper, seek more intently, and be the man God called them to be.  The daily videos show men how to have honor, what a role model looks like – even if they’ve done right or wrong, and teach life lessons.  Their tagline is “Inspirational Stories of real men”. Each story contains four key elements. 

1. Every story contains a scripture that relates to and is relevant to the story. 

2. Each story must be about a Christ follower or a conversion to Christ story

3. What we call a timeless truth. It is a statement or an inspiring quote that is short, memorable and challenging.

4. An application

Blake shared about Dr. James Dobson’s video where he shares a story of someone finding his high school tennis trophies in a dumpster and the lessons that can be learned from that.  Other videos have lessons of forgiveness or integrity.  There are videos by personalities like LeCrae and everyday people too. 

Look on their website for all kinds of resources at www.365christianmen.com .  We are giving away a copy of LeCrae’s audio book by calling our listener line at 866-713-9675.

The foundational verse for 365 Christian Men is Heb 12:1. We want to bring attention to what God has done and is doing in the lives of people. It is the power of story. In the future there will also be resources for another year of content for Christian Men as well as a year for Christian Women.

Featured Guests: Blake Mattocks

Ministry/Workplace: 365 Christian Men

YouTube Video Interview

Is it OK for a Christian to be in politics, to be involved in a political conversation? Isn’t politics too volatile for a Jesus Follower to be a part of?  Where does our faith fit into the political process of the united states of America?  How do we bring our faith in Jesus into the political arena without destroying relationships? How do we embrace faith, inspire hope, weaponize love and impact a nation? Can any of that be done within politics?  Honestly, I don’t know many of the answers to the questions I am asking. I do know one thing – everyone around me should be benefitting from my faith in Jesus whether they believe in Jesus or not. Is it working??? I don’t know for sure, but I do know that politics is quicksand for me. Soooo, we are bringing in an expert who talks all day long about bringing in the principles of the Kingdom of God into politics. Aamon Ross with Kingdom in politics is with us today to inspire a generation of Jesus followers to get involved in politics and fill the 575,000 political offices in our country.

God calls us to take the Kingdom into every area of the world.  For the last 60 years we’ve abdicated our responsibility to steward the political arena and the results are catastrophic.  If you’re tired of just talking about the problems in politics and want to be part of the solution, Kingdom In Politics is for you.

Aamon Ross from Kingdom in Politics grew up in a Christian family, but it was just six years ago, while on a business/mission trip to the China wall, that God truly grabbed his attention.  Aamon heard God tell him two things, you think too small, and you don’t think generationally.  These two statements changed Aamon’s trajectory that led to Kingdom in Politics.  With only a 5th-grade civics background, Aamon met with his friend Kevin Stitt and shared how he thought God wanted him to influence politics.  At that same meeting, Kevin Stitt confidentially shared with Aamon that he felt he was supposed to run for Oklahoma’s governor.  The short story is that Aamon became Kevin Stitts’s campaign manager, won the election and is currently the Governor of Oklahoma. 

Aamon shared that at their first meeting to talk about their campaign, they wrote a list of over 100 words in politics that they didn’t know and started studying the language. 

When someone decides to become a missionary in a culture, they don’t know anything about it.  Much like a foreign missionary learns a language and culture to serve a specific people group, Aamon sees the need for Americans to understand the political language and culture to serve the people group of politics.  The idea behind Kingdom in Politics is to raise up groups within churches that “send” someone into politics as they would foreign missions, creating a support team to have the most success.

Kingdom in Politics has a goal to raise 100,000 elected political officials in the next ten years.  There are over 500,000 elected positions in America.  What a great goal to fill 100,000 offices with Christ-followers.  These positions could be from the school board to the White House and everything in between.  Their website is full of training and guides to make this possible. 

When asked if Christians should be involved in politics, Aamon likes to ask this question, “How do we like the results of Christians not being involved in politics?”  Wow, what a powerful question.  Is God prompting you to get involved?  Is God tugging at you to see a change in an area you can influence?  Now might be the time to put your hat in the ring and allow Kingdom in Politics to help you get going.  God calls us to take the Kingdom into every area of the world.  For the last 60 years, we’ve abdicated our responsibility to steward the political arena, and the results are catastrophic.  If you’re tired of just talking about political problems and want to be part of the solution, Kingdom In Politics is for you. This is what it means to work4Him in politics.

Featured Guests: Aamon Ross

Ministry/Workplace: Kingdom in Politics

YouTube Video Interview

Communities have issues. Communities have problems. But their communities. What else so communities have? Community!  We head off to Sunny California where one such community has decided to take the resources they have and put them all to use in addressing the issues of chronic homelessness and many other issues.  I can’t wait for you to hear the story of the e49 Foundation and compassion village and the amazing things they have done. Their founder & CEO & Social Entrepreneur Tammy Vallejo is with us today to tell us the story of transformation in their Del Paso California Community and the way you can do it in your community too.

Tammy was raised in a Christian home and baptized at age 7.  Raised in the mid-west she found herself on the West Coast by the time she was a young adult.  As a married couple she and her husband looked at the community around them and saw many areas of need.  With a background as a real estate broker, Tammy knew how to navigate the housing world.  Seeing such a high level of poverty and chronic homelessness lead to the start of the Compassion Village and The E 49 Foundation. 

Tammy saw a need to pull the church together with the business people in her community and started using events to drive collaboration and cooperation.  God showed her that the DNA of Entrepreneurs and Churches are very different, yet when brought together they can do great things.  Chronic homelessness, having no bed or car for over 1 year has grown from around 2500 to 12,500 in Tammy’s community.  This once hidden issue is now very public and needed to be addressed.  Now through Compassion Village churches and business people are working together to raise funds and provide the labor to build tiny homes.  This is just the beginning of the healing process for the homeless.  They are also offered services to learn skills, as they heal and learn to live in community.  Now there is also the Biblical Justice Leaders Lab, School of Kingdom Business, and the School of Social Justice.  Through the hands and feet of Jesus, a broken world is learning to heal and solve social issues in the process.

What an encouragement to hear how the churches are using their unused properties and really serving outside the walls of the church.  Tammy said the model can be reproduced across the country and they are happy to share what they have learned.  What an example of collaboration.  You can learn more at www.Thee49foundation.org or www.compassionvillage.org

Featured Guests: Tammy Vallejo

Ministry/Workplace: The e49 Foundation / Compassion Village / The Creator’s Place

YouTube Video Interview

It’s always fun to travel back to the frozen tundra where I grew up—so many great people with so many great stories. Well, traveling to MN is out right now, but we can go anywhere and do anything with Zoom.  Today we are going to talk to an entrepreneurial couple. The Husband takes normal cargo vans and turns them into fantastic conversion camper vans. The Wife is a coach to Christian Working Women all over the Country.  We love talking to couples like this because together, they are trying to change the world by living out their faith in everything they do and running two companies and maintaining a healthy marriage, and raising kids. Gina Marie Lokken with Gina Marie Coaching and Erik Lokken with Narrow Road Van Conversions are with us on the show today.

Erik and Gina Lokken both have Jesus stories that intersected in a singles ministry.  Erik felt like he had a Job experience in his life.  He was doing well, built a huge house, and then experienced divorce and job loss through a series of events.  Erik took to listening to audiobooks while traveling for work and was exposed to the likes of CS Lewis.  God eventually led Erik to work in a church and lead a singles group, which he didn’t feel equipped to do. 

As an adult, Gina had her dream job and yet found herself struggling with anxiety and depression.  One of her vet tech friends invited her to church.  She had been to church in her life but never felt the warmth and welcome she did when she went to church with her friend.  She experienced a joy that overwhelmed her, and she knew it was an encounter with God.  Eventually, Erik and Gina met in the singles bible study and later married. 

Now Gina has a coaching business where she helps others change the world by changing their world.  Gina is a Strengths Finder coach, and John Maxwell certified and uses her coaching to help others gain confidence to do what they are equipped to do.  Gina also has been building community through her Women Rise Up Peer Groups.  Martha recently completed a coaching series with Gina to do the Strengths assessment and was utterly amazed by the process. 

A little over a year ago, Erik did a van conversion for his family to travel and camp in nature in a self-contained vehicle.  He gained so much interest from others that it has turned into a business with orders through next year.  His company is growing, and Erik is seeking how to incorporate his faith in his new business best.  In the past, he worked in a church where it was a natural outpouring of his work. Now, Erik can see his work as a mission field. 

With two growing businesses, it’s important for Erik and Gina to make sure to spend time together.  Recently they have re-instituted date night and know the importance of keeping family a priority. 

Gina is offering the iWork4Him audience a special “Friends & Family Strengths Coaching Discount” – 50% off the 5-hour Strengths Assessment – Regular price $1297 (Clifton Strengths Assessment Included) by emailing at hello@ginamarie.net “iWork4Him, I’m In”!  Learn more at www.ginamariecoaching.com Gina and Erik are also giving back 10% of these signups to iWork4Him.  Thank you guys for believing in our mission and paying it forward.

Featured Guests: Erik & Gina Lokken

Ministry/Workplace: Gina Marie Coaching LLC & Narrow Road Van Conversions LLC

YouTube Video Interview

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

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

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

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

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

Featured Guests: Nolen Rollins

Ministry/Workplace: GPS Life Journey

YouTube Video Interview

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

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

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

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

Featured Guests: Dr. Tara JG

Ministry/Workplace: TMJ Consulting, LLC

YouTube Video Interview