Welcome to the Faith Based Business Podcast with your host, Pastor Bob Thibodeau.
Speaker AOn this podcast, we interview fellow entrepreneurs who are willing to share their stories, their trials, and their triumphs in business, all in an effort to help you avoid the same obstacles and to achieve success faster.
Speaker ABut at all times, continue to rely on our faith to see us through to victory.
Speaker ANow with today's guest, here is your host, Pastor Bob Thibodeau.
Speaker BHello, everyone, everywhere.
Speaker BPastor Robert Thibodeau here.
Speaker BWelcome to the Faith Based Business podcast.
Speaker BWe are so blessed that you are joining us today.
Speaker BCan faith and capitalism really work together?
Speaker BIt's a question a lot of people ask today.
Speaker BAre they mutually exclusive to each other?
Speaker BWell, the answer may surprise you, and our guest today is going to explain why.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BI'm honored to have Rich Sanders, host of the Christian Capitalist podcast, join us today.
Speaker BRich is a pastor, a small business owner, health care attorney, retired adjunct professor, and a former Navy intelligence officer and founder of Good Works Missions.
Speaker BHe stays busy.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BHe's also the author of the Christian the Gospel of Hard Work and Generous Giving.
Speaker BSo get ready for an inspiring conversation about faith, work, and generosity.
Speaker BPraise God.
Speaker BWith that being said, help me to welcome to the program Rich Sanders.
Speaker BRich, it's a blessing to have you on the program with us today, brother.
Speaker CAnd thank you so much, Bob.
Speaker CI'm so glad to be here.
Speaker CGod bless you in the ministry that you're doing.
Speaker CI'm just so delighted to get a chance to meet you today and talk with you about these important topics.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BWell, the first question I always start with is this.
Speaker BOther than that brief information I just shared, can you tell us in your own words, who is Rich Sanders?
Speaker CRich Sanders is a follower of Jesus, blessed to have a terrific family here in Northwest Florida.
Speaker CWe live in a town called Destin, right near the Gulf of Mexico.
Speaker CMy wife Rebecca and I met at church and have been married now 28 years and are just thrilled to have three beautiful children, all of whom are in or just out of college, and a giant golden retriever named Cowboy.
Speaker CAnd all of us are here together for Christmas in the next week or so and having a great time celebrating God's love for us in the form of his son, Jesus.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BPraise God.
Speaker BNow, God bless you newlyweds.
Speaker BI tell you.
Speaker BI mean, my wife and I just celebrated December 9th was our 48th here.
Speaker CWhoa.
Speaker CAll right.
Speaker CYou look pretty good being an old guy, Bob.
Speaker BThat's right.
Speaker BThat's right.
Speaker BThat's the anointing that's the anointing and camera.
Speaker BAnd camera technology.
Speaker BRight, Right.
Speaker BI want to say as we get started, I appreciate your military service, and I was an army cavalry officer as we were talking before we hit the record button.
Speaker BBut I always make it a point just to acknowledge my fellow veterans whenever I get a chance, because it's a unique calling and not everybody is comfortable doing it.
Speaker BTo me, the military service, one of the highlights of my life, and I just.
Speaker BI just enjoyed it.
Speaker CI'm right there with you, Bob.
Speaker CWe didn't even get a chance to talk about this, but I was so delighted to get a chance to serve, even though I was only in the Navy four years.
Speaker CMy father was career Air Force, so he was in for 26 years.
Speaker CAnd like you, had a similar path prior enlisted, then got his commission.
Speaker CMy brother and I grew up in the military and so have a very deep respect not only for military service members, but for the families that also serve and make their sacrifice.
Speaker CSo just this past Saturday, in honor of the Army Navy game, we had our annual event called the Armed Forces Bake off, where we get our friends and family together and bake a bunch of goodies to send out to military service members who are.
Speaker CWell, you'll appreciate this as a former army officer, you got to have two requirements to get goodies from us during the Armed Forces Bake off, which, by the way, we do during the Army Navy game, get everybody fired up for the end of football season.
Speaker CIn that awesome event held every year between army and Navy.
Speaker CYou got to be two things, active duty and oconus outside the continental United States.
Speaker CSo I just took them over to UPS yesterday.
Speaker CWe're sending out boxes to Japan, Kuwait, and somewhere in the Middle east for Air Force security.
Speaker CWe're not sure where, but we got the APO address.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BPraise God.
Speaker CThat's good.
Speaker BThat's good.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BWe're not talking too much about the Army Navy game today, so.
Speaker CExactly.
Speaker CThat didn't do well for army this year, but last year was a different story.
Speaker BI just threw that out there.
Speaker BWe'll acknowledge it.
Speaker BSo.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker CPraise the Lord.
Speaker BLet's start with your book, the Christian Capitalist.
Speaker BWhy did you write this book, and what was your motivation to do with that?
Speaker CBob, thank you so much for asking.
Speaker CYou know, the timing of this book, I think, was really important to me.
Speaker CGod called me to write this book right after the Congress passed a law back in the previous administration which changed the tax code so that the.
Speaker CThe charitable deduction might be affected.
Speaker CAnd so I Was like, oh, man, I hope this doesn't impact giving.
Speaker CAnd at the same time, I'm thinking about giving and people's motivation to give.
Speaker CI started thinking about this kind of wave of academic literature and theology since World War II that has encouraged Christians to believe that you cannot be a Christian and a capitalist at the same time.
Speaker CYou know, here where I talk to so many small business owners around the nation about this title, I get two responses.
Speaker CAnd I gave it this controversial title for this reason.
Speaker CSome people hear the title Christian Capitalist and say, hey, that's me.
Speaker CI'm a small business owner.
Speaker CI'm a business executive in a big Fortune 500 company.
Speaker CBut I bring Jesus to work with me every day, and I try and use my business to love my neighbor like Jesus commanded us to.
Speaker CBut a good half of the people I talk to say, wait a second.
Speaker CEither I didn't think you could be both, or there's no way you can be both.
Speaker CIn fact, there's some recent literature from very, very prominent academic professors of theology and business who say the best way to be a Christ Christian is to be a socialist.
Speaker CAnd so with the change in the tax code back in 2018, with this kind of movement against capitalism and frankly, the declining population of Christians around the nation, I thought, you know what?
Speaker CThis is time to kind of stand up for both Christianity and capitalism in a way that makes both look better, makes both more favorable to those who are not believers and those who are not espousing free enterprise and to encourage those who are of the mindset of, you can't be bothered that they're contradictory, that you can as long as you use the benefits and the produce of whatever you're working on to benefit your neighbor.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BSo why is that important for believers today?
Speaker CWell, let me tell you.
Speaker CI think there's a couple of implications.
Speaker CThe first is it's important for believers because as church membership declines, I don't think the number of followers of Jesus is declining.
Speaker CI think people in response to the Gallup surveys or the Pew surveys are simply saying, I don't go to church anymore.
Speaker CA lot of people respond by saying, I'm spiritual, but not religious.
Speaker CThe message of Jesus for 2000 years has been unchanging and clear that we got from the Gospels, right?
Speaker CAnd his own words.
Speaker CBut the way people interpret them has changed dramatically.
Speaker CAnd so people follow Jesus now they are Christians without going to church, and churches are starting to close down, and the kind of the traditional denominations are changing really rapidly.
Speaker CSo this was to Encourage folks to say, hey, you know what?
Speaker CYou can be a follower of Jesus, and even if you're not going to church, you can take your beliefs and take that message of love with you wherever you go, especially at work.
Speaker CBecause when we work, we glorify God.
Speaker CSo that's the first implication.
Speaker CThe reason I also wrote it for believers is, man, some tough lessons.
Speaker CLet me tell you.
Speaker CAs we talked about in the introduction, I'm a pastor, and when I.
Speaker CIn our service, in our liturgy, I read the Gospel every Sunday, even though we have volunteers to read the other parts of our lectionary service.
Speaker CWhen I'm reading Jesus saying to the rich young ruler, the only thing you have left to do to inherit the kingdom of heaven is sell everything you own and give it to the poor.
Speaker CAnd I'm looking at the members of my congregation, some of whom are financial advisors who are wealthy because they help wealthy people get wealthier.
Speaker CI can see the look on their face, and they're like, what do I do with this?
Speaker CAnd we wrestle with those kinds of concepts in the book and ultimately conclude, yeah, if you're rich, that's great, but God made you rich for a reason, and that's to help your neighbor who's poor and needy, regardless of what that kind of.
Speaker CThat poverty or need looks like.
Speaker BYeah, too many people are just focused on getting more instead of using more, I guess you could say.
Speaker CIndeed.
Speaker CAnd that's why the motto of the Christian capitalist is, the more we make, the more we give.
Speaker CYou know, I got to tell you, I've wrestled with this all the time.
Speaker CI mean, I'm retired from practicing law over 28 years and now live in a beautiful house on the beach in Destin.
Speaker CI'm looking out the window here at a nice car in the driveway.
Speaker CDoes having a nice house and a nice car make me a bad Christian?
Speaker CYou know, these are.
Speaker CThese are important concepts, because I was just telling somebody at a Bible study yesterday, if Jesus walked through this door right now and said, rich, you just talked about what I told the rich young ruler.
Speaker CI didn't stutter.
Speaker CSell everything you have and give it to the poor.
Speaker CI would say, I'm sorry, I got it wrong.
Speaker CBut I really do believe that if we have any kind of means, any kind of means, that we have to share it with our neighbor, that we are good stewards of what we have and that we're good stewards of what we give.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BI know a lot of Christians struggle with balancing their faith and their ambition.
Speaker BRight?
Speaker BHow should Christians view wealth and success in light of today's society.
Speaker CWell, let me tell you, that's an outstanding question because it really comes down to what success is.
Speaker CIf you believe in these concepts of the more we make, the more we give, and that by working hard we glorify God, and that by giving more we glorify God, then success takes on a totally different notion.
Speaker CThe theme of the book, Bob, is from 1 Timothy, where Paul is writing his kind of Chief Lieutenant Timothy and telling him about how to build the church that he's left Timothy in charge of.
Speaker CAnd in 1 Timothy 6, Paul tells Timothy, tell the people who are rich in the present age not to be bragging, not to be haughty, but to be ready to be generous and sharing good works.
Speaker CBecause ultimately when they do that, when they benefit their poor and needy neighbors, they're storing up for themselves treasure in heaven.
Speaker CAnd most importantly, that Last part, verse 19 of chapter 6, is they're putting themselves in a position to enjoy the life that really is life.
Speaker CSo when you look at it in that context, success is not a nice house or a nice car or a big fat IRA account.
Speaker CSuccess is how many people can I impact with what I have and follow the commandment of Jesus to love my neighbor wherever they are and whatever their.
Speaker CTheir situation is?
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BYeah, and.
Speaker BAnd just, I just like to point out, 10% is 10%.
Speaker BWe'll just use the tithe as the example.
Speaker B10% is 10%.
Speaker BIf you only make $25,000 a year, 10% is 10%.
Speaker BYou make $250,000 a year.
Speaker BYour 10% goes a lot farther, but it's still 10%.
Speaker CThat's exactly right.
Speaker CAnd that's why the.
Speaker CSo glad you talked about tithing, my friend, because to me, the more we make is a concept that goes beyond tithing.
Speaker COne of my best friends here in Destin is somebody that I met by eavesdropping.
Speaker CHe and his friend were over in one part of the gym working out.
Speaker CI'm in another part of the gym working out.
Speaker CAnd it just involved me kind of moving past them as I was doing this exercise.
Speaker CAnd they had just had a men's Bible study the day before, talking about tithing and giving.
Speaker CAnd my friend said to his friend, you know, I think tithing is just a suggestion.
Speaker CIf you get more, you should give more.
Speaker CI'm like, we need to talk, because he gets it.
Speaker CBut I will say, furthermore, that there's this new.
Speaker CAnd we address this briefly in the book.
Speaker CThere's this New trend among very, very wealthy, ultra wealthy folks, the elite of the wealthy class in America, billionaires, basically, that have signed the Giving Pledge.
Speaker CHave you heard of the Giving Pledge?
Speaker BBriefly?
Speaker CYeah.
Speaker CSo research on it.
Speaker CWarren Buffett, Bill Gates, you know, this kind of level of money.
Speaker CAnd the pledge is that I, as a very wealthy person, am going to give half of my estate away.
Speaker CAnd that's a lofty thought, right?
Speaker CWhen you look at the tithe at 10%, and then you see these people who are ultra wealthy giving away 50%, that's a very laudable goal.
Speaker CAnd I'm certainly not going to criticize that, because it's a laudable goal that will ultimately benefit people.
Speaker CThe issue that I have with it, though, is if you wait to give your money away until you're dead, you deprive yourself of the joy of giving.
Speaker CAnd furthermore, Jesus tells us, love your neighbor, go forth and love them as I have loved you.
Speaker CYou can't love from the grave, right?
Speaker CYou got to do it now while you're alive.
Speaker CSo that's the only issue I have.
Speaker CI would love to see those folks who made this magnificent pledge to do it while they're around to benefit people, direct the way that they're giving and love their neighbor.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BWell, how can believers reconcile pursuing success while maintaining that spirit of humility and generosity?
Speaker CThat's a good question.
Speaker CSo when you look at success in terms of the more we make, the more we give, then you're simply saying, you know, by making more, I have the opportunity to serve more.
Speaker COne of the first guests on our podcast is a Roman Catholic deacon in San Antonio who, like you and me, served as an officer in the military.
Speaker CHe was a hospital administrator in the Air Force.
Speaker CHe served with my father in Italy in the early 80s.
Speaker CDuring his time in the Philippines in the late 70s, he had a chance to interact regularly with Mother Teresa and learn from her.
Speaker CAnd the lessons that he got from her are just outstanding.
Speaker CThis is episode one of our podcast.
Speaker CIf you're able to go listen to it, I encourage you to.
Speaker CAnd she, Mother Teresa told Dan, his name is Dan Dan.
Speaker CAnd Dan's message was, Mother Teresa grabbed him by both hands and said, dan, every single person is called by God to be someone special to someone else.
Speaker CAnd so when you think about striving and ambition and success, I encourage folks not to think about it in material terms, but in the number of people that you can be special to, you know, I.
Speaker CI just.
Speaker CI love that notion there.
Speaker CAnd there are folks that.
Speaker CThat we see.
Speaker CAnd we're interviewing, and I'm sure you have talked to over the years that say, man, I'm just blessed to have this much because now I can impact more people and, and spread the love of God to others.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BI, I've said for years, you know, there's.
Speaker BEveryone is called to be in the ministry.
Speaker BEvery single person.
Speaker BYou got those who are called to go, those are the pastors, missionaries, all that, those that help, those that go, the support staff and things like that.
Speaker BAnd then those that finance those that go, you know, but every person is called in the ministry.
Speaker CYes, that's exactly right.
Speaker CAnd furthermore, I'll say this because you raised a great point a few minutes ago when you were talking about tithing.
Speaker CIt's 10% of whatever you make.
Speaker COne of the most important concepts because we talk about capitalists and a lot of people envision the Monopoly man right, in the top hat, the monocle, the cane and all of that in New York on Broadway.
Speaker CBut Jesus tells us in the story of the widow's offering or the widow's mite, that as all these rich people are parading into the synagogue with their fine robes and they're making this contribution to the sanctuary, that the widow who comes in and gives two coins, which together aren't even worth a penny, has given more than everybody else because that's all she had to give.
Speaker CThat's a core concept of our movement, that anyone could be a Christian capitalist.
Speaker CIn fact, one of our most devout and best examples of a Christian capitalist is a woman who just gives so generously.
Speaker CAnd she's a waitress at a restaurant here in our community, doesn't have a fabulous home, a fabulous car, doesn't make a ton of money.
Speaker CBut man, every single day she's thinking about how to give.
Speaker CIn fact, the other day she called me, we had a cold snap.
Speaker CCold snaps here in Destin are not like cold snaps in Baltimore, by the way.
Speaker CLet me just go ahead and throw that out there.
Speaker BYeah, that's 65 degrees.
Speaker BThat's cold down there.
Speaker CExactly.
Speaker CBut she called me up and said, pastor rich, I made $900 yesterday.
Speaker CWe had a super busy day at the restaurant.
Speaker CI want to take it all and go buy blankets for the homeless because I know they're cold.
Speaker CIsn't that wonderful?
Speaker CAnd that's a perfect example of what we're talking about.
Speaker CIt doesn't have to be nine figure income and giving away millions.
Speaker CIt can be just something that small.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BWell, your work spans multiple fields I mean, from pastoring to business ownership to law, how has these diverse experiences shaped your perspective on living out the gospel through working and giving?
Speaker CThat's a great question, man.
Speaker CI appreciate that.
Speaker CSo when I was actively practicing law, I was also in the church.
Speaker CIn our church, we call that bivocational ministry.
Speaker CAnd so when I'm advising people on legal issues, I would approach this.
Speaker CThese kind of complex corporate.
Speaker CWe didn't go to court, did corporate and regulatory work.
Speaker CBut I would approach these deals as what's good for both sides.
Speaker CHow can we do this transaction or resolve this dispute?
Speaker CBy solving in a way that's good for both sides and that will leave a relationship intact.
Speaker COn the ministry side, of course, that practice of law and interacting with people through business very much involves informed the ministry so that I can help folks who are in trouble in their business or struggling with corporate or employment issues in a way that's not only spiritual but tangible.
Speaker CBut I'll tell you, for this particular issue, the Christian capitalist, it really hit home just yesterday in this Bible study.
Speaker COne of our members of the Bible study was asking, okay, because we were talking about 1 Timothy 6 and these verses 17 through 19, when we talk about enjoying all the blessings that God has given us, do we really own them or are we just stewards?
Speaker CAnd what is the difference between stewardship and ownership?
Speaker CAnd the short answer is in many ways they're the same.
Speaker CWe think about this as my cup, my laptop, my shirt.
Speaker CBut these are blessings that God has given us, and when we're gone, they go to someone else.
Speaker CAnd so we may own them for a particular period of time, but if we don't take care of them, if we're not good stewards of them, no one can enjoy those things after we're gone.
Speaker CAnd that in particular goes to land and real estate.
Speaker CYou know, we were talking about how, yeah, you may own it for now, but when you die, it goes to someone else.
Speaker CIt's just the way that things go.
Speaker CI had an accounted friend of mine who put a very fine point on it.
Speaker CHe said, I've been a lot of funerals.
Speaker CI've never seen a hearse with a U Haul trailer behind it.
Speaker BThat's right.
Speaker CYou know, can't take it with you.
Speaker BYou founded Good Work missions.
Speaker BTell us about this program.
Speaker CWell, this verse that we keep talking about from one Timothy is a theme all throughout the New Testament.
Speaker CAnd that is doing good works and loving your neighbor.
Speaker CAnd so my wife Rebecca and I, as I had finished the book and gotten the manuscript written Started talking with other authors about what's the best way to get this published.
Speaker CAnd across the board.
Speaker CAnd this is no knock to any of your listeners who work for publishing companies, but across the board, what I heard from other authors was publishing companies offer you a raw deal, including some that are church based or church owned.
Speaker CAnd so Rebecca and I said, you know what, we're entrepreneurs.
Speaker CLet's start our own publishing company and have an author friendly model that we think supports people not only in writing to inspire others, but to inspire others to do good works.
Speaker CAnd so we entitled our publishing company Good Works Mission.
Speaker CAnd I got to tell you, Bob, I'm so thrilled.
Speaker CNot only was the Christian capitalist able to hit number one on Amazon's bestseller list, but our second book just came out two weeks ago.
Speaker CIt's a children's book written by my friend Michelle Fritsch, who's a pastor in Atlanta.
Speaker CIt's a kid's book that kids can read when they're a little older, but ideally at the outset is meant to be read by a parent or a grandparent to a child in the lap.
Speaker CIt's called you'd're a Child of God.
Speaker CAnd it hit number one on Amazon just last week.
Speaker CIsn't that wonderful?
Speaker CSo Good Works Mission is a little publishing company that's got some oomph to it.
Speaker CAnd I always tell folks, Thomas Nelson had to start somewhere.
Speaker BThat's it, that's it.
Speaker BBaby steps.
Speaker BPraise God.
Speaker CExactly.
Speaker CExactly.
Speaker BYour podcast is the Christian Capitalist podcast and you share stories of individuals embracing this ethic we've been talking about.
Speaker BDo you have and can you share with us a particularly memorable guest or story that exemplifies these values?
Speaker CAbsolutely.
Speaker CSo Dan Kearns, the Catholic deacon I was talking about, who passed those lessons along for Mother Teresa, is a great one.
Speaker CBut the one that jumps immediately to mind is a friend of mine from my high school.
Speaker CI went to high school in D.C.
Speaker Cin Washington, D.C.
Speaker Cwhen my dad was stationed at the pentagon.
Speaker CIt's called St.
Speaker CJohn's College High School.
Speaker CIt's a Lasallian school.
Speaker CSo it's founded in the tradition of St.
Speaker CJohn the Baptist De La Salle and run by the Christian Brothers.
Speaker CTerrific school.
Speaker CAt the time where I went, it was all male, Catholic and military, and since then is now co ed and the military is optional, but still going strong.
Speaker CAnd I just love the ministry there and the way that, that they educate young people.
Speaker CMy friend Chris Stevens graduated from St.
Speaker CJohn's 10 years before me and went on to a terrific career in business.
Speaker CAnd now is a business professor at Notre Dame.
Speaker CSo he's teaching young people and MBA students how to be good Christians in business up at really the biggest Catholic university in America.
Speaker CSo when I interviewed Chris, I was so delighted to get a chance to talk to him.
Speaker CNot only is he one of the co founders of Keurig Coffee, and so every time someone has a cup of Keurig, they can thank Chris and his partners who got that venture started, but now he owns a business with him.
Speaker CHe and his wife own basically a private umbrella fund that invests in, the last time I Talked with him, 14 smaller companies, all of whom have a good mission that they believe in.
Speaker CAnd they have pledged to give the profits that they have from their portion of that to charity.
Speaker CThat's exactly what I'm talking about.
Speaker CIsn't that wonderful?
Speaker CSo even as a successful business owner, he's trying to help other small business owners and then from that help the poor and needy.
Speaker CIt's exactly the kind of thing that we talk about in the book.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BHow can businesses that are being led by faith driven entrepreneurs create lasting kingdom focused impact in their communities and beyond?
Speaker COh man, I'm so glad you asked that.
Speaker CI mean, because that really is the heart of the matter.
Speaker CIt's a twofold focus.
Speaker CThe first is internal, internal.
Speaker CYou know, so many people in 2024, as we head into 2025, people are going to be listening to this episode, I think in January of 25.
Speaker CSo many people now across America think, I can't talk about my faith at work or I'll get in trouble with hr or I can't talk about my faith at work or I can't, I'll offend someone.
Speaker CRight?
Speaker CBut the internal focus for small business owners is simply projecting that message of love, broadcasting that message of love, shining the light of Christ to those that you work with and those who work for you and letting them know that you are a believer.
Speaker CAnd you don't have to do that by having a Bible study every week.
Speaker CYou don't have to do that by putting messages on the wall.
Speaker CYou do that as a concept that you and I learned day one in the military.
Speaker CLead by example.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker CLead by example.
Speaker CAnd you show others how you're a follower of Jesus in your business, just like you show them you're a follower of Jesus when you go to church.
Speaker CThat's the thing that I've been learning more and more about as I've written this book.
Speaker CAnd I'm now talking to people all over the nation.
Speaker CIf you limit your worship of God and you glorify God only one hour on Sunday week, you've missed the whole point.
Speaker CYou got the rest of your life Monday through Friday for many folks.
Speaker CEven more.
Speaker CYou can't just check Jesus at the door when you go to work.
Speaker CSo it's about helping your coworkers and the people that work for you when you go outside.
Speaker CWhen you go outside, the focus of a Christian business has to be not just on generating product, generating services, and generating profit, but then on what you do with that profit.
Speaker CThere's this concept that really hasn't gained traction in popular kind of business culture.
Speaker CBut about 15 years ago, a couple people wrote books and articles about philanthro capitalism.
Speaker CAnd that's kind of the point, but that's a secular way to put it.
Speaker CBasically, we say that if you're a Christian business owner, or if you're an executive and a Christian in a business, you got to find a way that in whatever business you have, whatever business you own or maintain, that you got to find a way to love your neighbor through that business.
Speaker CAnd that really depends.
Speaker CI mean, for some.
Speaker CSo here's an example.
Speaker COne of my favorite Christian capitalists that I met this year who was a little hesitant when I asked her to come onto the podcast.
Speaker CSo I'm not going to mention her by name, but I will say that her business is called the Beagle Bagel in Madison, Mississippi.
Speaker CAnd she's just a terrific, terrific Christian.
Speaker CShe makes bagels and breakfast and brings joy to that particular community through delicious food and a high quality, high quality experience when you go there.
Speaker CBut on a regular basis, she's giving food away to the poor and needy in that particular time.
Speaker CWhen I met her, we had a relative of my wife's in the hospital in Jackson.
Speaker CShe said, oh, since you're going to the hospital, take this big tray of bagels to the nurses at the nurses station.
Speaker CIsn't that wonderful?
Speaker CAnd so no matter what business you're in, you can figure out a way to love your neighbor through the work that you do.
Speaker CIt's up to you and how God calls you to do it.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BIt doesn't have to be financial all the time.
Speaker BIt could be service.
Speaker BI mean, you know, we had a neighbor, lady, cross street, died several years ago when we first moved into this house.
Speaker BYou know, every time we went to the store, I go knock on her door, you know, do you need anything?
Speaker BCan I pick up anything for you?
Speaker BI mean, just, you know, that Was a.
Speaker BThat was ministry.
Speaker CThere was ministry.
Speaker CExactly.
Speaker CAnd, Bob, it doesn't have to be financial.
Speaker COh, I'm so glad you said that.
Speaker CSo just yesterday I was visit or two days ago interviewing a guy named Chris Barnes on our podcast who's a financial advisor.
Speaker CBut the best and kind of most gripping example he could give or that I took from our interview was his act of generosity to someone in need, and it involved no money at all.
Speaker CHe said, I had a friend who had cancer, and because of the type of cancer he had and the type of treatment he was receiving, he lost his sense of taste.
Speaker CAnd so Chris said I would call him regularly and just check in on him.
Speaker CAnd when he told me he'd lost his sense of taste, I was like, well, can you taste anything?
Speaker CAnd the guy said, yeah, but the only thing that I can taste now is ketchup.
Speaker CAnd so Chris got on Amazon and ordered four of those big kind of containers of ketchup with the pump top like you have at the ballpark and sent it to him.
Speaker CAnd the guy sent him a thank you note that said, basically, thank you.
Speaker CYou've shown God's love for me and changed my life.
Speaker CIsn't that wonderful?
Speaker CDo four big bottles of ketchup.
Speaker CIt really doesn't take much, like the Mother Teresa said, to be someone special to someone in need.
Speaker CAnd I will furthermore say you mentioned that elderly neighbor that you had.
Speaker COne of the most kind of overlooked categories of need that I see, especially now in 2024 with so many young people who are still struggling with the impact of COVID and the lockdown is loneliness.
Speaker CWe have an epidemic of loneliness in our country.
Speaker CAnd so Christian capitalists can show their love for their neighbor without ever touching a dollar or touching a credit card, just by giving time to those people who are lonely.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BThat is so good, Rich.
Speaker BThis has been so interesting.
Speaker BI know someone may have a question or they like more information.
Speaker BHow can they get in touch with you?
Speaker BHow can they reach out and connect with you?
Speaker CSo we have a website called ChristianCapitalist Life.
Speaker CThis life suffix on websites is new and I just love it because we want people to live a Christian capitalist life.
Speaker CChristiancapitalist life.
Speaker CAnd we're on all the social media channels and all the podcast channels as well.
Speaker CIf you look up christiancapitalist Life, though, you can send me an email.
Speaker CI'd love to talk with you, especially if you have stories of people who have worked hard and given generously to the poor and needy.
Speaker CWe'd love to talk with you or whoever you'd like to send our way and keep spreading the message of God's love for us.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BAnd I take it your book is available on Amazon, I think you mentioned, correct?
Speaker CYes sir, the book is available on Amazon.
Speaker CYou can also buy it@christiancapitalist.com life and just a quick plug, by the way, when you go to that website, my friend Michelle, who wrote you're a child of God that's been so successful as a kid's book, also wrote our discussion guide earlier this year.
Speaker CSo it's a 20 page PDF right there available on our website for download.
Speaker CAnd it's perfect for teachers who are in Christian schools or who have a morality or philosophy class in a public school.
Speaker CIt's perfect for teachers to to want to use the book in a classroom setting and perfect for Bible study.
Speaker CSo we want to encourage folks to use it and because there are so many concepts in there that are worth discussing with your neighbors and friends, to use it in that setting because there's a lot in there.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BPraise God.
Speaker BI'll put links all this down in the show notes below.
Speaker CI appreciate that, Bob.
Speaker BFolks, if you've been inspired by Rick's insight richest insights, I encourage you to check out his book the Christian the Gospel of Hard Work and Generous Giving and explore how you can live out these values.
Speaker BI mean, visit the links in the show notes to connect with Rich, listen to his podcast, subscribe to his podcast, Praise God.
Speaker BHallelujah.
Speaker BAnd take the first step towards impactful faith driven living.
Speaker BPraise Jesus for all the technology he's made available.
Speaker BDo that today.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BRich, thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to come join us on the podcast today.
Speaker BMan.
Speaker BI do appreciate it.
Speaker CMy pleasure, Bob.
Speaker CGod bless you.
Speaker CI'm so glad to get a chance to meet you.
Speaker BAmen.
Speaker BFolks, that is all the time we have for today.
Speaker BRich Sanders myself passed by reminding you to be blessed all that you do.
Speaker AYou have been listening to the Faith Based Business Podcast with Pastor Bob Thibodeau.
Speaker AWe appreciate you as a listener and fellow believer and want to encourage you in your entrepreneurial efforts.
Speaker AThese programs are designed to provide you with information that you can use in your business to achieve success faster and avoid the obstacles that try to impede your success.
Speaker AAll information on this podcast is for entertainment and information use only.
Speaker ASome of the products and services listed in the links may contain affiliate links and Pastor Bob will earn a small commission when you click those links at no additional cost to you.
Speaker ABe sure to subscribe to our podcast so you'll be notified when our next episode is published.
Speaker AUntil next time, be blessed in all that you do.