Replay of "Real Men Connect" Podcast interview, used with
Permission
What You'll Hear:
Dave grew up in a home
with a loving family that faithfully went to church every Sunday,
but faith was considered a private matter
In College Dave continued to go to church but led a
sinful lifestyle
He got a great job as an engineer at General Mills, but wasn't
satisfied with his job or relationships and quit his job to try and
get rich quick in real estate flipping homes
8 years later Dave hit
a low point, divorced and broke, and was invited to a church where
he met Kari. He accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior,
married Kari, adopted her 2 girls, declared bankruptcy and began a
new job as an engineer again
He struggled with what it meant to live out his faith through
his work
The book "God has a dream for you" by Bill Godwin inspired him
to write the book "Jesus is at Work"
Most people don't think of their work in spiritual terms but
instead just as a way to make money
Going to college with a habit of not talking about and thinking
about God's will for his life was not good
Having joy at work starts with being close to God and reminding
yourself of your true purpose
Joy is a consistent attitude of gratitude and is different than
happiness which fluctuates daily
God values work, one of the first things He did with Adam and
Eve was to give them work
It's not up to us to decide whether or not our work matters,
it's up to God
Every Good Endeavor by Tim Keller says common grace is God
blessing everybody, sinner and saint. No matter what work you do
you are part of God's common grace to mankind
God's purpose for our life and our work is for us to love Him
and love others
We should bring our faith and our life into every part of our
life
God's assignment is specific things God wants us to do in our
work
His general assignment for our work is the same for all of us,
including excelling, loving others, having integrity, sharing the
good news
God is not going to be mad at us if we don't do these
assignments, but if we do them we will have the abundant life He
wants for us
We should avoid comparing ourselves to others at work because
this can lead to both envy and judgment
If we focus too much on our hobbies or our retirement it can
prevent us from being present at our work and miss opportunities
God has for us at our job
We should be positive about our work when we can and when we
are feeling negative try to keep our mouth shut
If you're stuck between a job and a dream, take steps in that
direction but don't step off the boat until you're at the dock
We should let God be our promoter by trusting in Him rather
than trying to make something happen, be patient. The test is
after the fact whether you can sincerely that what happened was
from God
Biggest mistake was going bankrupt
The one attitude I would change in men with their work is
apathy
Next big thing if couldn't fail would be to write a high
impact fiction book
Greatest force in the universe is a man's sex drive, God did
that for a reason, if we channel that energy within the boundaries
God gave us we will be blessed and not cursed
Still struggle with sadness/discontent/being judgmental
Contact go to http://davehilgendorf.com
About the Podcast
Loving God, others and ourselves at work and at home. Interviews and ponderings, from a Messianic perspective, and with a focus on men. Formerly the Christian Men at Work Podcast.