Solving the World's Greatest Problems connects entrepreneurs to the issues God is stirring them to address — and shows where your calling meets the world's deepest needs.
Below are some of our favorite resources to continue digging into how faith, work, and entrepreneurship come together to glorify God.
FAITH DRIVEN ENTREPRENEUR VIDEO SERIES
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH RIGHTNOW MEDIA AND FAITH&CO.
Entrepreneurs have a unique opportunity to step into a purpose that is aligned with who God is and how God has made them. Everywhere we look, we can see God using faith-driven entrepreneurs to bring order out of chaos, solve problems, seize opportunities, and create dignity and opportunity for those who interact with startups of all sizes.
The Top 100 Video Stories of Faith Driven Entrepreneurs
There’s nothing like an authentic story. It has the power to inspire and validate what God is doing in a powerful way—practical, inspirational, but not prescriptive. We’ve hunted, gathered, and collected the top video stories. Our hope is that you’ll watch these and realize you’re a part of a larger community of entrepreneurs driven by their faith.
God is at work around the world. You’re a part of a movement of God’s people. May these videos encourage and inspire you on your journey. Join us as we countdown the top 100 videos this Summer.
Praxis has a great video & discussion series on redemptive entrepreneurship for founders, innovators, and creators that you don’t want to miss. Go through it as an individual, group, theres a lot of options to dive in … And it doesn’t stop there. Praxis has a regular journal where they’re sharing thoughtful conversations and ideas coming from their network.
Out of Seattle Pacific University, Faith & Co. Business on Purpose is an educational and formational experience that will deepen connections between your faith and work. It offers education through an open online course, a group study guide, and short business documentaries.
Many people don’t know there’s dozens of great video Bible Studies that tackle the issues of Faith, Work and the pressing questions for Faith Driven Entrepreneurs. RightNow Media (The Netflix of Video Studies for the Church) has brought all of them in one place among their library of 20,000 videos. If your church has an account, you have access to these for free and can consider using them in your small group. Here’s a few of our favorites.
The vision of the Theology of Work Project is that every Christian be equipped and committed for work as God intends. A Christian approach makes work more meaningful and productive, benefits society and the people we work with and for, gets us through the challenges we face on the job, draws people to Jesus, and brings glory to God.
The Theology of Work Project (TOW) is the deepest, largest, and most trusted source of biblical, theological, and pastoral material related to work.
Venture Academy is a faith-based video course with Harvard Business School cases and 190+ videos broken into mini-courses. This resources comes to us from the recommendation of Wade Myers (an investor with Eagle Ventures and Boldmore), and he also recommends Startup Financial Model, which is a business planning tool that has been used by entrepreneurs in 90+ countries.
After years of pastoral ministry, Tom Nelson realized, with regret, he spent the majority of his time preparing Christians in his church for Sunday mornings, neglecting the rest of their lives as workers and participants in the economy.
If God created us as whole persons — persons who live, move, and have our being in a physical world with physical bodies and spiritual needs — our faith converges with our places of work. The sacred and the secular also converge, and God cares about how we live both our spiritual and physical lives.
NIFW is dedicated to helping individuals and groups integrate their Christian faith into their day-to-day work in a way that brings about human and organizational flourishing in Nashville and beyond. NIFW provides multiple programs for influencers across a variety of industries. Among these programs is Gotham, a nine-month intensive leadership training that helps individuals bridge the sacred-secular divide in their work and answer the question, “How does my work matter to God?”.
NIFW also offers an Entrepreneur Support Group that provides confidential time with other CEOs, a pastorally-trained executive coach and a curriculum focused on Christianity and entrepreneurism. Receive event updates by following them on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Is it possible that God has put an idea in your heart, and you can’t identify the next step? Perhaps entrepreneurship is your next step.
Featuring insights and advice from 30+ Christian entrepreneurs, this course is designed to highlight seven key concepts essential to your entrepreneurial success. Join Dr. Robert Harp in Make it Happen, where he’ll guide you through the following topics:
Making Failure your friend
Embracing Prayerful Risk
Collaboration is God’s Design
Planning well, and then Taking Decisive Action
Sustainability is the Secret Sauce
“Abiding in Christ” is Where the Strength Comes From
Faithfulness to God is the True Measure of Success
Talbot School of Theology’s Center for Faith, Work and Economics exists to equip churches to help Christians live integrated lives – at home, in their communities and in the workplace.
Building upon biblical truth and strategic thinking, The Talbot Center for Faith, Work and Economics is resourcing local churches with work and vocation theology, strategies, tools and plans in order to transform the local church, its people and the communities in which they live and serve.
The purpose for the Center for Faith and Innovation is to develop Christian marketplace leaders through theology and liberal arts research to create innovative solutions for business.
Workmatters believes that God can and will use Christians in the marketplace to see his kingdom come all over the world. They believe that this will happen as career-minded Christians understand and live God’s purpose for their work. Their deep desire and ambition is to equip one million career-minded Christians in 10,000 companies by 2025. Leaders reach companies, and companies can reach the world. In reality, it’s one person at a time, one company at a time. Are you next?
Ask Yourself, “What would be the most meaningful, long-lasting and important things you could do with the 40 (or more) hours of the week spent in the office, working?” How do we make our work also our “Kingdom Work”? God, has put us all here for a life purpose, our work included. Ours is the challenge and the opportunity to match ourselves to His purpose in our work. If we do so, expect a more fulfilled and aligned life.
This blog (started October 1, 2008) is published Monday-Friday (except for U.S. Holidays) and is written for you as an added resource to assist in bringing God’s glory to the work you, and we all, do!
Triventure was created to address a major challenge in the BAM space. By integrating top-of-the-line training Courses, unsurpassed Coaching, and much-needed Kingdom Capital, BAM enterprises will be built and accelerated the right way.
The Repurposing Business Transforming Society® community, led by Brett Johnson, consists of thousands of businesspeople around the world who have trained in how to get a business into God’s business, and have “repurposed” over 400 businesses in the US, SE Asia and Africa. Their in-depth equipping empowers businesspeople to integrate faith-principles into all aspects of operations, and to strategically use business to transform society.
DIFW is a network of churches and professionals who came together to dream of what a broader vision of the gospel might look like for their own lives and for the city of Denver. It aims to fill the gap between faith and work, public and private, church and city. Its guiding principles are: think theologically; embrace relationships; create good work; seek deep spiritual health; and serve others sacrificially.
They are dedicated to transforming our relationship to work, fostering human flourishing and renewing Los Angeles. CFWLA provides workshops, courses, an intensive nine month fellows program and annual conferences all designed to enable theological + spiritual formation, creation of rich transformative community, and initiation of concrete expressions of cultural renewal in the greater Los Angeles area.
His Way at Work is inspiring and helping Business Leaders to improve their workplace by having God at the center and caring for people as He did to create Eternal Value. They have been collecting and sharing Faith-At-Work best practices for over a decade.
The De Pree Center exists to serve marketplace leaders so they might live intentionally and wisely as disciples of Jesus in every part of life, including their daily work. They do this by providing biblically based, practical resources for marketplace leaders and churches who serve them.
Enterprise Stewardship creates a high impact on business practices using the ES strategic framework and proven tactical tools.
They view business as an enterprise; an important project requiring effort, innovation and risk. Additionally, they believe that it should be guided by a steward; a person who is entrusted to faithfully manage the property of another.
They believe that as Christian business leaders, our role is to steward important, innovative, and world-changing projects we call business.
Surge Network is a movement of local churches putting Jesus on display as they equip servant-leaders to be rooted in the gospel story, sent to bless the world.
Salt&Light was born as a platform to facilitate marketplace unity in Singapore and the region. And to root it in the principles, posture and perspectives of a God who set human beings to fruitful work as one of His first acts of Creation.
Business As Mission—or BAM—is a movement designed to help business men and women understand God’s redemptive work through business in the world. And we have some top resources to share with you, the Faith Driven Entrepreneur.
The Business as Mission website is designed to be a ‘one stop shop’ for BAM resources. Birthed out of a collaboration between BAM Global and the Business as Mission Resource Team, the website aims to both curate existing resources, and create new ones.
The BAM Resource Library is an online list of business as mission related books, videos, links, articles, courses, events and stories. The BAM Review Blog posts new material weekly online and sends out an email twice a month with resource recommendations and a digest of blog articles.
The mission of BAM Global is to enrich and invigorate the business as mission movement, resulting in a significant increase in the quantity and quality of businesses and business people involved in God’s mission to the world — the whole church, taking the whole gospel, to the whole world. BAM Global is connecting a global network of BAM-related companies, agencies, institutions, incubators, investors, and churches. It convenes Consultations and publishes Reports on business as mission topics and will host the BAM Global Congress, 29 April to 3 May 2020.
Mats Tunehag is a speaker, writer and consultant from Sweden and has worked in about half the countries of the world. For the last 20 years he has had a special focus on developing the Business as Mission concept as well as national, regional and global strategic alliances of people and BAM initiatives. Mats regularly blogs on business as mission and has BAM materials translated into 16 languages on his website.
BAM Training helps people take the next step on their BAM journey by offering Conferences and Courses on business as mission. BAM Training hosts a three day BAM Conference in the USA each Fall and in Europe in Spring. They also offer a one or two week modular BAM Course that lays strong foundations for future business as mission involvement; plus a five month Business Discipleship Training School focused on spiritual formation and the call to business.
IBEC Ventures offers Business as Mission Consulting, Coaching and Training. IBEC helps build sustainable businesses through consultative expertise that changes lives and transforms communities. They envision an increasing number of small-medium sustainable Kingdom businesses with a special emphasis on areas that are both economically impoverished and spiritually unreached.
IBEC is a team of seasoned Christ-following business pros from a variety of industries and functional backgrounds, passionate about using their gifts and experience to serve His kingdom.
Transformational SME is a global community which assists Christian-led small-to-medium size enterprises (SMEs) to grow in size, profitability and wholistic impact in the Arab world and Asia. Their wholistic impact touches the whole person, including financial, spiritual and emotional wellbeing, while at the same time making a positive impact on society.
TSME primarily offers mentoring, training and investment, partnering with a private Christian investment fund which supports the growth of Christian owned and managed SMEs across North Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
Partners Worldwide encourages, equips and connects business and professional people in global partnerships that grow enterprises and create sustainable jobs. They facilitate long term business to business partnerships, mentoring opportunities, overseas trips and internships. They provide online training materials and run regular events.
The God who took a young boy’s lunch of five loaves and two fish to feed 5,000 doesn’t need our money. Yet, when we give him our life’s lunch – that is, everything we have – God invites us into the life-giving work He is doing in the world. And being in step with God is a greater joy than money could ever buy.
For every follower of Jesus, this journey must begin with surrender to the Lord and a heart transformed by Him. Part of that heart transformation includes the way we view and relate to generosity.
If the prospect of generosity scares you more than excites you, you’re not alone. But there is immense freedom and opportunity when we enter into true generosity as modeled by Jesus. A great first step is walking with one of the following generosity peer communities.
Generous Giving’s mission is to spread the message of biblical generosity in order to grow generous givers, especially among those entrusted with much. Generous Giving hosts free online and in-person small group conversations, known as a Journey of Generosity (JOG), about God and money in an environment that never asks participants for donations or anything in return.
Best Suited for: Any US individual or family open to exploring their relationship with money and generosity in a safe, small group environment. Going through a JOG is FDI’s recommended first step for any believer beginning their stewardship journey.
Generosity Path is a network from around the world who have created experiences to help people discover the great joy of giving. As a close partner of Generous Giving, Generosity Path hosts free Journey of Generosity seminars for the global (non-US) community of believers. Generosity Path hosts retreats and conferences in more than 70 countries and 30 languages.
Best Suited for: Any non-US individual or family open to exploring their relationship with money and generosity in a safe, small group environment. Going through a JOG is Faith Driven’s recommended first step for any believer beginning their stewardship journey.
National Christian Foundation is a US non-profit organization that helps donors give more wisely and tax-efficiently to support their favorite charitable causes. In addition to being a donor-advised fund sponsor, NCF helps donors craft a well-planned, intentional Giving Strategy based on biblical principles in order to help donors be more faithful, generous, and fully alive.
Best Suited for: A US-based giver 1) focused on giving to faith-based organizations and 2) who wants personal help and advice from regional offices equipped to intimately serve givers.
In addition to being a donor-advised fund sponsor, The Signatry offers family legacy workshops, donor-advised fund management, and succession planning.
Best Suited for: A US-based giver looking for help with family legacy, succession planning, and donor-advised funds.
Founded by some executives out of the National Christian Foundation, this organization allows faith driven investors to invest in social impact funds with philanthropic focuses (from foundations, donor advised funds, etc.).
Called to give to a great ministry overseas that doesn’t have a US based 501c3? This team is your best choice. They are much more efficient and cost effective (1% or so) than the traditional services that charge 5% or more.
WaterStone believes that generosity is the greatest act of worship—that through generosity, we give back to God what He has given to us, and show love to our brothers and sisters in the process.
If you’re looking for someone to guide you through innovative giving solutions that will help you minimize taxes and multiply the impact of giving, WaterStone is here to help. Their hope is that you would be their partner in the many life-changing stories that they have been blessed to be a part of since their founding.
Wish there was a way to pay less in taxes and give more? Great news – there is and it’s called a Donor-Advised Fund. Check out our page on how to create a Donor-Advised Fund and use it to invest in faith driven companies.
Harry Truman said, “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” We think the same is true of entrepreneurs. If you want to be good at what you do, it helps to take a cue from the best. Here, we’ve collected a short list of books written for entrepreneurs, business leaders, creatives, innovators, and employees in every sector.
On this list you’ll find books written by leaders for leaders. You’ll learn why what you do at work matters. And you’ll hear story after story of success, failure, and everything in between. We hope this list enlightens you, challenges you, and helps you along your entrepreneurial journey.
Know of any we missed? Let us know what books deserve a spot on this list.
We believe that God speaks to us through His word and that all of Scripture is useful for instruction on how to live, work, and serve in any capacity. Scripture, when taken in aggregate, provides us with a great handbook on every question of life and entrepreneurship.
If you need a book to start with, this is the one. It’s easy to overlook, but it’s vital if we want to steward our life and our business for God’s glory.
If you’re not sure where to start, check out our resources to help you stay connected to God’s Word.
Before beginning any venture, leaders must ask certain questions: What are my motives for leadership and entrepreneurship? How do I understand my identity, vision, and mission? What is the source of my creativity and what shapes my imagination? How do I internalize the pursuit of power, prestige, and wealth?
To this end, our good friends at Praxis Labs offers A Rule of Life for Redemptive Entrepreneurs as a set of shared practices for the Praxis community, and for anyone interested in faithfully pursuing a vocation as an entrepreneur, innovator, or creator.
We thought so highly of this content that we invited Andy Crouch to talk about this book and why it matters on his podcast with FDE.
With deep conviction and often surprising advice, Keller shows readers that biblical wisdom is immensely relevant to our questions about work today. In fact, the Christian view of work—that we work to serve others, not ourselves—can provide the foundation of a thriving professional and balanced personal life. Keller shows how excellence, integrity, discipline, creativity, and passion in the workplace can help others and even be considered acts of worship—not just of self-interest.
If you’ve been around our podcast, you know that we have the utmost respect for Tim and his wisdom in this conversation. You can hear Tim Keller talk about faith, work, and identity in his podcast with FDE.
This is a story of dreaming big and working hard, of spectacular success and breathtaking failure, of shouted questions, and, at long last, whispered answers. With trademark wit and heart, Phil Vischer shares how God can use the death of a dream to point us toward true success.
Phil has delivered what has come to be known as one of our most popular podcasts. Hear Phil Vischer share the emotional side of his entrepreneurial journey on his podcast with FDE.
Work. For some this word represents drudgery and the mundane. For others work is an idol to be served. In either case, a biblical understanding of work as godly activity and a means of spiritual formation is lost.
Striking a balance between theological depth and practical counsel, Work Matters engages the theological basis of God’s plan for everyday work. Tom Nelson explains how the fall has impacted vocation, how God’s redemption touches every sphere of our lives including our work, and how what we do now is connected to what we will do forever. As Nelson connects Sunday worship to Monday morning, he gives readers practical tools for understanding their own gifts, so that they may better live in accord with God’s design for work.
You can hear more about this book and these ideas our good friend Tom Nelson on his podcast episode with us. Listen to The Scoreboard of the Monday Church here or a different episode about Media, Culture and Opportunities here.
In this energizing book, serial entrepreneur and bestselling author Jordan Raynor helps artists, entrepreneurs, writers, and other creatives reimagine our work as service to God and others.
Raynor shares compelling stories from an eclectic group of 40+ Christian entrepreneurs, including the founders of TOMS Shoes, Charity: Water, Chick-fil-A, In-N-Out Burger, Guinness, HTC, and Sevenly, as well as nontraditional entrepreneurs such as C. S. Lewis, Johann Sebastian Bach, and J. R. R. Tolkien. Raynor’s “show” rather than “tell,” story-driven style makes you feel as if you are sitting at the feet of some of the godliest and most successful entrepreneurs of all time.
Perfectly poised to reach today’s growing creative class, this unique work restores God’s position as the first entrepreneur, helping readers see the eternal value in the work they do today.
Slowly, silently, and with little fanfare, organizations routinely drift from their purpose, and many never return to their original intent. Harvard and the YMCA are among those that no longer embrace the Christian principles on which they were founded. But they didn’t drift off course overnight. Drift often happens in small and subtle ways. Left unchecked, it eventually becomes significant.
Why do so many organizations–including churches–wander from their mission, while others remain Mission True? Can drift be prevented? In Mission Drift, HOPE International executives Peter Greer and Chris Horst tackle these questions. They show how to determine whether your organization is in danger of drift, and they share the results of their research into Mission True and Mission Untrue organizations. You’ll discover what you can do to prevent drift or get back on track and how to protect what matters most.
We invited our good friend Peter Greer on our podcast to share more about this topic. Listen to his podcast with FDE here.
Making conscientious choices about technology in our families is more than just using internet filters and determining screen time limits for our children. It’s about developing wisdom, character, and courage in the way we use digital media rather than accepting technology’s promises of ease, instant gratification, and the world’s knowledge at our fingertips. And it’s definitely not just about the kids.
Drawing on in-depth original research from the Barna Group, Andy Crouch shows readers that the choices we make about technology have consequences we may never have considered. He takes readers beyond the typical questions of what, where, and when and instead challenges them to answer provocative questions like, Who do we want to be as a family? and How does our use of a particular technology move us closer or farther away from that goal? Anyone who has felt their family relationships suffer or their time slip away amid technology’s distractions will find in this book a path forward to reclaiming their real life in a world of devices.
As entrepreneurs, we’re all somewhat terrified by what technology might be doing to us and our families. If you’re interested in this topic and how it relates to you, listen to Andy Crouch talk more about it on his podcast with FDE.
EntreLeadership is Dave Ramsey’s championship playbook with step-by-step guidance to take your business where you want it to go.
Dave has grown his company to a winning national brand with more than 800 team members who have impacted millions of lives. EntreLeadership is how he did it, mistakes and all. This is 20 years of real-world experience with all the sweat, tears and prayers. This is how his company has been named one of the Best Places to Work in Nashville seven times. It’s proven. It’s practical. And it’s how you can do it too.
Whether you lead a team of two or 200, you can grow your business to where you want it to be. Reaching your dream is no longer a question of “What if we could?” You can. EntreLeadership is how.
In the century since its invention, the nonprofit organization structure has powered immense social good, by enabling countless entrepreneurial leaders to address problems not adequately served by the market. But when it comes to delivering that social good today, many nonprofits fall short of the durable impact they hope to deliver. Our friends at Praxis proposes that there is a higher horizon of opportunity for the redemptive nonprofit—one that seeks the renewal of the larger society as well as all the stakeholders involved in the work.
They hope to inspire a new generation of leaders to go beyond the baseline of ethics and excellence that should characterize any organization (whether or not it receives a tax exemption)—to building nonprofits that embody the radical hope of the Christian gospel and its power to transform persons, communities, and the course of history.
In the coming weeks, we’ll have Jena Nardella on our podcast, so stay tune to hear more from her!
In The Ideal Team Player, Lencioni tells the story of Jeff Shanley, a leader desperate to save his uncle’s company by restoring its cultural commitment to teamwork. Jeff must crack the code on the virtues that real team players possess, and then build a culture of hiring and development around those virtues.
Beyond the fable, Lencioni presents a practical framework and actionable tools for identifying, hiring, and developing ideal team players. Whether you’re a leader trying to create a culture around teamwork, a staffing professional looking to hire real team players, or a team player wanting to improve yourself, this book will prove to be as useful as it is compelling.
In all our interviews with entrepreneurs this is the top book people point to when it comes to building a team and beginning to set culture. See why in this video series.
The church in the West is rediscovering the fact that God cares deeply for the poor. More and more, churches and individual Christians are looking for ways to practice economic discipleship, but it’s hard to make progress when we are blind to our own entanglement in our culture’s idolatrous economic beliefs and practices.
Practicing the King’s Economy cuts through much confusion and invites Christians to take their place within the biblical story of the “King Jesus Economy.” Through eye-opening true stories of economic discipleship in action, and with a solid exploration of six key biblical themes, the authors offer practical ways for God’s people to earn, invest, spend, compensate, save, share, and give in ways that embody God’s love and provision for the world.
Our partners at Made To Flourish have written about how the ideas presented in this book, specifically that of gleaning, are challenging and stretching concepts. Read more here.
Flourishing people are strong and weak. Two common temptations lure us away from abundant living—withdrawing into safety or grasping for power. True flourishing, says Andy Crouch, travels down an unexpected path—being both strong and weak.
We see this unlikely mixture in the best leaders—people who use their authority for the benefit of others, while also showing extraordinary willingness to face and embrace suffering. We see it in Jesus, who wielded tremendous power yet also exposed himself to hunger, ridicule, torture and death. Rather than being opposites, strength and weakness are actually meant to be combined in every human life and community. Only when they come together do we find the flourishing for which we were made.
With the characteristic insight, memorable stories and hopeful realism he is known for, Andy Crouch shows us how to walk this path so that the image of God can shine through us. Not just for our own good, but for the sake of others.
As entrepreneurs and business leaders, how do we avoid abusing our power? This is one of many topics Andy Crouch addressed on his podcast with FDE.
Jesus spent more time talking about money and possessions than about heaven and hell combined. But too often we’ve overlooked or misunderstood his most profound teaching on this topic, from his words in Matthew 6. Jesus offers us life-changing investment advice. He actually wants us to store up treasures for ourselves—just not here on earth. Instead, he urges us to store our treasure in heaven, where they will await us, and last forever. We can’t take it with us—but we can send it on ahead!
With this compact classic, you can read about and understand God’s view on stewardship during a short plan flight. In The Treasure Principle, you’ll unearth a radical teaching of Jesus—a secret wrapped up in giving. Once you discover this secret, life will never look the same. And you won’t want it to be.
Why does this matter? Because entrepreneurs need to recognize the value of surrendering it all to God. You can also check out this video series from RightNow Media to accompany the book.
The number of Christian women in today’s professional workforce is increasing, and they are hungry for practical mentoring. They yearn to learn from someone who has climbed the ladder of success without sacrificing family or faith—something author Diane Paddison has done with excellence and grace.
This is a working book for working women.
Full of practical, proven guidance that is both professionally viable and biblically sound, each chapter includes sidebars featuring pertinent facts from current research, resources relevant to the chapter’s topic, action-oriented ‘to do’ lists, and other interactive material.
Work, Love, Pray is a valuable resource for professional Christian women, but it’s also a must-read for the husbands, sisters, daughters, and friends who share their lives.
Christian organizations have come to be known mostly for what they’re against. And all too often, that includes being against each other. But amid growing distrust of religious institutions, Christ-centered nonprofits have a unique opportunity to link arms and collectively pursue a calling higher than any one organization’s agenda.
Rooting for Rivals reveals how your ministry can multiply its impact by cooperating rather than competing with others, modeling Christlike love and generosity in the process. Peter Greer and Chris Horst explore case studies illustrating the power of collaborative ministry. Writing with vulnerability, they also share their own failures and successes in moving toward a kingdom mindset.
In Rooting for Rivals you’ll discover the key to revitalizing your ministry and making an enduring difference in the world.
You can also hear Peter Greer talk about this book on his podcast with FDE.
Is it possible to know the world and still love the world?
Of all the questions we ask about our calling, this is the most difficult. From marriages to international relations, the more we know, the harder it is to love. We become cynics or stoics, protecting our hearts from the implications of what we know. But what if the vision of vocation can be recovered―allowing us to step into the wounds of the world and for loves sake take up our responsibility for the way the world turns out?
Garber offers a book for everyone everywhere―for students, for parents, for those in the arts, in the academy, in public service, in the trades and in commerce―for all who want to discover the virtue of vocation.
Designers create worlds and solve problems using design thinking. Look around your office or home–at the tablet or smartphone you may be holding or the chair you are sitting in. Everything in our lives was designed by someone. And every design starts with a problem that a designer or team of designers seeks to solve.
In this book, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans show us how design thinking can help us create a life that is both meaningful and fulfilling, regardless of who or where we are, what we do or have done for a living, or how young or old we are. The same design thinking responsible for amazing technology, products, and spaces can be used to design and build your career and your life, a life of fulfillment and joy, constantly creative and productive, one that always holds the possibility of surprise.
New York Times bestseller Love & Respect has sold over 1.6 million copies! Love & Respect reveals why spouses react negatively to each other, and how they can deal with such conflict quickly, easily and biblically.
Touted by leaders as a “classic” among marriage books, this book also reveals insightful wisdom about what it looks like to have respect in the workplace.
A Faith Driven Entrepreneur understands the importance of family and having a healthy balance between work and life. That’s why we think this book matters for you. Also, check out this accompanying video series by RightNow Media.
Cheryl Bachelder joined an ailing restaurant chain and turned it into the darling of the industry—by daring to serve the people in her organization well. In Dare to Serve, former Popeyes CEO Cheryl Bachelder shows that leading by serving is a rigorous and tough-minded approach that yields the best results.
When she was named CEO of Popeyes in 2007, the stock price had slipped from $34 in 2002 to $13. The brand was stagnant, the team was discouraged, and the franchisees were just plain angry. Nine years later, restaurant sales were up 45 percent, restaurant profits had doubled, and the stock price was over $61. Servant leadership is sometimes derided as soft or ineffective, but this book confirms that challenging people to reach a daring destination, while treating them with dignity, creates the conditions for superior performance.
Watch Cheryl Bachelder’s story in our Top 100 Videos for Faith Driven Entrepreneurs.
The great secret of our time is that there are still uncharted frontiers to explore and new inventions to create. In Zero to One, legendary entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel shows how we can find singular ways to create those new things.
Thiel begins with the contrarian premise that we live in an age of technological stagnation, even if we’re too distracted by shiny mobile devices to notice. Information technology has improved rapidly, but there is no reason why progress should be limited to computers or Silicon Valley. Progress can be achieved in any industry or area of business. It comes from the most important skill that every leader must master: learning to think for yourself.
Zero to One presents at once an optimistic view of the future of progress in America and a new way of thinking about innovation: it starts by learning to ask the questions that lead you to find value in unexpected places.
There are only two paths in life: average and awesome. The average path is easy because all you have to do is nothing. The awesome path is more challenging, because things like fear only bother you when you do work that matters. The good news is Start gives readers practical, honest, actionable insights to be more awesome, more often.
It’s time to punch fear in the face, escape average, and do work that matters.
Kathryn Petersen, Decision Tech’s CEO, faces the ultimate leadership crisis: Uniting a team in such disarray that it threatens to bring down the entire company. Will she succeed? Will she be fired? Will the company fail? Lencioni’s utterly gripping tale serves as a timeless reminder that leadership requires as much courage as it does insight.
Throughout the story, Lencioni reveals the five dysfunctions which go to the very heart of why teams even the best ones-often struggle. He outlines a powerful model and actionable steps that can be used to overcome these common hurdles and build a cohesive, effective team. Just as with his other books, Lencioni has written a compelling fable with a powerful yet deceptively simple message for all those who strive to be exceptional team leaders.
Donald Miller’s StoryBrand process is a proven solution to the struggle business leaders face when talking about their businesses. This revolutionary method for connecting with customers provides listeners with the ultimate competitive advantage, revealing the secret for helping their customers understand the compelling benefits of using their products, ideas, or services. Building a StoryBrand does this by teaching listeners the seven universal story points all humans respond to, the real reason customers make purchases, how to simplify a brand message so people understand it, and how to create the most effective messaging for websites, brochures, and social media.
Whether you are the marketing director of a multibillion-dollar company, the owner of a small business, a politician running for office, or the lead singer of a rock band, Building a StoryBrand will forever transform the way you talk about who you are, what you do, and the unique value you bring to your customers.
One of the definining books that has impacted a lot of people involved in the faith and work conversation, Your Work Matters to God is one of the forefathers of the faith-driven entrepreneur movement.
Your Work Matters to God demonstrates just how important secular work is to God. Whether you are a man or woman, once you realize how many different ways there are to influence your coworkers for Christ without preaching a word, you’ll be challenged to develop a lifestyle so striking and true, the people you work with will be eager to let you talk about what makes you different.
We’re admittedly biased and think all the shows are packed with powerful truths to encourage you on your journey. But here’s a few of our most popular episodes. If you’re new to the show, this is a great place to start.
TIM KELLER
Who Do You Think You Are?
“In traditional identity formation… you are your duties. In modern identity you are your… desires.” While it’s different from our typical format, Tim Keller gave an exclusive talk at our annual meeting challenging us with how we evaluate who we think we are and how that measures with who God says we are. Listen to the podcast here.
PHIL VISCHER
Have You Ever Had A Dream?
Phil Vischer tells us the story of Veggie Tales meteoric rise to success, the struggles and pitfalls of maintaining that success and truth about what is required to find and keep one’s identity rooted in the one who created us. This episode calls us to ask that all important question: as we’ve accepted Jesus as Savior have we also accepted Him as Lord? Listen to the podcast here.
On this episode, the team spends time with Andy Crouch, partner for theology and culture at Praxis. Andy shares with us the basis of the 6 key disciplines needed to define a redemptive entrepreneur—time, money, imagination, decision-making, power, and community—and how these are instrumental in our identity information. Listen to the podcast here.
DON FLOW
Letting Trust Drive Business
Imagine you’re walking into a car dealership to buy a new car. Now, most people don’t associate that thought with a pleasant experience. But Don Flow and Flow Automotive set out to change this idea. In this episode, he opened up a fire hydrant of business wisdom and counsel ranging from what it means to create a covenant with your customers, how you can be the type of business that causes others to rejoice at your success, and why you should show respect before you earn respect. Listen to the podcast here.
CRAIG DEALL
Serving Those Who Steal From You
“If a man steals your farm, teach him how to farm.” We’ve all heard sermons and messages on forgiveness and turning the other cheek, but the story of Craig Deall takes these truths to a whole new level. Under the rule of Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe forced thousands of industrial farmers to give up their lands. Generations of family wealth was gone. But rather than seeking revenge or restitution, Craig chose the path of reconciliation—actually working for the very men who stole from him! Listen to the podcast here.
MAX ANDERSON
The Entrepreneur’s Hidden Battle With Depression
We invited Max Anderson to come in and help us tackle a difficult yet important topic—depression among entrepreneurs. Recently, what he found was staggering—entrepreneurs are anywhere from 2-10x more likely to suffer from mental challenges. It’s a topic that’s extremely important, yet remarkably under-discussed, so we thought that with Max’s help we’d push the conversation forward today. Listen to the podcast here.
JAY STRINGER
The Journey from Sexual Brokenness to Healing
Last year, on a single porn site alone, people watched 4.6 billion hours worth of pornographic videos. Clearly, sexual brokenness is a problem. Jay Stringer, author of Unwanted: How Sexual Brokenness Reveals Our Way to Healing, is helping us understand this subject. Even if sexual brokenness doesn’t sound like a primary struggle for you, the statistics Jay shares will make it clear that if you have more than one employee, odds are you know someone who is dealing with this issue. And that’s why we wanted to talk about this. Listen to the podcast here.
PETE OCHS
Jailhouse Business
This episode takes us to jail. Well… not exactly. But we are interviewing a man who owns and operates a business that is run out of a high-security prison. His name is Pete Ochs, and in addition to working as founder and chairman of an impact investing company, he’s also working to make Hutchinson Correctional Facility in Kansas the best prison in America. How? Well, we’ll let him tell you. Listen to the podcast here.
PAT LENCIONI
The Motive of Faith Driven Entrepreneurs
This guest is a special one and someone you’re probably already familiar with. Patrick Lencioni is a renowned business consultant and the author of 11 books—including The Ideal Team Player, The Advantage, and The Five Dysfunctions of a Team—which have sold over 6 million copies.
In this episode, we got to hear him talk about his new book, The Motive, that dials into the why behind every great leader. Few people have more expertise on the subject than Patrick Lencioni, so stop reading this and start listening!
JEFF & ALLY DAVIDSON
How An Interview With Hulk Hogan On Their Wedding Day Started A $40 Million Business
When Ally Davidson woke up on the morning of her wedding day, she had no idea the journey that God had prepared for her, nor did she anticipate it would start with a tryout for the television show American Gladiator that very same day. Fast forward a few years and Camp Gladiator has over 3,500 locations across the country with over 100,000 members. Tune in to hear how interacting with Hulk Hogan jump started Jeff and Ally’s business, how they’ve seen community and exercise drastically affect people’s lives, and how their faith impacts everything they do. Listen to the podcast here.
ALAN BARNHART
God Owns It All
Originally a small family business started by his parents, Alan Barnhart and his brother, Eric, of Barnhart Crane and Rigging, grew the company into one of the largest Heavy Lift and Heavy Transport organization in the United States with 1,000 team members in more than 40 locations across the country and a nationwide reputation for solving problems. (Even if it means building a 200+ wheel truck!). They accomplished this by actively seeking out a way to express their faith through their business and the team sits down with Alan this week to hear his story. Listen to the podcast here.
JOHN SOLHEIM
Finding God in Golf and Business
In the golf industry, there are few more recognized names of excellence than PING. This episode takes us to Phoenix to interview the CEO of PING, John Solheim. He’s the second generation of family leadership since the company’s inception in 1959. We take a look at their family’s journey to become a preeminent brand and what faith looks like in such a publicly recognized company. Listen tothe podcast here.
NORM & SCOTT MILLER
The Generational Transfer of Interstate Batteries
One of the growing trends in the Faith Driven Entrepreneur movement is seeing a generation of faithful leaders looking to pass the baton to the next generation. Norm is the Chairman and Scott is the CEO of Interstate Batteries. They steward a company that for the past 6 decades has been leading its industry with outrageous dependability. You may know Interstate batteries from their logos on the side of NASCAR winners, but you may not know that they’ve also been discovering ways for their faith to lead them in caring for their team and developing an award-winning culture. Listen to the podcast here.
FRANK CHEN
Investor As Servant Leader
Frank Chen stopped by to talk about how he’s helping entrepreneurs change the world at the Silicon Valley venture powerhouse, Andreessen Horowitz. As Frank describes it, they are “helping entrepreneurs build software companies that are eating the world”. Frank let us in on what his heart as an investor looks like. He pulled aside the curtain a bit and let us see that investors aren’t so much the terrifying titans up on the hill. They are servant leaders who want to help others be successful. Listen to the podcast here.
NANCY DUARTE
An Interview with Nancy Duarte
There are few things more important in our lives than effective story telling. There are few better people (maybe no one?) that do a better job at helping people tell their stories than Nancy Duarte from Duarte Design. They help CEOs of Fortune 100 companies tell their stories, and maybe something more impressive: they are the “go-to” firm to help TED presenters tell their stories well. Listen to the podcast here.
CASEY CRAWFORD
Are Christians Called to Comfort?
Entrepreneurs know what it’s like to be uncomfortable. Yet, there’s something in modern/Western Christianity that expects comfort. We often act as though God has called us to a life of comfort and ease, not one of stress and sacrifice. But as Casey Crawford points out, Jesus didn’t exactly live an easy life! And this is just one way he gave us a great perspective alongside a paradigm shift in this podcast episode. Listen to the podcast here.
BOBBY GRUENWALD
The Entrepreneurial Story That Led To 370 Million Reading the Bible
Bobby Gruenewald of YouVersion gives us the low down on the origins of this wildly popular Bible app with 370M+ downloads and counting. This pastor, entrepreneur and former rap artist (who knew?) shares with the team how the desire to become better engaged with Scripture was the impetus to developing YouVersion, the first iteration of which proved to be a failure—a web app because there was just no iPhone yet (remember the days?). Listen to the podcast here.
NATHAN SHEETS
Image Management: Growing Through Failure
Image management is a struggle that everyone faces, but it’s one that we rarely address. And for entrepreneurs, this issue is especially acute. Because as an entrepreneur, you have to look like you have it all together, right? You’ve got employees and shareholders relying on you—the leader. That type of pressure creates a situation where it’s all too easy to want to hide behind a manufactured version of ourselves. Nathan Sheets, CEO of Nature Nate’s Honey, told us exactly what that pressure looks like and exactly where it can take you. Listen to the podcast here.
The team sits down with John Marsh of Marsh Collective to discuss storytelling, what it’s like to run 10+ businesses (the collective part of Marsh Collective), and how to be the steward of 10 square city blocks for the glory of God while being totally unqualified to do so. John helps us understand the practicalities of living in the midst of kingdom tension: being both dead and alive, content but fruitfully multiplying, living here but not being from here. Listen to the podcast here.
COBY COTTON
The World’s Most Trusted Entertainment
How homemade trick shot videos filmed in the backyard of a college house turned into a multimillion dollar business for five best friends. Join us as we ask Dude Perfect just how they turned a college hobby into a full time job. With over 56 million YouTube subscribers, Dude Perfect has grown from a college hobby into a household name. Today, we’re going to talk about the early days when they were just making videos for fun, the day they all quit their day jobs and went all in, and what the day-to-day looks like now.
LECRAE
The Reach Records Origin Story
Lecrae is the staple of the Christian rap scene. When people are looking to define the genre, they look to him. And with good reason—he has won 3 Grammy awards. But before he was the face of Christian rap, he and Ben Washer, now Co-Founder and CEO of Reach Records, were recording songs for summer camps and pursuing their creative dreams in the best, scrappy way they knew how. We talked to both of them about the story behind Reach Records, why Lecrae moved to a traditional label and then back to his own, and how God is using their talents to share His message.
BEN & LIZ BOHANNON
How do you Build a Healthy Family and Growing Business?
Is it possible to have a healthy family while building a successful business? That’s the question at the heart of this week’s episode with Ben and Liz Bohannon of Sseko Designs. Their business began as a way to generate income for high-potential, talented young women in Uganda to continue on to university. Since then, it’s grown rapidly from a Shark Tank phenomenon to a global success. Listen to the podcast here.
TOM NELSON
The Scoreboard of the Monday Church
Tom Nelson is the visionary pastor of a multi-site church and has been widely recognized in the Faith Driven Entrepreneur community for his book, Work Matters: Connecting Sunday Worship to Monday Work. What we love about Tom, and why we had him on the show, is because he is working on a replicable model for what it looks like for the average church to affirm and encourage entrepreneurs. Listen to the podcast here.
STEVE GREEN
The Entrepreneurial Journey of The Museum of The Bible to The U.S. Capital
In this episode, we connect with Steve Green, President of Hobby Lobby, the world’s largest privately owned arts and crafts retailer. Steve is also Chairman of the Board of the Museum of the Bible and the visionary leader in establishing one of the world’s largest private collections of rare biblical artifacts. Steve saw a way he could bring God’s Word to people who may have never encountered it before. In this episode, we learn how the Museum of the Bible leads people through the history, impact, and narrative of Scripture. Listen to the podcast here.
BRYANT AMBELANG
Unleashing the Power of People and Increasing Productivity 300%
Hear Bryant Ambelang, President and CEO of NatureSweet, the largest greenhouse producer of tomatoes in North America, share about the incredible things God’s doing to unleash people through his business. Bryant explains the power of connecting people’s purpose and passions to their work and tells stories of how God uses that type of energy for His glory. Listen to the podcast here.
No one likes to be a part of a dysfunctional relationship. Yet, entrepreneurs and investors can often be on completely different pages with completely different goals and expectations. Today’s conversation between Henry Kaestner and Jessica Kim gives both sides of the story. Jessica shares how setting unrealistic expectations hurts the entrepreneur’s ability to follow through and the investor’s ability to determine success. And Henry talks about the fundraising side of his entrepreneurial journey and what he now sees from an investor perspective. Both sides are worth listening. Both sides have a lot to learn. Both sides can do a lot better. So, regardless of whether you’re an entrepreneur or an investor, today’s episode is for you.
VIC HO
How should a Christian Let People Go?
Vic Ho is the founder of Fivestars—a business with the mission of “transforming transactions into relationships.” In this episode, he talks about what happened when the start-up hit a rough patch and needed to lay off 50 people. Vic felt compelled to take a different approach, one that was consistent with the company’s values: humbly admitting his mistakes, honoring the workers’ contributions, and mobilizing the entire firm to help those being displaced. Listen to the podcast here.
DRAYTON McCLANE
Saying No To Sam Walton and Other Entrepreneurial Stories
We took a trip deep into the heart of Texas to hear from Drayton McLane, the visionary business leader behind McLane Company and former owner of the Houston Astros. On this episode, you’ll hear a list of lessons that we gleaned from Drayton’s extensive experience as an entrepreneur, business leader, and philanthropist. He tells the story of how Sam Walton of Walmart eventually bought his business. He also discussed what it looks like to create a working environment that makes sure everyone is winning and how to make work, and starting a business, fun. Listen to the podcast here.
BRETT HAGLER
3D Printing An Entire Village
This episode features a unique journey that includes 3-D printing homes. Yeah, you heard that right. Printing homes. Brett Hagler is the CEO and Co-Founder of New Story. Under his leadership, New Story was recognized as one of Fast Company’s 2017 and 2019 “Most Innovative Companies In The World.” Brett and his team are working with their partner ICON to 3D-print the world’s first community in Mexico. Listen to the podcast here.
If you’re in America, you may think of the company Grab as the Uber of Southeast Asia. Of course, if you live in Southeast Asia, Uber is the Grab of America. Whatever way you look at it, with 198 Million Downloads of the App, 9 Million Drivers in 352 Cities in 8 Countries, and a $14B valuation, Anthony Tan and Grab are making huge waves in the ridesharing industry. Today, Anthony shared his entrepreneurial journey which started with a simple question: how can I best take care of other people?
JON ERWIN
Don’t Abandon The Playing Field
October Baby. Mom’s Night Out. Woodlawn. I Can Only Imagine. What do these movies have in common? They’re all creations from the Erwin brothers. Jon and Andrew have had a passion for creating and making movies since they were young, and today, Jon joined to share where that energy comes from. You’ll enjoy hearing the entrepreneurial energy behind making a movie and the business of filming, distributing, marketing, and every other aspect that makes a hit movie a hit. Lastly, Jon challenged the stereotype of an “evil Hollywood agenda” and charged other Christian entrepreneurs to consider the ways they’ve avoided engaging with the secular world. Listen in to hear for yourself.
In the late 90’s, Dunkin’ Donuts found it so hard to break into the Los Angeles donut market that they gave up. Why? Because of The Donut King. Ted Ngoy has opened over 70 donut shops in an effort to give Cambodian refugees a chance to earn a living and make it in America. At one point, his donut empire netted him over $20 million and a presidential award for achieving the American Dream from George H.W. Bush. Then, he lost everything. Listen in as “Uncle Ted” takes us through every up and down of his unbelievable story.
Jon Acuff is the New York Times Bestselling author of six books. For over 20 years he’s helped some of the biggest brands in the world tell their story, including The Home Depot, Bose, Staples, and the Dave Ramsey Team. Most recently he’s spoken to hundreds of thousands of people at conferences, colleges, companies and churches. Featured regularly on national media, Jon has been seen on CNN, Fox News, Good Day LA and several other key outlets. Today, he’s going to join us to talk about his newest book, Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking. We think it’s something every entrepreneur should read, but we’ll let you listen to Jon to find out why…
It’s amazing how much we are able to be in God’s presence through technology. Below are a few of the apps we at Faith Driven Entrepreneur use to stay connected to Him.
On more than 250 million devices around the world, people are reading, listening to, watching, and sharing the Bible using the #1 rated Bible App—completely free. Over 1,000 Bible versions, in hundreds of languages. Hundreds of Reading Plans, in over 40 languages. Add your own Verse Images, highlights, bookmarks, and public or private notes.
Reading Plans on YouVersion for the Faith Driven Entrepreneur
Learn from leaders like Pat Lencioni, Liz Bohannon, Lecrae, Nancy Duarte, and Michael Hyatt to see how God can influence the way you live, work, and lead your business.
The goal of Read Scripture is that everyone would read the Bible for themselves and discover the truth and beauty of God’s Word. To this end, they are curating a year-long Bible reading plan and supplementing the reading with amazingly creative videos (produced by our friends at the Bible Project) that explain every book of the Bible, major theological themes of the gospel, and tips on how to read the Bible.
The videos in Read Scripture (which are remarkable) are brought to you by The Bible Project, which is itself and incredible resource for going deeper with the Word of God.
Abide is the #1 Christian meditation app to bring more peace and less stress into your daily life. Transform your mind by listening to beautiful guided meditations. Join the millions of people meditating with Abide- including Grammy award winning singers, church leaders, and Christian therapists.
Abide is easy to use. Come in, press play, and feel renewed by God’s spirit. All meditations are based off Biblical scriptures.
We all have a need to know our Creator. We all have a longing to be fully known and fully loved by an all-knowing, all-loving God.
First15, a resource of Denison Ministries, is a daily devotional written by Craig Denison out of the belief that 15 minutes with God can change your life. First15 has a new daily devotional podcast as well!
The Bible Memory App is the only complete, all-inclusive Bible memory system that equips you to easily memorize, organize, and review verses on your own, customizable review schedule. You can even memorize & review verses while reading your Bible, all in one app!
If you’re looking for a way to hide God’s Word in your heart, this is a helpful app to have in your pocket.
