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The Christian Capitalist - Rich Sanders
Episode 160410th January 2025 • Kingdom Cross Roads Podcast • Robert Thibodeau
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The Christian Capitalist

Rich Sanders

Can faith and capitalism truly coexist, or are they fundamentally at odds? This episode explores this provocative question with guest Rich Sanders, a pastor, small business owner, and author of "The Christian Capitalist: The Gospel of Hard Work and Generous Giving." Rich shares his insights on how Christians can embrace capitalism while embodying generosity and stewardship, emphasizing that wealth should be viewed as a means to serve others rather than an end in itself. His experiences, from military service to legal practice, shape his perspective on living out the gospel through work and giving. Join us for an enlightening conversation that encourages believers to see success not just in material terms, but in the positive impact they can have on their communities.

Takeaways:

  • Rich Sanders argues that faith and capitalism can coexist, emphasizing generosity and hard work.
  • He highlights the importance of Christians using their wealth to help those in need.
  • The podcast discusses how success should be redefined as impacting others positively rather than material accumulation.
  • Sanders shares personal anecdotes about generosity, including a waitress who gives to the homeless.
  • The conversation reveals the idea that stewardship of wealth is crucial for believers.
  • Rich emphasizes that every person is called to ministry in their own unique way.

CONTACT INFORMATION: 

Email:   contact@goodworksmission.life 

Website:   https://christiancapitalist.life/ 

Podcast:   https://christiancapitalist.life/podcast 

Book:  “The Christian Capitalist: The Gospel of Hard Word and Generous Giving” – on Amazon 

_____________________________________________

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Transcripts

Pastor Bob:

Welcome to the Kingdom Crossroads podcast with Pastor Bob Thibodeau.

Pastor Bob:

Pastor Bob conducts personal interviews with Christian influencers from around the globe, helping Christian authors, recording artists, CEOs, entrepreneurs, non profit leaders, and yes, pastors and ministry leaders to get the word out about what they are doing to impact the world with the gospel.

Pastor Bob:

Our podcast has been rated in the top 1/2% of all podcasts in the world by ListenNotes.com so you know your message will be heard.

Pastor Bob:

Now, here is your host with today's interview, Pastor Bob Thibodeau.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Hello, everyone, everywhere.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Pastor Bob Thibodeau here.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Welcome to the Kingdom Crossroads podcast Today.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

We're so blessed that you're joining us.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Can faith and capitalism really work together?

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

It's a question a lot of people ask today or are they mutually exclusive to each other?

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Well, the answer may surprise you, and our guest today is going to explain why.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Amen.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

I'm honored to have Rich Sanders, host of the Christian Capitalist podcast, join us today.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Rich is a pastor, a small business owner, healthcare attorney, retired adjunct professor, and a former Navy intelligence officer and founder of Good Works Missions.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

He stays busy.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Amen.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

He's also the author of the Christian Capitalist, the Gospel of Hard Work and Generous Giving.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

So get ready for an inspiring conversation about faith, work and generosity.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Praise God.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

With that being said, help me to welcome to the program, Rich Sanders.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Rich, it's a blessing to have you on the program with us today, brother.

Rich Sanders:

And thank you so much, Bob.

Rich Sanders:

I'm so glad to be here.

Rich Sanders:

God bless you in the ministry that you're doing.

Rich Sanders:

I'm just so delighted to get a chance to meet you today and talk with you about these important topics.

Amen Speaker:

Amen.

Amen Speaker:

Amen.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Well, the first question I always start with is this.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Other than that brief information I just shared, can you tell us in your own words, who is Rich Sanders?

Rich Sanders:

Rich Sanders is a follower of Jesus, blessed to have a terrific family here in Northwest Florida.

Rich Sanders:

We live in a town called Destin, right near the Gulf of Mexico.

Rich Sanders:

My 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.

Rich Sanders:

And 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.

Amen Speaker:

Amen.

Amen Speaker:

Amen.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Praise God.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

God bless you newlyweds.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

I tell you, my wife and I just celebrated December 9th was our 48 8th here.

Rich Sanders:

Whoa.

Rich Sanders:

All right, you look pretty good for being an old guy, Bob.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

That's right.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

That's right.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

That's the anointing.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

That's the anointing and camera.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

And camera technology.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Right, right.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

I 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.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

But 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.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

To me, the military service is one of the highlights of my life, and I just enjoyed it.

Rich Sanders:

I'm right there with you, Bob.

Rich Sanders:

We 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.

Rich Sanders:

My father was career Air Force, so he was in for 26 years.

Rich Sanders:

And like you, had a similar path prior enlisted, then got his commission.

Rich Sanders:

My 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.

Rich Sanders:

So 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.

Rich Sanders:

Well, you'll appreciate this.

Rich Sanders:

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.

Rich Sanders:

In that awesome event held every year between army and Navy, you got to be two things, active duty and oconus outside the continental United States.

Rich Sanders:

So I just took them over to UPS yesterday.

Rich Sanders:

We're sending out boxes to Japan, Kuwait, and somewhere in the Middle east for Air Force security.

Rich Sanders:

We're not sure where, but we got the APO address.

Amen Speaker:

Amen.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Praise God.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Yeah, Good.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

That's good.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Yeah.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

We're not talking too much about the Army Navy game today, so.

Pastor Bob:

Exactly.

Rich Sanders:

I didn't know well for army this year, but last year was a different story.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

I just threw that out there.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

We'll acknowledge it.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

So bow down.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Amen.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Let's start with your book, the Christian Capitalist.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Why did you write this book and what was your motivation in doing that?

Rich Sanders:

Bob, thank you so much for asking.

Rich Sanders:

You know, the timing of this book, I think, was really important to me.

Rich Sanders:

God 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 charitable deduction might be affected.

Rich Sanders:

And so I was like, oh, man, I hope this doesn't impact giving.

Rich Sanders:

And at the same time, I'm thinking about giving and people's motivation to give.

Rich Sanders:

I 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.

Rich Sanders:

You know, here where I talk to so many small business owners around the nation about this title, I get two responses.

Rich Sanders:

And I gave it this controversial title for this reason.

Rich Sanders:

Some people hear the title Christian Capitalist and say, hey, that's me.

Rich Sanders:

I'm a small business owner.

Rich Sanders:

I'm a business executive in a big Fortune 500 company.

Rich Sanders:

But 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.

Rich Sanders:

But a good half of the people I talk to say, wait a second.

Rich Sanders:

Either I didn't think you could be both, or there's no way you can be both.

Rich Sanders:

In fact, there's some recent literature from very, very prominent academic professors of theology and business who say the best way to be a Christian is to be a socialist.

Rich Sanders:

hange in the tax code back in:

Rich Sanders:

This 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, but you can, as long as you use the benefits and the produce of whatever you're working on to benefit your neighbor.

Amen Speaker:

Yeah.

Amen Speaker:

Amen.

Amen Speaker:

Amen.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

So why is that important for believers today?

Rich Sanders:

Well, let me tell you.

Rich Sanders:

I think there's a couple of implications.

Rich Sanders:

The first is it's important for believers because as church membership declines, I don't think the number of followers of Jesus is declining.

Rich Sanders:

I think people in response to the Gallup surveys or the Pew surveys are simply saying, I don't go to church anymore.

Rich Sanders:

A lot of people respond by saying, I'm spiritual but not religious.

Rich Sanders:

The message of Jesus for:

Rich Sanders:

And his own words.

Rich Sanders:

But the way people interpret them has changed dramatically.

Rich Sanders:

And so people follow Jesus now they are Christians without going to church, and churches are starting to Close down.

Rich Sanders:

And the kind of the traditional denominations are changing really rapidly.

Rich Sanders:

So this was to encourage folks to say, hey, you know what?

Rich Sanders:

You 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.

Rich Sanders:

Because when we work, we glorify God.

Rich Sanders:

So that's the first implication.

Rich Sanders:

The reason I also wrote it for believers is, man, some tough lessons.

Rich Sanders:

Let me tell you.

Rich Sanders:

As we talked about in the introduction, I'm a pastor, and when I.

Rich Sanders:

In 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.

Rich Sanders:

When 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.

Rich Sanders:

And 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.

Rich Sanders:

I can see the look on their face and, like, what do I do with this?

Rich Sanders:

And 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.

Rich Sanders:

That poverty or need looks like.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Yeah, too many people are just focused on getting more instead of using more.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

I guess you could say.

Rich Sanders:

Indeed.

Rich Sanders:

And that's why the motto of the Christian capitalist is, the more we make, the more we give.

Rich Sanders:

You know, I gotta tell you, I wrestle with this all the time.

Rich Sanders:

I mean, I'm retired from practicing law over 28 years and now live in a beautiful house on the beach in Destin.

Rich Sanders:

I'm looking out the window here at a nice car in the driveway.

Rich Sanders:

Does having a nice house and a nice car make me a bad Christian?

Rich Sanders:

You know, these are.

Rich Sanders:

These are important concepts because I was just telling somebody at Bible study yesterday, if Jesus walked through this door right now and said, rich.

Rich Sanders:

You just talked about what I told the rich young ruler.

Rich Sanders:

I didn't stutter.

Rich Sanders:

Sell everything you have and give it to the poor.

Rich Sanders:

I would say I'm sorry, I got it wrong.

Rich Sanders:

But 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.

Amen Speaker:

Amen.

Amen Speaker:

Amen.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

I know a lot of Christians struggle with balancing their faith and their ambition.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Right.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

How should Christians view wealth and success in light of today's society?

Rich Sanders:

Well, let me tell you, that's an outstanding question because it really comes down to what success is.

Rich Sanders:

If 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.

Rich Sanders:

The 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.

Rich Sanders:

And 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.

Rich Sanders:

Because ultimately, when they do that, when they benefit their poor and needy neighbors, they're storing up for themselves treasure in heaven.

Rich Sanders:

And 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.

Rich Sanders:

So when you look at it in that context, success is not a nice house or a nice car or a big fat IRA account.

Rich Sanders:

Success 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.

Rich Sanders:

Their situation is?

Amen Speaker:

Amen.

Amen Speaker:

Amen.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Yeah, and.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

And just, I just like to point out, 10% is 10%.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

We'll just use the tithe as the example.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

10% is 10%.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

If you only make $25,000 a year, 10% is 10%.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

You make $250,000 a year.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Your 10% goes a lot farther, but it's still 10%.

Rich Sanders:

That's exactly right.

Rich Sanders:

And that's why you're so glad you talked about tithing, my friend, because to me, the more we make is a concept that goes beyond tithing.

Rich Sanders:

One of my best friends here in Destin is somebody that I met by eavesdropping.

Rich Sanders:

He and his friend were over in one part of the gym working out.

Rich Sanders:

I'm in another part of the gym working out.

Rich Sanders:

And it just involved me kind of moving past them as I was doing this exercise.

Rich Sanders:

And they had just had a men's Bible study the day before, talking about tithing and giving.

Rich Sanders:

And my friend said to his friend, you know, I think tithing is just a suggestion.

Rich Sanders:

If you get more, you should give more.

Rich Sanders:

I'm like, we need to talk, because he gets it.

Rich Sanders:

But I will say, furthermore, that there's this new and we address this briefly in the book.

Rich Sanders:

There'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.

Rich Sanders:

Have you heard of the Giving Pledge?

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Briefly.

Rich Sanders:

Yeah.

Rich Sanders:

So I did research on it.

Rich Sanders:

Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, you know, this kind of level of money.

Rich Sanders:

And the pledge is that I, as a very wealthy person, am going to give half of my estate away.

Rich Sanders:

And that's a lofty thought, right?

Rich Sanders:

When 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.

Rich Sanders:

And I'm certainly not going to criticize that, because it's a laudable gold that will ultimately benefit people.

Rich Sanders:

The 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.

Rich Sanders:

And furthermore, Jesus tells us, love your neighbor.

Rich Sanders:

Go forth and love them as I have loved you.

Rich Sanders:

You can't love from the grave.

Rich Sanders:

Right?

Rich Sanders:

You got to do it now while you're alive.

Rich Sanders:

So that's the only issue I have.

Rich Sanders:

I 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.

Amen Speaker:

Yeah.

Amen Speaker:

Amen.

Amen Speaker:

Amen.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Well, how can believers reconcile pursuing success while maintaining that spirit of humility and generosity?

Rich Sanders:

That's a good question.

Rich Sanders:

So 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.

Rich Sanders:

One 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.

Rich Sanders:

He was a hospital administrator in the Air Force.

Rich Sanders:

He served with my father in Italy in the early 80s.

Rich Sanders:

During his time in the Philippines in the late 70s, he had a chance to interact regularly with Mother Teresa and learn from her.

Rich Sanders:

And the lessons that he got from her are just outstanding.

Rich Sanders:

This is episode one of our podcast.

Rich Sanders:

If you're able to go listen to it, I encourage you to.

Rich Sanders:

And she, Mother Teresa told Dan, his name is Dan Dan.

Rich Sanders:

And 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.

Rich Sanders:

All right?

Rich Sanders:

And 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 just, I love that notion there.

Rich Sanders:

And there are folks that, that we see and 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 spread the love of God to others.

Amen Speaker:

Yeah, Amen.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

I've said for years, you know, there's.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Everyone is called to be in the ministry.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Every single person.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

You 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.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

And then those that finance, those that go, you know.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

But every person is called in the ministry.

Rich Sanders:

Yes, that's exactly right.

Rich Sanders:

And furthermore, I'll say this because you raised a great point a few minutes ago when you were talking about tithing.

Rich Sanders:

It's 10% of whatever you make.

Rich Sanders:

One 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.

Rich Sanders:

But 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.

Rich Sanders:

That's a core concept of our movement, that anyone could be a Christian capitalist.

Rich Sanders:

In fact, one of our most devout and best examples of a Christian capitalist is a woman who just gives so generously.

Rich Sanders:

And 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.

Rich Sanders:

But man, every single day she's thinking about how to give.

Rich Sanders:

In fact, the other day she called me, we had a cold snap.

Rich Sanders:

Cold snaps here in Destin are not like cold snaps in Baltimore, by the way.

Rich Sanders:

Let me just go ahead and throw that out there.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Yeah, that's 65 degrees.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

That's cold down there.

Rich Sanders:

Exactly.

Rich Sanders:

But she called me up and said, pastor rich, I made $900 yesterday.

Rich Sanders:

We had a super busy day at the restaurant.

Rich Sanders:

I want to take it all and go buy blankets for the homeless because I know they're cold.

Rich Sanders:

Isn't that wonderful?

Rich Sanders:

And that's a perfect example of what we're talking about.

Rich Sanders:

It doesn't have to be nine figure income and giving away millions.

Rich Sanders:

It can be just Something that small.

Amen Speaker:

Amen.

Amen Speaker:

Amen.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Well, your work spans multiple fields.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

I mean, from pastoring to business ownership to law.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

How has these diverse experiences shaped your perspective on living out the gospel through working and giving?

Rich Sanders:

That's a great question, man.

Rich Sanders:

I appreciate that.

Rich Sanders:

So when I was actively practicing law, I was also in the church.

Rich Sanders:

In our church, we call that bi vocational ministry.

Rich Sanders:

And so when I'm advising people on legal issues, I would approach this.

Rich Sanders:

These kind of complex corporate.

Rich Sanders:

We didn't go to court, did corporate and regulatory work.

Rich Sanders:

But I would approach these deals as what's good for both sides.

Rich Sanders:

How can we do this transaction or resolve this dispute?

Rich Sanders:

By solving in a way that's good for both sides and that will leave a relationship intact.

Rich Sanders:

On the ministry side, of course, that practice of law and interacting with people through business very much 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.

Rich Sanders:

But I'll tell you, for this particular issue, the Christian capitalist, it really hit home just yesterday in this Bible study, one 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?

Rich Sanders:

And what is the difference between stewardship and ownership?

Rich Sanders:

And the short answer is, in many ways, they're the same.

Rich Sanders:

We think about this as my cup, my laptop, my shirt.

Rich Sanders:

But these are blessings that God has given us.

Rich Sanders:

And when we're gone, they go to someone else.

Rich Sanders:

And 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.

Rich Sanders:

And that in particular goes to land and real estate.

Rich Sanders:

You know, we were talking about how, yeah, you may own it for now, but when you die, it goes to someone else.

Rich Sanders:

It's just the way that things go.

Rich Sanders:

I had an accounted friend of mine who put a very fine point on it.

Rich Sanders:

He said, I've been a lot of funerals.

Rich Sanders:

I've never seen a hearse with a U Haul trailer behind it.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

That's right.

Rich Sanders:

You know, can't take it with you.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

You founded Good Work Missions.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Tell us about this program.

Rich Sanders:

Well, this verse that we keep talking about from first Timothy is a theme all throughout the New Testament.

Rich Sanders:

And that is doing good works and loving your neighbor.

Rich Sanders:

And 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.

Rich Sanders:

And across the board, and 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.

Rich Sanders:

And so Rebecca and I said, you know what, we're entrepreneurs.

Rich Sanders:

Let'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.

Rich Sanders:

And so we entitled our publishing company Good Works Mission.

Rich Sanders:

And I got to tell you, Bob, I'm so thrilled.

Rich Sanders:

Not 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.

Rich Sanders:

It's a children's book written by my friend Michelle Fritsch, who's a pastor in Atlanta.

Rich Sanders:

It's a kids 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.

Rich Sanders:

It's called you'd're a Child of God.

Rich Sanders:

And it hit number one on Amazon just last week.

Rich Sanders:

Isn't that wonderful?

Rich Sanders:

So Good Works Mission is a little publishing company that's got some oomph to it.

Rich Sanders:

And I always tell folks Thomas Nelson had to start somewhere.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

That's it.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

That's it.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Baby steps.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Praise God.

Rich Sanders:

Exactly.

Pastor Bob:

Exactly.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Your podcast is the Christian Capitalist podcast and you share stories of individuals embracing this ethic we've been talking about.

Pastor Bob:

Yeah.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Do you have and can you share with us a particularly memorable guest or story that exemplifies these values?

Rich Sanders:

Absolutely.

Rich Sanders:

So Dan Kearns, the Catholic deacon I was talking about, who passed those lessons along for Mother Teresa, is a great one.

Rich Sanders:

But the the one that jumps immediately to mind is a friend of mine from my high school.

Rich Sanders:

I went to high school in D.C.

Rich Sanders:

in Washington, D.C.

Rich Sanders:

when my dad was stationed at the pentagon.

Rich Sanders:

It's called St.

Rich Sanders:

John's College High School.

Rich Sanders:

It's a Lasallian school, so it's founded in the tradition of St.

Rich Sanders:

John the Baptist De La Salle and run by the Christian Brothers.

Rich Sanders:

Terrific school.

Rich Sanders:

At the time where I went, it was all male, Catholic and military.

Rich Sanders:

And since then it's now co ed and the military is optional, but still going strong.

Rich Sanders:

And I just love the ministry there and the way that they educate young people.

Rich Sanders:

My friend Chris Stevens graduated from St.

Rich Sanders:

John's 10 years before me and went on to a terrific career in business and now is a business professor at Notre Dame.

Rich Sanders:

So he's teaching young people and MBA students how to be good Christians in business up at really the biggest Catholic university in America.

Rich Sanders:

So when I interviewed Chris, I was so delighted to get a chance to talk to him.

Rich Sanders:

Not only is he one of the coaches, 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.

Rich Sanders:

He 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 and they have pledged to give the profits that they have from their portion of that to charity.

Rich Sanders:

Exactly what I'm talking about.

Rich Sanders:

Isn't that wonderful?

Rich Sanders:

So even as a successful business owner, he's trying to help other small business owners and then from that, help the poor and needy.

Rich Sanders:

It's exactly the kind of thing that we, we talk about in the book.

Amen Speaker:

Amen.

Amen Speaker:

Amen.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

How can businesses that are being led by faith driven entrepreneurs create lasting, kingdom focused impact in their communities and beyond?

Rich Sanders:

Oh, man, I'm so glad you asked that.

Rich Sanders:

I mean, because that really is the heart of the matter.

Rich Sanders:

It's a twofold focus.

Rich Sanders:

The first is internal.

Rich Sanders:

Internal.

Rich Sanders:

You know, so many people in:

Rich Sanders:

I think In January of 25, so 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'll offend someone.

Rich Sanders:

Right.

Rich Sanders:

But 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.

Rich Sanders:

And you don't have to do that by having a Bible study every week.

Rich Sanders:

You don't have to do that by putting messages on the wall.

Rich Sanders:

You do that as a concept that you and I learned day one in the military.

Rich Sanders:

Lead by example.

Amen Speaker:

Amen.

Rich Sanders:

Lead by example.

Rich Sanders:

And 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.

Rich Sanders:

That's the thing that I've been learning more and more about as I've written this book.

Rich Sanders:

And I'm now talking to people all over the nation.

Rich Sanders:

If you limit your worship of God and you glorify God only one hour on Sunday a week, you've missed the whole point.

Rich Sanders:

You got the rest of your life Monday through Friday for many folks.

Rich Sanders:

Even more.

Rich Sanders:

You can't just check Jesus at the door when you go to work.

Rich Sanders:

So it's about helping your coworkers and the people that work for you when you go outside.

Rich Sanders:

When 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.

Rich Sanders:

There's this concept that really hasn't gained traction in popular kind of business culture.

Rich Sanders:

But about 15 years ago, a couple people wrote books and articles about philanthro capitalism.

Rich Sanders:

And that's kind of the point, but that's a secular way to put it.

Rich Sanders:

Basically, 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.

Rich Sanders:

And that really depends.

Rich Sanders:

I mean, for some.

Rich Sanders:

So here's an example.

Rich Sanders:

One of my favorite Christian capitalists that I met this year who was a little hesitant when I asked her to come onto the podcast.

Rich Sanders:

So I'm not going to mention her by name, but I will say that her business is called the Beagle Bagel in Madison, Mississippi.

Rich Sanders:

And she's just a terrific, terrific Christian.

Rich Sanders:

She 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.

Rich Sanders:

But on a regular basis, she's giving food away to the poor and needy in that particular time.

Rich Sanders:

When I met her, we had a relative of my wife's in the hospital in Jackson.

Rich Sanders:

She said, oh, since you're going to the hospital, take this big tray of bagels to the nurses at the nurse's station.

Amen Speaker:

Amen.

Rich Sanders:

Isn't that wonderful?

Rich Sanders:

And so no matter what business you're in, you can figure out a way to love your neighbor through the work that you do.

Rich Sanders:

It's up to you and how God calls you to do it.

Amen Speaker:

Yeah, Amen.

Amen Speaker:

Amen.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

It doesn't have to be financial all the time.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

It can be service.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

I mean, you know, we had a neighbor lady across the street, died several years ago when we first moved into this house.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

You know, every time we went to the store, I go knock on her door, you know, do you need anything?

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Can I pick up anything for you?

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

I mean, just, you know, that was a.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

That was ministry.

Rich Sanders:

There was ministry.

Rich Sanders:

Exactly, Bob.

Rich Sanders:

It doesn't have to be financial.

Rich Sanders:

Oh, I'm so glad you said that.

Rich Sanders:

So just yesterday I was visit or two days ago interviewing a guy named Chris Barnes on our podcast who's a financial advisor.

Rich Sanders:

But 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.

Rich Sanders:

He 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.

Rich Sanders:

And so Chris said I would call him regularly and just check in on him.

Rich Sanders:

And when he told me he'd lost his sense of taste, I was like, well, can you taste anything?

Rich Sanders:

And the guy said, yeah, but the only thing that I can taste now is ketchup.

Rich Sanders:

And 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.

Rich Sanders:

And the guy sent him a thank you note that said, basically, thank you.

Rich Sanders:

You've shown God's love for me and changed my life.

Rich Sanders:

Isn't that wonderful?

Rich Sanders:

Do four big bottles of ketchup.

Rich Sanders:

It really doesn't take much, like the Mother Teresa said, to be someone special to someone in need.

Rich Sanders:

And I will furthermore say you mentioned that elderly neighbor that you had.

Rich Sanders:

that I see, especially now in:

Rich Sanders:

We have an epidemic of loneliness in our country.

Rich Sanders:

And 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.

Amen Speaker:

Amen.

Amen Speaker:

Amen.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

That is so good, Rich.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

This has been so interesting.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

I know someone may have a question or they like more information.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

How can they get in touch with you?

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

How can they reach out and connect with you?

Rich Sanders:

So we have a website called ChristianCapitalist Life.

Rich Sanders:

This life suffix on websites is new and I just love it because we want people to live a Christian capitalist life, christiancapitalist life.

Rich Sanders:

And we're on all the social media channels and all the podcast channels as well.

Rich Sanders:

If you look up christiancapitalist Life, though, you can send me an email.

Rich Sanders:

I'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.

Rich Sanders:

We'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.

Amen Speaker:

Amen.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

And I take it your book is available on Amazon, I think you mentioned correct?

Rich Sanders:

Yes sir, the book is available on Amazon.

Rich Sanders:

You can also buy it@christiancapitalist.org 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.

Rich Sanders:

So it's a 20 page PDF right there available on our website for download.

Rich Sanders:

And it's perfect for teachers who are in Christian schools or who have a morality or philosophy class in a public school.

Rich Sanders:

It's perfect for teachers to want to use the book in a classroom setting and perfect for Bible study.

Rich Sanders:

So 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.

Amen Speaker:

Amen.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Praise God.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

I'll put links all this down in the show notes below.

Rich Sanders:

I appreciate that, Bob.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Folks, if you've been inspired by Rick's insight, Rich's insights, I encourage you to check out his book the Christian Capitalist, the Gospel of hard work and generous Giving, and explore how you can live out these values.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

I mean, visit the links in the show notes to connect with Rich, listen to his podcast, subscribe to his podcast, Praise God.

Amen Speaker:

Hallelujah.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

And take the first step towards impactful, faith driven living.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Praise Jesus for all the technology he's made available to do that today.

Amen Speaker:

Amen.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Rich, thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to come join us on the podcast today.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Man, I do appreciate it.

Rich Sanders:

My pleasure, Bob.

Rich Sanders:

God bless you.

Rich Sanders:

I'm so glad to get a chance to meet you.

Amen Speaker:

Amen.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Folks, that is all the time we have for today.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau:

Rich Sanders myself passed by reminding you to be blessed in all that you do.

Pastor Bob:

Thank you for listening to today's episode of the Kingdom Crossroads podcast.

Pastor Bob:

Please subscribe to our podcast so you can be notified when another episode is published.

Pastor Bob:

interviews and:

Pastor Bob:

Please visit our website@www.podcastersforchrist.com.

Pastor Bob:

that web address again is www.podcastersforchrist.Com.

Pastor Bob:

for more more information.

Pastor Bob:

Until next time, be blessed in all that you do.

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