Faith at Work: How to Bring Your Beliefs into the Marketplace

 In this episode of Out of the Darkness with Ruth Hovsepian, Ruth sits down with Scott Warren to explore what it means to live out Christian faith authentically in the marketplace. Scott shares insights on how professionals can maintain and demonstrate their faith at work, viewing their careers as a mission field. Discover practical advice on integrating faith and business, creating a positive influence, and becoming a "marketplace apostle." Whether you're just starting in your career or are a seasoned professional, this episode offers guidance on embodying the values of Christ in your work life.

Takeaways:

• Marketplace apostles are Christians in the workplace.
• Obedience to the Holy Spirit is crucial in daily life.
• Integrating faith into work can transform environments.
• Small acts of kindness can have a big impact.
• Creating inclusive environments reflects Christ's love.
• It's important to be Christ-like in all interactions.
• Sharing faith doesn't always mean inviting to church.
• Practical steps can help live out faith at work.
• Faith can guide decisions and interactions in the workplace.
• Every interaction is an opportunity to reflect faith.

Website | www.preachwhereyoureach.com
Instagram | preachwhereyoureach
Facebook | preachwhereyoureach
LinkedIn | linkedin.com/in/scott-warren-99a496a
Podcast | Preach Where You Reach
Books | "Preach Where You Reach: Bring Your Jesus to Work (Every) Day" & coming in 2025 "For the Love of God, Care for Your People!"

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Transcript

Ruth Hovsepian (00:01.61)
Welcome to Out of the Darkness. I'm your host, Ruth Hovsepian In this episode, I'm joined by Scott Warren, a visionary leader and the founder of Preach Where You Reach. Scott is here to share his insights on equipping and inspiring marketplace apostles to infuse the workplace with God's presence and glory. As an author, podcast host, and speaker, Scott has been instrumental in showing how

integrating faith can transform our professional lives. Together, we'll explore what it means to bring light and purpose into our everyday work environments. Welcome Scott to Out of the Darkness.

Scott Warren (00:44.802)
Hi Ruth, it's so good to be with you. Excited for this. I've been waiting and excited to see what's going to happen here.

Ruth Hovsepian (00:50.538)
Well, I'm excited as well. This is a great topic. I think this is one that everyone needs to hear. Everyone goes to work. Everyone has a neighbor. Everyone has people around them. So let's start off really simply. Can you share with us what inspired you to create Preacher where you reach and how it's helping people bring God's presence into their workplace?

Scott Warren (01:16.612)
Yeah, so it was was actually I started with a book I had written a book and published a book called Preachery Reach in October of 2020, which was really a book about how I incorporated my faith. It wasn't a how to it wasn't saying hey, here's what you need to do here are the seven or 10 steps or the whatever it wasn't like that it was more.

examples of my life and how I've incorporated my faith in the workplace and not just the physical workplace, but the sphere of influence. people I would meet and interact with. I ran arenas and performing arts centers. So I was in entertainment and sports for 29 years and I interacted with all kinds of different people, whether it was city council and the mayor or,

artists, agents and management or media and local tourism boards and all of these people, right? And so I was able to incorporate my faith wherever I went and whoever I talked to. And there's a way to do that that we can kind of talk about, but it was really inspired initially by really being, I was on a flight to Los Angeles, 30, 20,000 feet in the air. And I heard the Holy Spirit say, write the book. And I was like,

I don't know what that means. what book? Like I don't know what you're saying to me. And I had just previously given a sermon, I guess, if you will, at my church. There was a, we did a Bible college for a couple of years and one of the assignments was to do a 10 minute sermon. And so I did mine on how I incorporated my faith in the workplace. And I felt the Holy Spirit saying that, that's the one, write that. And I was like, okay.

And so I never aspired to be an author, but anyway, so I released the book in October of 2020. And then people kept saying, you've got to do a podcast. You've got to do a podcast. I don't know who to talk to. I don't know who's a Christian in the workplace. I don't know who I'm getting, right? And, and, so I put it off and put it off. And then finally, I think it was January of 2023 and I felt the Holy spirit saying it's time. And I've always prided myself on being bold in my faith and obedient. And so when I helped, when I heard that prompting,

Ruth Hovsepian (03:30.54)
Yeah.

Scott Warren (03:38.446)
I was like, okay, I gotta do it. And it's been one of the biggest blessings of my life.

Ruth Hovsepian (03:45.514)
You know, it's incredible when we open ourselves to hearing what the Holy Spirit has to say to us. How our prayers are answered and sometimes they're tough ones, the answers, right? Go in faith, go into something that may be a little bit uncomfortable for you. And I have found that as well. I recently took a trip and, you know,

Scott Warren (04:00.835)
Right.

Ruth Hovsepian (04:14.932)
I think small, I think we all do, but God has a bigger plan for us. And part of my little plan in my head was if I took this trip driving from Quebec down to Tennessee and then back up, that I would have opportunity on the way to meet people and share the faith.

Scott Warren (04:20.035)
Amen.

Ruth Hovsepian (04:38.96)
Not to say that as you're going through the Bible belt, there aren't enough preachers and missionaries and speakers, but it was on my heart to do so. I tell you, the moment that I opened my mouth, I was like, did I have to pray that? Because the people that came that I met were people that truly were sometimes uncultured.

Scott Warren (04:46.109)
Yeah. Yeah.

Ruth Hovsepian (05:08.716)
comfortable conversations. And one of them or twice I was met, one with a practicing witch and one that really believed in crystals and enneagrams and all of these things. And these really were hard and I've had encounters in the past, but I tell you, you ask the Lord.

and he's gonna bring it. He will.

Scott Warren (05:39.133)
Yes. Well, I think one of the thing is the key, whether you're on a road trip like that or whether you're in the workplace is to be obedient to that Holy Spirit's nudging. Right. So it's, it's, and it seems uncomfortable at times. And it could be something very, very simple, right? It could be invite that person to your Thanksgiving dinner. I don't want to do that. There's no chance I want them over here. He's not asking you.

Ruth Hovsepian (06:00.03)
Hmm.

Scott Warren (06:06.404)
He's saying, invite them. So, so then it's about your obedience. And it's the same thing. You could be at a mall in the food court and the Holy Spirit will say, talk to that person, give them a word. And you're like, yeah, but that the word you've given me doesn't make any sense to me. I don't think, I mean, that's gonna be weird. Maybe it doesn't even make sense to them. The key as a Christian that is being obedient to the Holy Spirit is to do your part. You don't have to worry about the result.

Ruth Hovsepian (06:15.66)
Mmm.

Scott Warren (06:35.464)
The end result isn't yours. Your obedience is what you're in charge of. And so I think when we say that word to someone, it may make no sense to them whatsoever, right? It could say, I'm seeing a taxi stop or a bus stop, and I feel like you should avoid that. And they may not even think, why am even going to a bus? What does that even mean? Again, it doesn't matter. doesn't matter. It's just being obedient to that because

Ruth Hovsepian (06:53.601)
Mmm.

Scott Warren (07:04.868)
they may find themselves in a situation where their car broke down and now all of a sudden they're having to go to a bus stop. And it's like, they didn't anticipate that. They didn't think they were going to be there, but you spoke a word over it. And so I think it's freeing in a sense for us when we have the mindset of, you know, Holy Spirit guide me, use me as a vessel. want to be, I want to partner with you in what you ever, whatever you want me to do. And

and then just be free of what the end result of that is, or even the mockery or, you know, feeling foolish. Again, that's not for you to worry about. Your job is just to be obedient.

Ruth Hovsepian (07:48.368)
I think that's key to it, right? It's not us understanding where the Holy Spirit is leading and why he's doing it. And I think also, and I found this to be true for myself was if I prepare myself, obviously we don't know when and where we are led to speak to someone, but I found that when I start my day in a certain way, in prayer,

and time in the word of God, then my mind is open and I hear the Holy Spirit say to me, speak to this woman at the cash register or stop and greet this person or say this. And sometimes, as you said, I don't understand why I need to tell someone whatever it is that I'm prompted to tell.

We may never know what it is that we said that will affect that person. We just need to be ready. But I want to talk about a term that you use, marketplace apostles. Can you explain what that means to you and why it's so important in today's professional world?

Scott Warren (09:00.92)
Yes.

Scott Warren (09:09.77)
Yes. Well, think, I mean, a marketplace apostle is just a Christian living and functioning in the work world outside of the four walls of the church, right? You're in the marketplace here. And I think what happens is that oftentimes for Christians, they leave that part of themselves at the door and don't take it to work with them, right? We hear things all the time about

Ruth Hovsepian (09:21.932)
Mm.

Scott Warren (09:39.116)
you know, take your kids to work and take your pet to work day and all of this stuff. We should certainly be taking our Jesus to work as a Christian. And so, and so what is, and I think, I think it's important to do that, but I think people are hesitant because they're not sure how to do that. How do I navigate that? How do I, you know, I'm not even allowed to talk about Christ in the workplace. That's what do I do? And I'm like, and, I always say that while companies may not allow you to talk about Christ in the workplace,

Ruth Hovsepian (09:59.2)
Hmm.

Scott Warren (10:08.334)
There's absolutely nothing stopping you from being like Christ in the workplace. And I think that is, that's the beginning point where we feel like, you when you say preach where you reach, it's sort of, I want to, I want to go and I want to read scripture and all this stuff, you know, pray over people and all that. There's nothing wrong with that necessarily. But first and foremost, you

Ruth Hovsepian (10:13.046)
Amen.

Scott Warren (10:36.94)
you have to be obedient to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will tell you when to shut your mouth and when to open it. It's actually both. Like you could be in a meeting and say, want to preach or I want to read scripture to that person. And the Holy Spirit may say, no, no, no, no, it's not the time. You know, you're in a meeting. That's not why you're here. And so I think it's really about being obedient, but I think it's so important for us because I think we really hesitate.

Ruth Hovsepian (10:47.233)
Mm.

Scott Warren (11:02.904)
to bring our faith with us to work because we don't know what that looks like. We don't know what that means. I'm not allowed to, but actually you are allowed to in the right way. And I think it's just a matter of helping people understand what those ways are. that not only does it affect your day, but it can change the entire culture of the organization.

Ruth Hovsepian (11:26.348)
Do you think part of it has to do with the fact that once we identify as a believer in a child of God, then our actions will be scrutinized a lot closer and maybe we're not ready for that?

Scott Warren (11:39.33)
Yeah.

Well, it's certainly possible, but I would suggest that you should be open to that scrutiny. You know, my son plays baseball. He's a senior in high school. He plays travel ball, gifted athlete. And almost every game I'm wearing something that says, preach for your reach. A hat, shirt, sweatshirt, whatever it is. Because

Ruth Hovsepian (12:02.625)
Mm.

Scott Warren (12:07.84)
It helps me with my self control. It helps me with that fruit of the spirit where I may not like a call. The umpire may be doing something or another kid may do it and I'm just like ready to rage and I have to remember, no, no, I'm representing Christ while I'm here. And so it's the same thing at the workplace. You're, you are representing Christ. so because you're a believer, you're going to want to not do the things you're going to want to not do the gossip at the water cooler, so to speak, the, you know, the, imagery of that and

Ruth Hovsepian (12:37.374)
Yes.

Scott Warren (12:37.476)
And of course now we're all, you know, most of us, seems, are hybrid. all working from home. And so what does that look like? You know, we're not necessarily gossiping around the water cooler. Well, that may be true, but you could certainly do it in the Zoom chat. so there are. Well, that's a fact. is of. Well, I mean, it's very, very true, but I think that's the thing, right? So when when being a believer in the workplace.

Ruth Hovsepian (12:46.732)
.

Ruth Hovsepian (12:50.516)
We can also gossip within the church walls. I'd hate to be the one to bring that up, but yeah.

Mm.

Scott Warren (13:05.974)
I, first of all, like for me, I don't hide my faith anywhere I go. So when we talk about the arenas that I used to manage and those sorts of things, I, I would always say that the, the, the, the culture of the organization, the culture of what I'm running is based on my faith. Period. It just is the decisions I make, how I view things and I'll tell them all my directors and that

Everything is based on my faith now. And I also am very clear. My faith does not have to be your faith. I'd be very, very clear on that. So for example, I had someone, there was a time where I wanted to create a Spotify playlist for Christmas. And I asked all of my team, said, I want two songs from everybody to put on this, this Spotify Christmas playlist. But I had a Muslim on my team as well. And I said, but Maria.

I still need two songs from you. I know you don't celebrate, but I want two songs. I don't care what they are. I need two songs from you. And she said, okay, anything from ACDC and Aretha Franklin's respect. Perfect. Put it on the playlist, right? Because you are representing Christ. You are loving as Christ would love. And so you are including, you're not separating. I'm bringing them in. And that way she gets to see the love of Jesus.

in the workplace as a Muslim girl. Like that's, that's transformational for people. That kind of thing. It doesn't take much. It's, it's, it's about being Christ-like in the workplace.

Ruth Hovsepian (14:41.099)
Yeah.

Ruth Hovsepian (14:47.34)
Especially in the very divisive society and environment that we are in, you guys are going into your elections. What is it a week from now? And by the time this is aired, the elections will be over and in Canada as well. We're going through the same thing. And I'm going to go back to something you said. And I too, because I'm public, right? You and I do podcasts. We have books out there. It really...

Scott Warren (14:51.864)
Yes.

Scott Warren (14:57.283)
Yes.

Scott Warren (15:15.811)
Yes.

Ruth Hovsepian (15:17.834)
really makes me hyper-focus on what kind of a testimony and what kind of a public figure I am. And when I say that, you know, take it with a grain of salt, I'm not recognized on the streets, but no, no, no, thank goodness for that. No, but, you know, really just to say that people do.

Scott Warren (15:35.938)
You're not Doug Ford.

Ruth Hovsepian (15:46.604)
come up to me though within a church environment and sometimes other places shockingly and say, I listened to your podcast and that takes me back because, or I've read your book and I'm like, okay. And it really makes me super sensitive to other people around me and like you, I have gotten into the habit of wearing tops.

with some kind of a message on it that speaks to what I am doing. And that has made me very aware of my facial expression because my kids love to make fun and say, mom, just hone into your face because when I'm resting, I've got this really, you know, like, really...

Scott Warren (16:29.512)
Yes.

Everything.

Ruth Hovsepian (16:45.616)
angry or you know really they use another word but that's that's my yeah deep in thought as well and I am 95 percent of the time I'm thinking of something totally different you know like if the turkey is being cooked well whatever it is but I have that look and it has made me really sensitive to it and finally I love the point about

Scott Warren (16:46.936)
Yeah, yes, just a deepened thought perhaps. Yes.

Scott Warren (16:58.308)
Yes.

Scott Warren (17:10.862)
Yes.

Ruth Hovsepian (17:14.728)
including people. And that is where our society and our churches have become very us and them. And I think that that's not what scripture wants from us. And we have to understand that it's the sin that we are up against, not the sinner, because I am too a sinner, right? Every day by the grace. Exactly.

Scott Warren (17:40.94)
Right? Every single one of us. Yes. Yeah.

Ruth Hovsepian (17:44.49)
And I think we forget that we become too big for our britches, right?

Scott Warren (17:50.434)
do. It's in churches across the country here and in Canada as well. I lived in Canada for six years before I moved here to Florida and I ran an arena in Hamilton, Ontario. and I saw it in churches there as well. And it's, you know, we want to invite in the broken, you know, those with, you know, maybe it's addiction issues or whatever it may be. want, we want them to come into our church, but we don't want them sitting in our seat.

It's like, we've totally missed the plot in a lot of cases. know, it's sad. Yeah.

Ruth Hovsepian (18:25.417)
Right, right.

It's very true. And the other thing that you just made a comment here about not wanting them to sit, you know, in our pews, but there's another viewpoint that I want to talk about. And when we do, you know, our marketplace speaking or giving a testimony of sorts, I want people to understand. this is, tell me if, if, you know, we agree on this one.

I want people to be aware that when I speak to someone out there, I'm not necessarily wanting to increase the numbers in my church. I want to introduce the person to the saving grace of Jesus dying on the cross for their sins. And I take as an example, my grandma, and when she hardly spoke any English.

Scott Warren (19:14.883)
Amen.

Ruth Hovsepian (19:24.438)
but she always started a conversation, whether she was in the hospital waiting for her turn or on the bus taking a ride somewhere, she would say and turn around and say, do you love Jesus?

And, and that was her start. And, and in her broken English, I don't know how people understood her. I don't know how she understood them, but let me tell you, she did bring people to the Lord and she did bring people to sit on the church pews in her broken English, because it wasn't her, it was the Holy Spirit. And I want people to understand, stop with the come to church kind of deal.

Scott Warren (19:46.243)
You

Scott Warren (19:58.308)
Ray.

Ruth Hovsepian (20:07.542)
but it's more of the come to Jesus part of the conversation that's important.

Scott Warren (20:12.418)
Yes. Well, and I think also we are called to be salt and the light, right? They should be attracted to us as well as Christians. so, so for me, it's about, it's not so much an invitation to church though, though that's, that's great. think it's just being with someone, letting them know, getting to know them. And, and maybe there's a commonality between

Ruth Hovsepian (20:17.578)
Mm. Yes.

Ruth Hovsepian (20:29.26)
Mm-hmm.

Scott Warren (20:42.372)
what they've gone through, their adversity, whatever, and maybe what you've gone through. And then maybe it's a way to say, know, man, I went through that too, and it was a dark time for me. I mean, I remember that, you know, I was really difficult getting through this. had depression that was really, really bad. So I understand exactly where you're coming from. And in fact, you know, for me, it used to be like, you know, I used to say in my head, I'm sort of untangling.

Christmas tree lights. Like it was just like I had this and it's just this conversation and then it gets into and then you know I just spent time in prayer and you know Holy Spirit revealed to me like it can be a seamless smooth conversation. It's not always about come to church come to church. There's no quota. There's there is no point system. We don't get points for bringing people into our church buildings but when we can love like Jesus

Ruth Hovsepian (21:31.201)
down.

Yeah.

Scott Warren (21:36.444)
and we can draw people closer. I have engaged with people who are not believers that maybe once were and have walked away or whatever it was, but they also know that they can come to me for prayer because I don't shun them. They know that I live out my faith and I have no issues with them. Please, and that's the thing, think just living out our faith for them to see. And it's not this

Ruth Hovsepian (21:53.098)
Right, you're not judging. Yeah.

Scott Warren (22:05.292)
you know, if you don't repent and it's not that it's loving on people and drawing them to you. So it actually draws people to Christ.

Ruth Hovsepian (22:08.332)
Hmm.

Ruth Hovsepian (22:14.516)
Yeah, I think we need to be ready to, you know, in, in get to give our testimony to people in different scenarios. And I too have, I've been on podcasts where they're not faith-based podcasts, but because of my past, because of my, you know, addictions and stuff, it makes good, you know, it makes me a good podcast guest. Let's put it that way, even in.

Scott Warren (22:23.373)
Yes.

Scott Warren (22:42.435)
Mm-hmm.

Ruth Hovsepian (22:44.204)
secular podcasts. And though I don't preach, you know, on those podcasts, I always tell the host, I cannot talk about my addiction and my recovery without talking about aspects of my faith. Because without that faith, I would not have gone through because my recovery was in secret.

Scott Warren (23:06.935)
Bright

Ruth Hovsepian (23:12.52)
It was a solo recovery. I wouldn't have been able to do it without prayer, without the word of God, without time in it. So I need to talk better. I'm not preaching. I'm stating facts. Just like you would talk about your 12th step going to a meeting, I'm giving you my 12 steps exactly. And I think when I make that clear, you know,

Scott Warren (23:14.788)
Hmm.

Scott Warren (23:25.762)
Right. Yes.

Scott Warren (23:35.372)
Yeah, this is what helped me. Yeah.

Ruth Hovsepian (23:42.252)
you know, sort of a line, the host feels free. And interestingly enough, there were a couple of scenarios I thought, yeah, you know, I'm not gonna really have much of a chance to talk. Those hosts dug deep into what it meant to have a prayer life and to have, you know, and I was like, okay, not me, Holy Spirit giving me the opportunities.

Scott Warren (24:04.1)
So good.

Yes.

Ruth Hovsepian (24:11.72)
I would be remiss in not asking you, in your book, you share practical steps to live out faith at work. I know we can't go through all the book, and I encourage everyone that they should go get the book. Could you share one or two of those steps that have resonated the most with your readers?

Scott Warren (24:23.919)
Yeah, yes.

Scott Warren (24:35.748)
I think one of the, when I talk about faith in the workplace and your sphere of influence as a result of your workplace, there's one in particular that seems to get a lot of attention, is, remember being, running the arena in Hamilton, Ontario. And for about a year, there was a gentleman outside of the arena that was homeless that would sit outside the arena on the ground.

had a hat in front of him, but never really asked for anything. I he was fancy. I just watched him and he'd always tell people, you know, have a great time, you know, enjoy the hockey game or drive safely going home. He was amazing, but he never asked for anything. And again, I saw this for about a year. Well, one day we had Disney on ice at the arena and I was walking to the arena. I was in my suit and tie. And as I was approaching the entrance, I heard the Holy Spirit say to me, have a seat.

And Neil was sitting there. I didn't know his name at the time. The gentleman was sitting there and I was a bit confused and I heard it again, have a seat. I was like, okay. So in my suit and tie, I sit down next to this homeless man on the ground and I say, hi, I'm Scott. I run the arena here and he said, well, I don't bother anybody. promise. I promise. I don't ask for anything. said, no, no, no, no, it's okay. It's okay. I know you don't. I'm actually a big fan of yours. Thank you for doing that.

Ruth Hovsepian (25:58.048)
Mmm.

Scott Warren (26:06.568)
What's your name? And he said, Neil, and I, and, I said, Neil, if you don't mind me asking, how did, how did you get here in this situation? And he said, well, I was raised in a very religious home and I was beaten a lot and I turned to drugs to escape and I got hooked and

My life just spun out of control and he said, but I don't really do it anymore. You know, the police know me around here. And he said, but, if you don't mind, I don't really want to talk about it anymore. I said, perfect. And I said, Neil, I told him I was a Christian and I said, I'm sorry that you had that experience. And, and I went into the building and off we went, but from that point onward, Neil and I had a relationship.

Ruth Hovsepian (26:53.068)
Mm.

Scott Warren (27:04.642)
where if I walked outside, even with my kids and my wife, he would high five my kids and they would fight over, dad, can I give him money? Can I give him money? And it was just this relationship that blossomed as a result of the Holy Spirit saying, have a seat. And there was a band, the Tragically Hip, that was coming to Canada. The lead singer of the band, first of all, it's an iconic band in Canada. The lead singer of the band had...

terminal brain cancer and they were going to do one more tour through Canada.

Scott Warren (27:49.508)
What happened?

Are you kidding me?

Scott Warren (28:19.776)
don't know what happened there.

Ruth Hovsepian (28:24.826)
You froze and I lost you.

Scott Warren (28:25.9)
Do you know, I mean, are you able to take it from there and edit?

Ruth Hovsepian (28:29.6)
You were, you were, yeah, you can tell, you were telling the story. You were at the point where the kids were fighting to give him.

Scott Warren (28:35.338)
Okay, so I can start there and then I'll, yes, perfect. And then it'll do a countdown again. Okay.

Ruth Hovsepian (28:42.57)
Yep. No, you can just start anytime.

Scott Warren (28:46.23)
So we had this relationship now, all sudden with my wife and my kids and we'd walk out of the arena and my kids would be fighting like crazy, like, dad, can I give him money? Can I give him money? it was, it was just this really amazing moment. But, but what also transpired was in conversations with Neil, he saw on our marquee that we had a band coming to the arena that he really liked. Now this band is the Tragically Hip, which was an iconic band in Canada.

legendary band in Canada. And the singer was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and was going to die. And they were going to do one last tour across Canada. If they could make it, they were going to try. And my arena got one of the dates for this concert. Now, if there are 32 million people in Canada, I'm going to assume that 30 million wanted to see the show. It was, they're that iconic. Anyway, Neil was a huge fan of this band.

And so he was so excited to say, I can't wait to see all the people coming into the show that night. It's going to be so amazing, such a great atmosphere. And I said, Neil.

Would you want to be my guest in my suite for the concert? And he just kind of laughed it off. And I said, you know, please, I'd love to have you. And he, anyway, about a week prior to the concert, I saw Neil again outside the building and I said, Neil, are you coming? You're excited for the show on, you know, next week? And he said, I said, you're going to be my guest in the suite, right? He said, wait, you were serious? I said, of course I'm serious. I'd love to have you.

He said, but Scott, don't have anything to wear. I'm like, no, no, just exactly what you have on is perfect. I said, Neil, I'm telling you, if you are not here the night of the show, I'm going to try to find you and bring you to this building. You have to be here. He said, okay, so the show night arrives and Neil meets me at the front door and I take him up to the suite. And it's something he would never be able to do. This is an iconic band, one of their last concerts ever.

Scott Warren (30:54.548)
and he's up in the suite, we've got all the food he could eat, we've got soda, coffee, tea, whatever, everything he needs. And I see him and I just watch him, not the show, I'm watching him just drumming with his hands on the granite countertop. This is all the Holy Spirit. This isn't what Scott did. This is at the prompting of the Holy Spirit saying, have a seat and get to know this person. And then as a result of that,

Ruth Hovsepian (31:14.092)
Mmm.

Scott Warren (31:22.764)
being able to bless him in a way that he would have never been able to experience. This is what we talk about when we say preach where you reach. This is not just within your four walls though. That's, that's critical. And there's all kinds of ways to do that, whether it is, you know, maybe a difficult situation. I remember just quickly, I had a, my director of accounting, director of finance had, had to come to me and say there was like a $70,000 error that had been made.

Ruth Hovsepian (31:28.908)
now.

Scott Warren (31:52.416)
And, and so surely she thought she's getting fired. And she came to me hesitant to tell me, but she knew she had to. And she told me, and I said, okay. I said, did we fix the issue that caused the problem? She said, yes. I said, okay, awesome. So we, won't happen again. Nope. Should be good. Okay. Okay. Awesome. Thank you. And she's like, what, wait, I thought I was getting fired. I'm like, why? I I'm not going to beat you up any more than you've already beaten yourself up.

There's no point in that. The issue is, are we protected from doing this moving forward? Yes. Okay. Perfect. We're good. And it's, it's, it's in those moments because they know that I'm a Christian because I'm a man of faith. They're tying all these things together. They're connecting all of these dots and saying this, this forgiveness, this mercy, this grace is an extension of, of just my faith in Jesus. And so

There's all kinds of ways to do it and I could go on and on, but I won't. But these moments can be really, really impactful. I know it was for Neil and it was for me.

Ruth Hovsepian (33:00.052)
Yeah. And they don't have to be large steps. can be, you know, we can be making, you know, I encourage everyone to be making small changes in the way that they interact with people on a daily basis and allowing the Holy Spirit to use them because those small steps become larger and more bold and more impactful.

Scott Warren (33:20.715)
Yes.

Ruth Hovsepian (33:28.684)
And we won't know in many instances how we are touching people. And I think that is so amazing. And I think that once we understand that, that some of us sow and some of us reap, I think that makes a difference in the way that we approach people. And I've always said, I'm not a reaper, I'm a sower, just touching people. I think we all have.

Scott Warren (33:44.342)
Mmm.

Scott Warren (33:53.824)
Yeah, yeah.

this.

Ruth Hovsepian (33:58.516)
a strength. sometimes I'm very basic and I say I'm very simple in the way I speak, you know, whether I'm speaking in front of a hundred people or I'm on my podcast, I don't have the flowery words. you know, Scott, when I first started to pray publicly, I was ashamed because I have a...

Scott Warren (34:18.732)
Hmm.

Ruth Hovsepian (34:23.006)
And now I have a great friend of mine and when she prays, Scott, let me tell you, it's like the heavens open and the angels are speaking. She has this amazing way with words. And yet I have been convicted that I need to pray. I talk and preach about prayer. So how can I not be bold and pray?

Scott Warren (34:29.696)
Hmm.

Scott Warren (34:44.652)
Mm-hmm.

Ruth Hovsepian (34:51.476)
the way that the Lord has given to me. And I find it the same way when I speak to people. Again, I've always compared myself. And this is the culture that we're in. We compare ourselves. And it doesn't have to be in the secular word. It's just as strong within our...

Scott Warren (34:54.443)
Yes.

Scott Warren (35:13.942)
Yes. Absolutely.

Ruth Hovsepian (35:17.236)
You know, faith-based ministries. And I find myself, I don't write as well. I don't speak as well. My podcast does not. And I need to say to myself, whoa, why am I doubting what the Lord can do with, he's the donkey.

Scott Warren (35:35.372)
Right. Two.

Ruth Hovsepian (35:39.564)
think I'm just a little bit higher than Donka. Maybe not, but I'm just saying. Yeah, we need to be ready. I really, you know, I joke about it, but in all seriousness, the first prayer that I have in the morning is before my feet had touched the ground is, Lord, use me, hold my tongue and use me.

Scott Warren (35:42.998)
you

Scott Warren (35:46.474)
Yeah.

Ruth Hovsepian (36:09.436)
as you see fit. Yeah.

Scott Warren (36:09.462)
Yes. When I think that's the thing, when we have that mindset, along with the mindset of, I'm not looking to get anything in return, right? I'm just, I'm here to serve as he was, as Jesus was, I'm here to serve. So when you free yourself of expecting a return or, or desiring one, you can just pour into people and it doesn't even matter.

Ruth Hovsepian (36:38.017)
Mm.

Scott Warren (36:38.486)
what happens from there. You just, it's just a release that, that as you release, you're being filled back up in your private time and their prayer time and whatever, just get filled up and pour out, fill up, pour out. And it's just, it's, it's such an amazing blessing when you're able to bless people like Neil or people in, the workplace where you're just able, he couldn't do anything for me, you know, financially or influence wise or what.

Ruth Hovsepian (36:59.894)
Mm-hmm.

Scott Warren (37:07.7)
It wasn't about that. It's about if I'm, am I who I say I am? Am I, if I say I'm a man of faith, how am I demonstrating that? What is my fruit? What is it? What am I doing with it? What is this gift that you've given me and these resources you've given me in this position you've given me? How can I use that to bless other people? And when you have that mindset, it just, it's so freeing.

Ruth Hovsepian (37:34.4)
Yeah. Scott time has gone by. I want to thank you so much for being on out of the darkness. I want to thank you for listening and joining us today on out of the darkness with Ruth Hafsepian. I hope you found encouragement about bringing faith into the workplace. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast and my YouTube channel for more episodes that inspire and equip you in your faith and check out the show notes.

and get a copy of Preach Where You Reach by Scott Warren and take a look at his social media. Share this episode if you know someone who could use a little light in their workplace too. Thank you, Scott.

Scott Warren (38:15.4)
Amen. Thank you so very much.