Kyle Briner
How do you live out some of our core values at work?
I believe that if Jesus is the focus, all core values play a role in my job. By making Jesus the example, the attention is shifted to creating success for others. Some of the practical ways that I live out the example of Jesus are, leading by example, carrying a positive and contagious attitude, doing things people normally don’t do or complain about, and leveraging my influence to make others around me better. My goal is to not be in the light, but give some else to opportunity to be in the light and pray Jesus will divinely intervene.
How do you live out some of our Behavioral values at work?
Like I mentioned before, it’s one of my goals to tackle each day with a positive and contagious attitude. My 11th grade English teacher once told me this quote, “It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.” When co-workers see you are willing to help them continuously and work with a great attitude, they will notice something is different about you. It’s not that you are trying to one up another colleague or get on someone’s nice list, it’s purely servant leadership with the willingness to show Jesus unconditional love. I’ve had people approach me at work and spark a conversation about Jesus when they had no idea I was a follower. Attitude and work ethic can reveal Jesus in a profound way!
Does any particular Scripture inspire your approach to your job / craft?
I don’t have a scripture but I do have a story where God revealed himself through my work to prove that I was in the right place. The very first day of my job I woke up early in the morning and had some quiet time with God. I didn’t know what part of scripture I wanted to pick up so I just decided to read through Daniel. Now going into my first job I had a lot of questions about whether this was a place for me? There aren’t a lot of believers here, will I fit in? Will I be able to reach such a large crowd? I had some doubt in my mind to say the least. I arrive to work early before everyone got there because no one wants to be late on their first day. The first person I see is the Janitor. At Lee University where I graduated, they taught us to get to know the janitor because they do a lot of things that I wouldn’t want to do…. Which is a testimony and a great platform to reach people. Anyways, I introduce myself to him and he responds back with, “Hey man, my name is Daniel…” If I had any doubt beyond that conversation I would be a fool. Daniel has been a huge testimony in my work experience.
Do you have any stories of how Jesus has used you to impact your co-workers?
I do have a couple of stories but I believe Jesus uses me every day in some fashion to reach my co-workers. Like I mentioned above, he has me here as a sphere of influence and that’s not just when I feel like it. It’s a daily grind. It may stink at times and you may feel like you are being taken advantage of, but in the greater picture it’s all about servant leadership and how can I leverage my influence to make an impact of where I work and in the community and pray that leads them to the cross.