Latest / Unsilenced with Blanket Fort Hope / Someone had to say it. So we did.

Transcript

Someone had to say it. So we did. · Unsilenced with Blanket Fort Hope

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the Fort. Today, I'm going to say the
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: quiet part out loud. The part that nonprofit leaders know,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: but they rarely want to talk about in public. The
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: part that sits in the back of the room at
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: every conference, every nonprofit summit, every business that never makes
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: it to the microphone. Well, we're going to put it
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: on this podcast and we're going to scream it loud
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: and clear because it's been something that has bothered me
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: for 11 years, really probably 15 years. My name is
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: Alexa James. I am the founder and CEO of Blanket
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: Fort Hope.
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: And I'm Kim Meshago, Executive Director of Programs for Blanket
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: Fort Hope.
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the Fort. Somewhere in your city, a child
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: is being sold, and the people doing it are counting
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: on your silence. This is Unsilenced, The Voices Trafficking Tried
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: to Erase, a Blanket Fort Hope podcast. I'm Alexa James.
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: And I'm Kim Meshago.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the Fort. So we all know that we
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: are a 501c3. It's just a tax destination. And that
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: is it. That is what I want people to hear today.
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: It's just a tax destination.
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: It tells the IRS how we're structured, how donations are treated.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: And really, that's all it does. It does not make
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: you Competent or incompetent, it does not make you more
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: holy or less holy. It does not absolve you from
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: responsibility of running a real organization with real standards, right?
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: That's correct.
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: Here is what a 501c3 does not mean. You can't
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: pay your people what they're worth. You should not have
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: a real strategic plan. You get a pass on bad management.
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: Burnout is just part of the game. Chaos is a
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: personality trait instead of a fixable problem. There are plenty
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: of nonprofits out in this world that are run fantastic.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: They do well. They're financially responsible. They have budgets. They
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: have strategic plans. We're a part of some of those.
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: They have investors with talent. They plan ahead. Nothing in
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: the tax code is stopping anybody that runs a nonprofit
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: from doing that. Don't you agree with that, Kim?
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: I agree 100%.
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: And I say this not to shame anybody. It's things
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: that I've learned. I hope that it helps people because
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: I believe it is how the people around us, the
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: world around us has made nonprofit leaders think is that
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: you've got a great heart, you know, and you're serving
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: the people and your donation runs. So you really should
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: not think that you're going to.
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: Get paid well. Yeah.
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: You know, and I can just add from where I
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: sit with managing programs that's responsible for taking care of
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: children on a daily basis. And when the organization is disorganized,
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: children suffer.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: That's right.
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: And the front end of that organization can feel it
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: as well. They may not know why. They may not
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: know what the challenges are, but they know that something
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: is amiss and they can feel that. And the people
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: we exist to serve, they're the ones that pay the price,
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: and they have nothing to do with that.
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: And I think we forget that.
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: Say that again.
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: The people that we serve are the ones who pay
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: the price.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: Especially if you're in burnout.
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: And they are least able to pay a price. And
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: they don't even know why. They don't know what the
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: challenges are.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: If I'm worried about going home and buying groceries for
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: my own children.
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: Exactly.
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: Or putting gas in my car to get back to
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: work tomorrow. or buying the right outfit to go speak
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: in front of thousands of people.
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: Then there's going to be a ripple effect to the
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: people that we serve and to our team. What does
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: it show our team? That we're working in chaos.
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: That's exactly right. And that we're lacking. We're working in lack.
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: And we'll save that for later.
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: We'll save that.
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: But God does not lack.
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: No. That's good, Kim.
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: And of course, we know that we cannot give what
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: we don't have. And if the organization... operates from a
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: place of depletion and scarcity, whether that's structurally, spiritually, financially,
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: or culturally, the people that we serve, we've already said it,
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: they're going to be the ones that absorb the cost
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: of that.
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: You know, it goes back to the dream that we
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: talked about in the podcast before.
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: I promise you, if God gives you a dream and
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: he drops it in your heart, he is not going
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: to want you to work from depletion, from lack.
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: That is correct.
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: We serve a kind God, a God who loves us
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: so much that he died on the cross for us.
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: That is correct.
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: And he is not going to want us to put
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: these children in front of us and not have staff
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: that's prepared. That's the one thing I will say with
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: Blanket Fort Hope. Every one of our staff members does.
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: in the admin side and the home side, they're all well-trained.
• 5:21
  Speaker 3: Well-trained, experienced.
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 5:25
  Speaker 3: Dedicated.
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: Yes. Followers of Jesus Christ that he's called to this
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: work and that he's equipped for this work. And, you know,
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: sometimes what it actually costs when we operate in LAC
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: is it costs those best people that we just talked about.
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: It does.
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: It costs those people who care enough to be there.
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: And they're the ones who are sometimes recruited by other
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: organizations and, you know, would be picked up quickly by
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: other organizations because of their degrees and their experience. you know,
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: the way in which they approach their work, the ownership
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: they have for the job they do and for the
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: children that they serve.
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: I call that stinking thinking when we start thinking that way.
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: That's right. That's exactly right.
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: We don't serve a God of chaos.
• 6:18
  Speaker 3: Exactly.
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: First Corinthians tells us that we don't, but a God
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: of peace.
• 6:22
  Speaker 3: That's right.
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: And a God of order. If you look back at
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: the tense in the Old Testament even, Kim. So why
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: would we think that we're not supposed to? You made
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: a really good point when you said that He's a
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: God of order, clarity, intentional design.
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: That's right.
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: I always think about those tents. How much do you
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: hear me talk about the tents?
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: Design upon specific directions.
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: Sequence, a purpose.
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: Exactly, for how those tents were to be designed.
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: And there was a purpose in that.
• 6:49
  Speaker 3: Exactly.
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: In the same way that there was a design and
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: purpose for those tents, there is design and a purpose
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: for how we will set up running events. Blanket Fort
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: Hope or the way Blanket Fort Hope is already set
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: up and operating in excellence.
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: Yes. When you think about running your family household or
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: a gala or even a run or a golf tournament,
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: you've got all the steps in place. Why would you
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: expect that to be better than how there needs to
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: be strategic planning? You don't have to be perfect at it.
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: Find somebody that is. I kept bringing people that now
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: dreaming strategic planning and Vision thing. Those are good. Those
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: are things I love to do.
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: Because I am a big dreamer and I love that's
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: what God just he gave me. And I think that
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: we have got to learn as nonprofit leaders that we
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: are not going to accept chaos in our organizations. We
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: are going to build for the Lord and build it
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: in structure like he it all goes back to his word.
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: If we're in his word, it teaches us all of
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: these things. You don't even have to look to the
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: outside world, which we do need mentors.
• 7:58
  Speaker 3: But it's right there in his word.
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: It is right there.
• 8:01
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: And you made a good point, Kim, that I lost
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: this employee. I lost another one. There are people out
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: there willing to pick. They're looking for these best. And
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: how many times have you heard me say, I want
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: the best of the best?
• 8:16
  Speaker 3: I cannot count the number of times.
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: God laid that on my heart.
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: That has to be done with excellence. It has to be.
• 8:22
  Speaker 3: And God wants the best of the best.
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: But we're working with his children.
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: That's exactly right.
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: The ones that he tells you, if you harm one
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: of these little children, you might as well tie a
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: millstone around your neck, which is this huge boulder type thing,
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: and drop yourself in the deepest part of the ocean.
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: And the thing about it is, even with the tents
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: and even with Blanket Fort Hope, there is no reason
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: for us not to work with excellence. Because he's provided
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: every single thing that we need. His hands have, they've
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: provided it. You know, and one of the things that
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: I appreciate so much is your attention to stewardship and valuing,
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: whether it's staff, whether it's finances, volunteers, whatever that God
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: has given us that we steward it the way that
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: his word tells us to. Absolutely.
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: Absolutely. Because this mission is bigger than we are.
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: And I think as ministry leaders or nonprofit leaders, if
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: we can see that there's just this bigger ripple effect
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: and this bigger thing because we're built to be in community.
• 9:29
  Speaker 3: Yes, that's correct.
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: We're built to be in relationship.
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: That is right.
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: So every person that I speak to because I get
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: to work with these children is still another opportunity that
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: I get to tell them about Christ.
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: And then there's that ripple effect we talked about.
• 9:43
  Speaker 3: That's right.
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: And with that ripple effect, how many more kids can
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: we save because of that one person?
• 9:49
  Speaker 3: That's right.
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: So it's the greater that the hearts of mankind know
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: who he is.
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: We are definitely here for the children that will be
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: placed at Blanket Fort Hope.
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: That's right. But like you said, it's even bigger than that.
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: It is the heart of mankind.
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: Because that's going to change the children that we work for.
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: If those hearts of mankind are changed, then hopefully we're
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: going to see less and less of this child trafficking
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: and this horrific trauma care that these kids need. And
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: I've lived this. There's been seasons at Blanket Fort Hope
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: in the early days where the urgency of the mission
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: became an excuse for disorder. So, I mean, I can
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: speak on this clearly. And, you know, a lot of
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: people can look at my personality and think, oh, Lord,
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: my kids always say, I don't want to be in
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: your brain. But there always has been order there. Like
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: I know what the steps were. There's just a lot
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: in this picture.
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: That's right.
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: That picture has not changed, though. My mission and vision
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: is mission-focused. It has stayed the same, and we've gotten
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: to stay there. But there were times where I was like,
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: we've got to save the kids. That's why we're here.
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: And who has time for a strategic plan? I've got
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: to hit the road running. And then all of a sudden,
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: every time I operated that way, the mission always suffered, always.
• 11:05
  Speaker 3: What happened?
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: What was the season? Can you remember where was the
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: turning point? When you said, this has got to stop.
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: I can't keep operating this way. That we do need
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: a strategic plan. I do need to stay mission focused. Yeah.
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: So I think it was there were several time steps
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: in that kiln, but the first couple of years I
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: was so busy meeting DHR and getting to know what
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: I was doing.
• 11:31
  Speaker 3: And the more I.
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: Was learning about all this, that picture just expanded.
• 11:37
  Speaker 3: Kept growing and growing.
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: And then you start to think about pay and you
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: start to think about bookkeeping. And I had to step
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: back and say, I don't have a, I don't have
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: a right strategic plan. I was living in the year.
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: I'll work about a year out. but I needed to
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: be working five years out. I needed to be a year,
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: three and five years out. And in order to do that,
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: then there had to be that focus and less chaos
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: because I wasn't so afraid. I can remember thinking how
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: much we needed and I would just, oh, how am
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: I going to get there? But once I started drawing
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: it out and putting it on paper, it was less
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: chaotic because I didn't have to do everything at one time.
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: So I'm going to say it And I'm almost embarrassed
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: to say this. We started in 15 with Blanket Fort Hope,
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: but I'm going to say it was probably 17, 18.
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: There was just enough that was happening. And I thought,
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: you know, I thought that I did. I had everything
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: the way I thought. But again, it goes back to
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: that dream. And if God gives you everything at once,
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: and if I thought that I had to have all
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: those things, that's not my gift, right? It is and
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: it is not. sitting me down is not my gift.
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: That's the problem is sitting me down. Like sitting me
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: here to do the podcast is hard for me sometimes.
• 12:51
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: But I do it. So I want to say it
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: was those years, but it was through a lot of trial,
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: a lot of failure and a lot like, I wonder
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: why that didn't happen. And it always went back to
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: the order of the Old Testament. Every single time God
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: would take me there. And so that repetitiveness of going
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: back to the Old Testament and how Even Joshua, the
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: impact Joshua has had on my life, Kim, be strong
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: and be courageous. Don't be terrified. Don't be dismayed because
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: the Lord your God will be with you. And I
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: remember reading through him and almost giggling. I was giggling
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: because I would have probably made fun of Joshua.
• 13:33
  Speaker 3: Because he was a warrior.
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: He was this big, strong warrior that God created. He
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: had his shield. He had swords that I probably may
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: not even be to pick up, you know, that he
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: could slay people with. And the armies would come to
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: him and he would fight them. And God had him
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: slaying thousands until he didn't. He wanted him to march
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: and sing for seven days. I mean, like, You're a
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: warrior and you're going to march and sing and you
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: want people to follow you.
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: Pick up your arms and fight.
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: I was like, go fight, brother.
• 14:04
  Speaker 3: Because I'm a little fighter.
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: And in the end, God gave him a specific plan,
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: a specific way to carry this out. Yes.
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: And so he did. And look at what God did.
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: The walls came tumbling down. And that was very impactful
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: along with Noah and even Abraham and his being, you know,
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: where he couldn't speak well. All those things I was...
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: that I learned as a child, God just kept reminding me.
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: And so it started bringing that order into my life,
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: but I had to listen. You're a very orderly person, Kim. And, uh, I,
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: and my order is a little bit different, but God
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: has started play in those years, started placing how that
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: order needs to look because you just can't run and
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: you cannot, you've got to know how you've got to
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: pay people. You can say it.
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 14:53
  Speaker 3: But it has to be, orderly. It has to be defined,
• 14:56
  Speaker 3: be specific.
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: And if you can't call people, I've got people all
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: around me like Mission Increase.
• 15:01
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: Brook Hills.
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: Exactly.
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: All those people that can't reach out to. I need
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: a strategic plan.
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: Help me get that started. Because that was way before AI. Yeah.
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: And I'm like, hello, Google.
• 15:13
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: Write a strategic plan for me, please.
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: And, you know, even in the previous podcast, we talked
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: a lot about excellence.
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 15:21
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: What does excellence look like to you as the leader,
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: the founder and the leader of Blanket Fort Hope?
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: So I think that what does excellence look like in
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: a faith-driven nonprofit? And these are a few things. Number one,
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: you've got to pay your people. You have got to
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: pay your people. Really, number one is prayer. I cannot
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: emphasize that enough. I should always say that because God
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: owns all the cattle on the hill. Mm-hmm. And you're
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: going to have all these forces coming against you. You're
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: going to have businessmen, businesses like, you cannot do that.
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: You can't pay people that. You're in a nonprofit and
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: you're paying your people what? Well, I'm not going to
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: give to you anymore. And I'm like, how do you
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: do this? So we've got to pray. We've got to
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: know you've got to put it in your head. You've
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: got to know in the strategic plan. You've got to
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: pay people what they're worth. Were we able to always
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: do that? Absolutely not. There were years of some hard
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: times in the very beginning very very hard times where
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: there were months where I even myself I'm like am
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: I gonna make it never did I miss a beat
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: not one time I one day I'll be able to
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: share all the miracles this isn't the day for but
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: there was a lot of miracles where money just would
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: end up landing in my mailbox from a bill that
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: I had overpaid that was provision that you're like that
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: was three years ago you know and it paid my
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: bill to the exact penny and God does do those
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: things still. Those are called miracles is what those are called.
• 16:46
  Speaker 3: Still a miracle.
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: Still a miracle. So if you're asking someone to give
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: their full professional capacity to your mission and to you
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: and to be dedicating them and then you're going to
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: underpay them because we're a nonprofit, then we're not being
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: we're being unfaithful. We're being cheap.
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: We are underselling. The worker deserves the wages. This is
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: not a business principle. This is scripture.
• 17:07
  Speaker 3: This is, this is word. This is God's word.
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: In first Timothy, it says the worker deserves his wages.
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: I don't know where in ministry we got off on that.
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: And it has been a battle. I've lost donors because
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: I pay my people well, but God took care of
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: that because he gave us a grant for payroll. So
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: now I can say, you don't even have to worry
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: about that right now. Um, I think that not having
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: a vision statement that collects dust on a wall, we've
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: got to constantly work and review, update the plan, guide
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: every major decision. Where are we going? What are we doing?
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: What does success look.
• 17:47
  Speaker 3: Like for us? Yes.
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: What does that look like for us? And it says
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: where there's no vision, the people perish. And that applies
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: to our organization as well. So I think, If we
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: don't constantly, and it doesn't have to be perfect. You've
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: seen my wall in my office, y'all. Yes. You'd be like,
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: what is she even talking about? There's papers like this
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: big and this big that have dreams and visions. And
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: I've even got a drawing of a little church that
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: I hand drew that is what I wanted it to
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: look like on that property. But you've got to have
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: those places so you can think about all the people
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: that you need, how you're going to pay them. And
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: why when you're talking to your donors and when you're
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: talking to churches and other people that you want to
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: bring them into your dream and your vision, they need
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: to see. you need to build this picture for them.
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: You need to paint this picture of this is why
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: I need a Kim who's a master clinical. She doesn't
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: just have 30 years, but she also can diagnose. I'm
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: getting two people for one. Wait a minute now. I
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: need to know what's coming.
• 18:52
  Speaker 3: I know her. Hey, where's first? What was that?
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: First Timothy? Yeah, that's it. Oh, man. See, this is
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: what happens, Phillip, over there behind. I get myself in trouble.
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: And Hannah's back on the other side going, we're going
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: to have a conversation later. Um, so I think the
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: third thing for me is burnout is not proof that
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: you care deeply. And I'm, I fell into that, you know,
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: poor pitiful Alexis. She's so tired. Um, and, and I
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: really wasn't thinking it that way, but I thought that's
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: what I had to keep going and going and going
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: and going. And you've seen it where I was in
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: complete burnout that I just almost didn't have a way back.
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: I was so tired. It's a real thing.
• 19:32
  Speaker 3: It's a real thing.
• 19:33
  Speaker 2: And, and if we can just talk about that for
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: a moment, because Burnout is especially sneaky. And I think
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: so much so in ministry. Because we're also told to
• 19:46
  Speaker 2: support one another and.
• 19:47
  Speaker 3: We're told to work hard.
• 19:49
  Speaker 2: And, you know, and your passion is attached to what
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: you do.
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: And sometimes burnout doesn't always look like a total collapse. Right.
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: But it sneaks up on you day after day when
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: you're not taking care of yourself and taking breaks and stopping.
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: And having a Sabbath where you keep working, even going
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: to speak on a Sunday and, you know, just continuing
• 20:17
  Speaker 2: to do the work where you're going through the motions.
• 20:20
  Speaker 2: You're smiling when it's time to smile. And what we
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: do is we say, oh, Alexa, you're so faithful.
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 20:29
  Speaker 3: Oh, you're such a wonderful servant.
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: Not my team.
• 20:32
  Speaker 3: You know, we.
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: Say you need to slow down.
• 20:37
  Speaker 3: And you're not doing your job right. You're not resting.
• 20:40
  Speaker 3: You're not taking a Sabbath.
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: And part of that is trusting God that we can
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: take our hands off for a moment, that you have
• 20:52
  Speaker 2: other people in place who are keeping the day-to-day things
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: going while you do still a way to pray, still
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: a way to look at that vision and To dream
• 21:06
  Speaker 2: and to do all of those things where you're literally
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: pouring back into what you've poured out.
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: That's so good.
• 21:14
  Speaker 2: Yeah. And so it's really a tragedy because we can
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: be praised for what is really costing us.
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: We get caught up in it.
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: Yes, we can get caught up in it.
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: And that's so true. And I think, again, it goes
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: back to the importance of having that right team in place.
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: It's so important to have that right team in place
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: because that is one thing I will say with our
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: team at Blanketport Hope is we've got a strong team.
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: We have a smart team. So thankful to God. My door,
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: your door is always open. And Kim has no issues.
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: You've come to me. Some of our team are like,
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: You're hurting us by not resting.
• 22:00
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: And, you know, when you've got somebody that tells you that,
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: then you start seeing the truth.
• 22:04
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: Because then you're like, you're not working in your gifts.
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: You're not working in what God has given you. You're
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: working in yourself again. And that's going to mess everything up.
• 22:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Because God has not called us to do that.
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: And we have to be able to say it out loud. Yes. Because,
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: you know, God has put you in this seat of leadership.
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: where you're founder, you're CEO, you're the voice, you're the face.
• 22:31
  Speaker 2: And there is no one. We all talk about Blanket
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: Fort Hope, and I believe that we all do a
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: great job.
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: Oh, y'all do a fantastic job.
• 22:38
  Speaker 2: But there is no one that can give the passion
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: of Blanket Fort Hope the way that you do. But
• 22:45
  Speaker 2: I think you can also get involved with so many
• 22:48
  Speaker 2: other things that it's a chore now. Yes. To go
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: out and do what you're most gifted to do. Yeah.
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: We've talked a lot about that this summer.
• 22:58
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 22:58
  Speaker 2: What you're most gifted to do. So we need to
• 23:01
  Speaker 2: say it out loud. We need to say to our leaders,
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: have you rested?
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 23:06
  Speaker 2: The way that you say to us, take your leave,
• 23:09
  Speaker 2: take your time off. Yep.
• 23:10
  Speaker 3: Go and be with your family.
• 23:12
  Speaker 2: Yep. Then we need to say the same thing to
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: our leaders that are leading us every day. And so
• 23:16
  Speaker 2: our team doesn't just assume. Yeah.
• 23:19
  Speaker 3: You know, we remind just like you remind us.
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: That's right.
• 23:23
  Speaker 2: And it really gives permission and it sets the culture
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: that you expect and the tone that I expect my
• 23:31
  Speaker 2: team to do the same thing.
• 23:32
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: And I think that, again, is the beauty of all
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: this saying all this stuff out loud is is bringing
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: all these things to the table. And I think every nonprofit,
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: every church or businesses, we need to talk, say these
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: things out loud. So that our people understand.
• 23:46
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: And at Blanket Fort Hope, I believe that our whole
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: team is our leaders.
• 23:51
  Speaker 2: Oh, we are.
• 23:52
  Speaker 3: All of us.
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: Our whole team, they're leaders.
• 23:53
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: They lead. Every one of them lead and they drive.
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: And so I'm just amazed that I get to work
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: with so many great leaders every day. And I get
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: to learn every day, too. God's put this vision in
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: all of our hearts now because you're here. You know,
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: the Hannahs are here. The Taras are here.
• 24:11
  Speaker 3: The Beths.
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: The Bettys.
• 24:13
  Speaker 3: The Bettys.
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: The Hopes and the Tundys. Yes, and the Ellies.
• 24:18
  Speaker 3: And the Ellies, you know.
• 24:20
  Speaker 2: And all of our, you know, even this summer we've
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: had the best student interns.
• 24:26
  Speaker 3: Oh, my word.
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: They are. And they want to come back and work
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: for us.
• 24:29
  Speaker 3: And they want to come back.
• 24:31
  Speaker 2: And work for us. And they want to come back
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: in the summer and Christmas. And I think that's because
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: they have seen excellence.
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: They have seen the way that God.
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: Leads you and the way you lead this team and
• 24:46
  Speaker 2: what God is doing at Blanket Fort Hope. And just,
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: you know, also building, purposely building rest and rhythm. Yes.
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: Tell me about building rest and rhythm.
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: I had to buy a book because I didn't understand
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: resting rhythm at all. I literally had to buy a book.
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: You remember when I had to buy the book? And
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: Kim doesn't really sometimes say things like so direct, like, stupid,
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: you need to go rest. She's like, oh, that's good.
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: That's a good book. I think you should read that book.
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: And I still struggle with that, Kim. But what I
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: have learned is rest doesn't always even mean going away.
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: Sometimes it might just be When you have a new grandbaby,
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: you go spend time with it and you don't feel
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: guilty about it. That's rest sometimes because you get to
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: be with your family. You get to be renewed. You
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: get to see the new life that God has done.
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: And it may be stepping away and going somewhere, but
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: it doesn't always mean that you've got to leave and
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: be away from everybody. I get my energy from people.
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: Me being alone is almost like you giving me some
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: poison to drink. I mean, it really is. I have
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: a hard time with that. I'm alone all the time anyway.
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: So getting energy. So you've got to know who you are,
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: what your rhythm looks like. I think if I say anything,
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: I learned my rhythm. And I know that I am
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: an extrovert just a little bit. Just a little bit.
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: And so for me, that's sometimes where my rhythm comes
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: in and my rest. Yes. Because I get to be
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: a part of a new baby or I get to
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: help somebody that's not hard, you know, or just get
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: to pray with somebody. These podcasts actually are fun to me.
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: They are relaxing. They're renewing because I'm learning still through these.
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: I'm like, oh, man. As we talk, yes. I remember
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: that special day.
• 26:40
  Speaker 2: Reflection as well.
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: You've got to know who you are in Christ. What
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: is your bent? And then you can figure out your rhythms.
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: But you've got to figure out what that rest is
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: because if you don't do it, it will collapse somewhere.
• 26:51
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: And it will sneak up on you, like you said.
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: Because that's honestly, last year, that's kind of what happened
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: to me. It snuck up on me. Like one day
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: I was going really, really hard and the next day
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: I could hardly move.
• 27:04
  Speaker 3: Exactly.
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: And I'm like, what in the world? Like my eyes,
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: I started getting sores in my eyes and my body
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: just stopped.
• 27:12
  Speaker 2: It was depleted.
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it just stopped.
• 27:14
  Speaker 3: I was tired. Yes.
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: And I'm still thinking, I've got to do this. I
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: can't do it, you know. But you've got to trust
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: your team. You've got to have the open conversations. And
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: what I do love about our team, and I would
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: love to tell every leader this too, just because I
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: was one of the founders and the CEO of Blanket
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: Fort Hope, I don't own Blanket Fort Hope.
• 27:33
  Speaker 3: That's right.
• 27:34
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: I do not own Blanket Fort Hope. And every person
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: on our team brings such significance to the table. They
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: have in their own right the ability to make decisions.
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: They have in their own right to say, hey, this
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: is a good idea. Can we try this?
• 27:48
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: There's not this big stick where you can, this is
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: the way we're doing it. Absolutely. When God brings the
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: people together, there's a reason for that, right? So we
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: all dream together. I don't do it perfectly. I have
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: messed up, but I've learned.
• 28:04
  Speaker 3: That's right.
• 28:05
  Speaker 2: And that's what we have to be willing to do
• 28:07
  Speaker 2: is to learn. How have you stayed on mission? Because
• 28:10
  Speaker 2: I think that's another challenge sometimes is to make sure
• 28:15
  Speaker 2: we don't just let the mission kind of drift.
• 28:18
  Speaker 3: Stay focused.
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: You know, and I think that we have to confront chaos.
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: When we sit, we have to confront it. And I'm really,
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: I am better at doing that. Like if this is
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: way too much going on right now, we've got to
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: figure this out. And if something's not working, instead of
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: keeping it to myself, I name it out loud. I do.
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: Because if I keep it to myself and it stays
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: in the darkness, Satan can use that to make me
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: feel guilty or like I've messed up or I made
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: the wrong misstep. And so I think we have to
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: share it with our team.
• 28:50
  Speaker 3: That's right.
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: And there's so many people on our team that are
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: so organized. My desk would look like chaos to some people,
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: but to me it's not. So I think you have
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: to name it. I think you have to know that
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: there is a problem you've got to solve. It's part
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: of our stewardship. And I think if you understand it's
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: stewardship and it's not just a problem. But it is
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: part of stewardship. It's part of what we have to do.
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: And so I think that's how I do it is
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: I name it out loud. I go to you. I
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: go to my board. We have mentors like Oak Ranch.
• 29:26
  Speaker 3: Yes, that's right.
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: That were part of their planting oaks. Be a part
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: of something greater than you so that you can learn.
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: They've got 50 years experience that I lean into and
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: I go learn and I ask questions and they say, well,
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: you need to do this or you need to do that.
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: My board, they are not yes people. And they'll say, well,
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: you don't need to do that anymore. Maybe try this.
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: And so I think you've just got to say it
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: out loud. I think you've got to have conversations. You've
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: got to have people that are mentors in your life
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: and you've got to be willing to listen.
• 29:56
  Speaker 3: Deal. Good deal.
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: So excellence, not an enemy of faith is an expression
• 30:01
  Speaker 2: of it. And everything that you've talked about in this episode,
• 30:04
  Speaker 2: everything we've talked about has been, I think, an expression
• 30:07
  Speaker 2: of excellence. How would you just quickly sum up, you know,
• 30:11
  Speaker 2: just every point that you've mentioned and maybe give our
• 30:16
  Speaker 2: listeners and those that are viewing us maybe a challenge?
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: Yep.
• 30:19
  Speaker 3: Okay.
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: So Pay your people what they're worth.
• 30:24
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: Pay your people what they're worth. Find a way. Find
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: a grant. We pray. Pray God. These people just literally
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: walked up to us, and we had three years that
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: I was able to use this grant to pay payroll.
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: And then everybody that was giving, I could say that to.
• 30:41
  Speaker 3: That's correct.
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: But then they got to see the importance of paying
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: people well.
• 30:45
  Speaker 3: That's right.
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: Build or review your strategic plan quarterly. It changes. And
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: when I say it doesn't change the mission, but it
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: might go from four houses to 12 houses. That's correct.
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: Look at your budget in the eye and make sure
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: it reflects your actual priorities. That budget can be. And
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: I get people laughing at me all the time. I'm
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: always saying, why did you spend this?
• 31:09
  Speaker 3: Where is this money going?
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: Let me see the books. Let me look in accounting.
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: That is our job to do. That's why we are
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: debt free. Stewardship and staying on mission. Don't be afraid
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: of your budget. Do not be afraid of it because
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: if you are, it will eat you alive. It will
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: overtake you. It will consume you. You have to look
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: it in the eye and you have to bring out
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: thunder and lightning. You have to say, we got this. Jesus,
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: we got it. We got to name the chaos in
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: our organization and commit to fixing it. And ask honestly,
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: are we still doing the thing that we exist to do?
• 31:42
  Speaker 3: God called us to do.
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: Amen.
• 31:45
  Speaker 2: So kingdom excellence is calling.
• 31:49
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: Whatever you do, work it with all of your heart
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: as you're working unto the Lord and not unto humans.
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: That is a game changer, isn't it?
• 31:57
  Speaker 2: Amen.
• 31:58
  Speaker 3: Amen.
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: I really believe it is. I know when I'm doing
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: it for somebody else, it fails because I'm working for
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: them to tell me I'm doing well. And that usually
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: doesn't happen. That's right. Usually I'm going to be told,
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: you're wrong or that's not working.
• 32:12
  Speaker 3: Could have done it this way or that way.
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: Why didn't you?
• 32:15
  Speaker 3: But when it's done unto God.
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: Because he always just puts his arms around me and
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: reminds me that he loves me and that it's okay
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: and he'll just dust me off.
• 32:23
  Speaker 3: Yep.
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: And put me in my little time out or I'll
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: get a hug from Kim and say it's going to
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: be okay.
• 32:28
  Speaker 3: And let's keep going.
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: Please share this episode with nonprofit leaders that you think
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: could help. We're always willing to help people. I am
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: Alexa James. And I'm Kim Meshago. This is Unsilenced, the
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: voices that trafficking try to amaze.
• 32:45
  Speaker 3: We'll see you in the next episode.
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: If you or someone you know needs help, call or
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: text the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888. Available 24
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: hours a day, 7 days a week. To learn more
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: about Blanket Fort Hope, visit BlanketForthHope.org. Together we can make
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: sure no voice goes unheard.