Episode 49: How God is spreading the word about Finishing Well Ministries

Dr Randy Hess: 0:10
Greetings, everyone. Welcome back to finishing well, ministry podcast, a podcast related to a ministry that seeks to help seniors, those 65 and older, finish their lives well. And at the same time, those 64 and under we hope to help you think about finishing your life as well and living your lives well, in preparation for that. And so we're glad to have you here today. And I'm here with my good friend, how habecker, the founder of finishing well, ministries, and we've had, we have good discussions regarding a variety of topics, through this podcast. And so I'm delighted to be here with you how good morning,
Dr Hal Habecker: 0:57
good morning, again, Randy joy to be with you as well processing what God is doing in our lives, and through the work of our hands. It's awesome. Being about his business every day. I think about that, First Corinthians 1031, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all the glory of God. And our mission would be to take the work of our hands, encouraging us, all of us as aging people to fulfill God's plan on our lives, and offer it to him as they guide us it. So that's what we're talking about today. And extending the mission of our ministry, the message of our ministry, and just have fun processing this today.
Dr Randy Hess: 1:35
Yeah, this should be a good topic, I think how, because we do I think, see, part of the work of our hands is spreading the word as best we can and in a helpful and encouraging way, don't we? So we wanted to talk a little bit more about that very topic, how we, how we try to spread the word how we want to spread the word, some things we are doing. And I think you've got several of those that we can talk about today, in terms of just bringing people up to speed on what we have done so far in that regard, and what we're trying to
Dr Hal Habecker: 2:12
do we do it so what are we the purpose of this session? You know, let me just build a framework behind this. You know, Jesus said, an x one a go therefore, and be my witnesses to Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria and all over the world. You know, this podcast and the first essential that we talk about is continuing to grow. You know, I don't know if I ever even heard the word podcasts. 10 years ago, I you know, odd guests have been around for longer than I've been aware of them. But it's a new growing process for me to communicate this way to share the word this way to be a witness for Christ this way, right to see finish. Well, ministries grow in this area. So the idea is even inherently the Gospel were to be sharing the Word, the Word of God, everywhere we go, preach the Word. You know, unless people hear the word, there's no way the Holy Spirit can work in their lives. So you know, we have a message from the word to aging people, God has ordained our days, he is a Dane them for a purpose. And we want to get that word out. So we want to share just a little bit about that we're doing it through the printed page, you know, our six essentials you know, what does the Bible teach about the aging process resources like that. But we've also gone into technological technological ways. Our website ministry Well, ministries dot O R G. But I just want to kind of give a witness to how God is spreading the word through Finney about finishing well, ministries across the our country. And really, as we were looking just a minute ago at what the podcast is doing, it's in five continents. There's nobody at Australia who has picked us up yet, but you know, all five continents are we have listeners and all of those areas. And it's fascinating to me to see how God is getting the word out. So that's what I'd like to do today and just talk about that process a little bit. Does that sound good? It
Dr Randy Hess: 4:37
sounds real good hell. And one of the things that you and I've talked about a lot, and I think we've been studying how we want to spread the word best is that we have concentrated a lot of our energy and activity in our immediate geographical surroundings and area. And I think we've really been able to spread the word well locally through various mechanisms, but certainly, a lot of the work you've done, the work of your hands has been magnificent in, in going into and spreading the word through churches, through different bodies through senior care organizations. And we find more and more interest right here locally. But that your point is that that's just the way God uses us in we don't have any control over where the word goes from there, the spread of it, because people talk, people get encouraged, people mentioned this, and people come across your website, and they come across this broadcast, and they get interested. So the word is spreading, is it not? And you have many indications of that.
Dr Hal Habecker: 6:02
ado, let me share just a couple of them, and we can interact with them. I have a friend in Albany, New York, who I never knew more than a few months ago. He has his line of work is in hearing mechanisms for older people helping us here. As we lose our hearing. My wife says I have selective hearing. You know, I don't think my hearing has gone down yet. But it does. It happens as we age. So he has this ministry to seniors. But he also has a writing ministry. He writes editorials in his local newspaper in Albany. And he has his own podcast, where he's trying to just encourage people in the secular world about hearing ideas, etc, etc. How to help people. Well, he came across our podcast. And he listened to it. He calls me on the phone, he emails me. And then lo and behold, he was able to be in Dallas over Christmas just this past year. And he says, Can we get together and he has ordered our six essentials workbook. He has ordered our booklet on what is the Bible teach about growing older. And he wants to start a six essentials ministry and become a facilitator. Like we had talked about in a previous podcast, all there in Albany, New York, and I'm sitting here I'm amazed of how the network works. And how God gets all the people, adds ideas to them. And he's helping me and I'm helping him and I just think is marvelous. A couple others, we have a person, church person in Michigan, he stumbled and I don't know how people connect with us. I mean, they hear the word out there is done a Bible study in his church on the six essentials in the evenings with good results. We have a an associate pastor in Hastings, Nebraska. He has led a ministry in his church 30 to 35 Seniors every Monday afternoon, in his church, going through the six essentials and planting seeds of ministries in people's lives. We have a guy in Fort Wayne, Indiana, who encountered I went back I'm a graduate of Taylor University and I went back for my 50th reunion last year. And he actually was not in my class, but he was there and somehow we met each other. And he is using the six essentials in a Sunday school class that he leads that everybody in the class is in their 80s and 90s. And he's encouraging them, you know, to catch a new vision, what can God do through us as these aging people? You know, and other technology we're using Zoom technology. I teach a six essentials class online. And there are people from Canada on this. We have a gal from she's a counselor in New Jersey, evolved the fascinating relationship and she is learning to use all of our information in her own counseling ministry was seniors and being very encouraging herself. I think of a there's a there's a guy in Lubbock, Texas, whose wife was in our wedding when Vicki and I were married January 319 76. And his wife and my wife were a physical therapist together at Baylor hospital here in town. And, you know, our lives haven't crossed often in the last 45 or 46 years. But he is on our zoom class, learning the six essentials, I didn't even know he was on our network. So here is this unfolding drama, you might say of how God uses technology. And I have to add one more here. Before we reflect on this for a minute, we have a gal here in the Greater Dallas area, an older gal who is, I don't know how she heard about us. But she's ordered booklets and workbooks. And she's doing it through her sphere of living down in South Dallas. She also is connected in Mexico. So she has sent our workbook and the booklet what is what does the Bible teach about growing older, to a church in Mexico that has over 2000 members in it. And this pastor is preaching the six essentials. And he's working on translating all of this stuff in his church, or his people down there in the aging sector of their community. And so I just look at this and say, All of this is unfolding, and happening through technology. And I think the spirit of God uses it in all kinds of ways, way beyond anything we you and I would have ever thought about when we started podcasting just over a year ago. So tried. It's fascinating, Randy, whether it's whatever this technology is, you know that God is using it to spread the word of finished oil ministries and what God wants to do in lives of aging people.
Dr Randy Hess: 11:46
Very true, you keep getting new inquiries every week, don't you? And it's just amazing. The way communication occurs out there. The just the casual connections and networking that people do, who, as you say, catch an interest, catch a spark catching a vision of it, and want others to know about it. We we love that. We welcome it. And you welcome people contacting the ministry, do you not when they when they hear something and want more information,
Dr Hal Habecker: 12:28
another tangent of this that I never would have dreamt about in these churches that are using the six essentials. You know, people in each of these classes have a network all across United States. I mean, we're very mobile today. And some churches are using online technology to teach these classes in their own sphere in their own network. And they said to me on any one of these classes, we have anywhere between three and six people online with this class, from other states, in our country. So you know, Joe lives in Dallas, but he has family members in Idaho, or California. And he invites these people in on a class. And so all of a sudden your message is being you know, multiplied through individuals who are connected with other people all over the country. And I don't know how we track that. I mean, I don't know. I mean, it's the spirits ministry. But in a sense, really, for me, it's just like the church spread and they in Jerusalem. It goes all over the world, just like it's spread in Thessalonica, where Paul said, you know, you guys don't have any need, because the gospel is going everywhere you have gone. So through our lives and the resources that are available to us. God is spreading the word of finishing well ministries, and I'm grateful that he's doing it. Now, we had a suggestion, we're thinking, think about this. Our engineer is a good friend of ours, Seth muse, and he actually records these and these 120 25 years younger than me, Seth. But he has he's in a world of technology. And he's helping us get this message out. So Seth, how do you see the technology of podcasting, spreading the word spreading the word of what God's doing comment on that for us? Would you?
Unknown: 14:35
Sure. Podcasting is one of those things that it's been around for a while, like you said, it's just it's a way to get a message out to a particular group of people really, really well. And in a in a in a great medium and, you know, you can form communities with podcasting, and it's just simple. It's easy to do like you Just talk. And you tell people what you think. And then they can just listen while they're exercising or doing chores around the house or driving down the road. And, you know, they can absorb the information absorb the, the, and they get to feel your personality and all the other things you can't get with the written word with text, you know, things like that. So it's a powerful medium for really conveying ideas and building community, and your podcast, like he says, on five continents, you know, and we just kind of started really, I mean, it's, it's still in its infancy stage of, of building, and there's, you know, you're reaching people all over the world. And that's one of the beautiful things about it is that, and I think this is when you're thinking about the church too, and just in ways that the church needs to expand its view of who is my ministry, the podcast, world already kind of knows that, it's like, you're going to reach people all over the place, and you're going to be able to share your message with people you may never meet, but you're still sharing a message, you're still impacting their life, you're still having an effect on them, and in positive ways. So I think it's a really powerful medium that honestly doesn't take a ton of equipment or setup to do I mean, we're just meeting over zoom, which is free, you know, and if you had some apple, you know, earbuds, you know, with a microphone in them, you know, you can get a decent recording. And you literally can just pay for your hosting to get a podcast out and you're going. So it's pretty inexpensive to get it done and do it well. As you guys know, you just kind of know you want to talk about, you have to plan that a little bit ahead. But still, it's, it's a powerful medium.
Dr Hal Habecker: 16:44
Well, I really appreciate you and your expertise, and helping us launch this and your encouragement of it as well. You've been a great guide and encourage her, I really appreciate that.
Dr Randy Hess: 16:55
And I would like to add that I think you Seth have made it easy for us. And I know you're you just said that the process is easy and all that. But it depending on one's I guess its comfort zone or comfort level with technology. It can help to have somebody this is my view can just my view more experienced involved in helping you get started? through it? Yes. And get comfortable with it.
Unknown: 17:27
Yes, if you're unfamiliar with this type of technology, or this type of world, and yeah, it's always good to get help and advice and you know, learn a little bit about it. And if you're serious about something, why wouldn't you do that? You know, why wouldn't you research and figure out what you're doing and do it right, you know, so it's, it's good if you know, people, or you can pick people's brains. I mean, I did when I started, I have my own podcast, I host a podcast, my own for church communications. I do a podcast with a friend of mine called nerd pastors where we talk about, you know, comic book movies, and all kinds of crazy stuff, how it relates to our faith. So I mean, there's, there's just so many different ways you can do it. But when I started, I had to find some friends that were already doing it and find out what they did. And what kind of mic did they use? And how do they actually get a podcast out there? And how do they tell people about it? I mean, just had to learn from others that have done it. I mean, there's the definition of discipleship, it's just finding it for yourself in a field. So, yeah, it's been great. And it's fun to listen, you guys because for me being you know, like you said, younger than you kind of see the future a little bit of where I'm headed, and, you know, hopefully help you guys stay grounded and where we are, you know, a little bit now, but, you know, offer my opinions. But, you know, it is it is good to see that generationally. There's a lot more in common here than then. Then some might think,
Dr Hal Habecker: 18:54
but but I have to say this, Seth, I don't think I'd be categorized as a as a nerdy pastor.
Unknown: 19:00
No, not at all. No, it's
Dr Hal Habecker: 19:03
definitely with a younger generation.
Dr Randy Hess: 19:05
I don't think you would either. Hell just for for that for what that's worth. Yeah, no, that's
Unknown: 19:09
not you. That's me. That's not you. That's
Dr Randy Hess: 19:12
that's a bit but still, we appreciate that. If you're, you know, you, you, you make us sound good. You make us come across well. I'm not trying to say we're we're superstars at this or anything close to that. I just think you have helped us so much in terms of managing ourselves during this process and how and I can talk to each other all day long and get go back and forth and, and just enjoy the discussion. But we have to know what we want. For podcasts. We have to know what we want to do and kind of as you said, have our points laid out so so There's some, there's a little bit of discipline to that, that you've helped us with tremendously. So thank you for that. For sure.
Unknown: 20:06
My pleasure. It's fun to listen every week. Let me
Dr Hal Habecker: 20:09
kind of wrap this up. Our purpose in this podcast was to give our listeners a vision of how God is spreading the word of finished finish. Well, ministries, God has a plan for our lives and involves our aging years. And we want to capitalize and capture all those years for him. Just like Moses said, in Psalm 90, verse 12, so Teach us to number our days, use our resources for him, and all of his purposes. So that's what we're about today, and given us a fresh vision of where we're going, and how that word spreads. So we do it through all kinds of media, through our website, through email, through Instagram, through zoom through podcast, and God is spreading the word through our ministries. And isn't that what life is about as a Christian, as a follower of Jesus, you know, he said, A Matthew 419, follow me and I will make you fishers of men, we all have a responsibility in following Christ to share the Word, to spread the word about who he is, and what he does. And I think that's why I like to look at the scriptures and evaluate the lives of older people. It makes a huge difference, I think of the birth of Jesus, you know, and you know, Simeon was probably a centenarian, or close to it. And he was the one to whom God made a promise, he said, before you die, you will see the Messiah. And he held him in his arms. And Semyon still speaks today, pointing out the Messiah to the world. So every aging person out to do that. So we don't know how it all happened. But that's our vision, for keeping it moving ahead and trusting God to use us and helping others to see the message and experience for themselves. So I would pose an invitation. And Randy, I'm gonna let you wrap it up today. You know, if you're listening to this, spread the news, share the podcast, go to see some of the other media that God is using to help spread the word of finishing well, ministries, perhaps become a facilitator, we can get engaged with our ministry, but what's God's saying to you through the work of our hands as we do this, and we'll be grateful to give God the praise because it's his ministry. It's his work, and we want to be about his, his life in and through us. Right, Randy?
Dr Randy Hess: 22:45
That's correct town, my wrap up is going to be to kick it back to you how but I do want to say a couple things. One is our messages to get to get you excited, involved, interested, encouraged by the fact that we care about you and your purpose in life. And if that encourages you, or if that inspires you at all, and you want to know more? How has invited you to contact our ministry in some way, please do. And please tell us you're encouraged or you're interested. And we will try to help you follow through with that for yourself, and for others around you. And if you like our ministry and want to follow our podcasts more, we'd sure to welcome you every time we're on. And we're glad you're here. And I'll just say that in, in, in my thinking, spreading the word means that means to me that we are hopefully making a difference in the lives of seniors and maybe in the life maybe in your life. And we really hope that's true. Thank you.
Dr Hal Habecker: 24:00
Thanks for being with us today. Finishing well ministries dot o RG forward slash podcast as a list of everything we're about. So take advantage of that, be encouraged by it be strengthened and what God is calling you to do through His Spirit in any and every part of your life. And may God use us all just like Moses, so teach us to value our days to number them, our resources, our skills, our gifts so that we might present a life of wisdom to God and spread the news through our lives and touch the lives of others. So may God encourage you and bless you and have a blessed day.