“We confuse position and title with making a difference in life. We need to be careful. It’s a trap.”

Bill Smith was born and raised in Madison County, Indiana. He and his wife, Karen, have five children and ten grandchildren.

Smith is the recipient of several commendations and awards, including the Indiana National Guard’s Distinguished Service Medal and Indiana’s Sagamore of the Wabash. Before the founding of Sextons Creek, Smith served as the chief-of-staff for Mike Pence in the Indiana Governor’s Office and previously in Pence’s congressional offices.

Prior to his service with Pence, he was the founding director of the Indiana Family Institute, a public policy organization dedicated to the strengthening of family life in the Hoosier State. He led the non-profit organization as its executive director for more than a decade. He hosted a daily radio talk show called “Indiana Family Forum” and edited a monthly newsletter with a readership of more than 20,000 households.

From 1983 until 1989, Smith worked as the legislative director and chief-of-staff for Congressman Dan Burton of Indiana. Smith has managed and served with several political campaigns during his 30 years of involvement in the public square. Bill currently serves as a board member with the National Center for Complex Operations.

He has also advised not-for-profit organizations on how to improve their management structure, communications strategies and board development. He also serves as president and chairman of the board for The Attic Theatre, Inc, a local non-profit theatre guild.

3:17– A little of my background
8:06– About Sextons Creek
12:25– How does your faith guide and shape you as a leader in business and government?
14:45– A word of encouragement
17:30– What is some of the best advice you’ve ever been given and how does that impact your leadership today?
20:24– What do you think would be a cure for all the lack of character we are seeing in culture today?
26:27– What advice or encouragement if you’re discouraged?
29:08– The 4:23 Question

Full Transcript:

Ray: Hello everyone, this is Ray Hilbert. I am your host here at Bottom Line Faith, and if this is your first time listening to the program, thanks for joining us. We sure hope you’re going to be encouraged by our conversation today and of course if you are a long-term listener, if you’re a regular subscriber here at the program, you know that this is the place, the analogy we like to use is, where we’re going to lift the hood and we’re going to tinker around in the engine of Christian leadership. We’re going to learn how Christian leaders think, how they plan, how they fail, and lessons learned along the way. If you’ve followed us for any amount of time, you know we had the incredible privilege of traveling this country from coast to coast and talking with some of our nation’s finest Christian leaders in business and in the marketplace. We’ve talked with CEOs of large companies, we’ve talked with entrepreneurs in start-up mode, we’ve talked with athletic personalities, and celebrities, and actors, and folks who are influencing our culture all along the way, so thanks so much for checking us out. And if you want to learn and listen to some of the interviews, check out our website at bottomlinefaith.org. That’s bottomlinefaith.org. And if you are a Christ follower in business and you want to explore what it might look like to be in a community of other Christians who are leading businesses and organizations around the country, check out our website at Truth at Work. We are the hosts ministry for the Bottom Line Faith program; that is truthatwork.org. Click on the tab there that says “round table.” And so folks, we are in Indianapolis, Indiana, and we are in the headquarters for Sextons Creek and we’re going to be talking with Sextons Creek president and CEO, Bill Smith. Bill, welcome to Bottom Line Faith.

Bill: Ray, thanks so much, it’s good to be with my old time friend. I can’t tell you every time I think of you, I can’t help but think back to the time we met around Promise Keepers, many years ago; so it’s good to be with you again today.

Ray: Twenty years ago.

Bill: That’s right.

Ray: I probably had hair then. If you’ve been on our website you know-

Bill: And mine was a lot darker then, too.

Ray: But it’s still hanging on; you’re looking good.

Bill: Thanks.

Ray: Well Bill, just thanks for joining us today, and folks I got to tell you, I have really, really been looking forward to this conversation because Bill’s just one of my, I don’t know if I have ever had a chance to say this to you face-to-face but, Bill, you’ve just been a spiritual hero of mine. I’ve watched the way you handled yourself, or at least the twenty years I’ve known you, and I just, I have so much respect for you and I was really looking forward to this conversation because now the audience is going to get to know you as well.

Bill: Well, thank you, Ray, I’m humbled by that.

Ray: Well. tell us a little bit about your background. We’re going to learn about Sextons Creek in just a moment, fascinating name, I know there’s a story there; but just help our audience get to know Bill a little bit.

Bill: Certainly. Well, yeah, I was born and raised in Elwood, Indiana, a small town my grandfather, both of my grandfathers, were pastors and my dad was a factory worker. And so I didn’t come into the world with too much expectation in terms of what I was going to do with the rest of my life, but God just had a plan that still amazes me, the places he’s allowed me to go. It all started out with a campaign in 1982 where I helped a candidate for congress run. He won and I end up moving to Washington, D.C. at the ripe old age of twenty-one years old, and by the time I was twenty-two I was his Chief of Staff. And so that wasn’t because of me; God had a plan somewhere in that because it sure didn’t make a lot of sense at the time, and so I was his Chief of the Staff for about seven years and then step down from that because my family was growing and we decided it was time to move back to Indiana and raise our family. A couple days after I stepped down, I received a call from Focus on the Family; they were looking at starting a new ministry in the state of Indiana, called the Indiana Family Institute, so I was their founding director and ran that organization, that ministry, for eleven years.

Ray: And that’s when you and I met?

Bill: That’s when we met, exactly, and like I say, I remember that day well. You talk about my ministry, my goodness, what God has done with you and the lives that you’ve touched has just been amazing, Ray. Then a good friend of mine by the name of Mike Pence called me; he decided he wanted me to-

Ray: Now, wait a minute, hold on. We can’t just glide by that. Mike Pence as in?

Bill: As in the Vice President.

Ray: As in the Vice President. Okay, you all heard that.

Bill: Of course, I knew him long before he had that title. He had been a friend of mine for many years and as a matter of fact we would guest host each other’s radio shows if one was on vacation. Because he’s an old radio guy, as those who know him well and that know about him, and he said he was going to run for Congress, or he was thinking about it and wanted to know if he did, if I would manage his campaign. And so after a little back and forth I decided to do that, ran his campaign for Congress in the year 2000, he was elected to Congress, and then I served as Chief of Staff.

Ray: There was something if I recall, very unique about that campaign because he had made a pledge about the way he was going to run his campaign. Would you just comment on that a little bit; this was very unique.

Bill: Yeah, well he had run a decade earlier actually in 1988 and 1990 run for Congress against an incumbent and was defeated in both of those elections. Well in the election of 1990 he ran a pretty negative campaign; very personal attack mode campaign, and after his loss in 90, he was really convicted about that. He began to draw closer to the Lord, and this is all public information; he’s written about this, and he wrote a piece called “Confessions of a Negative Campaigner,” in which he swore off that kind of the campaign. And basically from that point forward, asked an apology for how he conducted himself in that campaign. And so if you look at his career path from 1990 forward, his campaign, the vast majority of it, is about what he believes, his policies. It’s more positive oriented, he’s not afraid to compare, you know records, but he doesn’t get into that personal, sort of the scorched-earth campaign mode that you see often from politicians today. So we spent the next twelve years together. While he was in Congress, I was his Chief, he ran for governor of Indiana, as many of your listeners now know. I was his Chief of Staff for half of that before resigning to start my business, and we still remain close, but I’m off doing my own thing now.

Ray: Yeah, we’re going to talk much more about Sextons Creek as we go along here, but just, I’m going to let her audience in on a little secret, okay. Folks, Bill and his team; they’re the ones that actually produce our program here at Bottom Line Faith. So we are not only having a great interview here, but I’m not sure if I’m a client or an interviewer, we got all sorts of interesting-

Bill: All of the above.

Ray: But they do a great job here for us. You can check them out, in fact, this is a great opportunity sextonscreek.com is the website that’s s-e-x-t-o-n-s c-r-e-e-k-.com. So we’re on the topic, tell us about the business; what you do, how you got started, and then we’re going to learn some leadership from you.

Bill: Yeah, absolutely. About two-and-a-half, three years ago, when I turned in my resignation, and this is something, Governor Pence, at the time, had been discussing for quite some time.

Ray: So you had resigned while he was governor of the state of Indiana before he became the Vice Presidential candidate.

Bill: Correct. And something we had talked about for many years, but it just seemed like the right time. So I left to form a government relations consulting firm, known as Sextons Creek. So for the first two years we just operated within Indiana, a small operation, basically a one-man shop. It was just me for two years representing a small group of clients in issues before the state of Indiana. Well it’s amazing what can happen with an election. Well and as you know, when Donald Trump picked Mike Pence to run as his Vice President, and they won, many opportunities begin to come our way. We expanded our operations on the government relations side, opened a Washington, D.C. office and our client base group grew considerably from that. Most of the work that we do in that area, that’s one of our divisions is government relations, is focused on representing a client’s needs to government if they’re having trouble navigating some regulations or laws that may be coming up. But even more so, if you think about it, it has to do with helping them understand, consulting with them, giving them advice on how they should proceed working with the government, but then I finally had an opportunity to do something that I was passionate about, because the government relation side, keep in mind, was not something I really ever wanted to do. It’s not something I’m passionate about. It just seems to be where God seems to put me at in given moments.

It’s sort of like the Italian poet who wrote, The path I’m on is the one I actually chose to avoid.” And so that’s where I found myself in the government relations arena. What excites me is the division that we started earlier this year, and that’s our media productions, our productions division, and that’s where you find us putting together programs, for instance where we help friends like you, with whether it’s a podcast or video work or social media assistance, we do a lot of video work, so if it’s in the area of helping your business or your ministry, your nonprofit organization or whatever, reach the next level and promotions and branding and those types of things, that’s what I think we do an excellent job of. Our team here in Indianapolis has been at that now for a few months, and already has a great growing base of clients and then third, what Sextons Creek is about to launch into, and be sharing a lot more about this in the days ahead, in 2018, we’ll be launching in our business services division, a leadership training program around the country. That will be the first opportunity will be in wilderness and outdoor training exercises, and we’ll bring CEOs and their leadership teams out into the wild and help them experience some leadership skills in a place they may not be so comfortable. Guys like me you get them out in the woods; it can be a little dangerous. But hopefully, we’ll learn a lot about ourselves. You know, it sounds kind of like a very different set of skills but often we have clients come together and realize they need multiple products, so they may be involved in the production side and also need some help on the government relations side. And so that’s what we’re doing right now, and we’re having a great time doing it.

Ray: Now one of the things that I’m really encouraged about, you know, as I said earlier I’ve known you for over twenty years now, is how important your faith is. It has guided and it’s not just like this thing that’s out there for you. It really is the foundational piece in your life, your family, and your leadership. How has your faith, you mentioned a moment ago that you were not passionate about this one particular area of government affairs consulting, but yet it’s pretty clear to you that God had you on that pathway, at least leading you the other things as well. Talk a little bit about how your faith guides and shapes you as a leader in business. You’ve been extremely influential in government as well as business, so talk to us about your faith and its role in your life.

Bill: Keep in mind that, you know, I’m a sinner saved by grace. There is no doubt that whatever I do for a living it has to be centered around my relationship with God. Whenever the election was coming up, some of my friends at church would say, “Well Bill, what would you do if you didn’t win?” That’s easy. I’ve swept floors before, I’ve clean toilets before, I’ve worked in the fields before, I still know how to do that, but that doesn’t define who I am, right? We are, we can work a job, whatever is put before us to help fill our needs, to feed our family, to do what we must do, but it doesn’t define who you are. And I understood that early in life and I praise God that he allowed me that opportunity to have that perspective because I’m really never disappointed with what I’m doing as a career. Because, in the end, I’m still going to work on something that I’m passionate about even if it’s on the outside, if it’s in the part-time, if it’s just as an extra curricular activity, you know. We’re always going to be pursuing something that we feel is bigger than ourselves, and in this case, you know, my faith is, of course, much bigger than who I am and so if you even look at the experience of having Mike Pence call me in 1999 and ask if I would run his 2000 race, I had no interest in doing that, but it all had to do with the fact that I knew Mike Pence was a believer in Christ, and this would be an experience different than any other if I engage with about political figure. And so I’m just thankful that God has allowed me each step of the way to work within an environment and helped create an environment that honored him and that we did the best we could to lead others to follow him as well.

Ray: So you made a few comments there that my mind is going to this place, because one of things we hope to do here at Bottom Line Faith is we really just want to be a blessing. We want to be an encouragement, right, and so I am quite confident that somebody’s listening to the program right now and they find themselves in that place that they’re getting up every day doing what they’re doing, running their business, leading their company and maybe they don’t feel like they yet found that point of passion or that place of passion, and they feel like there’s something else. That point of passion, that place of passion. What encouragement would you have for them? What advice or counsel would you give if you were sitting down face-to-face like you and I are going to say to them?

Bill: I would say that there are two options here. You can find passion within the organization you’re working even if the topics you are working on are not something that’s all that exciting. I’ll tell you one place you can find something to be passionate about, is that people you work with. Whether they are your team around you, the clients you have within your business, you have an opportunity to change people’s lives just by how you interact with them. So don’t limit yourself in thinking that the work you’re doing is the work that’s required. Okay, the passion you can find internally has to do with the lives you can touch, whatever product or service you’re performing. And so for me, I can come in and not be excited about government relations, but I can get excited about the fact that I’m going to be talking to a new person today, that, you know, may need that outreach, that may need just an ear that will listen to them as they’re going through a difficult time. It may be a professional or a personal level issue, but that, I would say, look within to find the passion that you may not see if you just look on the surface. The second thing is, look, there are so many great causes out there, that we can engage in and if you just reach out and tackle that one thing that you know right now you’re passionate about, if you don’t know, of course kneel at the thrown of God and ask him to reveal to you what cause and purpose you have in life that’s bigger than yourself or bigger than the job you have, and so, you know, look around you today. Whether it’s human trafficking issues, or you know, helping leaders draw closer to Christ, but you know, there are so many good causes out there; helping the hungry, that you know, that you can engage in, that can help start defining who you are. Not the fact that you have president and CEO after your name.

Ray: That’s really good. Folks we are speaking with Bill Smith, the President and CEO at Sextons Creek. One more time, the website is sextonscreek.com. And so we got a little bit understanding of your background, we got a little bit of framework of the things that company does here. I’d like to transition and we talked about your faith and we’ll come back to that in just a moment, but I want to transition around leadership. If you look back over the course of your career what would be one or two of the best pieces of advice you ever been given and how does that impact your leadership today?

Bill: Okay, well you know we have all heard of servant leadership. Well, for me I had to figure out what would that look like within the confines of the work I’ve had, whether it was being a congressional Chief of Staff, that you know, I had 30 people working with the team or, when I was Chief of Staff for the governor’s office,you have a tally of 30,000 state employees that you can help direct one way or the other. In the end, you know what, principles are you going to lay out before them to show leadership? In my case, there were some things that I picked up and I just adopted a little bit. One was that I told everyone that I hired, if you come in, and as you can imagine in the political world you have climbers right? You have people who are looking for that next step up the ladder, and I said, if I see any of you coming in and illustrating to me what it’s like to be a backstabber, a credit taker, or a ladder climber, you’re going to be in trouble on this team.

So let’s reverse that, let’s see someone, that you know, are you ready to take on the challenge of not only doing the work that’s assigned to you, but to be someone who gives credit to someone else, who helps someone else climb that ladder, who instead of stabbing them in the back, you’re patting them on the back. If I can see that in you, within this team, you’re going to be a leader on this team. And the other thing is, just how you model your team. There is obviously within business, variations of this, but I always, when I would hire somebody, I think, What’s their character? What’s their competency? And what’s the chemistry they bring to the team? Those three Cs were critical in building a team. That I think, it wasn’t, it was less important what kind of leader I was, but what kind of leading I’m developing. And if you bring someone to the team that they understand their character first and foremost, how they behave with integrity within the team, that they have the competency, either the existing ability to do the job well, or to learn it well, and the chemistry, how are you going to treat one another and how do you fit in with a group, you’re going to be successful in this. And that means you’re then developing into the kind of leader that I think would be God honoring.

Ray: And you know it’s interesting, in the time of us recording this conversation, we’re at a, I don’t even know if we’ve hit the crescendo yet of ethics in government with all the sexual harassment. We’re seeing it in entertainment and in Hollywood of course, but in the government. So if we could have Bill Smith wave the magic wand, what would cause a cure for all of this lack of character that we’re seeing run rampant in culture today?

Bill: Well you know, it doesn’t really require a magic wand.

Ray: I knew you were going to say that.

Bill: It just requires what my father told me years ago, and that’s how you treat people the way you want to be treated. If you do that, then you wouldn’t see a lot of the scandal, you wouldn’t see a lot of the, you know, misuse of position and title. Then you wouldn’t see the kind of mistreatment that you’re seeing today, whether it’s in Hollywood or government or any place, if I treat you the way I want to be treated. I mean it’s not brain surgery, my friend it’s just going back to the age-old truth that we can find written in God’s word about, you know, treat people well.

Ray: One of the things that I’m just really impressed with, and I know you don’t make decisions to impress other people, your walk with the Lord and serving your family and your wife and your children, but you had an opportunity, and we don’t need to get the details, but you had an opportunity to be engaged in a pretty high level in this presidential administration. Is that fair to say?

Bill: That’s true, yeah.

Ray: And you turned it down. Talk to us a little bit about that. Why would you turn that down?

Bill: Well, look Ray, I have five children and ten grandchildren. God has put me in a place in life, that not only am I enjoying it, but I feel that I’m making a difference. Why would I give that up right now to go to a place where I don’t think I would have as much of an impact? We confuse position and title with making a difference in life, and I think we have to be careful there; it’s a trap, it’s like I always tell a lot of my friends who are considering running for public office, be careful that you don’t heed the call of the sirens, who would call you onto the rocks. It might sound beautiful and it might look great, but in the end is it really going to make a difference in eternity? Now there may be a point in life where that calling to higher government service would make sense, but at this point in my life, it’s not something I was ready to do.

Ray: And I really wanted our audience to hear, I mean I didn’t know exactly how you might answer that question, but I think I knew what was in your heart. We’ve had some other previous conversations, but I’ve written this down and I want to repeat it, and if I mess up the quote, correct me will you? But “Don’t confuse position and title with making a real difference.” Did I capture that right?

Bill: Close enough, yeah. I’m sure if you tweaked it, it would sound even better.

Ray: But you know, for our audience which is comprised of Christ followers who are leaders who are running businesses, they’re presidents, they’re CEOs, they are high capacity leaders, they really should be if I’m listening to what I’m hearing from you, they should be more concerned with the difference that they’re making, how they’re investing in lives, than they are with position, the authority, and even the results. Is that fair?

Bill: Absolutely. I mean think about the lessons we’ve learned over the last several years from people in very high positions, whether they’re CEOs of companies or government leaders who have passed away and the regrets they have. Well, you know, even if you and I make mistakes, Ray, as we will, I don’t want to have regrets, all right? And I think it would be easy for us to have regrets if we chose the wrong path thinking that something that was significant to perhaps the world, we took the cause of that. God sees other things as significant and it doesn’t mean you can’t do those jobs, I mean if you’re a CEO of a company and you’re a leader in government and you can incorporate God’s will for your life in that, praise God, that’s a wonderful thing. But in this case it’s not.

Ray: What we’re saying there is, don’t sell out.

Bill: Exactly.

Ray: Do what’s really important.

Bill: Yeah, that’s right.

Ray: That’s fantastic, and so on that note, we aren’t getting any younger, right? What is that big thing you think God still has for you to do in the next chapter here?

Bill: Yeah, I think, to be honest with you, I wish I knew some days and other days I just love playing it a day at a time right now. But I do know what I’m called to do right now, and that is to continue to be an example to my family and to the friends around me, whatever happens with my career. You know, that will come and go but I know that I have a limited audience that I am commanded to spend time with and have influence over and that’s my wife, my children, my grandchildren, and the friends who are around me whatever sphere God’s put in my path. And in that regard, just be real, speak truth and love into their lives and let Him do the rest of work.

Ray: You know, you and I were joking before. I said I love to follow your social media, but it wears me out, you know, with all the kids and the grandkids and the activities and go to the park-

Bill: Yeah, and you rarely find any politics in there do you? It’s just fun.

Ray: Yeah, you always have this controversial question, but it has nothing to do with politics, it’s like chocolate or vanilla?

Bill: Exactly. Have fun with it right? You know, that’s one of our mottos here at Sextons Creek is work hard, do good, and have fun. And so we try to illustrate and not just a slogan, but how we actually live.

Ray: And it’s fantastic. Well, folks, we are talking with Bill Smith, President, CEO of Sextons Creek, one more time their website is sextonscreek.com. And we call this the fastest thirty minutes on the airway.

Bill: Boy, it is fast.

Ray: And our producer, Russell, just put up only a couple of minutes here are left. I can’t believe we’re already at the end of this; maybe we can do part two.

Bill: That’s right.

Ray: And so it’s just two more questions. What advice or encouragement would you have for someone who’s listening to the program right now and they’re going, Wow, Bill, this sounds like you got a lot of experience, you’ve got peace in your life, and you’ve got it together, and no one’s perfect, you said that. But what encouragement would you say for that listener who’s really not sure about all that, and maybe they’re destroyed or frustrated and they want to live out their faith at home, and their business. How would you encourage them today?

Bill: Well, first of all I’d say if there’s any indication that we’ve got it all together, I’d say my friends, you need to go back twenty or thirty years ago when I was still trying to figure things out, and to be honest with you, I’m still trying to figure a lot of it out. So none of us have it all ironed out and wrinkle-free. Okay, and so just know first of all God uses, you know, vessels that are imperfect. He shows that through His Word repeatedly in the greatest men and women that He put before us. Men and women who are so flawed, that it gives me hope. So, first of all, don’t put yourself on a pedestal. Also don’t put yourself so far down into the ground that you’re of no use or Earthly good. Yeah, let’s keep optimistic about building your own character and our own abilities while we’re here. So team up with somebody. The Truth at Work Round Tables has been a real blessing to me, for instance, to be able to come alongside fellow believers, who are in the marketplace, in the business world, and to just be able to compare notes with them and figure out the very question you just asked. If we do it on our own, it doesn’t mean we’re going to fail, but it sure means it’s going to be a lot longer and difficult road ahead. So find someone, whether you can join, and I don’t mean this to be advertisement for what you’re doing, it’s a great work that you’re doing at Truth At Work, is to join a round table, get plugged into what you’re doing at Truth At Work, because there you’ll find some accountability. You’ll find, you know, someone that you can team up with to answer that question.

Ray: I can’t believe we’re at the end. I’m just going to call this part one, okay Russell? We’re just going to call this part one. With your permission, Bill, I’d love to come back.

Bill: Absolutely.

Ray: And I mean this, I just so greatly respect and admire just how God has placed you and all that you’re doing and how you just are grounded in that, you know, it’s very refreshing, it’s very encouraging to me. But having said all that, we’re down to the last question. I can’t believe we’re here. For those of you who are regular listeners here at the program here at Bottom Line Faith, you know this is always the last question I ask, and it’s the only question I ask of every single guest, and that is this: it’s based out of Proverbs 4:23. We call it our 4:23 question, where Solomon writes, “Above all else, guard your heart, for from it flows the wellspring of life.” And so, Bill, this is like Solomon, the wisest man who gave us all these proverbs and wise principals to live on, he’s saying, remember this above everything else I’ve ever said, guard your heart, right? So Bill, let’s just fast-forward the clock to the end of this side of eternity, for you here on Earth. And you have a chance to gather your family, your friends, your loved ones, those who are most precious to you, and you have a chance to pass along the most important piece of advice: above all else?

Bill: I’ll tell you wait, I was at a family reunion several years ago and an elderly woman, who I had never met saw me walk by and she said, “Young man come here.” I went over and she said, “You’re one of Oscar’s aren’t you?” And I said, “I’m sorry ma’am?” “You’re one of Oscar’s.” Oscar was my grandfather. I never met this woman before, and I said, “Yes ma’am he’s my grandpa.” And she said, “I thought so; you have his manner.” What I want my children and my grandchildren to carry on, look I’ve studied archaeology, and I’ve studied ancestry, genealogy work and I can tell you even tombstones fade away, right? So what kind of legacy, really is what legacy do I want to leave? The legacy that’s going to last is the legacy of truth and love that I mentioned earlier. What kind of imprint can we actually put on the lives of people around us? So whether it’s in my workforce, or in my family, or my friends, you know if there’s going to be a legacy, it’s going to be that they remember these qualities or these qualities were passed on overtime long after my name is forgotten. And so if my children or grandchildren are surrounding me on the day I’m called home, I just want to know that they are going to be decent, and loving, and truthful with one another. If they do that, they’ll be remembered for something much bigger than any piece of paper or stone that they leave on Earth.

Ray: Great stuff. Wow. I know I’ve been taking notes, and if you’re taking notes, I hope you aren’t driving, cause that would be kind of dangerous, but come back and listen to this again, grab a notepad and a pen. We’ve been speaking with Bill Smith at Sextons Creek here in Indianapolis, Indiana. Folks, this is just another great example of how God is uniquely placing amazing followers of Christ in the marketplace, and in Bill’s case a longstanding history and career in ministry, and business, and influencing government, and literally leaders around the world. And so Bill, thanks for joining us on the program today.

Bill: Ray, it has been such a pleasure and I’m looking forward to visiting with you again.

Ray: Absolutely. Well folks, check out bottomlinefaith.org; you can listen not only again to the interview we just had with Bill, but if you scroll down to the bottom of the page where you can actually become a subscriber to the program, whether you’re on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, all the platforms are there. Become a regular listener of the program; I think you’ll be encouraged. We have new episodes out on a weekly basis and Bill mentioned in our conversation, if you are a Christ follower and you’re looking for accountability, if you’re looking for encouragement, if you’re looking for community of like-minded followers of Christ to gather together regularly to encourage one another in business and living out their faith in leadership, check out our website at Truth At Work. Or click on that tab there that says Round Tables. Well folks, thanks for joining us on today’s program. Till next time, I am your host, Ray Hilbert, saying God bless and we’ll see you soon.