A Call To Leadership

EP286: Don't Forget Your Kingdom Passport with Tamara Jackson

• Dr. Nate Salah

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In this inspiring episode, Tamara Jackson opens up about a pivotal turning point in her life and business journey when she realized that doing things her way wasn’t enough. She reveals the powerful lessons she learned through surrendering control and trusting in God's plan. This episode explores the tension between ambition and obedience, and how true peace comes from aligning with God's will. Don’t miss this conversation on transformation, faith, and the courage to trust a higher purpose.

Key Takeaways To Listen For

  • Why surrendering in leadership and business decisions is essential
  • How empathy in business can transform relationships
  • What to do when God's plan doesn't align with our own
  • When to embrace vulnerability while leading with strength
  • Why dependency on God brings true freedom in business

About Tamara Jackson
Tamara is a seasoned consultant, advisor, and investor, dedicated to bridging the gap between faith-based donors, investors, and the organizations they empower. With a deep understanding of spiritual callings and a passion for aligning resources with purpose, Tamara catalyzes a legacy of faith-driven change across industries and communities. Her work is deeply influenced by her personal journey, including the passing of her mother in 2023, which reshaped her perspective on generosity and legacy. Tamara helps faith-based leaders access unprecedented abundance, ensuring that every dollar invested not only aligns with their mission but creates lasting, divine impact.

Connect with Tamara


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[00:00:00] Dr. Nate Salah
Blessing isn't about what happens to you on the outside. Blessing is about what happens to you on the inside. It's about God's love, his grace that's poured out to you, that sustains you in any circumstances, so that there is no disruption. What does it look like to lead with obedience, operate under God's control and represent heaven in the marketplace? Well, in today's episode of A Call to Leadership on. I'm joined by Tam Jackson, founder of Beacon Ship. She's a former Fortune 500 VP turned Kingdom Builder. TAM is equipping faith-driven leaders to transform industries with purpose and power. She's a treat to have on the show. We've been friends for some time now, and now we dive into what it means to be ambassadors of Christ in business, how to surrender control without losing momentum, and why your true citizenship changes everything about how you lead. I'm Dr. Nate Salah, and this is A Call to Leadership. Tam, welcome to the show.

[00:01:07] Tamara Jackson
Dr. Nate. Thank you. It's my honor and privilege to be here with you today. 

[00:01:11] Dr. Nate Salah
Oh my goodness. What a privilege it is for me as well as we unpack some of your journey and it's such an inspiration when I get to connect with a fellow partner in Arms in the Business, real, somebody who's come out of the business world and, and embraced. The things of God in the business world and how you're, how you're embracing founders of organizations and really working through, leading with integrity, le leading with authenticity, leading, with a desire to be set apart with God's character. And it's, it's, it's a blessing. So I'm thankful for that. You've had a lot going on. 

[00:01:52] Tamara Jackson
Yeah. That's kind of the story of my life, life, Dr. Nate, and I'm sure that people watching us and listening are going to be able to identify with that. I think it's pretty common these days, right? Is we are the, the high achievers and sometimes the overachievers and, it's been a journey to learn to operate with intentionality. Mm-hmm. And follow God's pace. 

[00:02:16] Dr. Nate Salah
It's an important construct to discuss because overachievers, high achievers. We tend to say, God, gimme the keys. I got this. Just, you know, put on your seatbelt, we'll roll. Right. That's, that's what we think. That's what we think. That's what we think, and we get a lot done. Yes. Right. I mean, you've been in corporate world, you know, you've been achieving high levels. You've been, you know, you've been around the block. When it comes to, flexing and stretching and, and making things happen, and I'm sure that that'll come up a little bit as we un unpack some of these concepts on the program. However, there comes a point where it's like, okay, hmm. You know, I'm not quite sure where you want me to go if I'm the one who's always calling the shots on how to get there. It's like almost like I remember when my son was young and we would be walking wherever we're walking, and he would get in front. I'm like, you don't know where you're going. What are you doing? Yeah, I'm just, but I'll let you see where he goes and then eventually be like, yeah, I need to be back here. Because it's like that sometimes when we're, we're working with God, right? Mm-hmm. Sometimes we find, maybe, probably more often than not that it's like, oh, I'm up in front, but I don't really know where God wants me to go because I've got all these plans, and did I consult God? Did I ask God for guidance? Where is God in this equation? 

[00:03:48] Tamara Jackson
A hundred percent. I, I think you know, those of us that God has blessed to have a lot of gifts, skills, and talents are sometimes at a disadvantage because there is much that we can do. The question is, should we be doing it? And I haven't. Quite honestly, Dr. Nate, I haven't always asked that question. I've often been in a space where, you know, I thought it was a good idea. I felt that I had what it took to make it happen, or I had the connections or whatever it was to get there. And because I was confident in that, I just moved forward. And I, I think there are so many people, as I have been talking with others about the journey that God has me on, there are so many people that have been, there's like. I just kind of go on autopilot a little bit. And it's true that God has allowed us to do all of these things, but again, is that truly the path that he has for us? Is it the best path? Because sometimes we can do good things, but they may not be God's plan, his best plan for us. 

[00:04:52] Dr. Nate Salah
Mm-hmm. Yeah. And, and for you, you've been the kind of person who. It's sensitive to that you're sensitive to, to God's plan. You're sensitive to God's call. You're sensitive through not only the triumphs, but also the trials. 

[00:05:08] Tamara Jackson
Mm, yeah. There've been a few of those. 

[00:05:11] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes we hide those, but that's, that's really where God's like, okay, here look. Let's talk. 

[00:05:20] Tamara Jackson
Yeah. And honestly, you know, for me it's been in those trials and in those setbacks that I have. Learned and grown the most. And I think most of us, if we really look back that that's often true, that there's not a whole lot of growth from success. I mean, we feel good and we enjoy that moment, but we're not really growing. We're not becoming more like Christ. As a matter of fact, it's often tempting to become less like price when everything is going well because we can lose sight of him. So as I have had those ups and downs. What I have come to learn is those are opportunities to grow closer to him and really understand his heart and his heart for people, because it's not just about us, it's about the impact that we're called to create.

[00:06:09] Dr. Nate Salah
If you could think back on the last, say, 12 to 18 months, would there be one trial that you would identify as like, wow, this is a, this is a situation where God has brought me closer into that union of guidance. 

[00:06:26] Tamara Jackson
Yeah, I would, you know, and there's many that I could, I could share here. But, you know, what comes to mind is being at the end of last year, October of 2024, and having done all these things throughout the year and being at a, a spot where, for me, October is normally a month where I am laser focused on the year ahead, you know, coming up with my plan. How I want to kick off the year, you know, because often people are very motivated to accomplish their goals in January, so there's a lot of planning of, oh, okay, here's what I'm gonna do. And I actually had a semblance of a plan. I had been doing these master classes for Beacon Ship, had planned a launch this four-week program. And as we got closer to that four-week program, which was going to be kind of a testing ground for what would the bigger version of that would look like in January of 2025, it became clear to me I was not supposed to be doing this. 

[00:07:32]
It was very strange because had great interests in what was being offered. Had people that signed up and paid money. But I get, I continued to be more and more unsettled as it was getting to the point of executing it, and it became clear I had been, I had been starting this journey with a spiritual advisor to really slow down, understand what God is doing, look for him, and the only answer I could come up with after really sitting with it was to refund the money and cancel the program Now in the business world. We don't do that. Mm-hmm. If someone has paid for something, we are moving forward. But in this instance, it was clear to me like this was not the right path, and instead of working on January and what that was going to look like, I really took the rest of 2024 to really seek out. And it is through that process that you really helped me to see that I had not.

[00:08:41]
 Been consulting him to the level that I should have, that I had been praying as I go along, and things were going to need to be different in 2025. If I really wanted to accomplish his plan for me, then I was going to have to slow down and do things a different way. Now, that was very unsettling, quite honestly for me. A lot of unknowns, nervous about what that was going to look like, but then. I fast forward to soon to be tomorrow, June, July, 2025, and God has provided everything that I've needed. He's connected me with so many amazing partners. I've actually worked less this year than I worked last year, and I'm so much more at peace. So it was a huge exercise of trust. I'll tell you, everything in me was screaming. This, this, this can't work. You can't go into a new year with no plan. But lo and behold, that was exactly what God wanted me to do because if I had gone into 2025 with a plan, it was gonna be my plan and not hits. 

[00:09:52] Dr. Nate Salah
Amen. We have a community called G three, which is stands for, grow, give, go. It's our, small business leaders, community who are desire to walk in. The centrality of God in their, in their lives where he is at the center. And it aligns our relationships with him. Family, community, business. And we've been going through the Beatitudes as a community, and we've had a couple episodes on it, and it's Jesus's, is first, major sermon, if you will, at least according to the scriptures, where he lays out, if you will, his manifesto. And in this manifesto he's saying, look. There's a pathway for you to walk in blessing, right? Because he starts with blessed are, right. And the interesting aspect of that is he uses the term blessed differently than we normally would experience blessing, or we would think about a blessing. We would think of blessing as it's a outward thing. So for example, if we have a, great parking space or we get the promotion or. We don't have to refund people's money, you know, for an event, right? All of those things are, example, are an example of being blessed from the outside. But Jesus, he flips it and he says, blessing isn't about what happens to you on the outside.

[00:11:21]
 Blessing is about what happens to you on the inside. It's about. God's love, his grace that's poured out to you, that sustains you in any circumstances so that there is no disruption. There is no way that the blessedness, if you will, the life joy. That's what mcc carious is, the Greek word, life joy cannot be extinguished by external circumstances. This is the, you know, blessed are, right? So this blessed are, he is like, whoa, that's a flip of the script, right? Because, you know, you don't really hear that stuff like that, but it's like, okay, well that's the original, that's the essence of this, this word blessed in the, in the, in the Greek. And it's like, okay. Then he lists eight, if you will. Prescriptions, right? Normative. If we, in the, in, in the academic world, we use the word normative. In other words, it's not tell, it does not just describe it, it prescribes it, it tells you what to do, right? Just like a doctor, which Jesus is a great physician. He pres, he may gives you a prescription. Here's your eight medications to take. If you want to live blessed, if you want to live with an indestructible joy, one that's not dependent on external circumstances, one that is free from the cares of earthly worries and anxieties and like, okay. I, I. I want that. Yeah. Amen. I'm, I'm down for that. Step one. Here's what he says. Blessed of the poor in spirit. The journey begins with surrender. 

[00:12:58]
Yes. The journey begins with surrender. Poor in spirit doesn't necessarily mean that you know, you're, you're down. It means that you've, you've allowed your spirit to be poured out to God, to say, God, I, I'm not, I'm not gonna roll solo. I'm not gonna put you in the passenger seat. I'm not even put you in the backseat. I surrendered. Here's the keys. Yeah, no, ma. Hey, and by the way, wherever you take us, I'm going, if it's gotta be a detour that I didn't expect I'm in, doesn't mean by the way that I don't have maybe some. Sadness about the decision, right? Doesn't mean that I'm not sometimes distraught that I thought, oh wow, I really thought it was gonna go this way. We're human beings. Yeah, right. Just saying that I trust you to guide me. You're not my enemy. You're my friend. You're not my adversary, you're my ally. So I can surrender all of these cares and worries and, and weapons. An armor. Yeah. That I got and and that's a description of what you're talking about. Yeah. That's a description of what you're talking about. That's like, that's the starting point for walking in joy. It's not easy to do though, is it my friend? 

[00:14:24] Tamara Jackson
No, it's not. Like, I'll confess that it took me a long time to get to that place. I mean, I had been working with a spiritual advisor for months. And she was so great and is so great to, to be patient with me as I am talking about all the things that I'm doing, all the places that I'm going, and she's kind of hitting you, you think you might need to slow down. And then Dr. Nate, I did slow down to a degree, so I thought, you know, I'm, I'm doing better. But it was clear that God was trying to get me in a completely different rhythm. A rhythm of, as you've mentioned, surrender and. Quite honestly, a rhythm of dependency. Mm-hmm. And I had prided myself on being independent. I can do it myself, not going to wait on anybody else to do it for me. We even have those sayings. If it's to be, it's up to me. Like, I was that kind of person. Right. And so to, to be aware now that God is asking me to lay all of that down. 

[00:15:32]
Yeah, that's a lot of identity stuff in that, of who we believe we are and how we show up in the world. Like laying all of that down and being willing to truly be dependent on him and to be guided by him, completely unaware of what that was going to look like. And where that was going to take me. It is not easy. Like I said, everything in me was screaming, no, we, we don't do this. And it took a while to get out of that space. As I reflected it probably took a few months, quite honestly, to get out of that space. But then it started to actually be freeing, and I've shared this with some people. It became freeing because. The tough part about if it's to be, it's up to me, means that it is on me. Yeah. And once I realize that, hey, if I follow him, then it's, it's on him to do. Yes, there's certainly a part that I need to do, but if I'm following his direction and his plan and I'm doing my best to be obedient, then the results, the outcomes are really up to him.

[00:16:40]
Once I really grabbed a hold of that, it took a lot of the performance pressure. Mm-hmm. That often comes with being a high achiever. Come on off of my shoulders. And I started to feel lighter because I wasn't beating myself up or you know, constantly being on myself about, you need to be here, you need to be doing that. How come you're not at this level? It was like, no. I'm doing what God told me to do. I'm, my goal is to be obedient and to be focused on his, his will and his plan, and the outcomes are not up to me. 

[00:17:13] Dr. Nate Salah
There's some li there's such great liberation in that, that wisdom. You've touched on so many wonderful aspects of the journey. One you mentioned the, I love the, if it's to be, you know, this is. For us who spent a lot of time writing. This is definitely not grammatically correct, but it it's definitely spiritually correct. If it's to be, it's up to he, right? Yes. It's, and there's liberation in that. Because as it, as it ties into what you mentioned about identity, you know, we tend to, to, to find our identity in our accomplishments, in our accolades, in our power prestige position. Those are, those are like most people. You're like, oh, wow. You know what? You've got lots of power. You're very prestigious. You have high position and authority. Wow, you must be successful, accomplished. Right. Your identity is often wrapped up in that, and that's even how we introduce ourselves when we meet people all the time.

[00:18:10]
 Right. Go down the resume or, you know, and say, okay, you know, x, y and ZA university or, you know industry or whatever it is that, that, that shows your social capital, right? Your value prop. And this is a complete flip of that. It's the opposite to say, I'm a child of God. And we go, that doesn't absolve us. From responsibility, as you had said as well, it actually makes the burden of responsibility lighter. Yes.Right, because in that, in that, in that vein, in that regard, man, Lord, you know what, I'm just gonna give my all and whatever becomes of it, you will multiply it, increase it according to your goodwill, because this goes right back. To the parable of the talents. Yeah. Where the three caretakers have been given a certain sum of money. Right. One of them buries it, two others multiply it, by the way, different amounts. The ones who multiply it, no matter what the amount is, that's irrelevant. It's not the amount or the outcome, as you had said, that defines whether or not we are good and faithful servants. It is the obedience that you had said. That's the critical part. The obedience is the way we are defined as well done. Good and faithful servants. It's the disobedience that says you are wicked and lazy servant, by the way. Either way, you're a servant. That's good. Oh, you're servant. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So that's, that's the question, right? That's the big question, especially for those of us. Who are striving and striving and striving to say, Lord, I think I got this backwards. 

[00:20:12] Tamara Jackson
Yeah. Yes, yes. But you know, when you think about it, as you've alluded to Dr. Nate, that's what the culture. Rewards and acknowledges. And so this, this journey that God has us on is truly counter-cultural to say, I'm not going to get caught up in all those things, which is really, really hard when the vast majority of people around you that's, that's how they, they look at things. But it is truly, as you've mentioned, if our goal is to follow Christ, he, he wasn't, you know, about. Power and glory in the sense that others had to recognize it. He, he knew who he was and he knew what he came to do, and that was his focus. That's the journey that we are on, is to get to that place where we're confident in who we are in God. We know the mission that we're on, and we are singularly focused on that and not other people's opinions, not the resume, but. What is it that we are called to do and doing it with excellence and doing our best to be obedient along the way? Because here's the thing, there's, there's also this thing called partial obedience, which, which I've been been learning a lot about, right? Is like we, we kind of, sort of did part of it. And what God wants to do is get us to that place of full surrender where we're doing the whole thing, where we're consulting him. All the way through. We're listening for his direction and we're following that. And if he tells us to stop, to refund, to not go, or whatever the case may be, that we do that. And when he tells us to go, even when it's somewhere, we didn't anticipate going that we go. Yeah. And it's very counter-cultural to do this, but as you've said. It's so freeing once we really grab hold of that, and I think as I'm sitting here with you, Dr. Nam, I'm realizing that it really is really a great tool of the enemy to get us focused on those things because then we are lured away from God's best for us. We're stressed out. We're we're driving ourselves and others crazy, and we're not truly experiencing that abundant life that God has for us, and we're really doing it to ourselves. 

[00:22:42] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah. Yeah. It's so, it's so clear when you start to unwind it and unpack it, this. This model of steel killing and destroying that we see in John 10. 10, right? John? 10, nine and 10. 10, 10. So this model is to divide, to get between. That's one of the, what? That's one of the phrases we, we, we associate with the, with the accuser is the divider and what to get between what? Between you and the unity of God's Perfect plan. For your abundant life because what did Jesus say? I have come that you should have life. Right. And have it abundantly or have it to the full. That's why one of our, our very first, in the, in our G3 is grow purposefully. Yeah. Right. That so reclaiming that. No longer giving dominion to anything that will cause us to, to stumble, to steal, kill, or destroy. The love and the joy and the purpose that God has set before us in the very starting place is to consecrate. I believe it's, you know, Jesus said, I have not come to condemn you. He, he wants to consecrate us. For what? For God's best. And how do we do that? It starts with dedication. I really believe it starts with dedication.

[00:24:00]
 We have to dedicate our entire existence to God, and that means. First starts with our relationship with God, our relationship with our families, our relationship with our community, our relationship with our vocation, our business consecrated God, it's yours. State it. Speak it out loud. Speak it. Speak it. Then start to live it. Okay? What does that look like? That looks like this. Hey God, what decision are we gonna make? You say, well, well, God isn't speaking to me audibly. God's will is in God's Word. Yes. So. What did Jesus say? If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciple. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. You wanna walk in freedom, start there. And when we start there, it becomes liberating. And I think, I think that it's so incredibly beautiful when someone says, you know, before I make this decision, I gotta talk with God. Now the world might say what? You're crazy. 

[00:25:02]
 Yeah. That's what the scripture says, be in the world, but not of it. Right. So that's totally, yeah, it's totally fine. And even then, I don't want people to make decisions on the fly. Now, I was talking with a, a, a, a gentleman who I've got a, I'm trying to get rid of all my, my real estate. I had a lot of, you know, back in the day, I, I did real estate. I hated, I hated being landlord. Damn. I hate it. I got one piece left. Mm-hmm. Gentleman's like, Hey, do you need a contract today? I said, no, I need a contract today. Think about it over the weekend. If it's God's will, it's God's will. If it's for you, it's for you. Right. That's an abundance mindset, not a scarcity mindset. There's, we gotta move out of that to where we feel like, oh, I gotta have it now. You know what? God's got me. 

[00:25:47] Dr. Nate Salah
Yes. Okay. It You don't take it. Okay. I filed bankruptcy. I'm just, I'm not saying I will, I'm just saying. Okay. Okay. Look, look. What does the scripture say? The scripture is very clear. One point. One point. That's all that really matters. My grace is sufficient. My power is made. Perfect and weakness. What does that mean? It means that you've surrendered all this control. Hmm. 

[00:26:15] Tamara Jackson
That you don't have any way. It's an illusion. It's an illusion of control. But we, we love it so much, but yes, we've gotta surrender it. 

[00:26:24] Dr. Nate Salah
Gotta surrender it. 

[00:26:27] Tamara Jackson
Know, one of the things that stood out to me as, as you were sharing that Dr. Nate is just realizing that he's the source. And I, I think that's also another place where we can easily get off course is thinking that, that we are making these things happen. And while, you know, we are certainly blessed with, you know, the gift skills and talents that he's given us at the end of the day. God gave us those things and continues to give us those things, it's because of him that we wake up and we are still in our right minds and able to function. And there are also those times I've had them and, and maybe you have too, Dr. Nate, where despite all those gifts, skills, and talents, when God makes it clear that this is not happening and this is not the direction that needs that you need to go in, you will shut it down. Come on. And you can try as hard as you might, but it's still not going anywhere. And it is in those moments that I'm reminded, you have zero control. You think you have control. And, and kind of to the point earlier, the enemy wants us to think that we have all this control, but we really don't. And, and the more that we come to grips with that and accept it.

[00:27:47]
 There's also a, a level of, of freedom and liberation in that. And like, I'm trying to control things that I really can't control. So all of it is wasted energy, and, and stress and anxiety that comes with that. And it's not our place. It's, it's not the role that, that we're supposed to have. That's, those are, those are the things that are on God, the things that are on us. Making sure that we're, as you've said, we're spending time in our words so that we know what the word says and we know what we are to do. We know what the word outlines for us. We need to be spending time in prayer. We need to surround ourselves with wise counsel, we need to be in community. All of those, those are the things that we control, and instead of us focusing on the things that are truly within our wheelhouse, it's so tempting to try to take on things that are really God's to do.

[00:28:42] Dr. Nate Salah
Amen. And as you, as you share that, it reminds me of the, the critical importance in this journey as, as we're unfolding it, and the identity piece that this adversarial relationship also tries to blind us to and cloud us to, which is, which is really our identity in our origin. You know, you think about it when you go to a foreign country. You ever been to a foreign country? What's one of the most important pieces of documentation that you can take to a foreign country? You gotta have that passport. You use that passport, right? For those of us in the US, it's that. It's that US passport. Because if things go down, yeah, you gotta have that. You gotta have that, right? You gotta find a consulate. You gotta find someone that will help you get home. And I think often we forget where our passport is, where we're from. Right. What does the scripture say all the way back in Genesis? You were made male and female in his image, your passport. You are a representative of the Almighty God. You are as, as Paul calls us, we are ambassadors of Christ.

[00:30:02]
 You're an ambassador on mission, on foreign land, doing his good work. And sometimes we get thrown off of that. We get here and we think, oh wow, it's cool here. You know, I, you almost forget where you from we're not from here. And that's not where, and this isn't home, not long term. You know, this is temporary assignment. Yes. Recognizing that, that, that we are called to be ministers of reconciliation. We are called here to be the Jesus that most people will never see. And that identity is critical to wake up to and look in the mirror and say, I am on mission here today to do God's work and love. That's the heart of it is love because there's so much brokenness in this world. There's so much pain in this world. There's so many challenges that people face. And guess what? The moment you might say, Hey, you know I'm gonna, I'm gonna pray on this. I'm gonna consult God on this. You might get a scoff, but I'm gonna tell you that's the witness. That's your witness, that's your testimony, and someone somewhere may be like, Hmm, wow, I need to do that. 

[00:31:21] Tamara Jackson
It's, it's funny, Dr. Nate, you know, sometimes as, as you've shared, you know, people are not on board and they don't understand what we're doing, but my observation has been when people get in crisis, they will seek that person that they once scoffed at they once didn't understand because. They get to a place where they're at the end of themselves and they don't know what to do, and often those experiences that you've had with them will come back and they'll remember, wow, you know, all the things that were going on in in her life or his life and she was turning to God and she seemed to be able to get through it. Those moments are actually a part of the testimony and what draw people to the Christ in us. So that we have the opportunity to point them to him. As you've shared, you know, there are are so many people that will never set foot in a church, and even if they do, quite honestly, think about how much time they will spend in a church service versus encountering you in the marketplace in business. Or maybe you're volunteering on a project together and you are working together over several weeks. You can have so many opportunities, so many touch points that a person that's standing behind the pulpit, we need them, but they may not have all of those opportunities. No. We are truly ambassadors for Christ in whatever space that he has called us in. And sometimes we're going to recognize the impact that we're making because the person will tell us, and sometimes we won't. Sometimes it'll be months or years down the road where they'll come back to us and ask us to pray with them or to share with them, you know what got us through those tough moments?

[00:33:16] Dr. Nate Salah
You just never know. No. That's why you gotta take your passport everywhere you go. Take your passport everywhere you go, and that might just be the scripture in your back pocket. It might be the scripture in your heart. It might be the scripture, you're, you, you, you wrote on your mind that day because you're studying God's word. It just might be any of those things, but don't ever leave your hotel room, your house, your place of domicile, wherever it might be without it, because it's that valuable. There's no more valuable, there's no more valuable citizenship than being a citizen of heaven. Amen. There's no more valuable citizenship. It's gonna get us outta trouble. I'm not gonna say it's gonna give you diplomatic immunity. 'cause you might. You might. Yeah. Maybe not. It might, it might get you locked up. But I could tell you this, I could tell you this. I couldn't imagine, I couldn't imagine my journey without knowing that that was my ultimate destination. 

[00:34:24] Tamara Jackson
Couldn't imagine. I'm with you, you know. I feel bad, honestly, for people that don't have the hope that we have, because if you don't have that, what is this all for and, and what's after this? I would rather believe that, as you've shared here, that this is my temporary home. Whatever I've gone through here, whatever my loved ones have gone through here. It is, but a moment. Mm-hmm. And eventually we are going to get to that place with him where everything is made Right. and everything is new. Yeah. That gives me hope, even on those really tough days, that when you seem, when it seems like, gosh, it, it, you know, it can't get any worse. Or How long am I going to be here? It is knowing that this is a temporary home. That is my encouragement. Not everyone has that hope. And so as you've shared, that is our responsibility is to to be that living example, to spread that hope to those that don't know it. Because unfortunately, many people leave this earth not realizing the tremendous love that God has for them. And some of them. Maybe they would still be here if they did. So it's a, it's a huge opportunity and responsibility that we have. 

[00:35:52] Dr. Nate Salah
You know, it's, it reminds me of a story and I don't know that I'd ever told it on, on the show. I'm gonna share it with you years ago. I had the tremendous, tremendous blessing and honor to portray Jesus, in an, in an Easter play at our church. It was such a, it was such a beautiful experience, and God showed up in a big, big way to minister and, and to hell. And at the end of it, I remember an older lady came up to the stage, 'cause we had, you know, we finished up and we were just having conversation. She was just, saying how, how, how blessed she was by, by being there at the, at the play. And we were just praising God for it. And she said something, Tam, that stuck with me to this day. Now this is, mind you, 13, 14 years ago. She said, if I'd have known it was gonna be this good, I'd have told more people. It's something you would expect to hear. And so we're praising God. And then my heart, it turned to sadness and I was like, man, I don't know. If there's regret in heaven, but I don't want to get there and tell Jesus the same thing. I don't want to get to heaven and tell Jesus if I'd have known it was going to be this good, I would've told more people. Wow. Don't live like that, because I know it's that good. I know he's that good. Mm-hmm. I just wanna share, look, don't take my word for it. I just point you, point you to the to God, you know, here's what I tell people. Follow Jesus. Go where the road takes you and just go. Mm-hmm. Because that's all he did. Would you know when he called his disciples, what did he say? Follow me. Follow me? there all this theology? Was there all this talk? No, it was, look, follow me.

[00:37:42]
 And that's how I came. To follow. Jesus is like, I just wanted to, I wanted to know who are you and where are you going? Because that's really, these are the hallmarks of leadership. Hallmarks of leadership is number one. Where does a person you intend to follow? Where are they going? Two, do you want to go there? There's a lot of other questions, but simplify the process. Right? Those are two primary questions because they both have to be yes and. Number one, I knew where he was going. He knew where he was going. Number two, I wanted to go there. And that's, to me, come full circle. How do you get there? How do you get there? You don't get there by taking the keys and saying You can ride shotgun. God, no, that's definitely not how you get there. Nah, no. Just like you started the conversation, it sometimes it's not easy to give up those keys. 

[00:38:38]
But you gotta trust. You gotta trust it. You can ride shotgun. You can ride shotgun with God, you gonna be all right no matter where the road takes you. 'Cause here's the other part of it. It may take you to places you didn't expect to go and maybe you did not want to go, didn't wanna go. Nope. Like I don't wanna go through that neighborhood. Well, we're going there. I'm from the hood, so I can say that you're from the hood. Dr. Nate, things you don't know about me, I did not know that you're from the hood. I mean, I can call out North City in St. Louis. you know, but, yeah, there wasn't a, there wasn't a shooting every, you know, every few hours. You learn, you learn, you know, you learn things there, right? You learn things when you, when you're in areas that are, unsafe, if you will, and you back to the control. You know, you, you learn like I don't have control over all these situations. the only thing I can control is like that, that I walk in peace and confidence. And that's, that's a gift. 

[00:39:41]
That's a gift from God. And, and, and as you do it, the thing about it is, I think. Is that he's gonna take us. Okay? He may take us places that we didn't expect to go. He may take us places that we did not want to go. He's gonna take us places that do one of the most important services, if you will, to the human condition no matter what it is because God is in the character-building business. Yes. And though our circumstances may be difficult, though they may be challenging, he doesn't. Number one, we don't walk it alone. Number two, God is in the character-building business and he will take us through our circumstances to build us into the character of Christ. So as we like to say, buckle up, buttercup. 

[00:40:30] Tamara Jackson
Definitely fasten it up. 

[00:40:33] Dr. Nate Salah
And that's a lot about what you've been talking about. Is, is the journey is, you know, it's, it's a strengthening of, of, of the character of Christ in and through us, embracing it through the journey.

[00:40:45] Tamara Jackson
Yeah. You know, as you shared that, it, it reminded me of this, this prayer that my mom used to pray and I used to always, whenever she said it, I was like, why don't you pray for something else? But she always prayed for my character. She said that. She wanted God to develop my character so that I could handle whatever he had for me. I was like, mom, you're not gonna pray for my, you know, you're not gonna pray for my career in corporate. You're not gonna pray for my business. She's like, no, I'm gonna pray for your character. And that's because that's what God is most concerned about. He's not concerned about our comfort. It's not about our career and our achievements and our resume, but it's about the character becoming more like him.

[00:41:27] Dr. Nate Salah
That's right. That's this journey when in our, in our community, our, our G three community, our first mandate, our first non-negotiable that we tell our, people who are enrolling to, to join us in this journey is you have to commit to be holy. Now, most people you say, they're like, do I have to go to seminary? Do I have to, you know, get a religious degree or something like that? What do I have to do? Do I, no, it's, it's real simple. You know, the word, the word the be holy in, in, in one, peter. The Greek for that hagios or hagios, it means to be set apart, to walk in Godly character, godly virtue. That's a starting place to your journey because we are to be set apart. We are to, you know, God raises that standard, that bar, because Jesus is worthy. He's worthy. He's so worthy of us to embrace that. He doesn't just say go do it. He says, first I'm gonna model it for you in my flesh, in my humanity, and I'm going to teach you. 'cause he's a great teacher and he's not gonna have us even do it without the company and the fellowship like we're doing right now.

[00:42:45]
 So encourage, you know, if you're listening, don't go it alone. Don't go it alone. We need each other. Do it together. And walk in that character you, that beautiful prayer that you're talking about. That's the game changer. That's the game changer. And no matter what it costs, by the way it will cost you, it will, it will cost. There's a, there, there's a cost to character at the same time there's a reward. Right. It's a sacrifice benefit analysis. Right. It's, it's a risk-return analysis, and the only thing you're risking is what the world thinks about you. Hmm. I'm good with that. I'm not always good with that. 

[00:43:29] Tamara Jackson
It's still a journey. Right. God is working on us with that.

[00:43:34] Dr. Nate Salah
But I gotta be good with it. You know what I'm saying? Right? 

[00:43:36] Tamara Jackson
Yeah. Yeah. That's part of the journey too. Mm-hmm. Being able to release other people's opinions. 

[00:43:42] Dr. Nate Salah
Yes. There's only one that matters. Amen. Yeah. There's only one that matters. Yeah. My sister, my goodness. Wow. It's been a good time. We gotta do this again. We didn't even get to talk about, man.

[00:43:56] Tamara Jackson
I know there's so many things that we could have talked about. I guess we're gonna hit it next time. 

[00:43:59] Dr. Nate Salah
We're gonna hit it next time because you've been working on some cool things and, we'll, we'll do it again because this is just a little warmup, little intro. There you go. Get a little flavor, little tam flavor. Well, it's been awesome to be with you. It's such a blessing to be with you, and I know, through our conversation, that someone has been encouraged. Has been blessed, has been challenged, including us right? As, as, as we unpack this, this journey of remembering who we are and, and who's, who should have the keys. Yeah. Amen. Hey, and guess what? You know, God driving a Ferrari. I'll write shotgun that Bad Boy, or hey, if it's an old, I'm looking good. If it, if it's an old 82 Buick Regal, which is my first car, I'll write shotgun that too, right at two. Thank you for being here, Tam. God bless you. 

[00:44:54] Tamara Jackson
Thank you, Nate. Looking forward to talking to you again soon. 

[00:43:57] Dr. Nate Salah
Well, my friend, thank you for joining me on this episode of A Call to Leadership. If you've been listening, you've probably heard me talk about our accounting and advisory business, and this show is actually born out of that business, those relationships. I found that entrepreneurs and professionals were missing aspects of their leadership that fed into their bottom line and helped their businesses be successful. So, I'm so thankful that I've had all those years in that area to feed into this. And the truth is that so many people still need accounting and advisory help, and they don't know where to go. If you're in that place where you feel, “Oh my goodness, my tax person or my accountant, I can't find them, or maybe the service wasn't up to my expectations.” Do not despair. I'll leave how you can find us in the show notes, and one of my team members can do some discovery and help you along your journey. You're not alone, my friend. You always have help. I'm Dr. Nate Salah. Can't wait to see you on the next show of A Call to Leadership.

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