Todd Sievers

Todd retired from teaching, but still wanted to work with young people, so he went to work at Chick-fil-A in the Southpointe Pavilions.  After a serious health scare, Todd was able to continue his opportunities to minister to others.

Todd prays for the employees and customers.  He is a living example of someone that demonstrates empathy among us. He prays to keep his eyes and ears open to show people God's love for them.

Todd encourges us all to pray, pay attention, and really listen to others.

 If you want to be encouraged and equipped to live your life of faith more effectively in the workplace, the Skillful at Work Podcast is for you. 

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:03

Welcome to the Skillful Work Podcast, where we explore Living Out of Faith in the workplace. I am your host, Dr. Kirkback, a professor of management and leadership code. Join me in my next conversation to talk with Christians. Skillfully living out their faith at work. For example, resources, and practical tips. Today we are talking with Todd Stevers. He is employed at Chick-fil-A South Point Pavilions. Todd, could you please share a brief overview of your background and experiences?

SPEAKER_01 0:39

Well, I was an elementary teacher. I did three years in Kearney teaching fourth grade. And then my wife and I moved to Lincoln in 1990, and I was one of the first few elementary computer teachers here in Lincoln, and that was for, well, at the time, K6. And then they moved sixth grade to middle school. And then so it became K-5, but I did that then for 30 years. I spent my first 20 years at a school called West Lincoln Elementary. And then I finished up at a school called Coozer Elementary. I happened to retire the 2020 school year. We drove to Utah to see our oldest son and daughter-in-law. And the world kind of went crazy. So gotta love COVID, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:33

You gotta love COVID.

SPEAKER_01 1:34

Yep. Got a little crazy with COVID. I sat out a year and then missed kids. Went back to school to work in a kitchen. Ended up getting COVID. Three weeks in the hospital. Oh no. My wife tells me after the first two days, they called her and said they're gonna try one more treatment and then it'll be a ventilator, which it did not get to there, but spent three weeks in the hospital. Came home, um, I named him Oliver. I had an oxygen tank I carried around with me for six months, and then I was on nighttime oxygen for a year. I happened to be in Chick-fil-A one day for lunch, uh, shortly after I got rid of Oliver, and the owner um asked me to come and work for him. I politely declined and said, thanks, but I want to work with kids. And he said, turn around and pointed at his staff and said, just give it a try. And I started my fourth year back in April. So I just have a great time with uh employees. The I could not ask for better owners. The people that come in are wonderful that I get to talk to and things like that. So I don't see myself doing anything else at this point.

SPEAKER_00 3:00

That's awesome. And you also got to experience some of uh Charlie's being persuasive and influential.

SPEAKER_01 3:06

Well, yeah, he's uh I've told him the only the only thing I can fault him for is my wife and I tried to get a Chick-fil-A in 2010 and we were denied. And then Charlie and Don opened it in 2015, but could not ask for better people. Um they yeah, they're just a blessing in my wife and my life.

SPEAKER_00 3:30

Yeah, and and Charlie's another one of those examples of a person that lives out their faith at work. So uh one of the goals of the Skillful at Work podcast is to encourage and equip Christians to live skillfully in the workplace, sharing their experiences and practical tips. Uh, Todd, as a Christian in the marketplace, tell us about some of the experiences you've had living out your faith at work.

SPEAKER_01 3:54

Well, as an educator, it was a different uh say way to do it. Trying to make myself honest and open with staff and students and things like to me, Christmas break will always be Christmas break, not a holiday break. So even when I was teaching, I'd tell the kids to have a good Christmas. When they come back, ask them how their Christmas break was. Um, but this uh Chick-fil-A has just offered me opportunities that started getting me out of my comfort zone, I guess I will say. Um people they're so engaged in their phones, they don't seem to know how to have conversations with each other. And so as I'm seeing people and I'm open to them, honest to them. I've had the opportunity to pray for so many of them. Some have told me about divorce and abuse and um cancer and just deaths in the family and things, and God just has opened this and just said, you need to pray for these people, you need to just show them my love and be the person you can be, and just give them let them know that people care about them. Um, there were some times it seems crazy, but I've had the opportunity even when I'm working the drive-thru window, that uh if if you're talking to people and every morning I pray and ask God, you know, keep my eyes open for who you want me to share you with. And there's been times that drive-thru window that people have just looked upset or something and talked to them, and they've shared with me right at the drive-thru window in a very limited time. But I try to take time for them, and I always apologize to Charlie because I know it's they have to get people through the drive-thru, but he's such a great understanding leader. Um, but I've had people break down in tears and have just stuck half my body out through the drive-thru window to pray with them right there in the drive-thru window and move on. And I'm just hoping God's using that just to show them there are people that care and are paying attention to how they feel or who they are, and that you're really listening. And I think that's what we've lost is you walk by somebody, how's it going? They say fine, and you move on. But if you're listening and watching body language and things, you've got to be open to God being willing to say, this person needs you to go check on them, need you to go see how they're doing. My wife has gotten used to it because it happens in public places at times, whether it's Target or Dollar Tree, or we're just out to dinner. Once you start making yourself available to God, I really think that God then starts using you a lot more than just going through your life worrying about yourself.

SPEAKER_00 7:17

Sure. Todd, tell us, you had some interesting, fascinating conversations. How do those start? I know you said that you're open and you're you're you're prayerful, you're watching body language, but how does it how does the conversation start?

SPEAKER_01 7:31

It's I I honestly don't know. I wish I could just say my um I meet with a group of men on Wednesday nights, and we just happen to go to uh dinner on Wednesday night, and I was just talking to the person cooking. You know, how's it going? It's like, oh good. And you know, ready to take my order. And it's like, well, I'm waiting for a group of men that I meet with on Wednesday nights uh from the Berean Church. And oh, really, I know some people there, and and just started the conversation like that as we're sitting down eating. Um the kid had had said to me, you know, I called my dad, he owns this place, we're gonna give you guys a discount for coming in, which just totally was unnecessary, but so appreciated. And uh then he came over while we're all eating and sat down and started telling me a little bit of his story. I looked at the guys that I'm with and said, I don't know why. This is just how it happens. I just I'm just honest with people, and I I I don't know. I I wish I could tell you, but it ever since I think when I came home from the hospital, you know, I did not know the things my wife tells me. It just made me as I'm laying in the hospital bed, you're in isolation, all alone. People won't talk to you, they don't come in. It puts a different perspective on your life and reaching out to God and in the middle of the night. Um, I did have my phone, so I just say, you know, to it like, play Kaleb or play, you know, um, I'm having a hard time thinking, Life 100 or something, and it would start playing the music and just give me peace about things. And I wish I knew. I just I just like I said, I try to watch for people. If if somebody's seeming upset, I'll I'll just pick an incident. My wife and I were at the Dollar Tree, and she was picking out something, but it was the wrong color. And I'm like, honey, this is gonna go in a cabinet. If somebody breaks into our house, goes into our cabinets, nobody's gonna go, oh my gosh, I can't believe they put a brown tote with a yellow tote or whatever. And I just heard this person say, Thanks, I needed that. I I didn't think much about it, and we start walking away. And I said to my wife, I'll be right back. Because I just felt God saying, Go go talk to this person. They, if they needed my immature humor, something else is going on, and went back there and just asked her how she's doing, what's going on. She started to share part of her story with me, which I don't feel comfortable sharing, but just sharing that with me. And of course, my wife, no idea where I am, comes wandering back, and uh, you know, we're standing in the middle of Dollar Tree praying about her situation and things like that. But it was just being being aware. I wasn't on my phone, I wasn't. I just like I said, I wish I could say what it is, and the same in the in the restaurant. How are you doing? And some people will just take a big sigh, or they'll say, I'm okay. And I'll just ask, is there something that we can do that you need prayer for, or that I can help you, or anything like that? And a lot of times that starts the well, my mom now has dementia, or you know, my spouse has cancer, or I'm you know, we're going through this, or I'm in a divorce, or and I always offer to pray for somebody in that situation. I've some people have said no, thank you, which they know somebody's there that would be willing to do that for them. But I always, if they say that would be great, then I take the time, and again, they've allowed me that opportunity at Chick-fil-A to do that. Take the time, pray with those people just to let them know God cares about them, God put them in this situation with me for a reason, and there's just this plan that I don't understand, but I try to be the person that I think God's calling me to be. Oh, that's what I say about it.

SPEAKER_00 12:31

Well, it's awesome that you're you're open to it and you and you have those skills that can you know start that conversation. That we, you know, we talk I talk with um college students all the time about being able to see those nonverbals and being able to then as you start conversations, being able to listen. And like you mentioned it earlier, uh a lot of this, uh a lot of our current culture isn't really listening very much. They seem to be wanting to uh talk, but not really necessarily listen. So let me ask you this as a follow-up. Um, working with young professionals as I do, and so if a young professional person came up to you and said, Todd, uh, how have you been able to live out your faith at work? What would you tell them?

SPEAKER_01 13:17

I would tell them it's because number one, in the morning, I pray about what God wants me to do, you know, to keep my eyes and ears open for where he's leading me and be that person so many times I think everybody feels that at some point of oh man, they they this, they need somebody to talk to, but we're so busy or caught up in ourselves, or I don't have the time for this, that you just ignore it. And so I I would say number one, pray about it, keep your eyes open, ask ask God to keep your eyes and ears open, and you do have time to show somebody that you care about them, that you're you can pray for them. You know, even if it's just a a 30-second prayer, 20-second prayer, don't be intimidated. I still feel that uh way at times. I've told my men in my group, because like I listen to the pastors of the church and and missionaries, and and they're just so eloquent with their words, and even though I was a teacher, I don't feel that I'm real eloquent when I'm praying. Um, but I've just been encouraged by, like I said, my my men's group, by my brother's been a big encouragement to me of just saying, You're these guys, it's God's leading you. The Holy Spirit's telling you what to say, so you're not messing up a prayer. God's heart is just you're reaching out, feeling for this person, you're letting them know they're cared about that. Just trust God to put the words in that they need to hear. It's not about you, which it's not. It's so I would just tell people keep your eyes and ears open, take the two minutes. If you're feeling that nudge at all, maybe this person, then do it. The worst thing they can say is no, thank you, or no, I'm really not comfortable with that, then that's what it is. But if they're if you're paying attention and somebody just doesn't seem or that seem like they need more attention or something, take two minutes from your time because I would bet on your phone you've scrolled through a thousand things on Instagram or TikTok or whatever the things are. Take the two minutes away from that and listen to the person and don't look to respond, actually listen. I think a lot of us listen to a point of we have what we want to say in our brain and we're waiting for them to pause or something, so that we can say, well, but or I've been in this situation. Well, you haven't been in that situation. Um, you know, I I haven't lost a spouse. I know several people that have lost a spouse. All I can say is, I'll pray for you. I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're going through, but if you need to talk to somebody, I will listen. I won't solve your problem, but I will listen.

SPEAKER_00 17:01

Sure. Now, what would you say? You mentioned you kind of overcoming fear. So how do you how do you encourage that person who would say, Boy, I I just feel, you know, I'm afraid to have that conversation. What what would how would you encourage them? How you overcome that fear in your life?

SPEAKER_01 17:19

It it's that first step. You just have to, like I said, start with prayer. Um God gives you the strength, but it's uncomfortable. And I I will be honest, the first few times it's like, really, God, you really want me to? You know, once you do it, it you realize that God has put you, God has put that on you for a reason. Um you just need to listen and trust God and obey God and do what he's calling you to do. He wouldn't have put you there if he didn't want you there. But you God can present the opportunity, but you have to respond to what he's calling you to do, and it is scary.

SPEAKER_00 18:12

Sure, absolutely. But it's you you've overcome that that fear, and that's just so encouraging for others to hear that. So, what about when you get the questions about maybe you you're not, you know, maybe you feel like you're not maybe a Bible scholar, and maybe Todd, maybe you are, but maybe as I work with young people, they're like, Well, you know, I don't know the Bible, and what if they ask me a question? How how would you face that issue of maybe somebody says, Well, Todd, what about you know, the Bible says this?

SPEAKER_01 18:40

And I am not a Bible scholar at all. Um, to be quite honest, I've read the Bible through in my 61 years of life, I've read it through twice, and that's it. I try to have a daily time of reading uh something in the Old Testament, in the New Testament, it doesn't always work out. And sometimes you just have that's a good question. And if you have a Bible with you, you know, let's look at what a resource would be. But I try to talk to people that my friends, some of them know the Bible a whole lot better than me, and you know, just have conversations with them. I don't try to cherry pick things out or anything like that, but I'm honest with people. I don't, I'll just see I don't know. This is what I've read that I remember. This is what we've talked about in church, this is what we've so I'm definitely not a scholar. I just am going off my knowledge, and it's nice to have a, you know, guys that you can bounce things off of and talk about things with, but that's one of the intimidating things I would say. Well, how do I know that this is true? Well, when you sit down in the chair, how do you know it's gonna hold you up? You just have faith that it's gonna happen. You know, you've got to have faith that this is what God said, and so I would encourage somebody to say the first thing you need to do is start start reading your Bible. Um if you start, I do believe it is, uh, if you start December 1 in the book of Luke and read a verse a day or a chapter a day, by Christmas Eve, you're at the Christmas story. I do believe it is, and so that's always a good spot to start, is the in my opinion, the New Testament, and see you know, it talks about Jesus, which is he's the foundation. Either you have Jesus or you don't, and you need to, or the option. So if somebody's struggling, a lot of it is, and I and I hate to blame social media, but I really think that's a lot of problems because you you don't know what to believe on this. Oh, this person said this, and this person said this. But have you read it yourself so you can judge what each person has said? And so usually the answer on that is no. Well, here's what I'm telling you. This is my interpretation. I've had some, I'll say it as discussions because we don't fight about it, but me and a friend have disagrees on several several things in the Bible, and he sees it one way, I see it another way. But the important thing is we both have Jesus as our savior and try to share the gospel as we can. No, I don't think God called us to be perfect, and no, and that's the intimidating thing for me. These, like I said, power. Missionaries, they just grab these verses and well, in Acts it says this, or it's like, I would love to be there.

SPEAKER_00 22:13

Well, I know it's so it's so encouraging though that you're willing to step out there and have those conversations when you could say, Well, you know, I'm not a Bible scholar, I'm not an expert, and so I'm not gonna get involved. So I'm it's very encouraging to hear that you're you're doing that. Have you ever had or experienced um someone who's come back into the store or bumped into you another time and after having one of those conversations and they'll say, Hey Todd, thanks for this, or hey Todd, had a follow-up question about that, or anything like that. It's ever happened?

SPEAKER_01 22:45

I I seem to run into people all the time in public, and it kind of drives my wife. She's used to it now. She's like, Let me guess, Chick-fil-A. And it's like, yes, I I have had some like regular people come in and tell me, hey, you know, my cancer's in remission now. Well, you know, that's great. Thank you for the update, you know, or you know, my spouse has passed away. And I don't know. I think it just gives them peace. I would love to know everybody's story that I had a chance to pray with, and that's that's my thing. God just let me know how this turned out. I want to know how they're doing. You know, this make a difference in their life, and God pretty much tells us, you're building my kingdom, you know, you just have to have it on faith. It'll either you just never know who you're going to encourage and and things. So I'm I have faith, hope that when I die, God will say to me, Well done, my good and faithful servant, you know, and these people came to know you through a 30-second prayer at Chick-fil-A or in the Dollar Tree or at the restaurant or whatever. And so it's just a faith move that again, when I feel that it's just hard to describe. You just feel if you feel something, it's coming from somewhere, it just doesn't happen. And I go, Okay, God, what do you want? And some of the I always call them kids, people I taught with, you know, I was the kid when I started, then I became the the old guy. Sometimes I'll just be like, You need I'll just feel you need to text so-and-so, this old teacher that's moved away. I mean, they're still a kid, but just check on them. And so it'd be real easy just to ignore that, go out to my workshop or you know, watch some TV or or something, but I get out my phone and send them a text, and hey, I just want to check on you, make sure you're doing okay. Just want you to know I'm thinking about you.

SPEAKER_00 25:20

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 25:20

Sometimes you you just have to be willing to do that.

SPEAKER_00 25:24

Yeah, it sounds sounds like if we were talking about practical tips for others would be uh uh obviously at least spending time spending time in the Bible reading, uh praying to be led and open to the Spirit's leading, and then just being willing to overcome that fear to start that conversation. And it comes across in a way that's uh compassionate to caring and showing God's God's love for others. That'd be a fair summation.

SPEAKER_01 25:54

That would be perfect. You know, it's just you you don't want to come off, at least in my opinion, as I know everything. This is what you need to do. I'm going to pray for you. Um if there's a situation, I always, you know, I always ask them, would you like some prayer? Would you like me to pray for you about this situation? And like I said, right at first it it's intimidating because you don't you don't know, but if if you're feeling that God's putting that on you to be that leader at that time, and you need to get out of your comfort zone, which is so hard for so many people. But once you start doing it and start recognizing it, it becomes easier. Um, just pretty much like anything you do. If you continually practice it, it will become easier to do and more comfortable, and you'll feel God calling you to say, go, go do this, go do that.

SPEAKER_00 27:05

So it sounds like that you have a well-developed um ability or skill to listen. And so that, like you said, that that comes from practice and a and a willingness to, as you mentioned earlier, not to be waiting for them to take a breath so you can say something, but just to keep continually asking questions and digging. And it's really it's really a powerful conversation when you are able to kind of seek what they're you know going through instead of trying to one-up them on, well, hey, well, listen to me. Yeah, I got a really problem. And and that never really goes well. So it sounds like you're you've mastered that skill to listen.

SPEAKER_01 27:44

Well, I just don't think my I don't know. I I don't know why I I still struggle. God, why'd you put me in this position? Is it to do this? Yeah, I I struggle with that. Uh I'll have kids that all of a sudden are just talking to me, little kids, and so I don't know if it's the grandpa figure.

SPEAKER_00 28:12

Yeah, I don't know what it is, but well, there's a lot of people who uh who don't listen, and I I think when people are in tune to someone who is kind of giving off that sense of uh you know being a listener, a lot of people start to open up.

SPEAKER_01 28:31

Well, that's what I'm hoping for, is that you know, just people in especially now in this world need to know they're heard and they're cared about. It's right so much with social media and everybody so focused on staring at their phone, the next text, the next just put those down, take five minutes, listen to your fellow man, and see what they're going through of actually just listen.

SPEAKER_00 29:16

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 29:17

Don't don't take, oh I'm fine. Well, you know, is everything going well? Do you, you know, yes. What what are your plans the rest of the day? Are you gonna do this? Are you gonna do that? And sometimes just well, like I said, the other night with my men's group, when when the young man comes over and starts talking, and when he left, I looked at my guys, the guys, and just said, that's how it happens. I don't know why. I just had a short conversation at the front register with him.

SPEAKER_00 29:54

But that's just it. You were you demonstrated uh, you know, you were you were God, you were, you know, you were God's representing God's love for him at that moment. I I heard this phrase the other day that a lot of people won't read the Bible, but you are the Bible in their life, so to speak. And so that sounds like that sounds kind of like what you are, and I it's very powerful.

SPEAKER_01 30:18

Well, again, I'm hoping that this is I I I have an easier time looking back on things and going I'll just use another example. Um one of my sons, his phone went out. Well, I ran to uh a store to have them fix it. Well, they couldn't quite get it fixed. I was having to wait. I just got talking to this young man and just mentioned his tattoos on him, and he's he just started telling me this whole story about his life. And again, I I don't, I mean, just over a couple tattoos, and so started praying for him in the Verizon store, uh, invited, you know, invited him to church, gave him a church in another part of Lincoln that, you know, in again, my opinion, which is just my opinion, is a good Bible-based church, it's not a everybody's perfect feel-good kind of thing. Um, it's a here's what the Bible says and explained, and this is why we believe that. And it that's one of those things. I I go, Lord, what has happened? And I won't mention his name. What has happened to X? Has he gone to church? Has he? And that's like you know, that's part of the frustration of sharing your faith and with people. And I I want answers. I don't want to just out there.

SPEAKER_00 32:06

Um well, we have to learn a lot of those things are in God's time. I I know, I know, but Todd, let me ask you, uh, let me ask you about other than the Bible, what are some things that you're reading, or something you've read lately, or uh a podcast you've listened to, anything like that?

SPEAKER_01 32:24

Well, I'm not big into you know all these podcasts, there's just so many out there. For a long time, I was listening to it's called Talking Truth, um, with Dan Whitney, aka Cable Guy, or Larry the Cable Guy, and Brian Clark. I've been listening to that for a long time. Um, and then finished a book called God's Not Like That. If people come up with this, their appearance of how God is from there, their how their parents raised them of oh, God's gonna punish me because my dad punished me, or God's gonna do this because my parents did this. Uh, just finished that, and then a friend just gave me that I just started um Tom Osborne's, I think it's legacy of leadership is what it's called. So I just started that, and like I said, I try to get a little bit of the Bible every day and some devotionals and things. Doesn't always work out, but I do always find time to pray, which you know, I think that's one of the most important things, if not the most important thing, you can do to start your day off on the right foot. You know, I may miss a Bible reading or uh whatever, but even if it's in the car driving to work, God's listening to you. You know, some people I think are so caught up in this formal I have to go into this quiet private room and get down on my knees and cross my hands and say the right words, and God's listening to you. You you're in a hurry, you're on your way to work. God give me some peace today. You know, please help me through this, keep me open to your will. And but you've got to be willing, willing to listen.

SPEAKER_00 34:22

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 34:23

You can tell somebody this is how you fix X, and oh, I know how to do it, and they don't listen, and this is all messed up. Did you do this? Well, no, I didn't know I had to. Well, you're not listening, and God's the designer of everything. If he says try it this way, then do it this way. You know, don't don't shortcut things and make your own rules, but always find time to talk to God every morning, every evening, be thankful for what you have. It's so easy. And you know, that's one thing I struggle honestly with is you know, I know just driving around Lincoln even there's people with a lot of money. And sometimes I go, man, I wish I had a huge house like that. I wish I had. And then you drive or you see some homeless, and you go, To them, I'm rich. You know, I've had this discussion with somebody too when my wife and I were, you know, she's still teaching. When we were both teaching, we were making a decent living. To somebody that's working for minimum wage, we're rich. But we look at it and go, Well, this person is making X, or you know, this coach is making X, or this doctor's making this, and that's that's a really bad, slippery slope to get into. Just be grateful for what you have, you know, try to help others. You know, you may not think you're rich, but to somebody you're extremely rich and blessed. And I've been blessed with a wonderful, faithful wife. Um, you know, it has just as we grow together and help each other through struggles and through everything, you've got to find either some friends or spouse that's going to encourage you in what you're doing there in a positive way. You can always find friends that want to drag you, oh sure, drag you away.

SPEAKER_00 36:44

Well, Todd, I certainly appreciate your time today. This has been a fascinating conversation, and uh I appreciate, I really, really appreciate your your your humility and your uh willingness to serve God and be open to his calling and and just being able there for people on an everyday basis. So I want to say thank you. I'm grateful for you to be on being on the on the podcast and and uh look forward to uh conversations maybe when next time I'm stopping in, Chick-fil-A.

SPEAKER_01 37:15

That sounds great. It was great talking to you. I appreciate the opportunity to share things and hopefully it helps someone out there.

SPEAKER_00 37:25

It will. So thank you very much. All right. Join us next time on the Skillful at Work Podcast as we interview Christians about living wisely in the workplace and serving as a salt and light at work. If you want to be encouraged and equipped to live your life of faith more effectively in the workplace, the Skillful at Work Podcast is for you.