EP 112: From Quiet Faith to Bold Kingdom Leadership

What happens when faith stops being something you practice only on Sunday and becomes part of how you lead, work, and serve every day? In this episode, Tom Carter speaks with **Michelle Schaffer,** founder of Kingdom Alliance, author, speaker, podcaster, and entrepreneur, about bringing Christ boldly into the marketplace and using business as an opportunity for discipleship. Michelle shares her journey from keeping her faith relatively quiet in her early career to building a faith-centered community focused on personal development, professional growth, leadership, and discipleship. She explains why she believes business can reach people who may never walk into a church or attend a Bible study—and why the way believers lead can give others an opportunity to encounter Christ. Michelle also opens up about the structure behind her academies, including studying Scripture, weekly activations, accountability, engagement, biblical affirmations, and putting what participants learn into action. She shares the remarkable transformation of one reluctant participant whose life changed through the discipleship experience. The conversation also explores Kingdom identity, leadership modeled after Jesus, pursuing wisdom and excellence, overcoming complacency, and using your voice in a way that encourages others to use theirs. For Michelle, the goal isn't simply to create people who receive information. It's to develop people who activate what they learn—and ultimately become **disciples who raise up disciples.** - 00:00 Introduction - 00:36 Meet Michelle Schaefer - 02:27 Michelle's Story - 11:58 Discipleship Success - 19:48 Michelle's Books - 22:51 Practical Tips - 26:52 Global Impact - 30:16 Conclusion **Five Key Takeaways** **1. Business can become an opportunity for discipleship.** Michelle believes people who may never enter a church or Bible study may still interact with believers through business—and can encounter Christ through those relationships. **2. Faith is meant to move from information to action.** Her discipleship approach combines studying Scripture with activations, accountability, engagement, workbooks, and biblical affirmations. **3. Leadership should point back to Jesus.** Michelle says everything in her programs models the leadership of Jesus and continually turns participants back to the Word of God. **4. Kingdom identity can influence every area of life.** She describes seeing participants change careers, start businesses and ministries, improve relationships, increase income, and reconsider where God was calling them to focus. **5. Believers should resist complacency.** Michelle encourages Christian business leaders to keep learning, pursue wisdom and excellence, actively pursue Christ, find a community that pushes them forward, and live their faith beyond simply showing up at church. Watch full episode on YT - https://youtu.be/1YUF-UwIZEw Join the free Third Fish Academy at [ThirdFish.org](ThirdFish.org)