Truth in the Marketplace – A Calling and Responsibility – with Mason Burchette – [Ep. 271]

Linda J. Hansen:  Welcome. Thank you for tuning in to this episode of the Prosperity 101 Breakroom Economics® Podcast. My name is Linda J. Hansen, your host and the author of Prosperity 101, Job Security Through Business Prosperity, the Essential Guide to Understanding How Policy Affects Your Paycheck® and the creator of the Breakroom Economics® Online course. The book, the course, and the entire podcast library can be found on prosperity101.com. 

I seek to connect boardroom to breakroom and policy to paycheck. By empowering and encouraging employers to educate employees about the public policy issues that affect their jobs. My goal is to help people understand the foundations of prosperity, the policies of prosperity, and how to protect their prosperity by becoming informed, involved, and impactful®.

I believe this will lead to greater employee loyalty, engagement, and retention, and to an increased awareness of the blessings and responsibilities of living in a free society. Listen each week to hear from exciting guests and be sure to visit prosperity101.com.

Thank you so much for joining with us today. It is just a joy to have you with us in the audience. Before I begin, I want to say thank you to our prosperity partners, those who help us keep the podcast on the air by giving financially a little or a lot to help us make sure we keep the freedom message moving forward.

A lot of that comes from healthy business. When people do business and can create wealth and create prosperity for themselves and others, that is how we share, how we build, how we make this nation strong. And as we know, business, not government, drives the economy.

We all want to do business with or work for businesses that operate with the values of honesty, trust, respect, uprightness and excellence. My guest today, Mason Burchette, is a co-founder of a company committed to doing just that. So much so that those values are etched into their name.

As it says on their website, True Metal Supply is not in the metal roofing business. They are in the people business, and they just happen to sell metal roofing.

It's their goal to be a trustworthy partner that treats everyone with respect and dignity. They are passionate about operating with integrity, humility and an upright spirit. As a kingdom minded company, they believe they are called by God to serve with excellence in all that they do. And that's why they call it true service. Welcome, Mason. It's a pleasure. It's a pleasure to have you on the podcast. And I look forward to sharing your story with the audience. So thank you so much.

Mason Burchette: Oh, it's such a blessing to be on the podcast with you, Linda. Thank you for inviting me here to share my voice. I'm excited about it.

Linda J. Hansen: Well, you are really a great example for the younger generation of entrepreneurs coming up and the future leaders of our nation. I thank you so much for your vibrant voice, not only for the values that make your company strong, but for the values that made this nation strong. And you also said you're a kingdom minded company. So let's start with that. 

First things first, let's start with why you call your company a kingdom minded company. Now I know what you mean, but there may be listeners who do not really understand that terminology. So tell us a little bit about yourself and how you came to be leading a kingdom minded company.

Mason Burchette: Absolutely. One of my favorite questions. So I'm glad you asked it. Yeah, we're very passionate. We use that language very intentionally about being kingdom minded. And the reason we do that really goes back to one of the instructions that Christ gave us when he was on the earth, when he was teaching his disciples how to pray.

We often call it the Lord's prayer. One of the words that really sticks out with me in that prayer is, thy will be done in heaven as it is on earth, or on earth as it is in heaven.

So the kingdom of God, a lot of times to people when they think of the kingdom of God, it's a very spiritual, ethereal kind of experience. And that's true. The kingdom of God is certainly a spiritual kingdom that's taught in scripture.

But it also extends to earthly things as the Lord taught in that prayer, on earth as it is in heaven. Every day we work on our spiritual lives and try to be spiritual examples. But we also feel like we're called in the marketplace to really work on the physical kingdom of God here while we're on earth.

And the kingdom minded portion of our business translates into the way that we interact with people. Those people can be the people that work for us, our team members. We want them to see the values that we feel like God has entrusted us with to shine through in the way we treat our customers.

We want our customers to see the love of Christ in the way we interact with them. We're a manufacturing company. We want that to come through in the excellence portion of our values. So we really treat every single piece of metal, every single piece of steel that we manufacture with excellence because we believe it's going out into the physical kingdom of God. And so that's some of the ways we really think about ourselves being a kingdom minded company in everything that we do.

Linda J. Hansen: Well, that's beautiful. And tell us a little bit about your own personal testimony, how you came to know Christ and how that impacts. I mean, we hear it in the fact that you want a kingdom minded company, but what led you to where you are now?

Mason Burchette: You know, I am the product of a solid Christian upbringing, which I'm extremely grateful and thankful for. My parents were very intentional. I was homeschooled my entire life. My mom made the sacrificial decision to stay home with me and my brother and not subject us to government education. And, she was very intentional about the way that she taught us. I was raised on Christian values and hard work ethic and doing everything that you do to the glory of God.

I've carried that with me. I've not always lived it out perfectly, of course, but I've carried that with me into my adult years. Now as a parent myself, I have two young children.

It's very important to me that those values that I was instilled with as a child get translated into the work that I do so they can see that example as they get older. And so I remember coming to faith as a seven year old boy. That's one of my earliest memories is understanding the gospel and really putting my trust in it.

My dad was a pastor, bivocational. He worked hard in the public sector and was also a pastor. And so I was really raised in that environment, came to faith at a young age, was able to spend the rest of my young years and young adult years growing in that faith.

Linda J. Hansen: That's a beautiful testimony. And your business experience, how did you end up being a co-founder of this company?

Mason Burchette: That really is one of the age old American entrepreneurial stories, the spirit of building something from the ground up. So I actually started working in the construction industry when I was 16 years old full time and I wound up getting a job at a large regional steel manufacturing company just in the warehouse doing very entry level warehouse things. I saw the opportunity that the steel industry had and I fell in love with the steel industry.

You'll see that a lot about me. I'm a big American steel guy, I believe in the American economy. I kind of grew through the ranks of that company and I wound up working my way up and to a director level position.

I helped open manufacturing facilities across the southeast of my career with that company. And as that company grew and as I grew with it and kind of established more of my values, it became obvious to me that we were not a values match. We had differences in business philosophy and the way that people should be treated.

And as the land of opportunity permits, I felt like that I could build something special from the ground up. And so me and my business partner, Adam Clark, went out on our own and we started True Metal Supply. And so now three years later here, we've built a, by God's grace, a really special place with a company that's expanding rapidly.

Linda J. Hansen: Well, it's incredible to see the growth in just three years. And to the audience members, I want you to go to the website, TrueMetalSupply.com, because if nothing else, that video, you have an amazing video that makes you want to just stand up and wave the flag, of course. It is great.

And you really make clear that you appreciate being able to do business in America. You believe that a strong business environment makes for a stronger country, which is exactly what I say. Like I said at the beginning, business drives the economy, government doesn't drive the economy.

We need strong businesses. I believe that we need these strong businesses. We need people to understand what true prosperity is. That's why I named my company Prosperity 101®, that true prosperity is not money. It's human flourishing and freedom. When we allow for that human flourishing and freedom, we can keep the soil fertile for the gospel.

It is the parable of the sower in scripture where the seed of the gospel can fall on rocky soil where it can't be received well, or it can fall on fertile soil where it can be received well and grow. And so for us to be able to keep that freedom and flourishing here in America through healthy businesses, through being engaged and helping other people understand what I always say are the blessings and responsibilities of living in a free society, it really helps us be able to share the gospel, share our faith. And even if people aren't open to that, we still treat people with that same Christ-like atmosphere and attitude.

And we want to honor God with our businesses regardless of who the people are that work for us or with us and who our customers are. I just think that that's just a really great testimony that you have. And I believe that's why God has been blessing your business. It's incredible.

Mason Burchette: Yeah, I would agree with that. I certainly give all glory to God for any success that we've experienced at this point. And you're absolutely right.

Small business in particular is the backbone of the American economy. And a lot of people like to look over that and look at large corporations and their pull, and that can be intimidating. But the truth is when small businesses band together, it has a much larger voice.

And that's why we are so motivated to not shy away from our beliefs, but to actually use this platform that God's given us in the marketplace to have an impact. I think that when businesses are emboldened to speak out about values and about faith and about current events, they have a right to do that. And I would even go as far to say they have a responsibility to do that.

Linda J. Hansen: I believe so, yes.

Mason Burchette: And when they do that, that is when we see change take place.

Linda J. Hansen: Absolutely. And you've been very bold, especially lately. I mean, I think you've been bold before, but it hit more national level boldness lately because you were really affected when Charlie Kirk was assassinated.

And although I understand you never met him, but you were affected so much that you sponsored billboards around North Carolina. And that's how I found out about you because someone I follow on X. So thanks, Matt Von Swol.

Thanks to a really great guy, Matt Von Swol, who's got just a really incredible x presence and his whole journey from being a very, very leftist, liberal, non-Christian person to waking up politically and then coming to the Lord and things. It's just been really an exciting journey to watch his transformation. But also as he began to see during Hurricane Helene, how the previous administration wasn't there, the left organizations weren't there, but who was there?

The Christians, the conservatives, they were there. And he was really affected as well when Charlie Kirk was killed. And he put up pictures of your billboards that gave honor to Charlie Kirk in remembrance. And then he said, who is this? And then the next thing, it was your name, so I reached out to you right away. I'm really thankful. So thanks, Matt Von Swol, for connecting us.

But tell us a little bit about what caused you to be so bold as to sponsor all these billboards in remembrance of Charlie Kirk. And then also, I know that you have faced incredible opposition, threats, everything since you did that. So tell us a little bit about that journey.

Mason Burchette: Yeah. So I think I wasn't alone in this sense of grief after the news broke out that Charlie had been assassinated. It was a heaviness that I've never felt from a public figure like that. Again, I never met Charlie. I was not personal friends with him. I wish that I'd had that opportunity. But it felt like a loved one had passed away. It really did grieve me. And so I started trying to process that.

Obviously, this is a sad situation. This thing kind of should not happen. But why did it affect me to this level? Charlie was 31 when he got shot. I'm 30 years old. I have a young family, a wife and two kids. I really examined it. I've absorbed Charlie Kirk's content over the years as me and him have been essentially the same age as we've grown up. So I remember his rise as he built Turning Point and watching the things that he was doing.

And this was just a young man with a wife and children. And he had a vision for restoring America to the principles that it was founded upon. And I looked at that and I thought, well, those are things I believe. These aren't crazy, ultra-right, fascist ideals. These are the principles that founded this country. These aren't even that crazy of beliefs.

I firmly believe that Charlie is a martyr for the Christian faith. He was very vocal about his faith. The video clip of him saying the thing he wanted to be remembered for was courage for his faith. He was very quick to give glory to God and talk to people about Jesus Christ and his sacrifice on the cross for us. I was so impressed by his willingness to share the gospel on the largest platforms in the world.

And me and a couple of leaders in my company felt impressed to go to the memorial in Arizona. So we flew out there and got to attend that memorial service. It was so impactful.

So impactful seeing the leaders of the free world stand on an international stage and give glory to God. The vice president of the United States gave testimony that Charlie's example led him to speak more freely about Christ. You know, what an impact.

And so I was so moved that I really believe that Glenn Beck was right when he said that Charlie was a civil rights leader. He wasn't just a conservative activist. He was a civil rights leader and he deserved to be honored. 

I felt impressed. Me and my team, my business partner, felt impressed to honor his legacy by putting up a very simple billboard with Charlie's picture and his name and a tagline that Tertullian said many hundreds years ago, the blood of the martyrs is the seat of the church.

And so we bought 15 of those across Western North Carolina and East Tennessee. I grew up in Western North Carolina. I live in Tennessee now, God's country. But I grew up in Western North Carolina and Asheville, the city of Asheville in particular, a very liberal place. It has been for a long time. It's grown more liberal.

And so I expected maybe there may be some people that didn't really like that. I really don't think I was prepared for quite the level of blowback that it had received. And now it's made the rounds.

They tore down one of our billboards, spray painted bad messaging across the face of it. And so it was really disheartening to see that kind of reaction. But while those things get a lot of attention or very visible, I do want to say the outpouring of support and love from patriots and Christians all across the country have been overwhelmingly greater than the negative. Negative sometimes tends to be big and stand out. But man, the positive reinforcement behind that has really been encouraging.

Linda J. Hansen: Right. Well, when you get death threats, that can be a little looming, right?

Mason Burchette: It can be. They can be looming. And that's a bizarre thing that someone would really stoop to that level.

Linda J. Hansen: Right. But we're in a fight against good and evil. It is not any longer, I mean, it never was truly about like Republican versus Democrat or left versus right. It was never about that. People just saw it as that.

But we are in a battle of good and evil. And that is the eternal battle, really. But we know the victor. We know the one who is victorious. We've read the end of the book.

Mason Burchette: That's right.

Linda J. Hansen: And so we can stand for truth and know that God will work together for good all the things that occur because those who trust Him and love Him and are called according to His purpose. I've heard you say before that you were called to your business. You and your business partner felt called to start your business. Many people feel called to the ministry or called to something else. I feel called, very, very called to what I do. And God has tested that calling at times.

I mean, He has allowed me to go through some roller coasters that have been very hard. And there's times I've thought, did you want me to quit, God? And He's like, absolutely not.

And for those of you who may know the story of Elijah and the widow in Scripture, where Elijah went to the widow for food, and she really didn't have anything except a little bit of oil. And he said, pour it out and she just kept pouring the oil. And pretty soon she had a business because God kept replenishing her oil.

And so there's so many times I say, I'm just pouring out my oil for you, Lord. I'm just pouring out my oil. I just pray He blesses what I do, but also business owners like you. There are so many like-minded business leaders across America, like you, who are really learning to take a stand. And I'm thrilled to see your age because when you're my age, I'll be gone, unless something really strange happens. But I will likely be gone.

And I just am so excited to see young leaders coming up with the mindset that you have and the intentionality that you have to serve God in the marketplace. I really do believe that this is where we reach people. So you know what my mission is to help employers educate employees about the policy issues, public policy issues that affect their jobs and about the freedoms we have in America.

So they understand how to protect their ability to flourish and have freedom and live the American dream like you have. So what would you say to employers and how they can explain all this to their employees?

Mason Burchette: Yeah, I mean, this is what really makes you understand, are you just a business manager or are you a leader that wants to lead people? And when you decide to make a stand, especially a public stand like the one we did at the billboards, and it becomes a very polarizing incident, it forces you to confront it and have conversations with your team members. And we have, obviously, our team is very aware of what's going on.

We have plenty of people calling our facility and sending messages, bad and good. So it forces us to have a conversation and say, hey, our goal is not to provoke people and poke the bear just for the sake of being inflammatory. But, we want peace if possible, but we're going to speak truth at all costs, what Martin Luther said.

And we had the opportunity to have these conversations with our team members. This is why we chose to do this. These are the values we have. These are the principles we have. We believe God entrusted us with this business, and it's our responsibility to stand behind these principles. And it allows us to have very open conversations with our team members.

These are team members that trust us, that have trusted us for several years now to build this business and make payroll. And we've had really great times with these people. And so even even team members that don't necessarily share our values have had the opportunity to voice their concerns with us and engage in conversation.

I can't think of a better way to honor Charlie Kirk's legacy than engaging in conversation with people, even if they don't share your values. And that is what leading is. Leading is easy when everybody's on the same page and everything's smooth sailing and there's no confrontations to deal with.

But when you're forced to stand for something and then forced to explain why you chose to stand for something, that's really where you have the opportunity to put leadership to the test. Businesses have to accept that responsibility and true leaders that want to make an impact should be empowered to boldly stand for their values and then have the opportunity to have those discussions with their team members.

Linda J. Hansen: Well, I believe those discussions lead to loyalty, engagement and then retention. I truly believe that it helps a business's bottom line when they share these truths with employees because it helps them realize my business leader, my manager, my business owner, they care about me. They care enough about me to tell me these truths.

And even if they might disagree or go work for a different company, these are things that can be foundational for them in their lives. And they might not understand right away, but year two, three, four down the line, they might go, oh, now that makes sense to me. So, it's not our responsibility to make sure everyone agrees with us but it is our responsibility to speak the truth the way that God calls us to do so. It's up to him where it goes and who receives it. That's up to him. So I appreciate your faithfulness to that.

Well, before we go, do you have any other closing comments? And then, of course, we'll give your website and let people know how they can contact you because you not only have metal roofing, but you have metal siding and you'll ship anywhere in the U.S., correct?

Mason Burchette: That's correct. Yeah. I mean, as far as our business is concerned, we've talked a lot about our values. Another one of those values is I bleed red, white and blue. I love this great country, have the opportunity to be in. 

I did not come for money. I grew up in a single wide trailer, and so it was there is nowhere else on planet Earth that there's opportunity like there is here in the United States of America to do the kind of things we're doing at True Metal Supply. And so if you want to do business with a company that is committed to American manufacturing, uses American steel, hires American employees, that's who we are. And that is another one of our values is we love we are patriots.

We love this country. My brother is in the Army. He's overseas right now serving our country. And that is just the core of who we are. We want to honor God in everything we do. And we believe that this country is the best place to do that.

Linda J. Hansen: Yeah, well, and I'm glad you mentioned your brother because I had in my notes to be sure and mention him and tell him and his family. Thank you. Because when I know as a former military wife, my husband was in the Coast Guard when we were first married and then one of our sons actually retired from the Marine Corps. I know having our family be a military family, I know that the families sacrifice as well. So thank you to your brother. Thank you to your family and his family. And we appreciate that so much because freedom is never free.

Mason Burchette: Well, God bless you, Linda. And thank you so much for the work you're doing. I mean, you're making a huge impact as well. I'm so glad me and you connected. I think if more people like you and I are able to connect it only makes our voice more unified and have even greater reach. So I'm really appreciative of you and your work.

Linda J. Hansen: Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for those kind words. I look forward to staying in touch.

And so listeners, you can go to TrueMetalSupply.com and there you can look at all of their products. You can hear their story. It's very inspirational.

And if you need a metal roof or a metal siding, this is the place to go. So thank you again. I just appreciate you being here Mason, and I look forward to having you back again.

Mason Burchette: Thanks, Linda. I really appreciate it.

Linda J. Hansen: Thank you. Thank you again for listening to the Prosperity101® podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share and leave a great review. Don't forget to visit prosperity101.com to access the entire podcast library, to order my newest book, Job Security Through Business Prosperity, the Essential Guide to Understanding How Policy Affects Your Paycheck®, or to enroll you or your employees in the Breakroom Economics® online course.

You can also receive the free ebook, 10 Tips for Helping Employees Understand How Public Policy Affects Their Paychecks. Freedom is never free. Understanding the foundations of prosperity and the policies of prosperity will help you to protect prosperity as you become informed, involved and impactful®.

Please contact us today at prosperity101.com to let us know how we can serve you. Thank you.