Efosa Ojomo

It’s been said that all models are wrong, but some are useful. This one is no different. However, I believe we can contrast business and investing activities that function in two different paradigms: the kingdom of the world versus the kingdom of God.

I believe God gives us the pen and the book to write our story in. So, what story are you writing for yourself? Are you becoming a good and faithful servant?

Whether or not we realize it, we use the principle of leverage on a daily basis, not simply in physics but in the sense of turning limited resources into an advantage. We can do so selfishly or with a focus on eternal things.

How do we personally and corporately carry those ancient words “on earth as it is in heaven” as the Church today? And for us in the investment industry, how do we carry those ancient words in our daily work? 

Faith-driven stewards, entrepreneurs, and leaders are an integral and critical part of how God will be able to work in the lives of people who live in Tomorrow’s World. I submit that we must fight this battle with leadership and intentional living.

Technology has always had the potential of advancing human flourishing, or promoting wicked agendas. Technology’s effects depend crucially on the heart and capabilities behind the people wielding it. The rapid proliferation of web3 technologies – fungible tokens (“crypto”), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and the metaverse – is no exception.

Community development investing is one way that faith-based investors can use their investments to make a real impact on the communities where they live and work.

My brother recently passed away, and his funeral gave me new insight into his life. I realized this truth: Each of our lives is reflected in the people we interact with here on earth and have left behind.

We propose to define success as investors as taking risk skillfully on behalf of the vulnerable, in ways that bring good news to the poor, release captives, give sight to the blind, and set the oppressed free.

For decades, home prices have been outpacing household incomes, and we are now seeing a whole generation being locked out of the promise of homeownership.

How do you measure giving success? What is considered a tithe? Can I direct my giving resources toward Christian-led businesses? Is that stewardship?

Like it or not, if we want to be salt and light in our world, we cannot abandon mainstream media. Simply put, people of faith must invest more aggressively in the power of storytelling.

I believe the ESG philosophy is inherently flawed and insufficient to produce the holistic and enduring flourishing we desire to see in our organizations and in our world. Impact investing, while not perfect, possesses a greater ability to promote holistic prosperity without the risks associated with ESG investing.

Are we committed to the restoration and flourishing of cities for God’s Kingdom and for His glory (Isaiah 61)? Will we make sacrifices? Are we prepared to obey the Lord’s call?

As we can read in Ecclesiastes, nothing is new under the sun. History will repeat itself because mankind will never fundamentally change. But we can take comfort in the fact that God never changes, and what He has done in the past, He can do again—if we are only willing to submit our lives to His perfect will.

Since Christ is our Lord and ultimate treasure, overlooking him in our investing ethics is a problem that should be confronted pastorally and theologically. What would happen if we held up the supremacy of Christ as the foundation for a truly Christian ethic for investing?

Each year, I take the opportunity to review the environmental developments of the past year and evaluate the obstacles and progress we’ve seen.