Article originally posted here by Eventide

by Shaun Morgan

From its inception in 1602 with the creation of the Dutch East India Company, the democratization of investing has profoundly impacted our world.

Ordinary people, responsible for leveraging the powerful force of investing, can change the world for the better. But investing for the common good will only succeed if those ordinary people recognize and accept the responsibility.

Read more about the ways in which investing has been used to shape businesses to effect positive change in the world and the types of questions we should be asking to recapture the original purpose of investing.

by Shane Enete

Oblivious to Risk

I once had a student who came into my office. He eagerly declared, “I want to invest in stocks!” I asked him why. He said, “my roommates are all making so much money. I want in. They bought AMC at $10 and it is now $50!” 

One important marker that separates a beginning investor from a more mature investor is their understanding of risk. Beginner investors, who have often been regaled by tales of easy money, rarely consider risk properly. 

But, what does it mean to properly consider risk?

But, what does it mean to properly consider risk?

Calculating Risk

The traditional way to consider risk is to simply calculate it. When calculating risk, most investors use a statistical measure of dispersion around a historical average, such as standard deviation, volatility, beta, or downside deviation. 

For example, if I had a stock that has historically returned 10% per year, with a 20% standard deviation, then 95% of the time, the stock is predicted to create a return that is between -30% and +50% (i.e., 2 standard deviations +/- the average return). The higher the standard deviation, the more potential that the investment deviate far from its average return. 

Once the preferred measure of risk is calculated, then an investor is considered “grown up” if they then seek to maximize their risk-adjusted returns. A common way to measure risk-adjusted returns is to use the Sharpe ratio, which, essentially, takes the expected return of an investment and divides it by a measure of risk. The higher the Sharpe ratio, the more return you are getting given the same amount of risk. 

There is more to Risk

So, is that it? Is considering risk properly simply a matter of calculating risk-adjusted returns? 

In business school, and the industry, I have never been satisfied to stop at risk-adjusted returns. I have always felt like there is something more that needs to be considered. What if risk is not just a matter of the head, but also of the heart? Put another way, what if risk actually has the potential to form us as people? 

If this is true, to properly consider risk, we would not to both calculate it (i.e. “head”) and consider how it may form us (i.e., “heart”). 

To properly consider risk, we would not to both calculate it (i.e. “head”) and consider how it may form us (i.e., “heart).

When I was 15, I bought my first stock. It was 1995 and just about every stock went up during this time period. I bought the stock, and instantly made money, and it felt really, really good. This really good feeling is dopamine. The more extreme the markets got, the more chances there were for big hits of dopamine. 

I began to like risk since it meant the chance for big wins. The more I engaged, the more my personality began to gradually shift. Before investing, I was a normal “risk avoiding” individual. After all of the fun of investing, I was forming into a “risk seeking” individual. My brain loved the dopamine and I knew that seeking out risk was the way to get more of it. 

Numerous studies have shown how the brain changes when receiving regular doses of dopamine. In one study entitled, “Dopamine Agonist Increases Risk Taking but Blunts Reward-Related Brain Activity,” scientists discovered that the actual brain was altered when participants were given regular doses of dopamine versus a control group (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002479). See picture below of the altered dopamine brain.

The more risk, the more opportunities there are for intense doses of dopamine. This then has potential to form us into risk-seeking individuals. Another name for “risk-seeking individual” is gambler. Gambling addiction has been described by some psychologists as the hardest addiction to overcome. From the beginning of civilization, gambling has devasted families in its wake.

The riskier markets get, the more opportunities there are for intense doses of dopamine.

There is a scene in Rat Race that epitomizes how risk has the potential to rewire you from a fruitful, risk averse individual into a more destructive, risk-seeking individual. The movie is centered around the idea of taking a handful of random strangers, placing a million dollars in a duffle bag a few hundred miles away, and then betting on which stranger will get to the money first. As the strangers engage in a “rat race,” the most interesting scene to me is when the rich gamblers begin to gamble on all sorts of other random things, from climbing curtains, to how hotel staff would respond to certain questions. For the rich gamblers, the thrill of the race was not enough dopamine for them – they needed more, and more, and more. Having a risk-seeking brain means you are constantly seeking out dopamine and it is a spiral that leads towards more and more addictive behavior. 

This Rat Race scene is being replayed in today’s culture. 

Easy gains during the last 10+ years have led to a generation of risk-seeking investors who usually begin with stocks, then move to more risky crypto investments, and then, finally end up in the completely untamed NFT/metaverse markets where a picture of a snail pooping a rainbow is valued at a million dollars. 

Easy gains during the last 10+ years have led to a generation of risk-seeking investors.

This is not the only way that the experience of risk has the potential to form you as an individual. 

When my wife bought a town house in 2007, as a single gal, she mainly did it because everyone said you need to do it. Real estate was supposed to be a “sure thing.” Within months, her property was severely under-water. The experience changed her to become very fearful of any type of risk. This re-wiring of the brain to over-assess risk is a much deeper level than just financial education. For many people, the experience of the real estate and stock market drops in 2008 were enough to keep them out of these markets when it was actually the best possible time to engage them. 

So, in order to properly consider risk, we must:

1. Determine an appropriate way to calculate the risk of any investment we are considering.

2. Consider how we will experience that risk and whether the experience of the risk will change us as people.

For any investment, if the risk cannot be calculated (I’m looking at you crypto and NFTs) – it is likely a very bad idea. I know that if I were to invest in things where I would not be able to calculate the risk, all of my deep-formed convictions about investing would be broken. This would change me into a person I do not want to be. 

Whenever my students ask me about investing in Bitcoin, I like to ask them, “will it change you?” Assuming the best-case scenario, and you make lots of money without understanding the risk, will you change as a person? 

If you ask anyone whether they will become a worse person for winning the lottery, every single person will deny that they will change. But studies have shown that, for most people, winning the lottery fundamentally changes them into a less satisfied, more addictive people. 

Risk forms us. 

Whenever my students ask me about investing in Bitcoin, I like to ask them, “will it change you?”

A few tips to avoid having risk form us the wrong way:

• Fear risk – demand to know the risk of something before you invest. If you don’t know why something goes up, or down, then you are likely engaged in risk-seeking, gambling behavior. 

• Once you buy something, consider owning it for 10-20 years, and only check its price once-a-month or, perhaps twice a year. This will lead to less intense signals to your brain and reinforce a long-term perspective. In other words, it’s boring, and boring is good for the heart and mind.

There are thousands and thousands of boring investors who simply bought and held a diversified portfolio of stocks, and became financially healthy. There are also thousands and thousands of people who sought out quick riches and are bankrupt both financially and emotionally. In fact, this road to destruction is so well-worn that the Bible has clear warnings about it:

“Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.” 1 Timothy 6:9

Avoid financial short-cuts – chasing after get-rich-quick schemes is often just veiled greed.  

 “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” Luke 12:15

In the end, I recommend that you be like my Nana, who bought a boring portfolio of high-quality stocks, and then forgot about them until her retirement. This boring way gave her what she needed, when she needed it, without putting her heart at risk. 

by Andre Mann

Over the past decade, one of the topics that has consumed the American news cycle and political debate is what to do about immigration. Do we build a higher wall? Do we give amnesty to undocumented workers? Do we increase the number of temporary work visas? Do we reduce the number of refugees? Do we close all borders to keep out COVID?  

Regardless of which side of each of these questions you are on, almost everyone agrees that the current system is broken. Thousands of unaccompanied minors stream across the border each month, placing themselves at the mercy of strangers along the way. Eleven million people without legal documentation live and work in the shadows of our society. Businesses in the tech space and farmers across America are unable to grow at the pace their customers would like or pick the fruit for domestic and foreign consumption because they cannot find sufficient workers, even in the economic downturn during the pandemic. Immigration judges delay seeing asylum cases for years because the number of judges is too low. All of this is unsustainable. The system can no longer ignore the fact that things are not working. The human and economic cost of doing nothing far outweighs the need to find a solution that protects our communities and reflects the values of our society.

In this paper, I will propose that there is both an economic and a spiritual reason to be pro-immigrant. Although I will not advocate for specific pieces of legislation, nor will I advocate for the solutions of one political party or another, I will highlight the work of the Evangelical Immigration Table and offer the solution of restitution-based immigration reform that is based on clear biblical principles, a respect for the rule of law, and a belief that the continued economic vibrancy of the country depends on a just immigration system with high walls and wide gates.

A Demographic and Economic Reckoning

The United States is facing a demographic reckoning. The birth rate has continued to decline, and the fertility rate has reached 1.6 children per woman, down from 2.1 children in 2008. This rate is below population replacement level, meaning the US population will decline if current trends persist. After remaining largely stable over the previous 20 years, in 2005, the old-age dependency ratio (the percent of people who are retired compared to the productive working age population) began to rise from 18% in 2005 to 25% in 2015.  

This trend will continue to rise over the coming decades reaching 40% of the working age population by 2050. Why does this matter?

Tax revenue to cover annual expenses for Social Security entered into a deficit in 2016, meaning that at current trends, the Social Security Trust Fund will be depleted sometime between 2030 and 2040. (Scenarios II and III, below) We face the following three options: 1) Taxes will go up for people in the workforce, 2) Benefits will go down for retirees, or 3) We must increase the number of people in the workforce. The trends are dramatic enough that we will likely require action on all three fronts (Scenario I). But the bottom line is, our economy requires additional workers so that they can pay Social Security and income taxes in order to maintain the current productive, retirement infrastructure into the next generation. 

Ali Noorani and Danilo Zak make a powerful economic and demographic argument for increased immigration in their February 2021 paper with the National Immigration Forum, titled Room to Grow: Setting Immigration Levels in a Changing America. They show that even a relatively modest increase in total legal immigration to 4.3 immigrants per 1000 people (in line with the historic average from 1820-2000; an increase of 340,000 people per year vs. current trends) would make a significantly positive impact to the demographic and economic future of the country. 

In parallel, from a religious standpoint, immigrants bring fresh vibrancy to the church in the United States. At a time when church affiliation is declining precipitously (only 56% of millennials consider themselves Christian, down from over 70% just a few years ago), over 68% of immigrants call themselves Christian. Latinos are the largest immigrant group in the United States, and one fourth of them consider themselves Evangelical/Protestant. In New York City, there are over 150 African immigrant congregations, and 44% of all Asian Americans are Christian. The face of Christianity in America is changing, and one of the major reasons denomination after denomination continues to see new churches planted is thanks to immigrant communities. If it weren’t for these first and second-generation American Christians, one has to wonder what the future of the evangelical church would be in the United States.

Principles that Should Guide our Immigration Policies

So, what should the church attitude toward immigrants be? The Evangelical Immigration Table has outlined six principles that should guide our thinking on the topic. 

1. Upholding the God-Given Dignity of Every Person. God made each person in His own image (Genesis 1:26-27). He further, in over 73 passages, instructed Israel to treat the foreigners in their midst with the same measure of justice as its own people. There is a recognition that foreigners are usually oppressed, but Israel should remember that they were once foreigners in Egypt. As such, Israel should treat refugees the same as the poor, widows, and orphans—with mercy and charity. Jesus acted quite counter-culturally when he related with foreigners in a way that upholds the dignity of the person, not only with the Samaritan woman (John 4) but also in numerous other examples (the centurion, the Canaanite woman, the Gerasene man).
   The national myth we tell ourselves about what makes our country exceptional includes an understanding that many of the earliest settlers came fleeing persecution and that America was the land that offered the poorest, most desperate people an opportunity no other place on earth could offer. The wealthiest country that history has ever seen, with over 328MM people, was born out of the hard work of immigrants, who came together to build a society that welcomed others. Even as we recognize that tremendous injustices occurred along the way, with slavery and the expulsion of Native Americans from their lands, we can also recognize that our country would not be what it is if it had not welcomed immigrants the way it did. A large part of that welcoming was built on this understanding that, no matter where you are from, God has given each person inherent dignity, even if at certain points in time, we have failed to fully extend those privileges to everyone.

2. Respect for the Rule of Law. God placed governing authorities to protect the members of the society and to be instruments of justice for everyone. Romans 13:1 states, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” A society that does not respect the rule of law becomes a land of lawless anarchy. Those who break the law must in some way pay restitution to society, whether through fines or jail time, depending on the severity of the infraction and any mitigating or aggravating factors such as motivation. Crossing the border without documentation is a misdemeanor, and while overstaying a visa is not a federal crime, it does break administrative rules. Restitution should match the level of offense committed.

     

3. Ensuring Fairness to Taxpayers. American workers and corporations pay taxes to cover the costs of government services both at the local level and at the national level. In exchange, our communities derive all kinds of benefits from governmental expenditure including streets and highways, national defense, public education (including state-funded university systems), crime prevention, social security, unemployment insurance, etc. Because of the way taxes are collected from each person’s paycheck, immigrants, whether legal or undocumented, also pay their share of taxes, but undocumented workers and their families do not receive many of the benefits citizens and legal immigrants do.  
   It is a common misconception that undocumented workers do not pay taxes.   Statistically, about half are having taxes deducted from their paychecks, and many others are using their Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) to pay and file their taxes.   On the net – taking into account federal, state and local taxes – immigrants (including those who are undocumented) contribute more in taxes than they receive in benefits. The National Immigration Forum’s study on Immigrants as Contributors, Immigrant Tax Contribution and Spending Power indicates that if our country were to expel undocumented immigrants, it would cause a tremendous negative economic shock to our economy that would hurt the rest of the country across the board.

4. Protecting the Unity of the Family. Immigration policies should preserve the God-given institution of marriage. Since families are the basic building block of our society, we should preserve the unity of the family. This is compassionate, and it brings stability to communities. Because of this, family reunification should continue to be an important part of immigration policy.

5. Guarantee Secure National Borders. The first and foremost responsibility of the national government is to provide security to its citizens. An unguarded border not only allows for hostile countries to attack the country but also opens the country up to threats from criminal, non-state actors. Although our country has made great strides in securing the border, much remains to be done. Specifically, over half of undocumented workers in the US arrive by air with short-term visas that are allowed to expire. Currently, there is no system in place to track if/when any visitor to the US leaves the country since we are one of the few countries on earth that does not register departures. This lack of border enforcement, both at the actual border and through airports, is used by smuggling gangs to move people and drugs into the US and guns and illegally generated cash out of the US. This has fueled the regional instability in Mexico and Central America, creating a humanitarian disaster that fuels a mass migration northward as people seek safety for their families and opportunities to thrive without fear of kidnapping and extortion at the hands of the criminal gangs.

   Further, because our asylum system is so underfunded, we create a perverse incentive for massive amounts of people to attempt to cross the border illegally. Since it can take years to be seen by an immigration judge, and many applicants are able to live in the US while they wait for their days in court, we create a magnet even for those with marginal asylum claims to use this system to illegally cross the border and then apply for asylum. Even if their asylum claim is eventually denied, they have been able to live and work in the US for many years. Unfortunately, by then, many have established roots in the country, have US-born children or spouses, have established careers, etc. We, then, find ourselves in a situation where it would be unjust to rip families apart and would be damaging to our economy to deport long-established workers.  

   A better system would allow for a strong border (including airports), documentation of departures, quick enforcement of immigration laws when someone overstays his/her visa, and an efficient and well-funded asylum process staffed with the right amounts of judges and support staff to adjudicate those cases with legitimate asylum claims in line with current laws and international treaties, while promptly deporting those who do not meet the criteria for asylum.  

6. Establishing a Path Toward Legal Status. Currently, there are approximately 11 million people living in the US without legal documentation. Some of them, such as asylum seekers and individuals with Temporary Protected Status (TPS), are legally allowed to be here until their situations are resolved. Dreamers are young people who were brought here illegally as children (and hence, as minors, had no legal competence to decide to break the law or not regarding their legal status—many didn’t find out they weren’t American until they turned 18 and couldn’t go to college). For most of them, the United States is the only home they have ever known. Others, who came as adults, have long-ago established deep roots in the community. Sixty-six percent of undocumented immigrants have been in the US for over 10 years. They have paid their taxes; many have married and had children. Some have started businesses that employ many others.  

The idea of a mass deportation of 11 million people is unfathomable. Firstly, a police state would need to be established to check documents of all Americans. (To avoid racial profiling, anyone could be asked for documentation at any time.) Large scale raids at workplaces, farms, and processing plants would create chaos for businesses. Criminal gangs would prosper since undocumented workers would come to depend on their powerful infrastructure to keep their families from being caught up in immigration raids. Massive concentration camps would be required to hold the hundreds of thousands of people scheduled for deportation, and thousands of judges would be needed to sift through cases, as wrongly detained Americans press their cases to not be deported.  According to the conservative advocacy group, American Action Forum, it would cost $400-600 billion and take two decades, shrinking US GDP by 6% over that period of time, versus not deporting the undocumented workers. For perspective, the US economy shrank by 3.5% in 2020 due to COVID, the largest decline in 74 years. Mass deportation is not only disruptive for the millions of families who have undocumented members (who, by the way, are overwhelmingly Christian), but it would also be devastating economically for the country as a whole.

Mass amnesty has the advantage of regularizing the legal status for millions of people living in the shadows. They would be able to apply for driver’s licenses, get car and home insurance, apply for mortgages, and save for retirement. This benefits all of us, since they would no longer fear drawing attention to themselves when they report crime, would actually have insurance if they get into a car accident, and would not burden hospitals with unpaid bills since they would have access to health insurance. 

On the other hand, an amnesty like this would ignore that laws were broken and would violate the biblical principle of respect for the rule of law. It may create an incentive for further waves of undocumented workers to continue crossing the border, in the hope that they too will benefit from periodic amnesties. Criminal gangs would be strengthened as increasing numbers of immigrants would rely on their human smuggling operations in order to position themselves for future amnesties. Amnesty would be unjust to the millions of refugees worldwide who are fleeing persecution yet who have to wait in line until they are able to resettle in a safe place. Amnesty may solve the issue immediately at hand of figuring out how to deal with 11 million people currently without documentation, but it actually creates a bigger future problem as the US draws even more people outside the legal migratory system.

Restitution-Based Immigration Reform

The solution is Restitution-Based Immigration Reform. God delights in redemption. But in a legal system, redemption first requires admission of guilt and restitution. In the case of the undocumented, restitution by those seeking to remain permanently in the U.S. could, among other appropriate requirements, show that they have not committed any serious crimes, require that they pay a significant fine as a penalty for having overstayed their visa or crossed into the U.S. unlawfully, and demonstrate that they have paid all their taxes. This, combined with a system that increases the number of legal visas available so that families can be reunified legally and so that the US economy can have access to a growing, productive workforce, allows the US government to take control over immigration from the criminal gangs that control significant parts of the process now.  

We need to pass a series of laws to reform completely our immigration system. We should start with Dreamers—74% of Americans support legal status for immigrants brought to the US illegally as children. Then, increasing protections at the border and other ports of entry, requiring all employers to e-verify immigration status, and funding the needed infrastructure for processing asylum seekers can all easily pass on a bipartisan basis.  Subsequently, Congress can tackle Temporary Protected Status, simplifying and reforming the process for farmworkers, skilled workers, and children separated from their families through bipartisan negotiations, to build a just and fair immigration system. 

This revised immigration system will result in swift, efficient, and just adjudication of asylum claims, strong border protections, and visa solutions to meet the farm, tech, and skilled worker needs of the US economy. Coupled with a generous refugee policy that brings in a significant number of the most vulnerable people fleeing conflict and persecution, the US can set itself up for economic growth into the next generation. A high wall with a wide gate is the best path forward for the vibrancy of our country both from an economic standpoint as well as from a Kingdom mindset.

Article originally hosted and shared with permission by The Christian Economic Forum, a global network of leaders who join together to collaborate and introduce strategic ideas for the spread of God’s economic principles and the goodness of Jesus Christ. This article was from a collection of White Papers compiled for attendees of the CEF’s Global Event.

Article originally posted here by Gospel Patrons

by John Rinehart

Jesus publically breathed his last for all to see. His side was pierced. His chest stopped moving. His head hung down. But for one man this was not a time for retreat or reflection. This was a moment for action.

It had been a brutal sight. Three men crucified outside of Jerusalem. Naked. Bleeding. Hanging. Screaming in pain and gasping for breath.

Everyone from servant girls to politician’s wives knew about it. The crowds that had previously laid their cloaks on the road did not foresee this. The disciples themselves were stunned and scattered.

This day had been unlike any other. Darkness blanketed the sky from noon to three. Then, a rock-splitting earthquake shook everyone. Finally, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

Most of all, Jesus of Nazareth was dead.

He publically breathed his last for all to see. His side was pierced. His chest stopped moving. His head hung down. The Light of the World had gone out. The Lamb of God had been slain.

But for one man this was not a time for retreat or reflection. This was a moment for action.

1.

He was rich and respectable, a member of the council and known in the community. He was the kind of man who could ask for a face-to-face meeting with the Roman Governor and not have to wait a day or even a week to be fit into the calendar. He came from the unknown town of Arimathea and his name was Joseph.

We don’t know when or how Joseph became one of Jesus’ disciples. All four gospel writers simply have him appear at this critical hour.

In Matthew’s gospel, we’re told Joseph was a rich man, “who also was a disciple of Jesus.” (Matthew 27:57) This is rare. Jesus said camels fit through eyes of needles easier than rich men enter God’s kingdom, but here was a one in a million man.

In Mark, Joseph is described as “looking for the kingdom of God.” (Mark 15:43) He was more than a casual Christian, more than a church attender. Joseph’s faith was active.

Luke recounts Joseph as “a good and righteous man, who had not consented to their decision and action” to condemn Jesus. (Luke 23:50-51) Joseph witnessed Jesus’ trial, but did not agree with the verdict. He did not yell, “Crucify” along with the crowd.

John highlights him as a man of action, who “asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus.” (John 19:38) Joseph was not following the crowd, but was bold and risk-taking to keep God’s Old Testament law that stated if a man is put to death by being hung on a tree, “you shall bury him the same day.” (Deuteronomy 21:22-23)

Unlike Peter, James, and John who left their professions, Joseph stayed in his position of influence. But it was not easy. Many he knew hated Jesus and were actively looking for ways to kill him. For a while, Joseph kept his faith private. Scripture says he “was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews.” (John 19:38) The fear of man stole his courage, but seeing Jesus die woke something up in him. The cross changed him. He was now ready to use his prominent position as a platform for playing his unique part in the most important week of history.

2.

It was a dangerous play. What if his loyalty to Jesus was exposed to his peers who had just put Jesus to death? Would he be implicated for treason as well? These fears held Joseph back previously, but not anymore. Joseph seized the moment and sought a meeting with the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, where he made the biggest ask of his life. I like to imagine their conversation went something like this:

Joseph: Hello, Pilate. I understand you’ve had a lot going on lately and I hear your wife hasn’t been sleeping all that well.

Pilate: Yes, that’s true. But are you here for small talk, Joseph? Hurry up, the sun is going down and I’m tired.

Joseph: Well, I’m here to ask you for the body of Jesus of Nazareth.

Pilate: What?! He’s dead already? Guards, get me a centurion.

Joseph: [awkwardly waiting in silence while Pilate confirms Jesus’ death]

Pilate: Joseph, it’s true. The King of the Jews is dead. You may have his body. At least then I’ll be done with this Nazarene.

Joseph left Pilate and “bought a linen shroud.” (Mark 15:46) He then returned to the cross of Christ. By now the crowds must have left. Where it was once loud with mockings and groanings was now strangely quiet. There, Joseph stood, looking at his Lord’s lifeless body. He removed the nails that pinned Jesus to the cross and felt the weight of Jesus’ crumpled body come down.

Nicodemus showed up to help, “bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight.” (John 19:39) This was no ordinary burial, but one fit for a king. The two of them washed Jesus’ body, observing every wound: the holes in his hands and feet, his pierced side, his thorn-pressed skull, and his mangled back. It was a messy job. Blood was everywhere. Perhaps, they picked splinters out of Jesus’ back and thorns out of his head before wrapping Jesus’ body in white linen and fragrant spices. Jesus was being prepared for burial.

3.

Nearby, Joseph owned a tomb, “which he had cut in the rock.” (Matthew 27:60) It was “a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.” (John 19:41) The two men carried Jesus’ body into it, laid it down, and then left, rolling a great stone against the entrance of the tomb to guard it.

Joseph then disappears off the pages of history, never to be heard from again. His name is not mentioned in the book of Acts. We don’t read of him going on missionary journeys with Paul. I wonder if he even knew he was fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy about Jesus’ burial.

“And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death…” (Isaiah 53:9)

I also wonder what Joseph thought on Easter morning when his tomb was empty? I’ll ask him one day, but for now Joseph’s legacy is that he gave to Jesus, even in death, and set the stage for Easter Sunday. Joseph of Arimathea became the man God used between the crucifixion and resurrection. May we follow his example of righteousness, courage, and faith-filled generosity to be the men and women God will use between the resurrection and Jesus’ return!

by Blake Brewer

When you think of your father’s voice, what are the first words that come to your mind?

Do you think of words like “encouraging“, “comforting”, and “trusting”?    Or do you think of words like “angry” or “shaming”?

The way you live every single day is determined in large part by the words you hear from your father that are deeply embedded into your heart.   

Your confidence and ability to take risks might come from your dad’s confidence in you.  

Your perceived confidence might just be a deep rooted insecurity that comes from a need to prove yourself to your dad who never affirmed you. 

What about your children?  If I were to go to your children and ask, “what words describe your dad?  When you think of your father’s voice, what do you hear?”  

I believe the most powerful voice on the planet in your children’s lives is yours.  There are words you could say to your children today that would absolutely crush them.  It would wreck their life. I could say those exact same words to your children and it might sting a little, but they would be able to brush them off. 

At the same time, your words also have the ability to bring confidence, bring hope, and help your children find purpose and meaning in life.  

So the question is…Which words of yours do your children hear? Which words from you are in their heart?

It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve said the “right” words to your children or what you hope they hear… it only matters what they actually hear and what actually gets embedded deep in their heart. 

My father made an investment with his words when I was 19 that paid off big time.  With this investment, he made sure his words cut through all of the noise of this world and connected with my heart in a way that only he could. 

My dad had always been a good dad. He was my hero.  To me, he was larger than life…metaphorically and in reality. 

He was drafted to play tight end by the Atlanta Falcons but his main claim to fame was being Terry Bradshaw’s tight end at Louisiana Tech.  They were best friends and roommates. 

Being a humble man, he hardly told anyone about playing with Bradshaw…but I told everyone growing up!   It was my claim to fame!

When I was 19, we took a family vacation to Hawaii.  On the first morning we headed to Hanauma Bay for some snorkeling. With the rest of my family laying on the beach, I found myself out in the water with my dad.  It was Heaven on Earth.  There was nowhere else I wanted to be than right there next to him.

As we went further out, the water got deeper, the current got stronger, and the waves got bigger. 

There was a moment where I realized I didn’t see my dad anymore. In between the massive waves I scanned the water, looking for him.  Panic set in.

Then I saw him.  

And I knew he was in trouble.  As he treaded water, he looked right at me, and with his normally deep booming voice, he whimpered, “I need help.” 

I swam to my dad as quickly as I could. 

By the time I reached him, he was unconscious underneath the water.  I dove down, wrapped my arms around him, and pulled him to the surface.  

It was a long way to shore and I’m grateful that a nearby snorkeler showed up to help, followed by the life guards. 

As they performed CPR on my dad, I was on my hands and knees next to him crying out to God,

“Please save my dad’s life!” 

Even as I write these words I am taken back to that exact moment almost 20 years ago.  I feel the same feelings today as I did on that day.  Helpless.  Surreal.  This can’t be happening.

Even in my despair, I really thought he would wake up at any moment. 

But he never did.   My dad drowned. 

I was in shock.  I couldn’t comprehend it.  

“What just happened? He was just right there with me and now he’s gone!”

Fast forward a few hours.   

Back in the condo, I was in the back bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed, trying to process what happened and how my life as I knew it had completely changed.   

“How were we going to make it without my dad?” 

“Where was God? Why did he allow this to happen?”

“Was this my fault?”

Then my mom appeared in the doorway.  She said,

“I found something in your dad’s briefcase that he was going to give you on this trip.”

I had no idea what she was talking about.  

She walked across the room and handed me some sheets of paper…

It was a letter from my dad.

I read it as quickly as I could, hanging on to every word. 

Apparently he had been working on this letter for several months having no idea that he was going to die and that his letter would be his final words to me and my siblings. 

It was everything I needed at that moment.  Among the many things he wrote, he shared how he felt about us and how we could have a successful life. 

I felt closer to my dad than I ever had in my life. 

I felt so loved.   In the midst of my dad’s busy work schedule as a hospital CEO, umpiring football games (his hobby), and being very involved in our church, my dad made time to write me a letter.  

Don’t tell me my dad didn’t love me. 

My dad’s words provided hope and confidence that I was going to make it.  His words also protected me.  Anytime I started the “what if” questions, it was as if my dad was right there saying…”This is not your fault.  There is nothing different you could have done.”  He protected me from the shame and guilt I could have easily experienced.

My life purpose completely changed.  I now wanted to serve God and live for his eternal purposes. 

As the years passed, I graduated with my accounting degree, started my career, got married and started having kids.  Through the ups and downs of life, my dad and his words keep guiding me, influencing me, and giving me confidence to keep pushing forward. 

I can’t imagine my life without that letter.

A few years ago, when my children were younger, I knew it was time to write them a letter.  If anyone knows the value of a letter from their dad, it’s me. 

As I’m staring at a blank sheet of paper, I realized how difficult it was going to be.  

“What the heck do I write?  How do I get my thoughts and feelings organized? And what was blocking me from getting started… spiritually and emotionally?”

I knew this letter was too important to leave unfinished. 

I went into research mode to answer those questions.  I read books, articles, listened to podcasts, and of course looked at my dad’s letter as a guide.   If I was going to write this letter, I wanted it to have all the best things in it… all the things that everyone needs to hear from their dad. 

I finished the letter… and it felt amazing! The letter was for my children, but initially I was the one benefitted the most.  I became a better man and dad as I found myself living out the words of my letter.

Around that time, God brought a man into my life who told me a story of receiving a life changing letter from his biological father when he was 25.   That’s amazing, I have a letter from my dad too!   

A month later, another man tells me a story about receiving a life changing letter from his dad.

Ok God, I get it!  We’ve got to help more people get a letter from their dad!  

That’s when our mission began: to help 1 million dads write at least 1 well written, meaningful, lasting Legacy Letter.   

Not just any letter, but a Legacy Letter.  It’s so much more than writing a letter.  

Writing a Legacy Letter is an experience. This experience brings out all the right words, written in a way that cuts through the noise, and embeds them deep into their child’s heart.   

For the last two and a half years, our business has been helping executives, business owners, professional athletes, members of the military, guys who work with their hands, corporate teams (like Walmart), etc. write their Legacy Letter.   

They all have the same response… “That was life changing.”   

Within the next few weeks, a popular morning show will be featuring us – our first national exposure.

My dad could have never known the impact his letter was going to have on my life or on so many others’ lives.  It was such a simple act… writing a letter.   But as we know, simple doesn’t mean easy. 

His simple act took an investment of his time and his emotional energy. He also took a risk.  There was no guarantee that it would have the impact he hoped for.

When I think back on all my dad’s accomplishments in sports and in his work, his letter to me was the greatest investment he ever made.  It changed my life.

For More Information About the Legacy Letter Masterclass for You or Your Business go to LegacyLetterChallenge.com