Presenting Our New FDI Video Trailer!
Image by ActionVance
It’s estimated that Christians manage over 150 trillion dollars. That’s over half the world’s wealth. That’s 200-300x what is given (around the world) philanthropically each year. Capital has influence. Yet many of us are content to let others determine our investment strategy. Watch this 3-minute video below or on our homepage to see what’s being done to change the conversation!
Please feel free to share it with others!
More US firms are boosting faith-based support for employees
Image taken from AP News
This article was originally published here by AP News.
by David Crary
It has become standard practice for U.S. corporations to assure employees of support regardless of their race, gender or sexual orientation. There’s now an intensifying push to ensure that companies are similarly supportive and inclusive when it comes to employees’ religious beliefs.
One barometer: More than 20% of the Fortune 100 have established faith-based employee resource groups, according to an AP examination and there’s a high-powered conference taking place this week in Washington aimed at expanding those ranks.
“Corporate America is at a tipping point toward giving religion similar attention to that given the other major diversity categories,” says Brian Grim, founder and president of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation that’s co-hosting the conference along with the Catholic University of America’s Busch School of Business.
A few companies have long-established faith-in-the-workplace programs, such as Arkansas-based Tyson Foods, which deploys a team of more than 90 chaplains to comfort and counsel employees at its plants and offices. That program began in 2000.
However, Grim says most companies — over the past few decades — have given religion less attention in their diversity/inclusion programs than other categories such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and disabilities.
Read the rest of this article here!
Courageous Love in a Global Crisis
Image by Peter Greer
This article was originally published here by our friend and FDI and FDE podcast guest Peter Greer. Check out his blog here for more great content!
— by Peter Greer
It’s on all of our minds. It’s the first topic of conversation and the first headline on the news. The COVID-19 coronavirus is an escalating health concern across the globe and has been officially categorized as a pandemic.
We are inundated with information. Daily, I’ve been checking the statistics and have watched as the red dots on the map have grown and spread: first in Asia, then in Europe, and now in my home community.
We’ve grieved as the death toll continues to rise. We’ve seen the impact on the global economy and stock markets. We’ve heard about the travel bans, necessary precautions, preventative measures, symptoms, and supply shortages.
As fear and anxiety increase, our world becomes smaller. We naturally focus inward. How are we going to be impacted? How safe is my family? What will this mean for my travel plans? How much risk do I face? What will happen to my investments?
We seek to protect ourselves and our interests. Yet, Jesus invites us into a bigger world and a drastically different posture. A posture that constantly looks outward. Jesus called His followers to show deep love and concern for the most vulnerable. “Truly I tell you,” He said, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of Mine, you did for Me.”
As we consider the impact of COVID-19, we’re invited to look not only “to [our] own interests but … to the interests of the others” and to pay particular attention to the vulnerable, the elderly, the sick, and those impacted by poverty.
HOW DOES COVID-19 IMPACT PEOPLE LIVING IN POVERTY?
Amid all of the news, we haven’t heard much about the way the coronavirus is particularly damaging to those living in poverty, and not just the health infrastructure and challenges of testing and treating. For many, it’s about so much more than a declining retirement portfolio; it’s about survival this week.
Consider an entrepreneur in Asia who has spent her entire life trying to get a small restaurant up and running when coronavirus hits her community. With fewer and fewer customers visiting her restaurant, income dwindles. And with little savings, her ability to withstand that shock plummets. As days turn into weeks, the impact deepens. The concern is not just about health; it’s about survival.
For many living on the margins, the economic concerns outweigh the health concerns. Questions like How can I get medical attention? may be overshadowed by questions like Will I eat? This is the story for many families—around the world, as well as in the U.S.—who are reliant on cash flow and income for their livelihood.
In Galatians 2, as Paul prepares to travel, Peter gives him an important instruction. “All they asked,” Paul says, “was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.”
And two thousand years later, this is the call for us, too. To remember our brothers and sisters living on the margins, especially during a moment of global crisis. To think beyond our concerns and explore ways to live out uncommon generosity. To respond and invest in ways that build future resilience. To turn compassion into courageous action. To show love in the ways we pray, in the ways we give, and yes, even in the ways we cancel or postpone events (to do everything in our power to slow the spread of the disease).
Right now, the Church has an opportunity that it has not had in years. In a time when the world is growing more anxious by the day, we have the unique opportunity to share a different message—one of hope in Jesus Christ, of trust in a Kingdom economy, and of generosity in sharing with those in need. Years ago, Jesus invited His followers to share a tunic if they had two. Today, we might be invited to share an extra roll of toilet paper if we have more than we need. Let’s not miss this moment to creatively love our neighbors, the ones right next door and those much further away.
As the Church, may we embrace our mission to respond to the anxious, the hurting, and the vulnerable. To be known as a people who respond with courageous compassion and radical love.
“In a time like now, Christian neighboring looks less like fearful self-preservation and more like servanthood toward the elderly; those with HIV, autoimmune disease, or no healthcare; fatigued and under-resourced healthcare workers.
Wash hands, for sure. Then, wash feet.”
– Scott Sauls
Faith Driven Perspectives and a Hub of Tools to Respond to COVID-19
Image by Oleg Magni
It’s no secret that everyone’s day-to-day lives have been turned upside down by the coronavirus. While this particular pandemic is new, there’s much to learn from Scripture and other believers. Many difficult decisions await in the days ahead. And we should remind ourselves that as believers, “Worry is not our friend and panic is not our way.”
As we all do our best to hold fast to the truths of Scripture, we wanted to spotlight a few of the best resources that touch on our current events. We created this page on our site as well as the Faith Driven Entrepreneur site. These have all been referred to us by people like you, so as you discover others, even those more specifically related to Faith Driven Investing, please share them.
The first of these resources is our latest podcast. In light of present times—the pandemic, along with its economic and social effects—we wanted to quickly produce a podcast to speak into what we’re all experiencing. That’s what brings us to Mark Sears, Founder and CEO of CloudFactory. Early on in his entrepreneurial journey, he faced a global crisis, and the way he led his business during that time is an example for Faith Driven Entrepreneurs everywhere.
So, if you’re feeling a bit lost, overwhelmed, confused, or scared during these trying times, let Mark’s words be a source of encouragement… Stay tuned for others we’ll be releasing in the next few weeks.
Podcast Episode 18 – Worry Is Not Our Friend with Todd Wagner
subscribe to the podcast here
We’re combining the Faith Driven Entrepreneur and Faith Driven Investor audiences today to continue to address the current events we face. Todd Wagner joined us to speak into how we as believers can respond to the fear and worry surrounding COVID-19.
Todd is the lead pastor at Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas. If that name sounds familiar to you it’s probably because you’ve heard Henry mention it in the intro to this podcast as the location for where we will be hosting our Faith Driven Entrepreneur and Investor Conferences this fall. In addition to being our host and a speaker at the event, Todd is also a great voice in the faith-driven conversation.
His words of wisdom—or as his Twitter handle calls them, words from wags—are encouraging, challenging, and uplifting to all who hear them. And with our current events, we could all use encouragement. Like Todd shared, “worry is not our friend and panic is not our way…”
Useful Links:
Should Christians Be Anxious About Coronavirus?