This article was originally published here by Christianity Today.

by Matt Smethurst

It’s now clear that COVID-19 is a deadly serious global pandemic, and all necessary precautions should be taken. Still, C. S. Lewis’s words—written 72 years ago—ring with some relevance for us. Just replace “atomic bomb” with “coronavirus.”

In one way we think a great deal too much of the atomic bomb. “How are we to live in an atomic age?” I am tempted to reply: “Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth century when the plague visited London almost every year, or as you would have lived in a Viking age when raiders from Scandinavia might land and cut your throat any night; or indeed, as you are already living in an age of cancer, an age of syphilis, an age of paralysis, an age of air raids, an age of railway accidents, an age of motor accidents.”

In other words, do not let us begin by exaggerating the novelty of our situation. Believe me, dear sir or madam, you and all whom you love were already sentenced to death before the atomic bomb was invented: and quite a high percentage of us were going to die in unpleasant ways. We had, indeed, one very great advantage over our ancestors—anesthetics; but we have that still. It is perfectly ridiculous to go about whimpering and drawing long faces because the scientists have added one more chance of painful and premature death to a world which already bristled with such chances and in which death itself was not a chance at all, but a certainty.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION ON COVID-19, PLEASE SEE OUR PAGE HIGHLIGHTING SOME OF THE BEST RESOURCES OUT THERE FOR FAITH DRIVEN INVESTORS & ENTREPRENEURS IN THIS SEASON.

by Eric Chetwood

Ephesians 4:11-12 – and he gave…shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the work of the ministry.

I have worked in wealth management since 2004 and over the course of my career, I’ve experienced two big paradigm shifts that have dramatically changed how I see myself at work.

The first of which was coming to understand God’s design for us to live integrated lives, combining the sacred and the secular, which has been discussed thoroughly on this website as well as the podcast and I am so grateful for Henry and William driving that conversation, because living compartmentalized lives does not lead to our flourishing.

The second paradigm shift, and what I’d like to focus on today, is the notion that God intends for you and me, ordinary people, to be the primary agents of ministry and reconciliation in this world. There have been so many times in my life where I would meet someone and think, “if only they could meet my pastor, then they would love Jesus.” Or, “if only they would come to church and hear my pastor, then they would understand how much God loves them.” However, I have come to learn that this is a very unbiblical paradigm. When Paul is laying out the key performance indicators of the early church in Ephesians 4, he says that a pastor’s job is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. This statement has massive implications. It means that the pastor should not be the only one doing ministry. It means the pastor should not even be the primary one doing ministry. In fact, it means that you and I and everyone reading this are both empowered and expected to be the primary agents of gospel ministry! Until we understand this democratization; until we see ourselves as ministers of the gospel in real estate, or a kingdom of priests in wealth management, or as ambassadors of Christ in private equity, as if God were making his plea of reconciliation through us, we miss out on part of the great adventure. We miss out on the joy of knowing we are fulfilling our integrated purpose in life.

In light of that, I thought it might be helpful to start a discussion around what does it mean to be a faith driven financial advisor? What are some practical things that each of us can do, as advisors, to be the primary agents of ministry in the lives of our clients? Below are ten things that our team does, some consistently well, some not as well but all are things we are leaning in to and striving for by God’s grace.

One. Recognize that your relationship with clients is by nature one of the most intimate professional relationships that they have. No one, maybe other than their doctor, is allowed into their hopes and dreams and vulnerabilities the way that we are. Therefore, God could potentially use you to make a bigger impact in their life than any pastor or priest.

Two. You will never be able to be the financial advisor that God has called you to be if you are pouring out of an empty cup. We must shepherd and lead out of the overflow of what God is doing in our own hearts. Therefore, our highest professional priority must be to first abide in him daily. Apart from him, we can do nothing.

Three. We are not here to make rich people richer. We have a holy calling to care for them in every way that money impacts them: financially, emotionally, relationally, and even spiritually. We have an opportunity to show our clients a vision of what a shalom relationship with money looks like.

Four. Hire a client chaplain through Marketplace Chaplains or Corporate Chaplains of America. Many companies have chaplains for their staff.  We have a chaplain for our clients. When a client loses a spouse or gets a cancer diagnosis, there are certainly financial implications. But in that moment, they don’t want to hear about the internal rate of return or standard deviation. When clients share the unimaginable with us, we hurt with them, pray with them if they’ll allow us and then tell them that we have a chaplain on staff that would love to come and sit with them, hold their hand, and help them process in a kind and nonthreatening way.

Five. Give them books that will shatter their wealth paradigm. I’ll give you a personal example. A few years ago, I read the book God and Money by Gregory Baumer and John Cortines, and it absolutely wrecked me; in a good way; in a great way. So, I would explain in client reviews how it changed me and how it changed our planning practices and then I’d give them a copy of the book to read. The feedback has been more than I could ask or imagine. We now track the number of gospel finance books given away as one of our KPI’s.

Six. Help clients understand that giving away their time, talent and treasure is not a guilt-driven obligation, but a life-giving emancipation! Empirical research shows that sacrificial giving leads to higher levels of happiness. Of course, wealth can be a powerful force for good, but we also recognize that money has a seductive, almost corrosive effect on our hearts. The primary antidote to its seduction is to give away our first fruits. As I’ve heard it said, generosity is not something God wants from us. It is something he wants for us. As advisors, we can facilitate this discovery in the financial planning process by elevating charitable goals as being just as important to a client’s financial well-being as goals around retirement age, retirement spending, etc.

Seven. Pray through your client list in team meetings or on your own. If you serve 100 clients and have 50 weekly staff meetings in a year, open your meetings by praying for two clients by name. Pray that God would bless them and that they would comprehend the magnitude of the height and depth and breadth and width of his love for them. Pray that they would taste and see that He is good and that His love is better than life.  Not every one of our clients loves Jesus, but that doesn’t change the fact that Jesus loves every one of our clients.

Eight. Use portfolios that are God-honoring. In God’s economy, how we make a profit is just as important as how much we make in profit. As investment managers, we can and should proactively show our clients ways that we can run screens to make sure their values align with the companies that they own, even if those companies are hidden under the hood of a mutual fund or ETF. Our clients are relying on us to help guard their integrity by making sure that they are not put in a position where they are hypothetically fighting for the lives of the unborn and then subsequently subsidizing the abortion industry through the holdings in their IRA. One such screening tool can be found at inspireinsight.com.

***In the event that you work in wealth management but your role within the firm does not actively participate in portfolio construction, you can still be an advocate within your firm for fund companies that align with client values. Some faith-based fund companies that are worth researching are Eventide, Thrivent, Praxis funds, Timothy funds, Inspire funds, Ave Maria funds and others.

Nine. Sharpen the saw with other like-minded advisors through a Kingdom Advisors study group. We were not designed to go it alone. All of us need encouragement, accountability, and an opportunity to exchange best practices with other like-minded advisors who care about us and desire our best future. Sometimes, the only person that is going to understand what you’re going through is another financial advisor. But Eric, do we really want to share our best practices with the competition? In all the years I’ve been doing this, I have learned that we gain so much more through collaboration than we ever lose to competition. I do not consider you my competition. This business is not mine; it’s God’s. Your business is not yours; it’s God’s. And, God is not a God of scarcity but a God of abundance. I am confident there are plenty of clients who are longing for someone to show them what a shalom relationship with money looks like.

***If you do not have access to a Kingdom Advisors study group, another great option for Christian business owners is a group called C-12.  It is a faith-based peer advisory group that has been incredibly helpful to me personally and to our wealth management practice.

Ten. Attend the annual Kingdom Advisors conference for continuing education, retreat and renewal. I have attended many continuing education conferences over the course of my career but this one struck a different nerve. I am not on their payroll or anything, so I can unashamedly say that the KA Conference in Orlando provided sharpening for my brain, a recharge for my body, and nourishment for my soul. If you are thinking about going in the future, I promise you it is worth the investment of time and money; even more so if you bring your spouse.

So those are ten practical ways to be a faith driven financial advisor.  My prayer is that this list is just the beginning, or even a continuation, of a nationwide conversation.  Sharing ideas begets more ideas. What practical things do you do to be an ambassador of Christ in the world of wealth management?

This article was originally published here by Christianity Today.

by Todd Wagner

With the increasing coronavirus cases outside of China, many believers across the United States wonder how to respond to the increasing alarm. What would God have us do in the face of a growing international health crisis? Should our churches close their doors for fear of spreading illness? Should I take my kids out of school? Cancel travel plans?

How should we help a panicked world?

Remember What We Know

First, it’s important to be reminded about what we already know. Worry is not our friend, and panic is not our way. Solomon reminds us, “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small” (Prov. 24:10). May it never be said that God’s people are governed more by fear than faith.

Corrie ten Boom, along with other faithful from among the nations, led courageously in the face of the Nazi fascism—a different form of deadly virus. And she reminds us, “Worry doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrows, it empties today of its strength.”

In times of crisis, the world needs steady people who are strengthened by God’s grace and selfless by God’s power. Worry accomplishes nothing except weakness of heart and head. It’s been said that 90 percent of the things we worry or become panicked about never happen, and the other 10 percent are outside our control.

While we remain on alert against viruses of doctrine or disease, worrying won’t change our circumstances or lower our chance of infection. It won’t help us fight off illness or move us to action. Worrying about COVID-19 (or anything else) will only increase trouble. Rather than worrying and being anxious, Jesus calls us to respond with prayer and faith in him (Matt. 6:33–34; Phil. 4:6). We need not worry ultimately because we know the One who has defeated sin and death (1 Cor. 15:55–57).

Remind yourself continually: it takes the same amount of energy to worry as to pray. One leads to peace, the other to panic. Choose wisely.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION ON COVID-19, PLEASE SEE OUR PAGE HIGHLIGHTING SOME OF THE BEST RESOURCES OUT THERE FOR FAITH DRIVEN INVESTORS & ENTREPRENEURS IN THIS SEASON.

With the help of faith friends from our gathering of Faith Driven Investors, we’ve begun drafting a set of Unifying Principles. Our hope is that we can begin to come together under these thoughts and ideas to work toward a more full vision of what it means to let our faith drive our investments.

If you have thoughts, questions, concerns, things you’d change or add, please let us know! We’re relying on you, our community, to make this resource the best it can be.

Christ followers have become known for what we are against—no alcohol, tobacco, adult entertainment, gambling, etc. While acknowledging the good negative screen funds that exist, we desire for our movement to be more known for what we are FOR in how we place our investment capital—things like human flourishing, job creation, redemptive businesses that restore the world to God’s original design in the garden, etc.

The focus is less on which negative investments to avoid and more on where resources can be positively stewarded to do the most good. Of course, this is not a movement that is about delineating what Christ followers should or should not invest in. Some investments may be clear to avoid (those that produce and distribute pornography as a material part of their business model might be an example), and others may be less clear (those that make some food products that our doctors would tell us to avoid).

Regardless, we look to what Jesus said about His disciples—that they would be known by their love. Jesus didn’t send His disciples into the world to be known by the things they avoided. Yes, some things are worth staying away from, but that is not the focus of this movement. Instead, we search for the places and investments that we can lean toward.

Jesus sent believers out to live and love intentionally. Financial resources act as vehicles for this type of lifestyle. Instead of being known by what we don’t do, our investments focus on the mission given by God for humans to do good, serve others, and love well. While God has given many “Thou shall not” commands, this movement focuses on what God says “Thou shall do” to make God’s name known and to reveal His glory.

When we are engaged in a problem, we are committed to understanding the ins and outs of the community affected and always strive to come up with a solution that serves everyone involved. Instead of avoiding the problems and sins that plague this world—real as they are—the Faith-Driven Investor movement hopes to take an active and engaged role with what God has put in front of us.

Using Scripture as Our Guide

• Ephesians 5:11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

• Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

• Proverbs 16:8 Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice.

• Matthew 22:37-39 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is t he first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

• Proverbs 13:11 Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.

• Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

• Matthew 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations.

• Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

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Faith-Based Employee Resource Groups. This term may be new to you, or it may be something you’re already participating in. Either way, this episode is for you. Christeen Rico is leading the conversation around ERGs, and what she shared in our conversation was both informative and insightful.

If you don’t know, ERGs are groups within companies that foster community and conversation among like-minded people. Companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, Toyota, and many more are creating these types of groups, so we’re grateful that Christeen dropped by to give us the inside scoop. 

If you’re an entrepreneur looking for ways to foster faith-based conversations within your business, Christeen will tell you exactly what it takes to form these groups. Or, if you’re an investor looking to get involved with companies that already have ERGs, Christeen will help you understand why these groups are important and how they add value.

Apart from that, Christeen was also a fun person to spend time with, and we think you’ll find this episode one worth listening to. Enjoy!