10 Tangible ways to Integrate Your Faith as an Advisor
Image by Tim Bogdanov
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?