FDI Podcast quotes
Photo by Will Francis on Unsplash
by FDI Team
Faith Driven Investor has been blessed with a wide array of podcast guests over the course of its short history. We’ve compiled a list of 10 of our favorite, most challenging and encouraging sound bites to sample the ocean of wisdom in the FDI community. You can find the full podcasts, as well as those not listed here.
Peter Greer, FDI Episode 8, “Rooting for Rivals”
“The leaders that are having the greatest impact for the Kingdom right now, regardless of sector, are those that say ‘I believe in a God of abundance, that your success is not threatening to me,’ and individuals that see their mission as doing anything possible to not be bound by an organizational logo, but instead to be focused on the Kingdom of God, those that seek first the Kingdom of God…so I think it on a very practical ways, means we can let go of our tightly clinched fists and live life with open hands. And I can tell you that is good for the impact of the Kingdom. It is good to live out a picture of John 17 when Jesus prayed that there would be unity among those that would believe in His name.”Brian Fikkert, FDI Episode 7, “Practicing the King’s Economy”
“So the great commandment is to love God and love our neighbors. And those commands ought to be the transcendent guiding principles in everything we do, including our business lives.”
“We know the beginning of the story and we know the end of the story is a great banquet feast, a great potluck where we reign with Christ as restored priests and kings. We know the beginning. We know the end. There’s a lot in the middle that we don’t know very much about and that’s the chapter we’re living right now. We just don’t know exactly what it looks like. And so I am increasingly of the opinion that what we’re called to do if to improvise the Kingdom. We don’t really know the details. We don’t have a detailed script. What we have from the Bible are prompts. We have prompts in all kinds of fun and creative ways. And so there’s a sense in which we are improvising a Kingdom.Frank Chen, FDI Episode 5, “The Investor as a Servant Leader”
“The investor is a servant leader. The entrepreneur is doing the hard work and our role as an investor is to come alongside and love on them. To understand their heart, understand their journey, see how we can be part of their journey with introductions, with capital, with advice, with perspective, right lifting the fund war.”Aimee Minnich, FDI Episode 6, “Truth Telling”
“God doesn't need my venture to succeed. He doesn't need my investment to succeed. And so I think at the outset of recognizing a failure, it's critical to check our spirit and say, ‘Am I trying to push this to make it successful because I feel like that's what the Lord is asking me to do or because I want to feel better about myself or satisfy some internal motivation that isn't from the Lord?’”Mike Silvestri, FDI Episode 32, “What Is an Impact Bond?”
“What is the risk of not investing in something that has the potential to do dramatic good and measurably change a system that is stacked against individuals who are disadvantaged and in many cases, whether they can’t achieve health outcomes or they can’t get out of the criminal justice system or they can’t get a job? And what if we can use our capital to play a role in rewriting that system for good?”Mike Silvestri, FDI Episode 32, “What Is an Impact Bond?”
“I think that we can be imaginative and creative and at times, concessionary, with our returns if it means we’re stewarding our capital to achieve maximum social outcomes…That, I think, is an arguably more balanced view of what our duty is as investors.”Efosa Ojomo, FDI Podcast, “The Prosperity Paradox”
“Investors who really want to be a force for good and a force for God in the world, should understand is this notion that C.S. Lewis talks about in his book where he says, ‘Christ, little Christians all over the place should be like good infection.’ It's like we should go to a place and because of the way we are, we should infect the place as sort of little Christ's running around. And over time, we'll see how that place changes. One of the best ways you can do this is through business. Now, what this means is we need to lean into places that seem overtly corrupt and figure out how to do business there.”Greg Lernihan, FDI Episode 22, “The Four Quadrants of a Faith Driven Portfolio”
“If all the business opportunities that we invest in look perfect on paper, where are we allowing God to show His Majesty and his power and give Him glory in impossible situations? We like that these [investments] require God to be successful.Dick Blanc and Steven Diedrich, FDI Episode 26, “Preparing the Next Generation of Faith Driven Investors”
Dick Blanc, “Who will I be as a leader and who will I mentor others to be as a leader? And what, if there was a chapter in God's word that summarized the impact of my life, what would it say? Would it say I was courageous and bold enough to address the things that God dislikes in the ways he wants? Would it say that I trusted him in his sovereignty and in his wisdom versus aligning and partnering with perhaps another acquaintance or company or partner who has some strength to help me in a difficult situation? Would I look to God and say God, like David, do I go to battle or do something else? And that certainly was a test for all the kings. Could it be said that in the scope of the things that I have the opportunity to lead and steward that I left them better than when I was given the role in terms of, you know, being aligned in God's mission, in the impact that God wants to make in the marketplace?”David Snyder and Steve Vecchitto, FDI Episode 31, “The Multifamily Movement”
Steve Vecchitto, “I've really left what is valuable to the world and are looking at it with a different lens. And what is it that Lord, what is it Jesus wants me to be doing in my life? And it's turned me from being a greedy person to being a steward of what God has given me and for investor’s money. So it's really changed my lenses in view of the world.”