by Henry Kaestner

Faith driven entrepreneurs are an integral and critical piece of how God is working in the world. A clearer examination of the importance of faith driven entrepreneurship and the “marks” of a successful faith driven entrepreneur are critical as we look to encourage and invest in these culture-makers that God is using to renew and restore all things. A faith driven entrepreneur is an active participant in the bringing about of God’s Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven.  

Transformation happens in the marketplace. It happens when we can love on our partners, vendors, customers and employees in such a way that points to a God who loves us, who gave the ultimate sacrifice for us, and who we might know, love and serve bringing joy to ourselves and others. Faith driven entrepreneurs are the co-authors of this transformation.

Grasping the importance of faith driven entrepreneurship is important everywhere, both in the the West as we see new entrepreneurial pursuits like Facebook redefine community for better or worse, but especially in emerging markets where rates of self-employment are often high and culture-making is of special significance. Creating a Godly vision for entrepreneurship can raise up a new generation of culture-makers in the marketplace in places like India where more traditional and inflexible beliefs on Christian vocation exist (e.g. a Christ-follower should go into the ministry or the academy).

Before we go into an overview of the five marks of a faith driven entrepreneur, it’s important to set a foundation. What is the mission of a faith driven entrepreneur? What is it that we do? How does what we do fit in to the larger work that God is doing in the world? Why is it important in God’s economy? Why should we examine this force at the Christian Economic Forum?

We come to understand the importance of a faith driven entrepreneurs when we examine the concepts of Imago Dei, Missio Dei and the Creation Mandate.

Imago Dei: We were created in the image of a God who:

• worked six days a week

• whose work was beautiful 

• and whose work continues to this day (John 5:17)

• we can do great things as a part of the body of Christ, and apart from Him we can do nothing of value (John 15:5)

Missio Dei: 

• Being used by God to bring about His Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven for His glory  

• Being God’s agent in working toward the restoration and redemption of all things

The Creation Mandate: 

• Be fruitful and multiply

• Take dominion over all

As faith driven entrepreneurs, we have:

• A high calling: As Christ-followers we have a special opportunity to be used by God to bring about His Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven, and,

• A different motive: From a radically transformed heart, and out of gratitude for the gift of life given us, now and eternal, we seek to bring all that we are – our gifting, our talents, our expertise – to the altar as our meaningful form of worship because we are grateful for the gift of life given us…now and eternal.

The Five Marks:

1. Identity: Who(se) the entrepreneur is. Responding with joy to the gift of life given us. Is our identity as a successful business owner? A leader of a company that is growing fast? One that closed a big funding round or was featured in a newspaper? Or, is our primary identity as a beloved child of God, unable to earn our salvation regardless of entrepreneurial success or financial gain?

2. Excellence: It’s to the degree that we do our work well that we have an opportunity to witness and be heard (Francis Schaeffer). The rest of the world, both secular and Christ-following, expects that we will be second rate. Acknowledge the headwinds created by  business owners who have used a “fish sign” to compensate for shoddy work….and push through it doing great work for the King as He uses us to bring about His Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven.

3. Stewardship vs. Ownership: Understanding the benefits and challenges that come from financial success. Think of the story of the five loaves and two fish. God can make something out of nothing, so he doesn’t need my money. He just wants my heart. And too often money has a grip on my heart, so giving is a way for me to worship Him with all of my heart. Why do we give? Is it because we are grateful for the gift of life given us or something a bit more transactional?

4. Ministry in Deed: Loving our partners, vendors, customers, employees, and communities in a way that goes beyond expectations. Ministry in deed might also mean creating a product or service that is in itself redemptive or restorative looking to solve for a market deficiency. I think about the way that Grab looks to provide safety in transportation across all of Southeast Asia for instance. Ministry in deed also can mean loving on our communities in a way that is different than the rest of businesses in an industry. Example: CloudFactory’s 1,000 CSR projects in the year preceding the 2015 earthquake in Nepal.

5. Ministry in Word: With the preceding four marks in place, we have an excellent opportunity to introduce the Gospel and the reason for the Hope that we have to those in our companies and markets. Some examples include:

• The leader sharing their story including how God has worked in their lives.

• Being ready to pray with someone, in Jesus’ name, who is in crisis.

• Incorporating chaplaincy. A 24/7 resource available from a ministry professional who can be on standby for spiritual crises brought on about by sickness, death or other stresses.

Some other considerations for a faith driven entrepreneur include:

The Importance of the Spiritual Disciplines:

Practicing prayer, fasting and time in God’s Word regularly, if not daily.

“The most amazing force in the world is compound interest.” – Albert Einstein

The Importance of Being in Community:

Entrepreneurship can be a very lonely journey as evidenced by the much higher rates of mental illness from entrepreneurs (see FDE podcast with Max Anderson). 

Lessons from the Good Kings of Judah:

Asa, Jehoshaphat, Uzziah, Hezekiah…we need to seek God and His will 100% of the time, not just 90% as they did. It is nearly impossible to do that without being in community.

A Right View of the Role of the Entrepreneur’s Financial Success:

If Jesus could take five loaves and two fish and feed 5,000, then He doesn’t need our financial success to bankroll the work that He is doing. He wants our hearts.

Practical Notes on Generosity:

Establish a financial finish line well in advance of financial success and then share with others so as to make it more accountable (see FDE podcast interview with Alan Barnhart or Generous Giving article with John Cortines). Be ready to answer the question “Why do you give?” Is it out of gratitude for the gift given us first, and then a desire to bring all that we are to the altar as our meaningful worship second?

Willfulness vs. Faithfulness

An entrepreneur needs to be on guard about being willful vs. faithful. Example: the leaders of Bandwidth willfully looking to raise money rather than seeking God’s plan. Examples from Scripture: Saul not waiting on Samuel as opposed to Gideon waiting on God. One can be willful in activity as well as passivity. Think also of David staying behind when kings went off to war. 

Or, as Chip Ingram describes the paradigm, “striving vs contending”:

In essence, all of God’s work is going to be done in a hostile environment where the enemy seeks to thwart Kingdom advancement. Therefore, it requires energy and focus and faith to move forward. But there’s a difference between “contending” for the faith (what God has directed you to do), and “striving.” Contending means “I bring all that I am in obedience to the Lord Jesus but the outcomes are His” – it’s a position of dependency and entrusting the results, and timing, and funding etc. to Him. “Striving“  is characterized by an internal pressure that “I have to make this happen” in my energy, in the timeline I believe is necessary and, in many cases, by the means that I think is best. Contending is accompanied by peace and dependency; striving is accompanied by anxiety and pressure. 

For more information, I invite you to check out the Faith Driven Entrepreneur website (www.faithdrivenentrepreneur.org), where you’ll find out a more fleshed out look at the five marks along with a daily blog, a weekly podcast, a monthly newsletter and more that seek to equip and empower the faith driven entrepreneur

A diagram that lays it all out (thanks Jake Thomsen, partner at Sovereign’s Capital):

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.

by Ben Erskine and Matt Miglares

Owners and operators of real estate have an opportunity to faithfully steward the properties and businesses that they have been entrusted with well. This can be achieved with superior results  in the marketplace. Our fund, Callis Capital, is built on this thesis.  

In our corner of the faith-driven investor (“FDI”) movement, we are deploying capital into real estate assets with operating partners that have a model for spiritual integration (“SI”).  Our vision is a world where the built environments and businesses that surround us—through service, excellence, and neighborly love – more visibly reflect God’s plan for all people. 

Over the past two years, we’ve engaged in conversations with hundreds of groups that are pursuing SI across a variety of real estate asset classes (i.e. residential, retail, office, hospitality, industrial, etc). This broad perspective has allowed us to observe a diversity of approaches, strategies, and tactics that we hope can strengthen the movement as a whole.  In this paper, we are not aiming to define the best spiritual integration model or even to describe in detail what various models look like at the property level. Rather, we aim to highlight the patterns and ingredients that we are seeing bubble up to the surface as a part of flourishing faith driven real estate organizations and the teams that lead them. 

A compelling pattern that we have recently uncovered is the early indication of the “flywheel effect” of consistent, integrated spiritual activities for many of our portfolio partners.  Investors will be familiar with this concept popularized by Jim Collins in his book Good To Great.  Collins writes about achieving excellence not through a single miracle program or amazing innovation, but by persistently building momentum until breakthrough. He uses the analogy of a flywheel creating momentum by building up rotational energy to illustrate how seemingly small amounts of effort applied consistently over time can lead to exponential results. 

We’ve seen a similar dynamic play out in real estate spiritual integration models and have noticed a common momentum-building pattern within the Callis network—a pattern we have simplified into three main principles of practice, translation, and purpose.

Practice  

Regardless of the SI model pursued, the leadership team takes critical first steps to convert a concept into an action plan involving intentional and consistent practices. Methods are diverse and varied, but frequently parallel other workflows and management practices within the organization. For example, some managers have incorporated SI updates alongside other core business functions on regular management meeting agendas. Additionally, many make specific budget allocations to resource their SI strategy. Dedicated human resources are another common thread. Several groups even appoint an SI leader at the management level to ensure accountability on SI progress reporting. Depending on their model, companies utilize both internal and external teams to carry out SI responsibilities at the ground level. A shared practice among all of these teams is to establish an open reporting channel between property-level SI activity and company leadership. 

Translation

Once consistent patterns of practice have been formed, highly effective models involve regular communication about SI through vertical layers of the organization and across internal and external stakeholders. Specific communication strategies vary widely across our network, but often involve a combination of formal and informal communication. This is intended to prevent the siloing of ministry programming. Leadership teams seek to regularly communicate the values that drive their practices and help team members translate the SI philosophy into day-to-day company activities. Broadly speaking, groups will share progress and challenges with on-the-ground work. In support, many leadership teams have established prayer rhythms for internal team requests and outward facing SI activities.

Messaging varies depending on many factors including the size of the organization and how it is capitalized.  One of the most fascinating things that we have noticed is how critical and impactful the words chosen to communicate practices and purpose are to the adoption and support of the mission throughout an enterprise. Groups may provide different translations of SI practices in consideration for the diverse perspectives of different stakeholder groups. Chosen words matter when considering the sensitivities of investors, employees, candidates, vendors, or tenants. They can be powerful culture-building tools, but can also be hazardous when not managed thoughtfully.

Purpose

As stakeholders experience consistent SI investment and communication over time, the increasing visibility of mission begins to build an authentic culture of spiritual intentionality. The sense of shared company purpose expands to include the larger mission. As a result, the SI practices initially implemented by the leadership begin to grow beyond programmatic activities into team-initiated habits. We’ve seen multiple examples where this increasing sense of ownership in organizations produces innovative strategies as team members leverage their experience to propose new ideas and take initiative. As an organization establishes this sense of purpose within its culture, these habits and behaviors become the truest reflection in a company of the Great Commandment that Christ-following business leaders strive to obey in the marketplace.  

Key Conclusions

We are still in the early stages of the faith-driven investing movement with exciting greenfields ahead for innovation, growth, and collaboration.  We are eager to continue to observe and learn. For now, here are a few key observations we can make at this point:

1. We believe this flywheel effect resonates with a heart posture of stewardship rather than ownership—a value central to each of us as faith-driven investors. As stewards, we strive for faithfulness in managing what has been entrusted to us—that may take the form of devoted resource allocations or communication that witness to God at work in our company. Through the consistent application of even small practices, our actions can demonstrate faith that the true Owner of our business can take even modest offerings to produce supernatural spiritual outcomes.  

2. We see this growth process as both successive and iterative. On the one hand, a flourishing faith driven real estate organization builds on a foundation of basic SI practice without which the translation effort feels hollow. Consistent practice and thoughtful translation of those efforts fosters a culture that reflects vision and purpose. Yet simultaneously, that instilled culture and purpose fuels innovation into new SI practices accompanied by organic and authentic communication. 

Practical applications of these two observations may be most obvious for real estate operators managing teams and assets, but we want to bring forward at least one application for the faith-driven investor. As we deploy capital with teams establishing SI practice and translation strategies, our partnership in prayer and encouragement is essential—especially in the early stages when SI traction can be slow. The real estate corner of the faith-driven movement needs “mustard seed capital” that can provide both prayerful support and accountability around SI practices in the collective pursuit of the SI breakthrough.  

by Timothy Plan

‘THE CHOSEN’ HITS GOAL OF FULLY FUNDING SECOND SEASON; BEGINS FILMING

Production has begun on the second season of ‘The Chosen,’ which began filming on October 9 in Goshen, Utah.

Costing more than $1,120,000 per episode, “The Chosen” is a high-quality telling of the life of Jesus and the people around Him.  The award-winning, multi-season series has been viewed more than 60 million times worldwide.  VidAngel, which distributes “The Chosen,” raised more than $10 million to produce Season One, and, by the end of September, has generated about $9 million to go toward Season Two according to CEO Neal Harmon. 

Launched in 2013, VidAngel began by offering families the ability to skip and mute movies and TV shows available for streaming.  The company started making its own content after several major studios – Disney, LucasFilm, Twentieth Century Fox, Warner Bros., Turner Entertainment, New Line Productions and MVL Film Finance – sued VidAngel in 2016.

A federal court in Los Angeles awarded the studios $62.4 million, but VidAngel, which declared bankruptcy, settled with Disney, Warner Brothers and the others in September, agreeing not to “decrypt, copy, stream or distribute content of Disney, Warner Brothers, and their affiliates without permission from the Studios,” drop their appeal and pay $9.9 million over 14 years. 

It was the best thing to happen to the upstart company, according to Mr. Harmon.  “We’ve had to build a system outside the system,” he told me during a telephone interview.  “It’s a beachhead for transforming entertainment for the rest of us.”  

Consumers are tired of funneling money to Hollywood studios that have contempt for what they believe, he said, noting that VidAngel is geared toward “the most underserved and marginalized audiences – like people of faith.”

“We’re finished trying to make money for Hollywood studios who abhor that we’re skipping objectionable parts of their shows and sue us for it,” he continued.  “If they’re not willing to cooperate, we have no choice but to replace them.” 

Article originally posted here by Timothy Plan

Click here to read the full article!

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

by Andrew Firman

The Growing Impact Space

The Impact Investing space has grown substantially over the past decade. The idea that our capital and businesses can be used for good has deeply resonated with retail investors all the way to family offices and institutions. Christians have sought to tailor their investment approach within this nascent space, with a focus on adding a “Kingdom” element to the traditional environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) factors that the world uses to define impact. 

Below is a non-exhaustive list that shows the breakdown of these two impact categories and how they differ.

The recent embrace of Kingdom Impact has been an exciting focus for the Christian business world. Stories of how God has used business to bring men and women around the world to saving faith are encouraging testimonies of His sovereignty and providence in every aspect of our lives. There has (rightfully) been little debate or disagreement within the Christian world of the necessity of Kingdom Impact, so it is helpful to instead transition our focus to the ESG factors that the world has focused on.

We must ask an important question: as Christians, do we have anything to offer to the non-Kingdom impact space? I believe the theologically-minded Christian should give a hearty “Yes!” to this question. While looking historically, in addition to theologically, Christians should not only add to this type of impact, but lead the world’s thinking in regards to ESG as a whole.

The Church as the Leader

Stepping back, it is helpful to look at how movements within Christianity have become part of the mainstream. Historically, the global Church has been a leader in some of the most impactful aspects of society, including education and healthcare. Truth that the Church has known for millennia may take time for the world’s knowledge to catch on to. Over the past decade, the emerging growth of impact investing has followed this same trend. In short, the world did not decide that business with an ESG focus was good. Christians have known this since God commanded Adam to work in the Garden!

Simple affirmations of how Christians theologically and biblically should view vocation aid in giving clarity to our view of ESG.

1. Work is intrinsically good, as evidenced by its creation before the fall. (Gen 1:29-31)

2. Christians are called to work. (Gen 2:15)

3. Jesus came to fix all that was broken, and does this by the outworking of the church through its members. (Rev 21:5, Eph 3:10)

The implications of these three statements are immense. Christians affirm the goodness of work. The fruit of this inherently good creation must have intrinsic good. In other words, there will be impact from any believer’s non-sinful occupation. (Going a theological level deeper, it would be more accurate to say that work is good but broken, therefore its output will also be partially broken.)  

In order to correctly understand the Christian lens through which we view investing, it is imperative for a believer to have a solid grasp of the teleological way in which God has made his wisdom apparent in ordering the world. In other words, the means through which God has chosen to typically work will rightfully influence our view of the value and impact of work and investing. Practically, a thorough understanding of common grace, providence, and sovereignty should make a believer well-equipped to navigate this space.

Practical Considerations

How then do we see this practically worked out in investing? We can conclude that the world’s view of impact and ESG is not wrong, but it is too narrow. As the church, we should work to expand our own scope of what should fall into the traditional impact space.  We affirm the goodness of renewable energy, clean water in third-world countries, and businesses that improve upon education and healthcare. Yet we also can see God’s providence, sovereignty, and common grace in the complexity that He has designed our modern day economy to operate in. In his book God at Work, Gene Veith explains that “we ask God to give us this day our daily bread. And He does give us our daily bread. He does it by means of a farmer who planted and harvested the grain, the baker who made the flour into bread, the person who prepared our meal” (1).

In short, Christians affirming ESG-type impact are actually just speaking what we know to be true from Scripture: God works in even the smallest areas of our lives for His own purposes. The world may see a doctor giving a vaccination in a third-world country. Our Christian eyes see the glory, providence, and common grace behind this. We see a pharmaceutical company that developed the vaccine. We see capital markets that provided the funding for it to operate. We see auditors ensuring proper accounting and governance to keep the business running.

This speaks to what we know to be true in 1 Corinthians 12, with God using many pieces that are no less important to what we see to be the end goal. As Tim Keller says in his book Every Good Endeavor, “Our gospel-trained eyes can see the world ablaze with the glory of God’s work through the people He has created and called – in everything from the simplest actions, such as milking a cow, to the most brilliant artistic or historic achievements” (64).

Even in jobs that we may not think love our neighbor or benefit society, through His design, they do! In doing so, we rightfully affirm the goodness of vocation in general to our brothers and sisters in our churches. Their work matters, because He is at work in it! 

These theological ideas that run through the Old and New Testament can greatly influence how Christians invest on a very practical level. Understanding how God uses our vocations as His means to impact our world and our neighbors gives us immense clarity into where we should best allocate our capital. As these topics are discussed further, a more Biblically-based view of ESG can be coupled with Kingdom impact to see the Gospel continue to redeem all areas of life.