Did you know that over the next two decades, trillions of dollars will pass from one generation to the next? Hi, I'm Rob West. The question is: what kind of legacy will that transfer leave behind? Today my friend Boyd Bailey joins us to talk about how generosity is about more than dollars. It's about discipleship, financial literacy, and passing on wisdom along with wealth.
And then it's on to your phone calls at 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. This is Faith in Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial journey. Boyd Bailey is president of the National Christian Foundation in Georgia, an underwriter of this program. Boyd is also the author of several books, including his newest, which just came out last month: The Power of Generosity: Experiencing God's Amazing Abundance.
Boyd, what a treat to have you with us today. Oh, thank you and Rob. It's a joy to be with you. Boyd, NCF has helped mobilize over $21 billion for more than 90,000 charities and ministries since 1982, and it was founded by Larry Briquette and Terry Parker and Ron Blue. And listeners may not know much about NCF or about you.
So I'd love for you just to take a moment and share a bit about what makes NCF unique. Yeah. You know, Rob, when you have Christian in your brand, there's this high level of responsibility that we feel. And so we want to be a trusted partner for fellow believers that walk with them and help them to really make the most of all that God's entrusted to them and their families. And And we like to start with the heart to pray with them around, you know, discerning God's heart for their generosity, and then the joy of connecting them into this.
Generous community, literally around the country, that can support them in their giving journey. And then we do follow that up with. Real specific giving strategy, tax savings, how to make the most of their generosity. But we really start with discipleship, we start with the heart. Yeah.
Well, I know that to be true personally. I've watched it play out as the advisors we serve at Kingdom Advisors work so closely with NCF. And folks, there is nobody better in this space.
Now, one of my favorite tools, boy, that I talk about all the time is what NCF has called a giving fund. Perhaps you might think of it as a charitable checking account. Will you share with our listeners how it works and why it's so powerful? Yeah, Rob, believe it or not, even with my technology savviness, I can set up a fund on the NCF website in about, you know, 30 seconds. I mean, it's really a.
An easy way. My wife and I will literally be attending fundraising banquets and feel led by the Lord to give to a particular ministry or charity. And we'll go on our app, on our phone, to our NCF Giving Fund and literally make that donation. You know, within 20 seconds, having attended that gathering of believers. And so we like to make it easy and accessible, but also it's a great way to involve your family.
And generosity. You know, as our children got older, we opened Each child with a donor advised fund seated with some money. And go ahead and let them begin that journey of generosity as young adults. And so. And I would say, lastly, it's not just cash.
In fact, we have a kind of a joke around the office: friends don't let friends give cash. And what we mean by that is there's all these non-cash opportunities. You know, you can donate stock, appreciated stock into your giving fund, and then 100% of that, and all the capital gains are saved, and you can give away 100% of that to your favorite ministry. But then there's appreciated real estate, there's business interest. And so the giving fund is like this secret weapon for generosity in God's kingdom.
Well, and what I love about it, Boyd, is: you know, if you want to give a non-cash, let's say an asset to your favorite ministry, when you call them and talk about giving a piece of the business or the farm or real estate or even stock, you might get a little bit of a deer in the headlights look. But NCF knows absolutely how to handle it quickly and efficiently.
So why not give it to your donor-advised fund first and then grant it out to all these great ministries, right?
Well, absolutely. And you know, it's great having a team of attorneys and CPAs. They love Jesus, and they're so skilled. I mean, they're called. To help mobilize the kingdom and mobilize generosity, to have them on our team is fantastic.
Folks, I'd love for you just to go ahead and get your giving fund opened today. If you head to faithfi.com slash ncf, that's faithfi.com slash ncf, you will read quickly about what it is. And as boyd said, in about 30 seconds, you can get one open. More than 21 billion has passed through NCF to more than 90,000 charities and ministries. And boy, I'd love for you to take advantage.
Again, that's faithfy.com slash NCF. All right, we're going to take a quick break. When we come back, Boyd is going to be with us. We're going to talk about his new book, The Power of Generosity, Experiencing God's Amazing Abundance. That's just around the corner.
Don't go anywhere. We're just getting started. At FaithFi, we believe that money is a tool to advance God's kingdom. When you become a FaithPhy partner, you help more people discover the freedom of biblical stewardship and the joy of seeing God as their ultimate treasure. As a thank you, you'll get early access to our newest studies and devotionals, our quarterly Faithful Steward magazine, and the pro version of the FaithFi app.
Become a FaithFi partner with your gift of $35 a month or $400 a year at faith5.com slash partner. Are you looking to maximize your charitable impact this season? The National Christian Foundation has a smart solution. It's called a giving fund, and it helps you give more strategically, grow your balance tax-free, and amplify your charitable impact. If you want a donor-advised fund that aligns with your values, open a giving fund today and start making a bigger difference for the causes you love.
Learn how at faithfi.com forward slash NCF.
So glad to have you with us today on Faith and Finance. You know, our goal each day is to help you live as a wise and faithful steward, understanding God owns it all, and money is a good gift from a good God. It's a tool to use to advance God's purposes, to bring Him glory, to enjoy. And, you know, a big part of that is our giving, holding it loosely, giving it generously, participating in God's activities. What a privilege that is.
I'm talking today with my friend Boyd Bailey. Boyd is president of the National Christian Foundation in Georgia, an underwriter of this program, and especially here at Year End. We'd love for you to check out NCF, founded by Ron Blue and Larry Briquette, and Terry Parker. It's been around for a long, long time, serving God's people since 1982. And I'd love for you to learn more when you go to faithfy.com/slash NCF.
Now, Now, Boyd's newest book is called The Power of Generosity: Experiencing God's Amazing Abundance. Boyd, let's talk about it a bit. You know, was there a specific turning point in your life where you discovered the spiritual power of giving, if you will? Yes, Rob, is really my grandmother. You know, looking back, her hospitality and the generosity of opening her home.
I don't ever remember a time that she did not have a guest and she was cooking this fresh meal and But also her generosity and her affirming words. I still have a Bible she gave me. She said, To my beloved grandson. and to whom I know the Lord is well pleased and I tell you, I took that for granted growing up. And I'll say one last thing about my grandmother.
She was like the Proverbs 31 woman. She had a rental property.
So my mom was a single parent. She allowed us to live in this home rent-free, my middle school. In high school years, and what a gift to my mother to have that security and that peace to know we're not being evicted because of my grandmother's generosity.
So, I'd say it started there. And then she prayed me into the kingdom with her generous prayers. I didn't grow up in church and came to Christ. In college, and I would say the second real big defining moment around my generosity was salvation. When I received this indescribable gift of grace and forgiveness in Jesus, I was like, Lord.
I never want to get over this. I want gratitude to drive my life and generosity. And by God's grace, that's been my passion and goal. And then, of course, over the years, going through the Crown Bible study on money and having mentors and being a part of generous giving i think For the Christian, for me, I need that ongoing encouragement to be around others that have this same calling and passion. Boy, I couldn't agree more.
I think that's so true. Boyd, as we think about our role as stewards, how do you reconcile generosity with, let's say, wise stewardship and planning? I think it was John Wesley who said gain all you can, save all you can, give all you can. How do you live in the tension of those? Yeah, there is a tension.
And I would argue that without generosity, really, our stewardship. Is incomplete.
So when Jesus talked about being a wise steward, You remember, it wasn't giving out of fear, but out of abundance.
So, for me, generosity is really God's remedy. to protect my heart from pursuing those idols that really compete. With my devotion to him, and you know, I like how Paul kind of summed this up to his mentee, Timothy. And he used a strong word, Rob. He said, command, command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant or to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
And then here's that word again: command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to serve.
So I. I think really for me, it's, and I think what Paul's trying to tell us here is generosity is wise stewardship. It's the heart of God. And so, as a steward of the Lord's resources, trying to grow in my prayer about really, Lord, not how much should I give, but Lord, how much should I keep? Really, maybe is the prayer.
I think that's right. And yet, there are many listening today that perhaps have allowed some of that scarcity mindset to set in. They've clenched down their fist a little bit tighter. Maybe they're feeling a little insecure financially. What would you say to that person about giving generously?
Perhaps they have a desire to, they're just not ready to do it. I totally get it. I mean, having four daughters and living on a minister's salary, sometimes I felt like, how are we going to get through this? Lord, you're going to have to fill in the gaps. But something that helped us is kind of giving ourselves permission to broaden our definition of generosity.
It's much more than money. You know, sometimes writing the check is the easiest part.
So we've kind of reimagined in our family, and I think the scripture gives us this permission to see it more as generous living.
So, when I see somebody, you know, am I giving them my full attention? Am I really living in the present and leaning in my posture to give them that gift of. Being present. Or taking a meal to a neighbor, or volunteering to serve the poor, as Jesus talked about.
So, I would say, start if you have a heart for generosity and you don't know where to start, start with this prayer in the morning, Lord. Show me today how you would like for me to be generous. You know, when I started that prayer, it was like he said, Well, Boyd, first of all, I want you to be more generous in our time together. You know, and I thought, wow, what a beautiful way to start the day. And I think as we pray that prayer throughout the day, he'll bring people into our lives, whether it's a server at the restaurant.
Asking them to give us their story in 30 seconds or leaving a nice gratuity, or you know, I just think, Rob. That it's almost unlimited, the amount of ways that we can express and show the gospel through our generous lives. Mm. Boyd, you mentioned something a moment ago when we were talking about the giving fund at NCF. You said you set up giving funds for each of your kids.
You seeded it and you're helping them to give it away. You're modeling what it looks like to live a generous life financially. Talk about how the act of generosity can leave that spiritual legacy for future generations. Yeah, I think it really frees them in so many ways, you know, from the entanglement of self-centeredness. It gives them an inspiration to actually look for ways to give their life away in a meaningful way for the gospel.
But I think modeling it is the most effective way. And so, one thing we took this idea from a family that we know: Rita and I each Thanksgiving now will give money to our grandchildren based on their age.
So it's kind of. proportional based on their abilities and you know, their relationships, etcetera. We'll ask them to go out between Christmas and Thanksgiving, give that money away, but also volunteer time where they're giving the money.
So if it's to help the poor, homeless shelter, volunteer time there. And then they come back at Christmas and they talk about how they gave away the money and how they volunteered their time. And Rob, it's such a beautiful expression of yes, they're still going to receive presents at Christmas, but they're also understanding the real meaning of Christmas. is Jesus giving Himself and how He calls us to do the same. That's so good.
On the flip side, Boyd, what are some of the obstacles you've noticed when families try to discuss, let's say, succession planning or family values for wealth and they just don't know where to start? What would you encourage them with? Yeah, I know busyness is a real deal, and that's hard to keep generosity a priority. We're so spread out.
So I think that's why it's so important that we plan a year out with our calendars and say, okay, we're going to pick this cool venue. We're going to pay for it. I've learned generosity is a great convener. And we have them come in so they have it on their calendar.
So they come in, we have 100% participation. And then I think another obstacle that we have to work against is the fear of these hard conversations. You know, somebody said there's going to be a meeting and a conversation. Either you're going to be there or you're not going to be there. You know, why wait till after you pass for the kids to have the conversation?
You know, use your influence now. And then I think the last obstacle to having these. Passing on this legacy of generosity, he's just feeling inadequate. Are unprepared, and so I think that's where it's wise to bring in a third party, a wealth advisor, a trusted friend who can be the facilitator of this rich conversation around wisdom and wealth transfer. That is so good.
Boy, we've just scratched the surface. We're going to have to have you back. Thanks for your time today. You're welcome. It's been a joy, Rob.
That's Boyd Bailey, president of the National Christian Foundation in Georgia. Pick up his book called The Power of Generosity and go to faithfi.com slash NCF to open your giving fund today. I'm Rob West, and you're listening to Faith and Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. We'll be right back after this break. FaithPhi is grateful for support from One Ascent.
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So glad you're along with us today. We do have a few lines open. If you have a financial question, now's the time to call 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7,000. Let's try to get to as many calls as we can.
Tanya, thanks for your patience. Go right ahead. Thank you for your service to the Lord and to all us listening. My question is. Yeah.
My husband and I are helping guide our young adult son. Unbuild credit. And I've been listening to you regarding this, and you shared about secure credit cards. I'm also wondering if and how a utility bill can help build his credit. You've mentioned.
something about this. And you talked about reporting that somewhere, and I wasn't sure where that reporting goes. when you import the utility information. Yeah. Yeah.
You know, really, utilities don't typically, you know, offer any kind of credit. You know, I like the secure credit card for those just starting out. You know, that's usually the best option. That's a great way for a young adult to build credit. They put a cash deposit, say $300 to $500.
That becomes their credit limit. And then by using it responsibly and paying the balance on time and in full each month, and I'd recommend probably a small recurring bill that's a budgeted item. Maybe it's a media subscription or something they're planning for that just hits that secured credit card. They pay it off. And that's just going to establish a rhythm of on-time payments to the credit card company that's then reported to the Bureau.
And it's going to be well below the limit.
So it might be $18 a month with a limit of $500. That's great because it's going to keep the credit utilization. Uh very low. Normally, to your point, utility bills don't get reported to the credit bureaus unless you miss a payment and the account goes to collections.
Now, the new option is something called Experian Boost, B-O-O-S-T, and you could just put it in your search engine. And this is where the credit bureaus are starting to allow you to link. A utility, a phone, even a streaming payment, so they show up on your credit file, and it can give you a small lift. And so I would look at Experian Boost As one option to accomplish what you're describing. The other thing you can do, and I'd be careful here because this is a little dangerous.
You can add your son as an authorized user on your account.
Now, here would be the parameters. Number one, you would do that just to give him the benefit of the credit only. I wouldn't give him the credit card and just let him start charging on it. And number two, you need to recognize that all of your credit, good or bad, flows now to his credit report.
So if you've got, you know, your credit utilization is high, let's say you're, you know, your credit limits. You know, 10,000, and you were carrying a balance over 3,000, meaning more than 30%, that's not great. Um, even though it's an on-time payment, it's not good from a credit utilization standpoint.
So, you would only want to do it if you understand number one, he's not going to be charging on it. Number two, any history from your account is going to flow over. And if you old missed a payment, that would show up on his credit report.
So, you just need to be careful there. But if you're really just looking for the utilities, that's where I would check out Experian Boost. Does that make sense? Yeah. makes sense.
I thank you. I'd rather be safe and keep things. secured and Um can I have a follow-up question? Absolutely, go ahead.
Okay, 'cause my husband and I, we have no debt. We've been at had no debt. We have no health thing. house stead or anything. And we've been doing this for many years.
When sh When we do have one credit card that we have together, and he was on that with me, and we thought we were doing the security We thought we were doing the authorized user for him so he would keep his credit going along with we have great credit, we're 800. But But when we found out that his credit went away because. He was on the card. We were thinking we were both getting Building our credit with our credit card. But we found out that his just disappeared.
Do you have to be specific, Sam? It's an authorized user and he should with the credit card companies, he should be getting credit due because I I don't know what happened there. Interesting. Yeah. So, there's a couple of options here.
Number one is: there's two ways you can go about this. One is a joint credit card. This is not as common, but it is available, where you are co-owners. You both have. Know the same responsibility in terms of liability, and it's absolutely being reported to both credit files because you have a joint credit card.
The other is an individual owner with an authorized user. And if you do it that way, I would make sure you each have a card and you're the authorized user on the other one. Because if one of you passed away, you know, would have a challenge in terms of there'd be a disruption while you get a new card open. And so I think it's just always good to have one that's in each person's name. You would want to check with that particular creditor.
Most credit card companies report to the credit file of both the owner and the authorized user. It doesn't happen always. And so that could be what's going on here: you have a creditor that just doesn't report to the authorized user account. Most of them do, but I would just call and ask that question because if they're saying we're reporting it, then something's wrong there. It should be showing up with the history.
Okay.
Well, thank you, Froza. Answer my questions. Absolutely. No problem. Thanks for your call today.
Let's go to Texas. Hi, Archie. How can I help you? I want to know the concerns in changing financial advisers. Either within The investment company, or actually moving out of the investment company.
How does that go? You know, it's not difficult, Archie, to change advisors. Most of the time, you can transfer your account what's called in-kind, meaning your investments move over as is. The only reason that wouldn't work is if your advisor has you in, let's say, a mutual fund that the new custodian does not allow. And so they don't have a relationship, or they, you know, it's a particular fun family that they don't, you know, have on their platform.
And in that case, that would need to be liquidated. But in most cases You know, the portfolios, you know, as soon as you sever the relationship with the advisor, the advisor loses trading privileges, so he or she would no longer be able to make changes in the account. and then the new advisor would submit a transfer request. and the portfolio would come over in kind. and in the same investments that it was in.
And then at that point, the new advisor would then be able to take over and begin making changes and swapping things out or just managing it as is. But it's typically fairly simple. You just, you know, the new custodian would handle the transfer paperwork. The whole process usually takes a couple of weeks. Thank you.
Okay, thanks for your call, Archie. We appreciate you being on the program today. Folks, it's been a true joy to help you be redirected back to God's word, help you manage God's money with wisdom and. Diligence, but ultimately to be a faithful steward. Let me say thanks to our team today: Devin Patrick, Robert Youngblood, and Mr.
Jim Henry. Couldn't do it without those folks and the entire team here at Faith By. May the Lord bless you and come back and join us tomorrow. We'll see you then. Bye-bye.
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