This Faith and Finance podcast is underwritten in part by The Good Investor, a book by Robin John. This Faith and Work memoir hopes to inspire readers to view their work and investments as opportunities to honor God and bring blessing to the world. You can learn more now at goodinvestor.com. That's goodinvestor.com. We check the markets often, but how often do we check our hearts?
Hi, I'm Rob West. Most of us approach investing with calculators, not character. What if God wants us to shape both? Today, Tim McCready joins us to show how believers can approach investing as a spiritual practice, aligning our portfolios and our hearts with God's purposes. Then it's onto your calls at 800-525-7000.
That's 800-525-7,000. This is Faith in Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial journey.
Well, it's always a pleasure to have my friend Tim McCready on the program. He's head of global advisory at Brightlight, part of the Eversource Wealth Advisors team. Tim, great to have you back. Always good to be with you, Rob. Tim, you've been helping us both at Kingdom Advisors and here at Faith Phi build a theological framework for how believers can develop a biblical worldview of investing.
And the article you wrote recently that flows out of that larger project, it really jumped out at me. I want to unpack that a bit today. Why do you think it's so critical that we approach investing from a spiritual perspective?
Well, Jesus said, Rob, in Matthew 6, that our hearts follow our treasure. I think this means that where and how we invest matters spiritually, not just because it's a reflection of faithfulness, but because it's actually those investment decisions are shaping who we're becoming as we seek to be like Jesus. And so because of that, spiritual practices around our investments can help to align our hearts with God. Not just our financial goals, but who he is. It invites God into our portfolios, which helps us to grow as stewards and disciples.
And ultimately, investing even becomes a form of worship as we let it and the decisions that we make shape our hearts towards him. Yeah, that's well said. You begin your article by introducing the Ignatian prayer of examine, a practice believers have used for centuries. Tim, how does that help shape the way we think about investing today? Yeah, so Saint Ignatius of Loyola centuries ago kind of developed this daily examine as a practice of reflecting prayerfully on our day, repenting of sin, being aware of God's presence, looking forward to his gifts and presence with us tomorrow.
One of the things that I and others have been looking at is what it might look like to apply some of these disciplines into our everyday lives, but also into our investment portfolios. And this prayer of examined from an investor's perspective helps us to move from just analysis to discernment, from control to surrender. It invites God into that part of our life just the same way as closing our day with a reflection of God's presence with us during the day can help us to be very conscious of him as we fall asleep. Tim, this is powerful. I mean, spiritual practices and disciplines related to our investing.
I mean, this is a brand new idea for most believers and yet so powerful. And I want to unpack it a bit more because you begin that process with gratitude. What does that look like for an investor in your view? Yeah, so for an investor, gratitude, it quiets our hearts. It helps us remember that investing is part of God's generosity to us, his blessing to us.
Like the daily examine, when we look at an examine from an investor's perspective, we start with gratitude. helps us notice God's provision before we look at any performance. It reminds us that we're stewards of what he's entrusted to us. It also reminds us, Rob, I think that true riches are found in relationship as much as we might be thankful for our portfolios. Here's what this might sound like, Rob.
Okay. Heavenly Father, thank you for your many gifts to me. I recognize that my investment portfolio is one of those gifts from you. You have entrusted these assets to my stewardship. I invite you to speak to me now about my stewardship, to encourage me, to challenge me, to remind me of your goodness and steadfast faithfulness that I might draw closer to you.
Wow.
Well, i if we started with that prayer, Tim, I suspect that would lead us down an entirely different path when it comes to choosing our investments from that point forward, wouldn't it? I think so, Rob. Yeah. Yeah. After gratitude, you move to the next step, and that is review.
What does that mean for an investor who's trying to discern God's presence in their portfolio? Yeah, so in the daily examine, review is about looking back through the day, remembering what we were doing and how we felt, and sensing God's presence with us. For an investor, I encourage investors to look at each line of their portfolio with gratitude, with reflection, with thoughtfulness, just pausing to look back and recognize where God has been at work through our investments. This helps us to see beyond numbers to the people, communities, the purposes that our investment portfolios touch. And we might find both joy and conviction, places where God is pleased and where he is inviting us towards change.
Wow, this is incredible. We're going to continue the conversation with Tim McCready, head of global advisory at Brightlight, just around the corner, how spiritual practices can transform your investing. Stay with us. We'll be right back. What if managing your money could actually draw you closer to God?
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Mm. Have you ever thought about how spiritual practices could transform your investing? That's what we're talking about today with my friend Tim McCready. He's head of global advisory at Brightlight, part of the Eversource Wealth Advisors team. Tim has been spearheading a project for us here at Kingdom Advisors and Faith Vi to build out a theological framework for how believers, including advisors, can develop a biblical worldview of investing and apply it to this daily practice.
And Tim, we're going to jump back into this. This is so rich. But at its core, I think we need to understand that the purpose of investing is to supply capital to business, which is to produce goods and services that should be good and serve people, right? Amen, Rob. I think investing is part of God's plan for flourishing.
It takes money that would otherwise not be doing anything and places it with businesses and companies that can use it for flourishing. Yeah, that's exactly right. And you've really led the way in so many ways around this whole emerging space of faith-based investing, which is just exploding right now. And that's so exciting.
Well, we're unpacking these spiritual principles. Set this up for us. If somebody's just joining us and perhaps take us back to the Ignatian prayer of examine. Yeah. So as a reminder, the Ignatian daily examine is this idea that at the end of the day, we pause and we reflect on God's presence with us through the day.
We express gratefulness and gratitude. We reflect on where we've fallen short. We invite his presence with us for the next day as we fall asleep. And we've been thinking about what it might look like as investors to adopt a similar practice around our portfolio.
Well, we talked before the break about gratitude, a powerful place to start, and then we talked about reviewing. But let's move into the next phase of this, and you move into repentance and renewal, which is a significant shift. How might that sound in prayer for an investor?
So, perhaps as we review our portfolio, we sense conviction. Maybe something feels like it's misaligned with God's desires. Perhaps we realize, as we rejoice over our portfolio, that we have placed our security and our trust in it. Perhaps we've made it an idol taking God's place as our provider. Perhaps we even realize that God might be asking us to give more of it away.
Repentance reminds us that as believers, our trust is in God, not the market. That our ultimate source of security is Him. And then repentance doesn't stand alone. We receive forgiveness and renewal, and that points us towards joy and trust in God's ongoing provision for us. We might pray something like: Gracious Heavenly Provider, I invite you once again to rule over all of my life, including the investment portfolio you have entrusted to me.
I'm sorry for where I have allowed it to take your place in my life. Give me the courage to take action where you have invited me to do so. Give me confidence in and thankfulness for your provision. Give me joy in following your plan for my life and my portfolio. Confident that you are always wiser and better than anything I could design on my own.
Help me be generous. Help me to trust you. Wow.
I love that.
Now once we've done the inward reflection, Tim, you turn to the outward disciplines. And that really begins with community, also with accountability. Why are those so essential for Christian investors?
So, I mean, the Great Commission invites us to go, to build community, to train, to disciple, to follow Jesus. We aren't meant to do this alone. We're meant to do this in community. We grow best in community. And even though many of the spiritual practices we learn, like this Investors Examine, might be done alone, we could also think about how to live them out in community and certainly to take the learnings as we listen to God into community.
Trusted friends can help us discern where money may have too much hold on us. If you haven't shared your budget or your portfolio with a trusted friend, I'd encourage you to do so. It's confronting, but it invites other voices into our lives, tells us where we might be going wrong. Small groups, classes, the FaithFiApp community, these can create safe spaces for these stewardship conversations. Yes.
Tim, this is undoubtedly one of those areas we try to keep behind the curtain, so to speak. What's the benefit? What's the promise for somebody who's willing to be transparent in this area, in your view?
So the first thing is if I'm going to show my budget or my portfolio to a friend, you can bet that I've looked through it closely to find anything that, yeah, maybe my conscience is being pricked a little on whether that really should be in there. But the second is we're inviting an independent voice, a voice that can ask us, look, Tim, do you really need to spend $20 a month on streaming apps? We want someone who loves us, who cares for us, but who's willing to give us that question. Nothing wrong with streaming apps, but maybe if I'm spending $200 a month, showing that to a friend might make me realize that that's not the way that most people live. That accountability, we need it in all of our lives.
But anywhere where we have a threat of an idol, we need that accountability even more. Yeah, boy, that's great. Tim, you also introduced something you call fasting from market noise. Share that with us.
So again, Rob, as we think about the various spiritual disciplines that Jesus gives us, prayer, fasting, contemplation, reflection, time with God, Christian community, we wanted to think about this fasting one. We are surrounded, Rob, by constant market data. I don't know about you, but my 401k, which I hope to not need for at least another 25 years, gives me a daily update on my balance. My stock portfolio might update by the minute. All of this information gives me the illusion of control, but really it's just feeding and driving my anxiety.
If I'm up, I have a good day. If I'm down, I have a bad day for money that I don't need for 25 years. Taking a break from all of this information helps us remind us that God is in control. And instead of chasing security through information, we can rest in God's provision. Again, kind of Matthew 6, Luke 12.
Who of you by worrying can add a single hair to your head? Who of you by worrying about your investment portfolio can add a single cent to its balance?
Now, of course, we need to make wise decisions with the help of our financial advisors. I just think a lot of the time we don't need this daily market noise that drives a lot of our anxiety. Yeah, I couldn't agree more. What an opportunity to turn down the noise of this world and turn up God's voice in our life. Tim, finally, you highlight service, turning our perspective from what we possess to how we can serve and bless others.
What can that look like for an investor?
So as an investor, we have the privilege of a portfolio to invest, and often that gives us experience that might help equip others. Teaching a budgeting class, mentoring younger people on how to think about money, serving on a church finance committee. These activities that can often feel mundane can be very profound. Rob, I, for several years, had the privilege of teaching in a Gap year program at one of the seminaries in Sydney, and it astounded me how ill-equipped many of these students were when it came to basic budgeting or understanding things like credit cards or payday loans and things like that. For investors who understand some of this, it can be a real way to serve.
It brings this heart of wisdom and generosity that God wants us to have with our investment portfolio and helps us to equip others. And I think that when we serve, this stewardship idea becomes contagious. It transforms our investing from something that we just do for ourselves to something that equips us to serve others. This is where faith meets action in community. Wow, that's powerful.
With just about 45 seconds left, Tim, tie a bow on this for us. How can these spiritual practices form a holistic way of investing that honors the Lord?
So, together, I think when we bring these ideas like examine, prayerfulness, fasting, it forms this rhythm of worship through our financial eyes, pointing us towards Jesus Christ as the true provider and owner of all things. And as we do this, it transforms us because investing is faithfulness. It's a way we're faithful. It's also a way in which we grow as disciples. I'm convinced from Jesus' words and almost 25 years of working in this field that faithfulness in investing is deeply formative for our whole lives as followers of Jesus.
That was incredible. Tim, what a great reminder that a biblical approach to investing isn't measured only by returns, but by spiritual formation. Thanks for being here, my friend. Great to be with you, Rob. Our guest today has been Tim McCready, head of global advisory at Brightlight, part of the Eversource Wealth Advisors team.
All right, your calls are next. The number 800-525-7000. We'll be right back. If you love what you hear on this program, there's even more waiting for you at FaithFi.com. Explore podcasts, videos, articles, Bible studies, and devotionals, all designed to help you see God as your ultimate treasure and money as a tool to advance his kingdom.
Pursue wisdom, practice generosity, and steward God's resources in a community with others who share your faith. Visit FaithFi.com to take the next step in your faith and financial journey today. That's faithfi.com. Faith in Finance is thankful for support from The Good Investor, a book by Robin John. In his book, Robin shares his journey from an immigrant child struggling in school to co-founder and CEO of Eventide Asset Management, a faith-based investment firm.
This Faith and Work memoir seeks to inspire readers to view their work and investments as opportunities to honor God and bring blessing to the world. More information is available at goodinvestor.com. That's goodinvestor.com. Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance. We'd love to take your calls and questions: 800-525-7000, Mississippi.
Paula, go ahead. Hi, Mr. Rob. Thank you so much for allowing me to speak with you today. Of course.
Thanks for calling. And let you know we appreciate your gift to the body of Christ and we appreciate you. Thank you.
Well, thank you.
So, Mr. Rob, I have worked very hard with God's help to get my credit report in a good way in a good way. Like, I had a credit report of 7:30, almost 7:40. And recently I had a miscommunication with My student loan account, and they dinged me and sent in a negative report, and it sent my credit report down to 548.
Now we resolved that. And then they have sense. Yeah. a current report saying that it's current. but it's still low.
And I'm wondering, would you happen to know how long does it take to get that credit report back up? I'm still doing the same thing, paying on time, doing all the things to keep my credit report good. But how long does it take to get it back up now that they've sent in that current report? Yeah, it's a great question. And let me just make sure I'm clear.
So it was an error that's been corrected. It was a mistake and it's been deleted or corrected. Is that right? It's been corrected. They said they were not able to reverse the delinquent report, but they did.
Reported currents. They can't take it off the credit report, is what they're saying.
Okay. So it was a legitimate laid payment that was accurate. Is that right? Well, it was and it wasn't. I had my student loan with Naviant for a long, long time.
And I think somehow they switched it over to another. Agency or whatever. And I didn't know that. And I was thinking I was still with Navians. And they were trying to get in contact with me.
Well, I thought this new people, I thought they were. A scam. I didn't know them. They didn't let me know that they were my new student loan people.
So when Naviat finally sent me a letter saying we have now switched your account to Mohila, and I said, oh, that's who's been calling me. And I responded to them. But by then, they had already reported my student loan as late. I see. And so I called them and we, you know, were resolved that they reported me current because of the situation.
But my credit report is low now.
So I don't know how long it's going to take. Got it.
Okay. Yeah. I mean, that's a common situation with student loan transfers. And because the payment was truly late, even though you didn't know the loan was transferred, the credit bureaus consider it accurate.
So generally, it can't be removed just because of confusion, you thought it was a scam or even lack of notice. The lender is required to report the factual payment history.
Now You can write the loan servicer, the new one, or the one that reported the late payment, and request a goodwill deletion or adjustment. And maybe you've already done this, but explain you've never received the notice, or if you did, you thought it was errant or fraudulent, you have a strong prior payment history, you resolve the issue immediately. And sometimes they'll agree to remove or update it as a one-time courtesy, but it's not guaranteed. Um and again, if the credit report is accurate. then it will remain on that record as a thirty-day late payment for up to seven years, but the impact fades over time.
So the score drop is sharp in the few months. You've experienced that. You just described that. But the recovery begins after about six to twelve months of on time payments. And then after a couple of years, the effect is usually pretty minor.
So, you know, generally speaking, if it was just because of confusion, but technically it's accurate that there was a late payment, regardless of the circumstances that led to it, it is not going to be deleted or updated as an error. It will remain. And then it will just become less and less of a factor over time. Does that make sense? It makes sense.
So you're saying, did you say it's going to take six to 12 months for my credit score to go back up as long as I continue to, you know, maintain the on-time payments? Yes, because the most current information, the most recent information impacts you the most. And a late payment, you know, in the very recent past is a pretty significant issue and is what's causing that score to drop. But as that becomes further and further in the past, and typically that's between six and 12 months of on-time payments, that's when you're going to start to see it come up. And again, after two years, it'll be pretty minor.
But here's the reality: if you're not out looking to get a new credit card or get a mortgage or refinance or buy a car with a car loan, it doesn't really matter. I mean, that's kind of a moving target. And yeah, you want your hard work reflected in your credit score. But if you don't need it, because you're not out borrowing, Anything, it doesn't really matter if it takes another year or two before it's back up to where it was. But that's the whole thing I was.
No, I get it. I worked hard to get it. I totally understand. We were looking for a new house. Oh, okay.
So you are looking for a mortgage. Yes, that's what I say. That was the whole thing. We had our credit report in a good place, and we're ready to go and start we had actually started looking at getting preapprovals for you know, home and so forth, and now this.
So I guess I have to wait. Yeah, I think that's going to be the key. And you know, I wouldn't I would reach out to the loan servicer and just see if they can and just say I'm I'm looking for a goodwill deletion. Just given the situation, they don't have to do it because technically it's accurate, but it's not, I mean, it's certainly worth asking. Do you believe in those people that help you with credit reports?
No, I don't. Because the bottom line is credit repair is fraught with bad actors. I'm not saying anything about this particular company. But the bottom line is, you know. Anything that can be done for your credit report, you can do on your own.
And if the information is accurate, regardless of whether or not there were extenuating circumstances that led to it. There's really nothing you can do. To get it off, because really the only thing you can do is dispute it. but it's accurate, and they can verify that with this loan servicer.
So I just don't think you spend a lot of money. and they can't remove legitimate negatives. And a lot of these companies have faced legal scrutiny, and they can't do anything you can't do for yourself.
So I'm just not a fan of credit repair. I understand. I really appreciate your help today, and I'm going to move forward and pray and ask God to give me favor. Awesome.
Well, I agree with you, and I'll join you in praying for that, Paula. And listen, this thing will get recovered, and perhaps about the time you're back up to where you were, the mortgage rates will be down where it's a little more affordable, and that might be the best of both worlds. Hey, God bless you, and thanks for your kind remarks about the program. I appreciate it. We're so thankful you were along with us today.
Thanks to my team today, and we'll see you next time. Bye-bye. Faith in Finance is provided by FaithFi and listeners like you.
