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dot com slash give. That's faithfi. dot com slash give. Now let's dive into the podcast. Generosity is only part of the stewardship story.
The money we save and invest can also reflect what we believe. Hi, I'm Rob West. For many Christians, conversations about money often center on one question: How much should I give? But faithful stewardship goes further. It includes every resource God has entrusted to us, and how we put those resources to work.
Today, Amy Menick joins us to explore some important questions we may be overlooking, and then it's on to your calls at eight hundred five two five seven thousand. This is Faith and Finance, biblical. Wisdom for your financial decisions. Our guest today is my friend Amy Menick, co-founder, chief impact officer, and general counsel of Impact Foundation, where she helps Christians align their investments with their faith to promote human flourishing. She also serves on the board of the Association for Christian Investing.
Amy, great to have you with us. Thanks, Rob. I'm happy to be here. Amy, Christians have traditionally approached generosity by asking three questions: What should I give? How should I give?
And where should I give? But I know you believe there's a fourth question we should be asking.
So share that with us.
Well, if we believe God owns everything, and we're His stewards, then we have to be asking: What would God have me do with everything I own before I give it away? The other questions that we've been asking—where, why, and how—are really important. But God's going to call us to account for everything we own, everything we do, everything that we have. And it is our absolute joy and privilege to share with Him everything—not just the dollars that we can grant to charity. Yeah.
So this isn't about replacing generosity, is it? Absolutely not. God, for some reason, has designed His economy to run on the fuel of our generosity. He delights in us giving our things away, making grants to charity. But faithful giving is also about how we use what we keep behind, recognizing that generosity is much part of a larger stewardship responsibility.
It includes our savings, our investments, our businesses, and really everything we think we own that God has entrusted. Yeah, it's holistic, and that raises another question. We typically think of businesses as creating products and providing services, and of course, generating jobs and earning profits. But can the work of a business itself also advance God's purposes? Absolutely, God has given His people certain abilities.
He made Jesus to be a carpenter. He's made me to be a lawyer. It's not who I am, but it's what I do out of who He created me to be. And if the work that I do as a lawyer, or the work that you do, Rob, running Kingdom Advisors and doing this radio program, if the work we do every day has the ability to bring Him glory and make Him smile, then a collection. Of a whole bunch of people working together to do something, can also be about bringing glory to the Lord and building His kingdom.
Business is so much more than just generating profits that can be given away. You know, we spend eight hours a day or more at work, and our employees spend that much time at work.
So, if we're creating jobs that allow people to Express themselves as God created them to be, to encounter the truth of Scripture potentially, to serve customers well and to love one another well. That's a place where the kingdom of God happens to look a lot like what I think He designed it to be on Earth as it is in heaven. Yeah, it's a beautiful picture, and the output should be equally as reflective of Creator God creating goods and services that are good and that serve people. And it's really how God has created His virtuous cycle of economic productivity.
Well, in the latest issue of Faithful Steward magazine, you point out that charity alone can't solve every complex problem.
So, how can Christians think about then charitable giving and investing? As complementary approaches, without diminishing the importance of either. That is a great question. Charity is essential, especially in moments of crisis. If somebody's starving, we should probably give them a meal.
Yeah.
When there is a disaster, war, famine, immediate relief has to come, and it has to be probably free. If somebody has nothing to offer. But if we're looking at how to make a long-term change in the world, that's where we need to introduce the idea of business.
Well, we're going to continue to unpack that after the break. It's a big idea, and it gives us a more holistic view of how we think about everything God has placed in our hands, and whether, in some cases, it makes sense to give charitably, in other cases, invest strategically, but all under the lordship of Christ. Amy Menick here today. We're talking about asking the right questions about investing. We'll be right back.
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That's faithfi. dot com slash chm. Generosity is certainly part of our stewardship story, but the money we save and invest can also reflect what we believe. Amy Menick is here today. Amy is co-founder, chief impact officer, and general counsel of Impact Foundation, where they help Christians align their investments with their faith to promote human flourishing.
And Amy, before the break, you were talking about the fact that absolutely we should be. Givers as an overflow of God's grace, we should be living a generous life, and there are appropriate times to give charitably to help somebody in need and to love our neighbor. But there are also times where we should think about investing in a similar way, promoting human flourishing. Right? Absolutely.
I saw it firsthand in a. Tiny village in rural southern Ethiopia near the border of Kenya, and there was a group of people who, because of famine, drought, and some political instability, they were starving. And the aid came and was dropped off on the back of the truck, and it literally saved their lives. But three years of aid being given. Meant that people had lost the ability to work, and kids were not learning the same skills that, for generations, for thousands of years, people had been learning in this village.
The opportunity to create jobs and provide some training—that's really what they needed after their basic needs were met. And the only thing that creates long-term, scalable jobs is business. Yeah, that's exactly right. And so, if a business can advance God's purposes through its work, then for us as Christ followers, how should that shape the way we think about investing in business?
Well, first, it means that investing isn't spiritually neutral. Yeah, every choice we make about where we put our dollars says something about what we value, and that's true for investments as well. And Christians have been engaged in impact investing for over a decade, intentionally placing capital in businesses to create a measurable social and spiritual impact. In fact, all of our investments have an impact, and some of that impact is aligned with our values, and some isn't.
So when we think about whether we're supporting businesses that honor people, serve customers well, and contribute to human flourishing. That's when we know that we're asking the right questions about how we can invest. Yeah, it's a much broader conversation about faithful stewardship than when we're just writing a check to a charity. Amy, what about accessibility for the average investor to the types of investments that you're describing? Because when we think about investing, we might think, "Well, that's the exchange traded fund I bought in my brokerage account, or the the menu of mutual funds I have in my four hundred one k." Are we seeing more awareness and product that leans into the direction you're describing here?
Thankfully, we are. There are tremendous asset managers who are faithfully deploying their client dollars in ways that advance the gospel, and that occurs in three primary functions. One is screening out certain stocks that are just never going to align. The next is engaging in dialogue with companies where we need to, and then third, embracing the kinds of investments that really move the needle. In significant ways, yeah.
Well, and you touch on these through several questions that you encourage Christ followers to ask as they think about aligning their investments with their faith. What are some of those questions? I think first it starts with just asking the Lord, "How have you wired me? How have you made me?" And then going from there to okay, what do I have? Taking stock of, you know, the Lord asked Moses, "What's in your hand?" And Moses said, "A staff," and that's what God chose to use to lead His people out of Israel.
For us, I probably am not going to hold a staff, but I should take stock of what it is that I do own. Yes. And then the next question from there is, okay, Lord, given how you've wired me and what you've given me to steward. How would you have me deploy these dollars? How would you have me steward what you've entrusted to me?
Yeah, I think that's exactly right, and then we can begin to overlay that with the various approaches you just described. Where perhaps we're avoiding certain industries and other cases, screening in companies that are doing exactly what you're describing here, promoting human flourishing, or thirdly, and maybe alongside that, engaging in dialogue with these companies about meaningful change. And so there are a growing number of options available now. That raises, though, Amy, another. Other important question, and that is about financial returns.
So, how should Christians balance the desire for strong investment performance with the opportunity to accomplish good through their investments? There's a really important tension there, and I think we need to name the tension because otherwise, we're going to have a hard time processing it well.
So, I've watched people. Answer this question in different ways, and there's no right answer for how much return should my investments be getting. What we have to consider is. When I'm looking at sacrificing market rate return, am I doing that because it promises greater impact and potential stewardship? Am I being more faithful by sacrificing market rate return, or am I creating an unnecessary compromise?
I want to make sure that I'm, if I am sacrificing return, it's for the sake of accomplishing something good in the world, not just enabling bad behavior. On the other hand, it might not be the case that pursuing the strongest possible financial return is truly faithful. It might be that pursuing the strongest financial return is is actually about my need to prove myself as an investor or potentially fuel some greed. Those are difficult questions to deal with, but thankfully, the Lord is very kind when we ask these questions before Him. Yeah, I think that's exactly right and well said.
You also make an important distinction, Amy, between and we've talked about this a bit, but you make the distinction between investing personal capital and using charitable dollars for impact investing. Why does that distinction matter?
Well, first, let's frame the question in dollar terms. There's over a trillion dollars that have been set aside in private foundations and donor advised funds. People have gotten a tax deduction on it, and it's invested in something waiting to be granted out. As we think about those dollars that we've already given away that we're never going to be able to use to send our kids to college or buy a home, we have a real immediate stewardship responsibility because we intended to do something with them. And if we're not investing them in a way that advances God's kingdom, we should ask ourselves why.
I'm not granting it. It's invested in something. Do I even know where it's invested? And then our personal capital has a different sort of set of requirements for it, because we are intending to use those dollars to care for our family, to send our kids to college, potentially to provide for a child or family member who's never going to be able to live independently, and those dollars have. A stewardship responsibility with a slightly different need requirement on them, and so oftentimes we'll see people willing to sacrifice financial return on their charitable dollars, whereas that might not necessarily be feasible for their personal investment dollars.
We need them to return a certain at a certain rate, so that we can do the things that God has called us to do in stewarding our families well.
Well, this is a perhaps a brand new idea for a lot of people listening today.
So, folks, I would encourage you to learn more, and the best place to start is to check out the incredible work of the Impact Foundation. You can learn more when you go to impactfoundation dot org and look how you can easily invest charitable capital to create the economic, social, and spiritual transformation that Amy has been describing today. Again, that. That's impactfoundation.org. Amy, thanks for your time.
Thank you, Rob. All right, your calls are next at eight hundred five two five seven thousand. That's eight hundred five two five seven thousand. I'm Rob West, and this is Faith and Finance: Biblical Wisdom for Your Financial Journey. Stick around.
I was in ministry full time, and I was always looking for a way to integrate my faith with this new industry around money and finances. This is Mark. He is a Certified Kingdom Advisor. As a CKA, one of the best things I offer my clients is trust in knowing that they're working with a professional that understands their values, and I think in all of the different challenges that clients go through, if we can go back to trusting God, then. He'll make the path straight.
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Thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance. We're taking your calls and questions today. Do you have a financial question?
Something happening in your financial life? Call right now eight hundred five two five seven thousand. We've got lines open. That's eight hundred five two five seven thousand. Heath, thanks for your patience.
Go ahead, sir. Thank you for taking my call. Absolutely, I teach a junior high Sunday school class, and I'm wondering what materials you would recommend concerning giving prudence with money. Just an age appropriate, just any recommendations that you might. I could do my own lessons, but I figured someone smarter than me has probably already done it, so I just wanted to see.
What you would recommend? Yeah, I've got a couple of options for you. The first would be a resource called "The Money Challenge for Teens," and it's by our friend Dr. Art Rainer. Again, that title is "The Money Challenge for Teens." It's a great resource for helping teenagers develop wise financial habits from a biblical perspective.
And if you just put that in your search engine, "The Money Challenge for Teens," Art Rainer. It'll come right up. The other would be a newer resource called Right from the Start, our friends at Compass Financial Ministry that was founded by Howard Dayton, who was the former host of of this program, Faith and Finance. It's designed specifically for ages eleven to fifteen, Keith, and so that may fit here. You know, it provides really practical and accessible introductions to financial discipleship.
Really geared toward helping young people understand how to manage money in a way that honors God.
So I think either of those could be great options: the Money Challenge for Teens or Right from the Start from Compass. From Compass. All right.
Okay. Thank you very much. Absolutely, sir. Thanks for what you're doing to invest in the next generation.
So important that they develop a biblical worldview of money. And if we can help further, don't hesitate to reach out. Let's see. We'll go to Tennessee next. Let's see, Nettie.
How can we help? My mother left her house to her eight children in her will. She allowed me to live in the house for as long as I want. And I have been here for thirty plus years. All of my siblings are deceased except me and my sister.
And I want to know how can I go about putting the house in my name. My only living sibling said that she would assign her part of the house to me. And I just thinking, oh, how can I assign the house in my name? Yes, well, the sisters' your sisters' agreement alone may not be enough. It depends on whether your mother's will actually says who legally inherits the property.
How was that spelled out in her will? Just like I said, it didn't say who legally.
Well, she left it to all eight of us.
Okay, but I was allowed to live here as long as I want to. Got it.
Okay, and six or six.
Okay, got it. Yeah, that helps.
So you know, I think what needs to happen next is, you know, the only thing that complicates this is, you know, depending upon the the state laws, the state inheritance laws, there may be some part of this that passed to your siblings' children or other beneficiaries. Did any of them pass before your mom? No, all of them after my mother died.
Okay, so if that's the case, then the shares generally become a part.
Well, if they died after your mom, then then their shares generally become part of their own estate, and you know then may have passed to the heirs. And so, if the the will specifically established survivorship rights, then you know the you as the Two surviving siblings might own the entire property, but this is going to need to be verified.
So, I think really your next step is to connect with a local estate attorney, and maybe it's the attorney that you know helped to draft the will in the first place. But in either case, I would take the will and the deed to a local estate attorney, who would determine whose signatures are required. To put the home entirely in your name, because you know it it may be more complicated than this. Given that they've you know they've passed six of them, and therefore you know their beneficiaries or heirs may have a claim to the property. They may or may not, but that needs to be sorted out as the next step.
Okay, I see.
Well, thank you very much. You are welcome, Nettie, and thanks for calling today. If we can help further, don't hesitate to reach out. Let's go to Mississippi, Daniel. How can we help?
Yes, sir. My wife and I are getting close to retiring, and we're trying to get everything in order. And I had a question that popped up my mind. We've been putting back for our retirement for many years. We've been going to church since the day we got married.
And tithing, and I was wondering on our retirement, since we taxed or paid tith on that while we were tithing during the years, do we still pay tith on it when we draw it out? Yeah, it's a great question. It comes up often, and you know, when it comes to retire, when it comes to tithing on retirement income, I think it's helpful, Daniel, to remember the New Testament emphasizes generous, willing, and cheerful giving rather than requiring a specific percentage.
Now, I like the tithe as a helpful benchmark. You know, Randy Alcorn, the author, calls it the training wheels of giving. It's a great beginning point.
So. As our giving is a response to God's grace, as in an overflow of our gratitude to Him, we give that you know willing, that generous, that cheerful giving is what I believe honors the Lord. But I think that again, there's nothing wrong with you saying I want to give proportionately, which is certainly a part of New Testament giving, and that proportionate giving is going to happen on the increase. And so, if that's what you're trying to accomplish, then we say, okay, what of your retirement income? Is your increase because you appropriately pointed out if you've been tithing on your gross income throughout your working years, you've likely already given on at least a portion of the money that is coming back to you in the form of social security.
So I think you've got two approaches. One is just to say everything I receive from God is a gracious gift from the Lord, and I want to continue to honor Him proportionately. And I'm just going to give as a starting point a tenth of what comes in every. That comes in back to the Lord, recognizing that you you know are giving on some that's just being returned to you. Another way would be to take basically just a rough guess, and I like the fifty-fifty allocation where you'd say, okay, of every check, I'm going to treat fifty percent as a return of what I've already paid in through FICA taxes and therefore tithed on, and I'm going to treat the other half as the growth that's occurred in the account.
Ultimately, that's going to come down to how long you live. But I like that fifty-fifty starting point as at least a place for you to reference. I hope that helps. Big thanks to my team today. Thankful for Taylor and Devin and Sandy and Patty and everybody that makes this possible here at FaithFi every day.
Go out and live as a faithful steward. Make God your ultimate treasure. Hold money loosely, make it a tool, give it generously, invest it strategically, and come back and join us next time. We'll see you then. Bye bye.
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