The Finish Line Podcast

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Kealan, a surgeon, and Cody, a financial advisor, discuss the intersection of faith, generosity, and personal finance. They’re joined by a variety of guests, including pastors, financial advisors, radically generous givers, entrepreneurs, CEOs, and nonprofit leaders to explore one central question: How do we best steward God’s wealth? On The Finish Line Podcast, you’ll hear challenging and inspirational stories of tremendous generosity. You’ll also learn from experts in multiple fields about topics like setting a financial finish line, giving efficiently and effectively, and teaching generosity to your children. More than anything, though, you’ll see how God is constantly at work redeeming the world He created and loves. Visit the website at www.finishlinepledge.com to learn more.

Episodes

Monday Jun 06, 2022

Matt Farmer, President of NCF Heartland, on the Infectious Nature of Generosity (Ep. 47)

Monday Jun 06, 2022

Matt Farmer is the President of the Heartland Office of the National Christian Foundation. Matt has a broad background which including time in the NFL, airforce service, seminary, and work in both the business and nonprofit sectors before taking over leadership of NCF Heartland.

Early in his career, Matt and his wife Jenna were the recipients of an incredible act of generosity that set the tone for the rest of their lives. Now, in his role with NCF Heartland, Matt is able to pave the way for many other families to explore generosity in some incredible ways. Matt shares stories of several impactful NCF givers as well as insight on topics like the power of non-cash giving, kingdom giving collaborations, and the great wealth transfer – the anticipated transfer of 60-80 trillion dollars between generations over the next several decades.

Listen now to hear all he had to share (including a particularly creative Manager Minute at the end of the episode).

QUOTES TO REMEMBER

“Generosity is its own witness. It can be an apologetic itself.”
“In the next few years, we are going to be experiencing the worlds greatest stewardship opportunity.”
“In the last few years, we’ve seen a record level of giving happen through the pandemic.”
“We are watching an unprecedented amount of resources go back out after an unprecedented amount of resources coming in.”
“Our mission is to mobilize resources through inspiring biblical generosity.”

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

BIBLE REFERENCES FROM THE SHOW

Acts 20:35 | Better to Give than to Receive (MSG version)

You’ll not likely go wrong here if you keep remembering that our Master said, ‘You’re far happier giving than getting.’

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

If you have a thought about something you heard, or a story to share, please reach out! You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. You can also contact us directly from our contact page. If you want to engage with the Finish Line Community, check out our groups on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Monday May 23, 2022

Todd Peterson, Former NFL Kicker, on Honing Your Focus in Generosity (Ep. 46)

Monday May 23, 2022

Todd Peterson started his career with 13 years in the NFL, but has since become a powerhouse in fueling the bible translation movement and encouraging others towards radical generosity. When Todd was drafted by the NY Giants in 1993, he was initially distracted by the excitement of a substantial income. However, God got Todd’s attention with a dramatic wake-up call after his rookie year.

From that point on, Todd and his wife Susan dedicated themselves to the exciting adventure God had in store for them. Throughout his NFL career, Todd and Susan delved deep into their generosity journey and began drawing others into that journey with them.

Since he retired from the NFL in 2006, Todd has become significantly involved in many organizations in the generosity and bible translation spaces. From 2008-2013, Todd served as Chairman of Seed Company, one of the leading bible translation ministries. And through his involvement, he was able to participate in the formation of the IllumiNations impact alliance between 11 major bible translation organizations.

Because of that collaboration, it is anticipated that the bible will be accessible to every language spoken on Earth by the year 2033. In Todd’s words, “The last bible translator is alive today.”

Todd has served on numerous other boards including Global Generosity Movement, Passion Conferences, the Young Life Foundation, and Pro Athletes Outreach and has a depth of wisdom in living out radical generosity.

Todd shared plenty of wisdom on topics like honing your giving focus and how to do more than write a check. Even more interestingly, Todd shared his unique insight into the relationship between givers and ministries, having spent significant time on both sides of the field. Listen now to hear all Todd had to share.

QUOTES TO REMEMBER

“We very early on saw the NFL as a mission field and we were very highly compensated missionaries in a sense.”
“You can’t really be a man of humility until you’ve been humiliated.”
“I’m never going to make another penny before we give to God first.”
When the income really started to come, we were better prepared for it because we had made a decision that we were going to give first.”
“As our income increases, our lifestyle doesn’t have to grow with it.”
“My NFL career, all 13 years, felt like God had a plan for my life.”
“At the end of the day, what we’re supposed to be doing with our lives is giving them away.”
“We want to life full and abundant life and experience all God has for us. And the best way we knew how to do that was to hold things loosely.”
“Football was one thing that God gave me a talent for, but it wasn’t the only thing he created me to do.”
“We are people who really want to be invested in every sense of the word. We don’t want to simply write a check to an organization.”
“All ministry hinges on the power of the gospel in the language of a person.”
“Could there be a greater injustice than not having access to the Gospel in your language?”
“By 2033, we can eradicate bible poverty, meaning every language on Earth has access to at least some portion of the scripture translated.”
“We believe in the bible translation world that the last bible translator is alive now.”

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

BIBLE REFERENCES FROM THE SHOW

Matt. 16:25 | Whoever Seeks to Save His Life

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Isaiah 55:8 | My Thoughts Are Not Your Thoughts

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

Ephesians 2:10 | We Are God’s Workmanship

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Revelation 7:9 | Every Tribe, Nation, and Tongue

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Monday May 09, 2022

Josh Newell, Executive Director of the Jesus Film Project, on the Impact of the Most-Watched Film of All Time (Ep. 45)

Monday May 09, 2022

Josh Newell is the Executive Director of the Jesus Film Project. The Jesus Film started in 1979 as a ministry of Cru and is a film based on the gospel of Luke. Within 10 years of its creation the Jesus Film was the most translated and most watched film in the world, now reported to have been translated into over 2000 languages and seen by over 3 billion people in almost every country in the world.

Jesus Film is a richly collaborative ministry partnering with a vast assortment of ministries in the bible translation, evangelism, and church planting spaces. Today, 90% of the Jesus Film projects final results come from their church planting partners in the field.

Josh joined Jesus Film in 1998 as a film translator and has remained with the organization up to today, where he now serves as Executive Director. Josh has developed a deep and thoughtful perspective of the global missions landscape and the work that remains ahead to reach every person everywhere with the gospel. Listen now to hear all he had to share.

QUOTES TO REMEMBER

“I find it humbling to be a part of a project that can be a catalyst to see cross-denomination cross-traditions work together in a way that is collaborative and to see spiritual fruit.”
“We want to be creating a faithful translation of the Jesus Film that accurately reflects the Word of God in a given people group. And to do that, you need to work with bible translators.”
“For us, the mission hasn’t changed. It’s all about getting the gospel to everyone everywhere.”
“If the map of where the church needs to go has remained the same for nearly 2000 years, why hasn’t it gone?”
“The Spirit of the Lord seems to be moving is such a way to bring about collaboration on a radical level where churches and organizations are throwing everything into the middle of the table and saying ‘We’re all in’ to reach everyone everywhere. It doesn’t matter who goes, let’s just make sure that we do!”
“We get to be a catalyst for partnership.”
“Where is the task and what will it take to get us there?”
“About 75% of the 6 billion unreached people live in just 12 countries.”

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

The Jesus Film Project
Watch the Jesus Film
Cru (Campus Crusade)
Biblica
Wycliffe Bible Translators (see our interview with CEO John Chesnut)
Elijah 21
Joshua Project (see our interview with Director, Dan Scribner)
Finishing the Task (see our interview with FTT Global Church Planting Strategist Dan Hitzhusen)
The Finish Line Community Facebook Group
The Finish Line Community LinkedIn Group

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Monday Apr 25, 2022

Jonathan Reynolds, CEO of Titus Talent Strategies, on Why a Culture of Generosity is a Smart Business Move (Ep. 44)

Monday Apr 25, 2022

Jonathan Reynolds is the CEO of Titus Talent Strategies, an innovative company in the recruiting and hiring space. Jonathan was raised in a strong culture of generosity and that theme has continued on through his life. And Jonathan has infused that same generosity culture into his company’s very foundation.

One way Jonathan has done that is by creating a company giving fund. Any employee can recommend an organization that is doing work in the community, and Titus Talent will help support that organization from their giving fund. In this way, Titus has contributed millions of dollars to support the community with an ultimate goal to give away 30 million dollars by 2030. And they’re ahead of schedule!

While Jonathan is a passionate Christ follower, and believes generosity is baked into our original human design before the fall, he also talks about how generosity actually makes perfect business sense. He goes as far to say that he would recommend a strong culture of generosity even for a business leader with no background in faith.

Jonathan shared not only the amazing fruit he’s seen from Titus’s generosity culture, but also the challenges that have arisen too. He had thoughtful insight into how to navigate some of these challenges and recommendations for those who don’t even know where to start.

QUOTES TO REMEMBER

“Whatever you do, just do it for the glory of God. And live in such a way as to hasten his return.”
“God is the ultimate priority and he is the one I want to please. And I am a steward of his resources.”
“If I was an ungodly person who wasn’t living for eternity, I would actually choose the generosity route as a strategic business position. It just works. It’s magnetic and creates a sense of unified meaning.”
“Is generosity a part of your life today? Because it won’t be later if it isn’t today.”
“I want to stay in the business world to take people on that journey with me rather than get out as fast as I can.”
“Even through the pandemic when the bottom fell out from most of our businesses, our first reaction was how do we keep meeting our giving goals?”
“Generosity is contagious. It’s the most amazing experience and you want others to experience it too.”

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Monday Apr 11, 2022

Calvin Edwards, Philanthropy Consultant, with an Inside Look into Evaluating Ministries (Ep. 43)

Monday Apr 11, 2022

Calvin Edwards is the founder of the philanthropic advisory firm Calvin Edwards and Company, a consulting firm that helps philanthropic donors perform due diligence for ministries they might seek to support and to help determine the quantitative impact these organizations are having.

Calvin started his career with 20 years in the nonprofit world working for a number of ministries including Walk Thru the Bible Ministries. He then pivoted to spend several years in leadership at the Ronald Blue & Co. accounting firm before going off to launch Calvin Edwards and Company.

In addition to sharing all about how his firm evaluates ministries, Calvin had much to say about what “being a good steward” actually entails. In his words, no giver is off the hook for how they invest their giving dollars and philanthropy is a responsibility that should be taken quite thoughtfully. Calvin also had plenty of helpful guidance for new givers or those seeking to ramp up their giving. Listen now to hear all Calvin had to share!

QUOTES TO REMEMBER

“Charitable organizations have trouble telling you what their strategy is.”
“Good stewardship pushes through supporting kingdom work to supporting kingdom work that is carried out in a positive manner.”
“It’s interesting that in scripture, fruitfulness is praised.”
“God does care what our giving achieves.”
“Good stewardship goes beyond the ‘I gave it away’ to ‘to whom did I give it to and what was accomplished?’.”
“I don’t think good stewardship can be outsourced. I don’t think you can let someone else be your good steward for you.”
“When we give, we should sense God’s pleasure.”
“What is it that upsets me or gets me going? Maybe I should help people that are addressing that problem.”
“It is the work of the giver in their relationship with God to work out where they should give.”

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

Calvin Edwards & Company, Calvin's philanthropic advisory firm
Walk Thru the Bible Ministries
Ronald Blue & Co. (see our interview with founder, Ron Blue)
MacLellan Foundation (see our interview with Director of Generosity, John Cortines)
The Finish Line Community Facebook Group
The Finish Line Community LinkedIn Group

BIBLE REFERENCES FROM THE SHOW

Matthew 25:14-30 | The Parable of the Talents

14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Monday Mar 28, 2022

Brian Fikkert, Co-Author of When Helping Hurts, on When Helping Hurts in How We Give (Ep. 42)

Monday Mar 28, 2022

Brian Fikkert is the Founder and President of the Chalmers Center for Economic Development as well as the co-author of the well known book When Helping Hurts. From an early age, Brian felt called to work in the area of poverty. Despite his formal training in economics, he felt early on that the prevailing understanding of poverty left much lacking. On one hand, economists tended to define people as entirely physical. On the other hand, the church tended to define people as purely spiritual. But the more Brian was exposed to the poor, the more he came to see poverty as a complicated blend of the two.

Brian founded the Chalmers Center at Covenant College to guide the Church in it’s response to poverty. Their initial work with microfinance and local savings unions worldwide has gone on to large scale operations with organizations like Hope International and Five Talents. And their work in the U.S. has expanded to include jobs preparedness, welfare training, and financial literacy. A number of years ago, Brian and the Chalmers Center published the well known book When Helping Hurts, which has become a cornerstone on the core principles of poverty alleviation.

Brian had a wealth of wisdom to share on topics like knowing when to provide relief, rehabilitation, and development as well as how to flip from a needs-based approach to an assets-based approach. He also had some insightful thoughts on the ways that donors and nonprofits interact with each other and how we as givers can most wisely steward the dollars given to us. Listen now to hear all Brian had to share!

QUOTES TO REMEMBER

“We tend to define poverty as a lack of physical things, hence our solutions tend towards providing physical things”
“The poor tend to describe their condition in far more psychological and social terms.”
“If you can actually get people working again, it has it’s own therapeutic effect.”
“Most poor people in the world are not in a crisis, they are actually in a chronic condition.”
There is a place for bringing in outside resources when the local resources are inadequate, but those outside resources should only be brought in when they compliment the internal resources rather than crush them.”
“I think financial supporters have one of the most difficult jobs in the whole world.”
“We’ve got to start moving into how God really works in the world, and most of us aren’t functioning out of that very well.”
“We are functioning out of a theory of change that is more reflective of a Western individualism than of a proper understanding of what a human being is.”
“There’s a better story for the poor, and there’s a better story for us, than the story of the American Dream of highly individualistic, highly self-centered, highly materialistic existence.”
“God has wired us to be priest-rulers to extend his reign and his worship from the Garden of Eden throughout all of creation. “
“Every nonprofit is terrified of their financial resource partners.”

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

The Chalmers Center for Economic Development at Covenant College
The Innovate course by the Chalmers Center
Brian's book When Helping Hurts
Brian's books Becoming Whole and A Field Guide to Becoming Whole
Hope International (see our interview with founder, Jeff Rutt or CEO, Peter Greer)
Five Talents
Compassion International
Tear Fund
Reconciled World
Seed Effect
First Fruit
The Finish Line Community Facebook Group
The Finish Line Community LinkedIn Group

BIBLE REFERENCES FROM THE SHOW

1 Peter 2:9 | The Royal Priesthood

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Revelation 5:10 | Kings and Rulers 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Monday Mar 14, 2022

Rod Brenneman, Former CEO of Butterball, on Building Continuous Giving Engines (Ep. 41)

Monday Mar 14, 2022

Rod Brenneman has spent much of his career in agribusiness leading up to his role as CEO of Butterball. When he left Butterball in 2014, he wasn’t sure what he would do next. However, God certainly had some interesting plans in store for him.

It was around that time that Rod was introduced to Gary Ringger, the founder of Lifesong for Orphans. As God began to develop their relationship, Rod began to wrestle with one particular question: Is there a way to blend business and ministry to support Lifesong’s work indefinitely?

Since that time, Rod has developed a passion for what he calls giving engines. Giving engines are businesses whose profits are used to support the work of a ministry in an ongoing manner. Together with Lifesong, Rod has used his agribusiness experience to develop berry farms in Ukraine, Zambia, and Uganda.

Today, these giving engines operate over 100 acres of berry producing land, employ 325 people, and generate over $600,000 annually to support Lifesong’s work with orphans. When they are fully operational, the berry farms will generate over a million dollars per year, all while employing many of the orphans they support.

Rod is passionate about the idea of giving engines not only for their strategic effectiveness, but also for their ability to re-engage business minds when people are finishing up their corporate careers. Listen now to hear all Rod had to share.

QUOTES TO REMEMBER

“Everything really belongs to God. We’re just called to be stewards of what He’s given us.”
“A giving engine is simply a business that directs all or a potion of its profits to ministry helping to make that ministry sustainable.”
“A giving engine represents an investment in economic, social, and spiritual transformation that provides ongoing sustainable support.”
“We expect them to deliver adequate or market-rate returns to provide sustainable cashflow for ministry.”
“I really want to challenge other people like me to think about finding ways to use their A-game skills for kingdom purposes.”
“Dream big, so that when it happens you’ll know that it was God and not you.”

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

BIBLE REFERENCES FROM THE SHOW

Luke 3:11 | Whoever Has Two Tunics And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.”

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Monday Feb 28, 2022

Dan Hitzhusen, Global Church Planting Strategist from Finishing the Task, on Reaching All Nations with the Gospel by 2033 (Ep. 40)

Monday Feb 28, 2022

Dan Hitzhusen is the Global Church Planting Strategist for Finishing the Task. FTT was formed in 2000 to unify the global church and the many parachurch ministries towards the completion of the great commission of making disciples of all nations. In 2000, when FTT was formed, there were about 3,000 of the 12,000 people groups across the planet that remained completely unreached by the gospel. In 2018, that number was down to 1800. And in just the last few years, there are now fewer than 200 groups remaining to be reached.

Dan has worked in over 100 countries, leading multiple major ministries including serving as International VP of e3 Partners and President of Global Missions Fellowship. He has seen lame men walk and blind men regain their sight. And he has a deep passion for unifying the body of Christ around his final command to make disciples of all nations.

Dan laid out a spectacular birds-eye view for us of what God is doing in every corner of the world and what work remains. Even more exciting, he shared countless stories of how the gospel is moving forward at an unprecedented pace thanks to some major developments in recent years.

Dan also explained Finishing the Task’s targeted approach to bringing believers, bibles, and bodies of Christ to all 12,000 people groups by establishing initial believers in every single group, translating the Bible into every language in the world, and establishing a church for every 1,000 people across the planet.

And they want to do it by year 2033.

Listen now to hear Dan’s incredible insight into how God is moving and what work remains.

QUOTES TO REMEMBER

“To unite the body of Christ to fulfill the Great Commission”
“We began to see how to start churches that multiplied.”
“The momentum right now, in terms of the body of Christ reaching people groups, is phenomenal, just in the last 4 or 5 years.”
“Rick likes to describe the Great Commission with the 3 B’s: Believers, Bodies (of Christ), and Bibles.”
“If this is such good news, why has it taken you so long to get it to our village?”
“COVID has really opened a lot of doors for the gospel.”
“People are around Jesus first, not their logos, not their organizations.”
“The technology today gives us the capacity to reach everyone in the world.”
“One of the biggest barriers right now is knowing where the church is and where the church isn’t.”
“As you begin to give your treasure away, God tends to multiply it in phenomenal ways.”
“There’s a lot of money tied up in foundations that isn’t out working now.”

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

Finishing the Task
Campus Crusade
Josh McDowell
E3 Partners
Jesus Film (see our interview with Executive Director Josh Newell)
The Finishing Fund (see our interview with founder Doug Cobb)
Rick Warren, Executive Director of Finishing the Task and author of the Purpose Driven Life
Global Alliance for Church Multiplication (see our interview with President Bekele Shanko)
Wycliffe Bible Translators (see our interview with CEO John Chesnut)
IllumiNations Bible Translation Alliance (see our interview with Todd Peterson or John Chesnut)
The Go Movement
The Lausanne Movement
World Evangelical Alliance
National Christian Foundation (see our interview with President Emeritus, David Wills)
The Finish Line Community Facebook Group
The Finish Line Community LinkedIn Group

BIBLE REFERENCES FROM THE SHOW

Revelation 7:9 | Every Tribe, Tongue, and Nation

Matthew 28:19-20 | The Great Commission

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matthew 10:18-20 | You Will Be Brought Before Kings

18 And you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

John 17:11 | Jesus’ Prayer for Unity

Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Monday Feb 14, 2022

Tim Mohns, Seasoned Financial Advisor, on Giving WITH God Rather than Giving TO God (Ep. 39)

Monday Feb 14, 2022

Tim Mohns is a seasoned financial planner who has had a financial finish line for the last 15 years after trying it out during a 6 month experiment. In addition to his advising career, Tim is heavily involved with the National Christian Foundation, a donor advised fund platform, as well as Kingdom Advisors, which seeks to equip financial planners to integrate their faith into their work.

Tim shared an inspiring testimony of learning to walk in step with God, including experiencing the fruit of some impressively specific instructions from God. But even more than that, he shared through his own story how God is so much more interested in us giving with God rather than giving for God. In more recent years, Tim has been exploring giving away parts of the business he’s spent his life building with some exciting developments on the horizon. Listen now to hear Tim’s entire story.

QUOTES TO REMEMBER

“Is this really all there is? … I’m doing everything I’m supposed to be doing. Why does it feel like I’m just eating paper? It’s tasteless!”
“What really struck me was hearing the testimonies of people who had really tried generosity.”
“I’m more of a save-a-holic than a spend-a-holic.”
“Giving went from just another box to check as a good Christian boy scout to an invitation to do something with my heavenly father.”
“The giving piece of it has been way more about me and intimacy with God and leading me back to what my heart’s desire really is, which is to have a great relationship with my heavenly father.”
“I used to think that God needed me to ‘fund the kingdom’.”
“I don’t think God’s heart is always about maximizing ROI, like somehow he’s going to run out of money.”
“We don’t have to worry about the results, we just get to be a part of the process.”
“You cannot take someone through something you’ve never done yourself.”
“People talk about giving as something you ought to do, but I talk about it as an opportunity.”
“I really want to come beside people and give them the freedom to take risks.”
“Find a way to create a little bit of financial margin, and then get into a listening posture.”

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

Fountain Wealth Management, Tim's financial advisory practice
Generous Giving (see our interviews with cofounders Todd Harper and David Wills and CEO, April Chapman)
Journey of Generosity (JOG) experience through Generous Giving
National Christian Foundation (see our interview with President Emeritus, David Wills)
Kingdom Advisors (see our interview with founder, Ron Blue)
The Finish Line Community Facebook Group
The Finish Line Community LinkedIn Group

BIBLE REFERENCES FROM THE SHOW

Matthew 6:19-21 | Store Up Treasures in Heaven

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Monday Jan 31, 2022

Finish Line Q&A with John Cortines: Expensive Cities, Growing Families, Managing Windfalls, and Giving Out of Savings (Ep. 38)

Monday Jan 31, 2022

For this episode, we’re taking a break from our typical interviews to cover a number of questions that have come in to the podcast. We’re lucky enough to be joined by repeat guest John Cortines to help us explore some of these ideas. John is the Director of Generosity for the Maclellan Foundation and past Chief Operating Officer of Generous Giving. He is also coauthor of the books God and Money and True Riches, along with another of our past guests, Greg Baumer. If you want to hear John’s full story, you can find it back on episode 13.

The questions we covered in this episode are:

[6:45] I live in an expensive part of the country. How would you account for this in setting a financial finish line?
[16:56] If I set a finish line, how do I account for things like inflation, growing family, kids getting older (and more expensive), etc?
[25:19] I recently received a large inheritance, although I am already in a decent financial position with a mortgage but no other debt. How would you handle that situation with a finish line in place?
[33:47] God has really stretched me in giving out of my income, and that process has been very rewarding. My husband and I want to start giving out of our savings too. Do you have any advice?
[38:36] Do you think that everyone should have a finish line?

If you have a question of your own, there are a number of ways you can jump into the conversation. First, you can join our facebook group to find other likeminded people discussing all aspects of generosity and impactful giving. You can also check out the Finish Line Forum. If you’d prefer to send in your questions directly, you can reach us via our contract page.

QUOTES TO REMEMBER

“There’s nothing right or wrong about living in a high cost area.”
“This is a matter of walking the adventure with the Lord, seeing what he’s called us to, and yeah, sometimes making tradeoffs.”
“Your finish line will need some continuous tweaking. It’s not meant to be set in stone for the rest of your life.”
“What are those dollars doing in an investment account that you don’t need versus what could those dollars do if they were injected into the kingdom?”
“There’s a real pride in thinking you can out-invest God.”
“I can figure out how much is enough income, but how much is enough security?”
“Nobody stumbles into enough.”

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

God and Mammon by Andy Crouch at the Faith Driven Investor's Conference
Larry Burkett's list of the 2300 Bible verses on money
The Finish Line Community Facebook Group
The Finish Line Community LinkedIn Group

BIBLE REFERENCES FROM THE SHOW

Acts 5:1-6 | Ananias and Sapphira

But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” 5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. 6 The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.

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