The Finish Line Podcast
 

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

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

Monday Mar 28, 2022

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

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!

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.

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

Monday Mar 14, 2022

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!

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.

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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

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

BIBLE REFERENCES FROM THE SHOW

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

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.

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!

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.

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

Monday Feb 14, 2022

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

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!

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.

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

Monday Jan 31, 2022

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

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.

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.

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Aaron and Miran Cho on Committing to Give More Than You Can Budget For (Ep. 37)

Monday Jan 17, 2022

Monday Jan 17, 2022

Aaron and Miran Cho took some of their earliest steps of faith when they first met each other. And right from the beginning, God began challenging them in the area of generosity. On the podcast, we have heard all sorts of strategies for deciding how much to give and how to give it. But Aaron and Miran have one of the most Spirit-led strategies we’ve heard so far.

Every year, Aaron and Miran set aside 2 days where they each separately spend a day in prayer. During that time, they ask God how much he would have them give away the following year. Afterwards, they come back together to discern how he might be leading them. As that process has grown over the years, they now often find themselves committing to more than they can actually budget for, yet God continues to provide for them in radical ways.

We were deeply inspired by the Cho’s personal story, as well as their wisdom on topics like impact investing, giving together as a couple, and choosing what to give to. Listen now to hear all they had to share!

QUOTES TO REMEMBER

  • “There’s gotta be more to life than tithing our 10% to our local church.”
  • “There are many [spiritual] teachers, but not a lot of [spiritual] fathers.”
  • “Every year we pray for the forthcoming year, saying, ‘God, what do you want us to give over and above our tithe?'”
  • “When you’re debt free, you can just ask God, ‘What do you want me to do? Who do I give to? What do I give to?'”
  • “We fund our kingdom fund before we fund anything else.”
  • “We commit to a number that we feel like God is telling us to commit to for the next year, even if it doesn’t make sense for our budget.”
  • “God provides the money for his bank account. All he wants from us is the yes that we’ll do it. If the money shows up, we will put it aside in another bank account. That’s all he wants from us.”
  • “I would rather plan on working for the rest of my life and be extravagant givers along the way.”
  • “You can’t out-give God.”
  • “At the end of the year every year, we set aside two days and go to a prayer mountain separately. And then we spend all day praying and spending time with God. And during that time we ask God how much we should give away the following year for the kingdom fund.”
  • “That’s how we do everything. We pray separately and then come together and see if we are in agreement.”
  • “We’re always praying for God to open up doors to new ministries and to identify needs.”
  • “Investing in people is the model of Jesus.”
  • “God, here’s my treasure

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

BIBLE REFERENCES FROM THE SHOW

Matt. 6:33 | Seek First the Kingdom

33 Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Matthew 6:21 | Two Masters

21 You cannot serve God and money.

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.

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Morgan Jackson, Senior VP of Faith Comes by Hearing, on Reaching the 70% of the World Living in Oral-Dominant Cultures (Ep. 36)

Monday Jan 03, 2022

Monday Jan 03, 2022

Morgan Jackson is the Executive Vice President of Faith Comes by Hearing, an audio bible recording ministry that has recorded the bible in over 1500 languages to reach over 1.3 million communities around the world. Morgan’s parents founded the organization in 1972 with a strong conviction to share the gospel and an unwavering commitment to God’s calling for their lives. 

About 70% of the world live in predominantly oral, rather than written, cultures. Today, Faith Comes by Hearing partners with over 400 organizations to make the gospel accessible in audio and visual formats in the heart language of over 80% of the world’s population. Using custom designed solar-powered audio devices called Proclaimers, Faith Comes by Hearing and its partner ministries are able to share God’s Word with sometimes thousands of people at a time. And Morgan had countless stories about how each culture relates to God’s Word in a unique and powerful way.

Faith Comes by Hearing is also part of a larger collaboration of organizations that are united in the goal to make the bible accessible to everyone on the planet by 2033, two thousand years after Christ’s death. And they are making incredible progress. We were deeply encouraged by the stories and vision Morgan had to share. This is definitely an episode you won’t want to miss.

QUOTES TO REMEMBER

  • “Blank villages, those without a church, were being reached and churches were being planted simply by bringing the word of God for people to hear.”
  • “In 2 Kings 23, the whole nation is assembled, and you have the record of the largest revival in Jewish history from not prayer, not fasting, not singing, but from simply hearing Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.”
  • “In oral communities, anything that is important comes to you in a story, parable, proverb, song, or drama, with memory cues. That way you can hold onto it, because you don’t own it until you memorize it.”
  • “We believe by 2033, two thousand years after Christ’s death, we could see a translation complete for every language of the world.”
  • “There are going to be a lot of people who will die getting these translations done.”
  • “The Word of God is spoken… it is written primarily to be heard.”
  • “We’ve experienced the greatest revival in history in the last 100 years and almost nobody knows it.”
  • “This next age is going to be the national [missionaries]. They are going to be asking for tools and resources, and we need to be ready to resource them.”
  • “The body of Christ has become unified around the world. They’ve dropped their banners and are saying ‘Let’s get this job done’.”

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

BIBLE REFERENCES FROM THE SHOW

Matt. 10:11 | When You Enter a Strange Town

11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart.

Deuteronomy 6:4 | Hear O Israel

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

1 Timothy 4:13 | The Public Reading of Scripture

13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.

Mark 12:27 | The God of the Living

27 He is not God of the dead, but of the living.

Matt 24:14 | And Then the End Will Come

14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

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.

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Doug Cobb, Founder of the Finishing Fund, on the Sprint to the Ultimate Finish Line (Ep. 35)

Monday Dec 20, 2021

Monday Dec 20, 2021

Doug Cobb is a seasoned entrepreneur and investor who is passionate about completing the ultimate command Christ left us with: making disciples of all nations. Using the skills from his private equity background, Doug founded the Finishing Fund, a sort of venture capital fund connecting those with resources to those on the final frontier of global missions.

In particular, the Finishing Fund finances projects with an extensive network of vetted ministry partners specifically to reach the final unengaged unreached people groups in the world. In 2017 when the Finishing Fund was founded, out of 12,000 people groups in the world with 500 or more people, there were 1450 unengaged people groups without a single Christian living among them. Today, that number is 149, and Doug believes that there can be workers engaging every one of those remaining groups by the end of 2022.

We had all sorts of questions for Doug, like how do you find ministries to work with? What barriers will there be to reaching the remaining groups? What exactly is the Great Commission? And how will we know when the work is complete? You won’t want to miss Doug’s interview for the answers to these questions and more.

QUOTES TO REMEMBER

  • “Right from the beginning, generosity was something that found its way into our lives.”
  • “That was the most amazing experience of our giving lives.”
  • “Ours could be the generation to see this work finished. I absolutely believe that it’s within our capability by God’s grace to finish this within our generation.”
  • “The business you end up doing is almost never the one you thought you were going to do.” 
  • “Finding those things, those good works that he’s prepared in advance individually for each of us, to me just makes life such an incredible adventure.”
  • “God is determined to see this work completed.”
  • “If you compare the amount of time people spend managing their secular portfolios and the amount of time they spend managing their kingdom portfolios, for most people there is not even a comparison.”
  • “There is hardly anything to be more excited about then the completion of the Great Commission.”
  • “When you become convinced that we are living in the era of the finishing of the Great Commission, it just needs to change our view  of money, possessions, and eternity.”

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

BIBLE REFERENCES FROM THE SHOW

Zechariah 4:6 | Not by Might

6 Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.

Ephesians 2:8-10 | Created for Good Works

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

2 Peter 3:11-12 | Hastening the Coming of the Day of God

11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!

Matt 24:14 | And Then the End Will Come

14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Luke 12:16-21 | Bigger Barns

16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

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.

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Ravi Jayakaran, CEO of Medical Ambassadors International, on the Transformative Power of Community Health Evangelism (Ep. 34)

Monday Dec 06, 2021

Monday Dec 06, 2021

Ravi Jayakaran is the President and CEO of Medical Ambassadors International which works to sustainably transform communities around the world through Christ-centered partnership, resource assessment, and customized training. Ravi’s story begins with his grandfather who left behind a 2000 year family tradition of Hinduism to become one of the first Christians in his community in India. Growing up in the faith, Ravi went on to pursue a degree in veterinary medicine before transitioning to full time work with World Vision. In 2017, he took over leadership of MAI full time.

Founded in the late 70s by Dr. Ray Benson, Medical Ambassadors International began as a traditional medical mission-trip style organization with U.S. surgeons providing medical care in Vietnam and several other countries. When Dr. Paul Calhoun took over as President, MAI began to shift from a provision-style ministry to prevention, with notable success.

In the ensuing years, that focus began to expand well beyond medicine to a broader community health model now known as community health evangelism (CHE). Today, MAI’s model involves beginning with a community assessment, identifying several village leaders who can take an inventory of the community’s raw material, learned skills, and human resources. Those leaders then identify their community’s greatest needs. Once those needs are identified, MAI provides training so that the community can work towards meeting its own needs with as little external support as possible. 

Most importantly, each training curriculum is fused with gospel teaching that points to Christ as the ultimate provider and savior. In each community where the CHE process is implemented, MAI routinely sees large numbers of people come to accept Christ as their own saviour as they work to build and strengthen their community.

Over the last few decades, MAI has amassed lesson plans on over 10,000 topics from rabbit rearing to mushroom harvesting to microenterprise to serve over 2600 communities in 75 different countries. And each village has at least 20 native volunteers leading the change in their community. Ravi has amazing insight into what it takes to drive sustainable change and gospel rootedness. Listen now to hear all he had to say! 

QUOTES TO REMEMBER

  • “Word and deed need to be in balance. We call that integral mission, or wholistic mission.”
  • “With the resources that they have, what is the best thing to do?”
  • “The drive is constantly to see how we can be more efficient and effective.”
  • “What you put into the center of your development is what drives it. If it’s community resources, community ownership, community capacity, that’s what will drive it. If you bring in an external big box and drop it there, that’s what they’ll wait to see driving the process.”
  • “A community must own its own transformation.”

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

BIBLE REFERENCES FROM THE SHOW

Matt 5:14-15 | The Salt and the Light

13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.

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Eric Most, VP for NCF Rocky Mountains, on How to Avoid His Biggest Giving Mistake (Ep. 33)

Monday Nov 22, 2021

Monday Nov 22, 2021

Eric Most is the VP of the Rocky Mountains region for the National Christian Foundation, a donor advised fund platform that happens to be the 6th largest nonprofit and the largest Christian grant maker in the U.S. 

Eric began his career at his family’s insurance business, Most Insurance, which he later went on to run. He later went on to sell the business for a significant profit which he used to start a real estate firm and fuel his passion for generosity. However, it wasn’t until after selling his business that he realized that he could have given far more from the proceeds if he had orchestrated the transaction differently. 

That mistake left a large enough impact on him that he later took a position with the National Christian Foundation to help others avoid the same mistake.

NCF was founded over 40 years ago by Larry Burkett, Ron Blue, and Terry Parker as a platform to mobilize resources for the sake of the gospel and inspire generosity. Over this time, NCF has served over 24,000 givers to receive almost 19 billion dollars and deploy 15 billion dollars to charitable impact.

Eric had a wealth of advice and experiences to share, particularly about asset-based giving. Over 90% of our wealth as a nation is wrapped up in the things that we own. And by giving out of those assets, like stocks, real estate, and even our own businesses, instead of giving cash, we are able to add several multipliers to the impact of our giving. Eric also had some fantastic advice for financial planners wanting to help their clients through some of these processes. Listen now to hear all he had to share!

QUOTES TO REMEMBER

  • “I didn’t know about asset-based giving. I didn’t know about the power of giving before a sale.”
  • “Don’t make my mistakes! There is a better way.”
  • “91% of our wealth as a nation is wrapped up in the things that we own. And we do most of our giving out of that remaining 9%.”
  • “This just became an engine of generosity.”
  • “We are called to greater things than we think.”
  • “There are zealous goers, zealous senders, and the disobedient.”
  • “NCF mobilizes resources and inspired generosity.”
  • “We look as stewarding everything that God has entrusted to us, our business, our assets – these can all be vehicles of greater generosity for the sake of the gospel. And that excites me to no end.”

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

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.

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