Master Class
Journey with a select group of faith-driven investors in a weekly conversation, discussing how you can participate in God’s biblical design of Steward Investing.
I’ve found that God is inviting many of His follwers to be on this journey of stewardship. What is amazing is that we don’t have to journey alone. We don’t have to have all the answers figured out. In The Steward Investor Master Class, we hope to encourage each other as follwers of Jesus on the shared journey of stewarding resources for His global glory.
Introduction
This is an introduction to “The Steward Investor: Investing God’s Resources for Eternal Impact.” The author, Don Simmons, introduces himself and the purpose of the book.
Chapter 1
Oikonomos, the Greek word for household manager provides the most accurate definition of what it means to be God’s steward investor. Stewardship is not primarily about financial competence, although competence is expected. Stewardship, properly understood, requires us to manage our investments to accomplish the goals of the true owner, God himself.
Chapter 2
Donations are not sacred and investments are not secular although most Christians believe and act as though this were the case. We need to break from this false dichotomy and understand that both investments and donations are sacred when they are properly deployed to advance God’s kingdom on earth.
Chapter 3
It is easier to pry a steak bone from a hungry pit bull’s mouth than it is to persuade a wealthy Christian to invest resources for God’s purposes. We have all heard it said, or maybe even said it ourselves, that “God owns it all.” What are the implications for how we invest when we agree that God is actually the owner of it all?
Chapter 4
Proverbs 11:10 tells us that when the righteous prosper, the city rejoices. So What is a righteous business and how can we invest in them? Our portfolio should cause cities to rejoice because they promote justice and mercy and shalom. Lets explore how to invest in ways that reduce exploitation of workers, degradation of the planet and harm to society by investing in righteous businesses.
Chapter 5
What is a Missional Investment? In the video we introduce proactive values investing (PVI), which takes us beyond simply screening out businesses that do not align with Christian values (BRI). PVI is focused on investing that accomplishes Great Commission outcomes through deliberate impact plans to see Jesus lifted high in places where His name is rarely spoken. Donations are not Sacred and investments are not secular when we view both as resources that we must steward for the trues owner, God himself.
Chapter 6
“Society grows great when people plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” Everything changed for how wealth is to be used when God made the covenant with Abraham saying “I will bless you and make your name great, so that….you will be a blessing.” How can we make investments that alleviate poverty, promote justice, reduce exploitation, proclaim the good news of the gospel and bring blessing to entire nations?
Chapter 7
Does your heart break for the things that break God’s heart? Do not be daunted by the enormity of the worlds grief. Do justly now. Love mercy now. Walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it. It might be time for you to invest in a freedom business.
Chapter 8
Let’s revisit the familiar “parable of the talents” by taking a look at the real failure of the third servant. You might be surprised that what you’ve been taught is not true. He is not condemned for failing to achieve a reasonable financial return. How does this parable apply to the way you are investing?
Chapter 9
Pro-Active Values Investing is about far more than eliminating investments that offend our moral values. We must deliberately seek to include investments in our portfolio that align with God’s holy character and that advance his kingdom on earth.
Chapter 10
Risk and Return objectives for God’s steward investor should be different from those who do not profess Jesus to be Lord. God’s fiduciary must be committed to deployment of capital to achieve eternal impact not just focused on reducing risk for themselves. Let’s take a deeper look at portfolio construction for God’s oikonomos.
Chapter 11
God’s steward investor seeks to optimize outcomes for multiple stakeholders across 4 bottom lines. Economic, Environmental, Social and Spiritual outcomes are possible Modern portfolio theory and the efficient frontier can help us design effective portfolios that achieve both temporal and eternal objectives.
Chapter 12
Have you considered Mammon’s influence on how you invest? Understanding “where our heart is” and whether it’s influenced by Jesus teaching about mammon is foundational to establishing a proper view of deploying capital by investing for kingdom purposes.
Chapter 13
The character of capital in the kingdom of heaven is very different from capital that is influenced by the spirit of Mammon. Lets take a look at kingdom capital through the eyes of God’s oikonomos, his steward investor.
Chapter 14
Lets take a deeper look at the modern concept of retirement. Maybe we should ask “How much is too much for retirement?” rather than the typical “How much do I need to retire in comfort?” In whom do you place your trust?
Chapter 15
When you pray the Lord’s prayer do you pray, give us this day enough bread for the next 30 years? Obviously not. Then why do most financial plans focus on achieving financial independence on our investment portfolio rather than dependence on God’s provision. What is an appropriate balance between saving for our future and remaining dependent on God as our provision?
Chapter 16
Rich Fools, Faith and Poor Heroes are our focus in Chapter 16. For God’s oikonomos, the idea of dying broke should be normal because an oikonomos recognizes that they are already broke. I am not managing financial resources for my own benefit, but everything I posses is, in fact, owned by God.