In part 4 we sing the praises of good ol’ boring stocks and bonds. No matter how you plan to build and steward the resources that you’ve been entrusted with, we think that this investment class is worth a good look. There are not many other assets that require so little of your direct efforts in order to grow, and stocks and bonds can provide a fantastic foundation for other wealth-building efforts you might undertake later in life.

Could we be more excited to answer some listener emails right on the air? Nay. In this episode we hit questions about work, mortgages, tithing, generosity, our content and we even talk about meeting up with listeners in person. Give it a listen then write us your own listener email by sending your thoughts to [email protected].

Lately I’ve run into more and more talk from companies who will use language of family (which makes my skin crawl), even religion, to convince employees to sacrifice everything at the altar of profits, which they will disguise with language about vision, culture, inclusivity or whatever they think will adequately mask their true intentions. Some companies, I’m convinced, will do this unintentionally because they have drunk their own Kool-Aid at the highest levels. They really believe that the company doesn’t exist to make profits but to, say, “Improve life.” Some, as you’ll see in this episode, do it with very clear (can we say evil?) intentions.

What is the most important ingredient to wealth building once you’ve been wise enough to go out an earn some money? TIME! And it doesn’t matter if you’re investing in stocks and bonds, or start a business. In fact, you starting a business with a solid business plan and two years’ worth of living expenses in the bank will terrify your competitors far more than any degree of hustle or clever social marketing that you might come up with.

Do you really want to start building “an enormous arsenal of resources”? Well you’re going to need some dry powder to get that ball rolling, and the way that most of you young bucks are going to accumulate that will be to find a J.O.B.  And I’m not talking about a 6-month side hustle. The Normal and Unsexy Job is very out-of-fashion right now, but allow us to vaunt the security that health insurance and a regular paycheck can provide to a young family builder in the early season of their journey. It is not insignificant.

Mark and Steven recorded this short chat on the topic of weekly rhythms and how they provide rails for our households when it comes to our work, parenting, spiritual lives and even our finances.

Goday, we’re going to talk about one specific part of your calling, which is: expressing the heart of the Father. You might already know this, but you’re God’s ambassador. That means, if I may just quote the Bible instead of paraphrasing, that God is making His appeal through you. He intends to use you–your gifts, your personality, your relationships, your career, your money–to explain to the world what He’s like, and make His Name glorious in all the platforms you occupy. One of those platforms, as I’ve said exhaustively in this series, is your money. Money is influence and power and possibility–and the Master wants all of yours, thank you very much. 

You wanna run your home and dough like a Biblical boss? Well you need some brothers around you to do that well. And anyone who has been around churchworld for long knows that the standard programming (let’s have coffee and talk about our feelings) feels not so nourishing to the male soul. In this episode, Steven lays out his step-by-step guide for how to create a men’s group that will challenge and grow you along with 3-6 of your best buddies.

From this point on, I’m going to act like living out the administration of the Kingdom is YOUR problem, and that you’ll answer straight to God on what His Kingdom looks like in your locale.  (As if, you know, God was making His appeal straight through you…) So please do not interrupt today’s diatribe with “but my church/religious organization…”  I’m not talking about them; I’m talking about YOU. 

Flex your muscles, boys.  I’ll remind you that a Big Packet of Money will go through your hands this year, and what happens with it is ENTIRELY UP TO YOU. That’s power. I’m going to assume from this point that you understand, based on your thorough digestion of Part 2 of this series, that giving to your community of faith is Quite Important and that we can proceed from there.  So let’s do it.