The Finish Line Podcast

James Lenhoff, financial planner, pastor, and president of Good Sense Movement, shares how a series of pivotal moments reshaped his understanding of money and calling. After early success helping clients build wealth, the sudden passing of several clients in 2010 confronted him with the reality of accumulated regret and redirected his focus toward faithful stewardship. Influenced by experiences like a mission trip to Haiti and years of intimate conversations with clients, James began to see wealth not as personal security, but as something entrusted by God for a greater purpose. 

Through his work with WealthQuest and Good Sense, James helps individuals and families define “enough” by setting financial finish lines, creating margin for generosity, peace, and obedience. He emphasizes shifting from ownership to stewardship, involving family in financial decisions, and using money as a tool for Kingdom impact. His approach addresses both practical habits and deeper heart issues, offering a path toward freedom from fear, comparison, and overconsumption.

Consider what “enough” looks like in your own life and how that clarity might reshape your trust, priorities, and generosity.

Major Topics Include:

Matthew 6:21 | Treasure and the Heart

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 25:14–30 | Parable of the Talents

Psalm 50:10 | God Owns Everything

For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.

Genesis 2:2–3 | God Rested on the Seventh Day

And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy.

But sometimes these stories can leave us thinking, “What’s that next step look like for me?”

That’s exactly why we’ve launched a whole new podcast called Applied Generosity which explores the full landscape of the generous life across 7 different dimensions of generosity.

Applied Generosity helps make sense of the hundreds of stories we’ve shared on the Finish Line Podcast to help you find that best next step.

If you’ve been inspired by these stories and want to take things to the next level, check out Applied Generosity anywhere you listen to podcasts or at appliedgenerosity.com.

James Waters, founder of Kingdom Impact and leader in development of the Christian Impact Framework, joins Cody and Kealan to share how God reshaped his life from personal loss and restless success into a calling at the intersection of research, mission, and stewardship. After encountering Christ during university and later witnessing both the beauty and brokenness of global development work, James began asking deeper questions about how Christians can pursue meaningful impact without losing dependence on the Holy Spirit.

Through his work, James now helps ministries, businesses, and givers think more clearly about spiritual and social impact, building frameworks that bring clarity without replacing prayerful discernment. He explores the tension between faithfulness and fruitfulness, showing how wise measurement can strengthen stewardship, deepen relationships, and ultimately give glory to God. At the same time, he acknowledges the challenges of pride, misplaced identity, and over-reliance on systems, pointing back to humility and obedience as the foundation for Kingdom impact.

Consider how combining prayerful discernment with thoughtful strategy could reshape the way you pursue lasting Kingdom impact.

Major Topics Include:

1 Corinthians 3:6 | God Gives the Growth

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.

John 15:5 | Abiding Bears Fruit

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Ephesians 3:10 | Manifold Wisdom Displayed

So that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

Matthew 22:37 | Love God Fully

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

Matthew 26:7–13 | The Alabaster Jar

John 15:8 | Fruit That Glorifies God

By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

But sometimes these stories can leave us thinking, “What’s that next step look like for me?”

That’s exactly why we’ve launched a whole new podcast called Applied Generosity which explores the full landscape of the generous life across 7 different dimensions of generosity.

Applied Generosity helps make sense of the hundreds of stories we’ve shared on the Finish Line Podcast to help you find that best next step.

If you’ve been inspired by these stories and want to take things to the next level, check out Applied Generosity anywhere you listen to podcasts or at appliedgenerosity.com.

Teri Bledsoe is an entrepreneur, mother, and board chair with Women Doing Well whose life has been shaped by both deep faith and profound hardship. From a young age, she sensed God’s presence and developed a posture of generosity, but it was through marriage, adoption, and seasons of financial uncertainty that her trust in God was refined. A pivotal moment early in her marriage revealed God’s personal care, setting a foundation for a lifelong journey of open-handed giving and dependence on Him.

As God entrusted Teri and her husband Chris with significant wealth through a business exit, He simultaneously led them through painful seasons, including the loss of their son. Rather than separating joy and suffering, God used both to deepen their intimacy with Him and with each other. Through her involvement with Women Doing Well and other generosity communities, Teri now helps others discover that generosity is not about outcomes, but about responding to God’s invitation and experiencing His joy in every circumstance.

Listen to explore how God meets you in suffering and invites you into a deeper, joy-filled life of generosity.

Major Topics Include:

Malachi 3:10 | Test Me in This

“Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”

Psalm 27:8 | Seek His Face

“You have said, ‘Seek my face.’ My heart says to you, ‘Your face, Lord, do I seek.’”

John 10:10 | Life to the Full

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

Acts 20:35 | More Blessed to Give

“In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

John 15:11 | Joy Made Full

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

John 3:16 | God So Loved He Gave

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

James 1:17 | Every Good Gift

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

Genesis 32:26 | Wrestling with God

“Then he said, ‘Let me go, for the day has broken.’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’”

But sometimes these stories can leave us thinking, “What’s that next step look like for me?”

That’s exactly why we’ve launched a whole new podcast called Applied Generosity which explores the full landscape of the generous life across 7 different dimensions of generosity.

Applied Generosity helps make sense of the hundreds of stories we’ve shared on the Finish Line Podcast to help you find that best next step.

If you’ve been inspired by these stories and want to take things to the next level, check out Applied Generosity anywhere you listen to podcasts or at appliedgenerosity.com.

Joe Daly, founder of Daly Goods, shares a journey shaped by a deep desire to align work, money, and calling under God’s authority. Growing up in a faithful home yet wrestling through struggles and misplaced identity, Joe describes how God used confession, community, and Scripture to transform his understanding of freedom and purpose. A pivotal season after college, marked by discipleship and spiritual formation, reoriented his life toward wholehearted surrender.

Today, Joe leads a handcrafted leather goods company with a vision far beyond profit. He and his wife practice what he calls “upside-down generosity”, setting a lifestyle cap, prioritizing giving first, and building a business designed to serve employees, customers, and Kingdom impact. Through risks like radical giving and leaving vocational ministry, Joe has seen God provide in unexpected ways while refining his heart around dependence and stewardship. This conversation offers a grounded, hopeful vision for integrating faith with everyday financial decisions and long-term calling.

Consider how surrendering control of your work and resources might open new space to trust God more fully.

Major Topics Include:

Matthew 23:27 | Whitewashed Tomb Warning

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.”

Romans 7:15 | Struggle with Sin

“For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”

2 Corinthians 8:2 | Generosity in Poverty

“For in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.”

Acts 2:44–45 | Shared Possessions

“And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.”

Acts 4:32–35 | No One In Need

Philippians 4:12–13 | Contentment in Little and Much

I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

1 Corinthians 16:2 | Systematic Giving

“On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper…”

Matthew 6:3–4 | Giving in Secret

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Matthew 5:16 | Let Your Light Shine

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that[a] they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

John 3:16 | God’s Gift of Salvation

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

1 Peter 2:9 | Kingdom of Priests

“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.”

Luke 12:48 | To Whom Much Is Given

“Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.”

Matthew 6:19–21 | Treasures in Heaven

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Matthew 6:24 | Cannot Serve Two Masters

“No one can serve two masters… You cannot serve God and money.”

Matthew 6:11 | Daily Dependence on God

“Give us this day our daily bread.”

Proverbs 30:8–9 | Neither Poverty Nor Riches

“Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me…”

Luke 16:10 | Faithful in Little and Much

“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much…”

But sometimes these stories can leave us thinking, “What’s that next step look like for me?”

That’s exactly why we’ve launched a whole new podcast called Applied Generosity which explores the full landscape of the generous life across 7 different dimensions of generosity.

Applied Generosity helps make sense of the hundreds of stories we’ve shared on the Finish Line Podcast to help you find that best next step.

If you’ve been inspired by these stories and want to take things to the next level, check out Applied Generosity anywhere you listen to podcasts or at appliedgenerosity.com.

Pete and Debbie Ochs, longtime entrepreneurs and leaders in faith-driven business, share how God reshaped their understanding of money, work, and purpose over decades of walking with Him. Pete began his career pursuing success through hard work and financial gain, while Debbie brought a steady foundation of faith and generosity from her upbringing. Through seasons of business growth, financial pressure, and personal conviction, God led them to see that everything they had was not theirs to own, but to steward. That shift transformed how they built companies, gave generously, and ultimately released control. 

Pete is the founder of Capital III, an investment and operating company focused on building businesses that create economic, social, and spiritual capital, and the founder of Enterprise Stewardship, which helps leaders build high-impact businesses rooted in purpose and long-term flourishing. From creating jobs inside prisons to establishing a stewardship trust for their business, Pete and Debbie’s work now reflects a commitment to building economic, social, and spiritual impact. Along the way, they learned to set a finish line, cap their lifestyle, and follow the Holy Spirit in both planned and spontaneous generosity, deepening their understanding of risk and surrender.

Explore how surrendering ownership can reshape your decisions, relationships, and long-term vision for Kingdom impact.

Major Topics Include:

1 Peter 3:15 | Reason for Your Hope

“But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and respect.”

Galatians 2:20 | Crucified with Christ

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Luke 10:25–37 | The Good Samaritan

Proverbs 3:5–6 | Trust in the Lord

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Matthew 6:3 | Give in Secret

“But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.”

But sometimes these stories can leave us thinking, “What’s that next step look like for me?”

That’s exactly why we’ve launched a whole new podcast called Applied Generosity which explores the full landscape of the generous life across 7 different dimensions of generosity.

Applied Generosity helps make sense of the hundreds of stories we’ve shared on the Finish Line Podcast to help you find that best next step.

If you’ve been inspired by these stories and want to take things to the next level, check out Applied Generosity anywhere you listen to podcasts or at appliedgenerosity.com.

Becca Spradlin, founder of On Mission Advisors and author of Lead On Mission, has spent her career helping faith-driven organizations stay anchored in their God-given purpose. After early experiences in global missions and microfinance work with HOPE International, God shaped her conviction that even strong ministries are vulnerable to mission drift, especially during seasons of growth, success, or leadership transition. That realization led her to develop practical tools to help leaders discern, define, and protect their calling over time. 

In this conversation, Becca shares how organizations can faithfully steward influence by clarifying their mission, building guardrails, and cultivating leaders who are deeply rooted in Christ. She highlights common risks like funding pressures, misaligned hiring, and expanding beyond core focus, while offering a framework to define, protect, and champion mission with intentionality. The discussion also equips both leaders and givers to pursue alignment, accountability, and long-term Kingdom impact with wisdom and humility.

Consider how your leadership or giving might stay anchored in God’s purpose through seasons of growth and opportunity.

Major Topics Include:

John 15:5 | Abide in the Vine

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

Hebrews 2:1 | Pay Closer Attention

“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.”

1 Peter 5:8 | The Prowling Lion

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

Matthew 19:21 | The Rich Young Ruler

“Jesus said to him, ‘If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’”

On the Finish Line podcast, we are all about stories, seeing how God draws us into generosity over a lifetime. 

But sometimes these stories can leave us thinking, “What’s that next step look like for me?”

That’s exactly why we’ve launched a whole new podcast called Applied Generosity which explores the full landscape of the generous life across 7 different dimensions of generosity. 

Applied Generosity helps make sense of the hundreds of stories we’ve shared on the Finish Line Podcast to help you find that best next step.

If you’ve been inspired by these stories and want to take things to the next level, check out Applied Generosity anywhere you listen to podcasts or at appliedgenerosity.com.

Sharla Langston has spent decades working at the intersection of faith, purpose, and generosity. After beginning her career as a petroleum engineer and serving in roles that ranged from Alaska to Capitol Hill, God gradually redirected her path through experiences that reshaped her understanding of stewardship and calling. Her journey eventually led her into ministry roles with a local church, the National Christian Foundation, and ultimately into deeper work helping others discover how generosity connects with the unique purpose God has given them.

As co-founder of Women Doing Well, Sharla has helped thousands of women explore how their God-given purpose, passions, and resources fit together. Through research, community, and guided pathways, the ministry helps women overcome barriers to generosity and gain clarity about how to steward their time, talent, and treasure. In this conversation, Sharla reflects on the lessons she has learned across the generosity ecosystem, from local churches to global impact investing, and shares practical wisdom for walking faithfully through fears, decisions, and opportunities around giving.

Listen to discover how identifying your God-given purpose can unlock greater confidence, freedom, and joy in generosity.

Major Topics Include:

On the Finish Line podcast, we are all about stories, seeing how God draws us into generosity over a lifetime. 

But sometimes these stories can leave us thinking, “What’s that next step look like for me?”

That’s exactly why we’ve launched a whole new podcast called Applied Generosity which explores the full landscape of the generous life across 7 different dimensions of generosity. 

Applied Generosity helps make sense of the hundreds of stories we’ve shared on the Finish Line Podcast to help you find that best next step.

If you’ve been inspired by these stories and want to take things to the next level, check out Applied Generosity anywhere you listen to podcasts or at appliedgenerosity.com.

Emanuel Bistrian, Executive Director of Generosity Path, grew up in a small Romanian village under communism, one of twelve children in a faithful Christian family. After immigrating to Chicago with almost nothing, he watched his mother give generously even in scarcity. That witness shaped his ambition, not simply to succeed, but to live on purpose. Over time, as he built businesses in the United States and Romania, God reshaped his view of wealth from something to secure into something to steward with open hands.

In this conversation, Emanuel shares how he and his wife chose to give from revenue rather than profit, trusting God through the global financial crisis and seasons of real risk. He describes how local generosity is transforming churches in places like Ethiopia and South Sudan, restoring dignity and fueling gospel work from within communities rather than depending on the West. Through Generosity Path, he now helps leaders around the world discover generosity as surrender, community, and mission. Listen to explore how courageous generosity can restore dignity and strengthen faith in every season.

Major Topics Include:

On the Finish Line podcast, we are all about stories, seeing how God draws us into generosity over a lifetime. 

But sometimes these stories can leave us thinking, “What’s that next step look like for me?”

That’s exactly why we’ve launched a whole new podcast called Applied Generosity which explores the full landscape of the generous life across 7 different dimensions of generosity. 

Applied Generosity helps make sense of the hundreds of stories we’ve shared on the Finish Line Podcast to help you find that best next step.

If you’ve been inspired by these stories and want to take things to the next level, check out Applied Generosity anywhere you listen to podcasts or at appliedgenerosity.com.

Jeff Latture serves as Executive Vice President at Barnhart Crane and Rigging and as chairman of Strategic Resource Group, but his journey into collaborative generosity began long before boardrooms and grant strategies. Growing up in Arkansas, he watched his parents come to genuine faith, yet it was later in Dallas through a vibrant church community and a pivotal sermon from Bill Bright, that his faith became personal. A simple conversation with his future wife about missions planted an early vision: if they could not go, perhaps they could send. God reshaped that vision when He closed the door to starting their own business and instead led Jeff to Barnhart, a company committed to investing its profits in the Great Commission.

Over three decades, Jeff has helped cultivate GROVE, Barnhart’s internal collaborative giving team, and advance a mutual fund model of ministry through the Strategic Resource Group. He has learned that wise generosity requires shared mission, deep relationships, patient trust, and a willingness to surrender control. Collaborative structures, clear strategy, and long-term partnerships have multiplied Kingdom impact across frontier regions. This conversation offers a thoughtful vision for pursuing obedience, discernment, and deeper partnership in your own stewardship journey.

Major Topics Include:

Matthew 28:19–20 | The Great Commission

“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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Esther 4:14 | For Such a Time as This

“For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

On the Finish Line podcast, we are all about stories, seeing how God draws us into generosity over a lifetime. 

But sometimes these stories can leave us thinking, “What’s that next step look like for me?”

That’s exactly why we’ve launched a whole new podcast called Applied Generosity which explores the full landscape of the generous life across 7 different dimensions of generosity. 

Applied Generosity helps make sense of the hundreds of stories we’ve shared on the Finish Line Podcast to help you find that best next step.

If you’ve been inspired by these stories and want to take things to the next level, check out Applied Generosity anywhere you listen to podcasts or at appliedgenerosity.com.

Josh Kwan is the CEO of The Gathering and co-founder of Praxis, but his path into generosity began long before those titles. Raised by immigrant parents and formed by a faithful local church, Josh carried a deep love for Jesus into a career in journalism. God later redirected him through an unexpected opportunity to help lead philanthropy for entrepreneur David Weekley, where he learned firsthand how wise stewardship, rigorous thinking, and humble dependence on God can work together. That season shaped his conviction that generosity is not a side activity for Christians, but a calling that requires formation in community.

Through Praxis, Josh helped cultivate entrepreneurs whose ventures serve as vehicles for Kingdom impact, grounding ambition in a rule of life that guards the heart from money and power. At The Gathering, he now walks alongside families stewarding significant wealth, helping them embrace risk, think with an eternal horizon, and pursue collaboration over control. This conversation offers a thoughtful vision for generosity shaped by humility, surrender, and deep relationships, and invites you to consider how community might transform your own stewardship journey.

Major Topics Include:

Matthew 28:19–20 | The Great Commission

“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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

1 Corinthians 12:12–27 | One Body, Many Members

Romans 12:4–5 | Members of One Another

“For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”

On the Finish Line podcast, we are all about stories, seeing how God draws us into generosity over a lifetime. 

But sometimes these stories can leave us thinking, “What’s that next step look like for me?”

That’s exactly why we’ve launched a whole new podcast called Applied Generosity which explores the full landscape of the generous life across 7 different dimensions of generosity. 

Applied Generosity helps make sense of the hundreds of stories we’ve shared on the Finish Line Podcast to help you find that best next step.

If you’ve been inspired by these stories and want to take things to the next level, check out Applied Generosity anywhere you listen to podcasts or at appliedgenerosity.com.