When I became a follower of Jesus, I realized that everything I own belongs to Him. For years I spent money aimlessly, believing that because I worked hard, I deserved whatever I could afford. However, upon deeper reflection, I realized that everything in my life, from my sacrificial parents to my wonderful education and the many career opportunities were actually gifts from Him. With that in mind, Eugene and I want any windfalls or salary increases to result in a rising standard of giving, not a rising standard of living.

God is so unbelievably extravagant in his generosity - He gave up His most precious son for all of us! It’s also so easy to forget how seamlessly He provides for us in our greatest time of need. I experienced it most radically after losing both my parents and my best friend in the span of a few years. Thanks to my wonderful friends and church community, I was enveloped in so much love and support.

I started my career in NYC in investment banking and like so many of my colleagues, I used mindless consumption as a coping mechanism. Over time, I fell into the belief that I “needed” a certain income to merely get by as consumption became a hobby in and of itself. To fight the dangers of wealth, we try to stay grounded by exposing ourselves to economic diversity through service and surrounding ourselves with like-minded followers who can keep us accountable!

I equate treasuring Jesus with first seeking the Kingdom of God. For me, it is far too easy to get caught up in idols that surround giving, such as placing an overemphasis on living simply or giving to build up my own ego. When we’re not careful about first seeking the Kingdom of God, giving can be used to serve our own needs. Constant and fervent prayer that our giving is truly an act of treasuring Him is how we grow in this area.

… the pervasive and often undetectable influence of our culture on our lives. It’s far too easy to let the cultural opinions of our day influence how we live our lives and not our true calling of following Christ.

I’ve long struggled with a consistent prayer life and I’ve only recently hit a good rhythm. I commute to work on Caltrain or the bus and I use that time to write in my prayer journal. Writing helps me so much! I also listen to podcasts of sermons from a few of my favorite pastors throughout the week. Finally, my calendar rules my life so I make sure to get events on the calendar that help us live for eternity and not for ourselves (such as the Awake Conference!).

Our giving process is not very scientific. During our financial planning meetings, my husband and I discuss our giving goals and areas we want to prioritize. As an example, this year, outside of church giving, we are primarily focused on supporting small, local organizations that seek to empower marginalized groups through spiritual formation and building tangible skills. We love to support non-profits that give a hand up and not a hand out. We also set aside funds for spontaneous giving to ensure that we are always seeking opportunities to give whether it be to non-profits or a person in need.

To whom much is given, much is expected.

While I still fail at this on a pretty regular basis, my ultimate aim is to love God and love my neighbors. With that in mind, I hope the 3 words that I will be remembered by are: faithful, loving and gracious.

The biggest lesson the Lord has taught me is that nothing on this earth is worth more than treasure in heaven. As I get older I hope to store up more treasure for eternity than I store up here (Matthew 6:19-20). Todd and I say that we don’t want to have a single earthly investment that has as its account value a number greater than our giving. We want our giving account to be hands down a bigger number than any of our earthly accounts.

If the free gift of salvation is not enough to show the generosity of our God, then I don’t know what is! In addition, I recently traveled to Haiti and was reminded of what we have been physically given here on earth through our American citizenship, living in a safe and secure environment, and not worrying about daily necessities for life. When I allow myself to be with and among the poor, I feel the weight of “to whom much is given, much is expected” (Luke 12:48).

I am tempted to be far too generous to myself, to love comfort, and forget God. I think wealth can jade our thinking and get us to depend on ourselves and not God. Wealth can control our decisions on where and how we spend our lives. Are we truly living for Jesus’ kingdom to come on earth?

I think about something my Bible study teacher used to say, “the Christian life is so daily.” Every single day I need to be with Jesus, in His Word, and in prayer. I began to practice the daily discipline of a quiet time because I knew it was important, but now I get up in the morning and do it because I am lost without Him!

What I wish I knew at 25 years old… I would not give a rip about most of the stuff I spent money on.

My routine consists of daily time in God’s word, prayer, and journaling and focus and involvement in the things that my husband and I believe God has called us to.

Out of a sense of passion and calling my husband and I have identified four areas we know the Lord has called us to over the course of our marriage: Bible translation, students, the poor, and our church. We are hyper-focused on those things today and determine our giving decisions around that sense of calling.

To whom much is given, much is expected. I heard it young and it has stayed with me ever since.

Three words I’d want to be remembered by are kind, faithful, and obedient.

As a high school punk with a software business, God started the long process of teaching me that the money I was making was not for me, but a resource God was entrusting me with. It started with small monthly gifts to a local Christian radio station. I remember the incredible initial joy of giving, but it felt like a duty. The purpose was my own righteousness. Starting with that small seed, God has been teaching me that generosity is not a giving away, because that would imply that I am the center or that I'm losing something. Instead, generosity is a giving towards the work of a loving King and His Kingdom. I get to use my gifts to enable others to use theirs.

I'm often tempted to think that God's generosity is most evident in physical blessings. But God changed this perspective when we adopted our son from Korea. Earthly adoption is a reflection of God's spiritual adoption. At great cost, God sought me out. With all my scars and sickness, God said, "I want him to be my child". Though our son initially pushed us away, now he joyfully dances around our home, tries to imitate everything we do, and affectionately calls us "Appa" and "Umma". Similarly, God's generosity is best illustrated in that He gave everything so I can dance joyfully around His home and grow to be like Him.

The love of money is insidiously subtle. On one hand, envy and discontentment in seemingly harmless things spreads through everything, and ultimately I become my own god. I make myself an owner instead of a steward. Generosity combats this cancer, but even generosity can be my snare. I start thinking I'm in control of making the money I need to give away in the way I want. I justify the love of money for the sake of self-righteous generosity. I need to daily, no hourly, turn to listen to God's guidance and set my dependence on Him.

I thought stewardship was only the three "T's": time, treasure, and talent. But there's a fourth "T" that Paul tells us about: "carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you." (2 Tim 1:14) While every believer has a different combination of those three "T"'s, all of us share the truth of the undeserved grace of Christ. I don't need money in my bank account, space on my calendar, or a stunning skill set to be a radically generous person. I just need to treasure Christ in the truth of the Gospel, and as He transforms my heart, that truth overflows and I can't help but share boldly & freely with everyone, trusting God will use my words and actions to make His name famous in every nation, every office in my workplace, every home on my street, and in every heart of my household.

At the start of my giving journey, I thought the most important lessons of giving were in the logistics. How can I most effectively give my paycheck, or stock, etc? But focusing on logistics only fed lifeless giving. Generosity came alive when it went from writing a check in isolation to eternally focused, joyful partnerships between siblings in Christ. I get to focus on sharing a mission with a few people by praying knowledgeably for them, giving to their specific needs, and getting to visit and serve them intentionally.

Here's how my wife and I pray knowledgeably, give specifically, and serve our ministry partners intentionally. We Skype monthly, use messaging apps to communicate throughout the week, and have a list of constantly updated prayer requests. Instead of just writing a blanket check for the month, we listen for specific needs. Giving specifically is addicting: it is a tangible reminder of how God lets us be part of their ministry. And then, we constantly ask God "what's the next step?" Should we go and visit? Should we give this particular gift? Should we go take a class? Asking this simple question in each season has led to unbelievable twists in our adventure.

When asked about knowing where to give, David Platt said "surrender, abide, and then rest." Giving starts with surrendering everything to God: my paycheck, my prayer life, my street address, all of it. But beyond a surrendered heart I need a listening heart. Through daily abiding in His written word, community, and prayer, I can know His heart. And once I humbly and attentively submit, I rest knowing that God will guide me to give where, when, and how in a way that brings Him great glory and brings me great joy. For my wife and I, this principle translated practically by giving to our local church and giving back to places that had impacted our faith journeys. Over time, we saw passions, places, and people God brought to our hearts. And through those we developed a mission statement to focus our giving on developing deep, Gospel partnerships.

As a daily reminder of what matters most, my wife and I wrote this mission statement: "To know and enjoy God by making Jesus' name famous through radical, Spirit-led generosity". It starts with a joyful relationship with the true and living God of the Bible, not a comfortable god made in my image to serve my agenda. But God has put us in this place at this time to make Jesus' name famous. In God's great creativity, each family does this differently. In this season, we get to give generously in a way that illustrates our true treasure is Jesus and not our stock, 401k, or paycheck.

Those I impact most directly are my family. One of the greatest gifts I've been entrusted is my son and the weighty responsibility of shepherding his soul. I have no control over his soul, but I do have the responsibility and opportunity to prepare him for His calling. I pray that my son remembers that his dad spoke the truth about who God is and demonstrated that through loving his family. That I thought eternally with my time, money, and talents. And that in each season, whether it be plenty or little, that I lived with contentment and treasured the Lord.

When my grandfather and father died, so many people told me how much they did for them after WWII, providing necessities and employment to help get the Japanese American community back on their feet. Though no one had much, they gave of what they had to help others. I believe this is what God calls me to do, do the most with what I have and give generously, knowing that He is a God of abundance, not scarcity. It is God who provides and His desire is for us to depend on Him physically, emotionally, and spiritually - body, mind, soul.

A pastor once told me, “God always pays for what He orders.” It’s true! When God tells me to give, He has either already provided for it, or He will as I trust Him in faith. I have learned that He is a God of abundance, not scarcity. Running a capital campaign for my church for 9 years, 3 back to back campaigns, was God’s lab of trusting Him and really believing Psalm 24:1 - “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.” Everything!

My immigrant grandparents came to America with virtually nothing. My parents were sent to internment camps during WWII, not knowing what the future held. We are a farming family; I started working at age 5. A trifecta of a saving mentality! Saving comes naturally to me, but I am being trained by God to make saving a lower priority. I am learning that my security is in Christ, not in my savings account. He wants me to put His resources to work now vs. putting His priorities on hold.

Treasure Jesus because He treasures me! I grew up in a Christian culture focused on being obedient vs. being beloved. This led to a mentality of what I “should do” and being valued for what I can do vs. being loved for who God created me to be. When I feel in my soul that I am His beloved, I want to follow and obey vs. the obligation of obedience that tends to enslave, restrict, and leads to legalism. John 15:4 “Abide in me…” is where I want to live. Beloved and Abiding!

As a young believer, I wish I knew then that I am “just enough” for God. The world and the church communicated a “be better, do more, go beyond” theology to please God. You had to be better, do more, and more was never enough. I didn’t understand His Grace and that God loves me for me, not what I should be or should do for Him. I have had to learn as an adult that His deepest desire is intimacy with me. I am still learning to abide in Him and live as His Beloved.

"Sabbath is the time to receive silence and let it deepen into gratitude." (Eugene Peterson) Solitude and silence have become a bigger part of my life. Listening for the Lord in times of quiet and in the hectic busy days of life refuels and sustains me and helps me “be present” to hear God’s voice. Silence focusses me on God and disconnects me from my ego and pride, moving me toward thankfulness. Gratitude leads me to treasure God’s grace and abundant love for me. And as it relates to giving, gratitude turns what I have into “enough” so I can give more freely for others.

I give first where I worship, my church. Then I give to where I know the integrity and authenticity of the leadership/person and see the Holy Spirit working in the organization/individual. I don’t give just to 501c3s. Sometimes, its to help a friend in a tough season, or sometimes, I don’t even know why God says to give to someone. God’s voice and listening are important to me because God often tells me where to give and how much to give. Often I have an amount in my mind to give, and God changes a digit or adds a few! He’s stretching my faith for sure!

When I asked the Lord for a mission statement a few years ago, He gave me “inspiring spiritual freedom.” This closely aligned with the verse He gave me years before: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Freedom.” (2 Cor. 2:17) Inspiring Spiritual Freedom reflects my work as a spiritual director, helping people find greater intimacy and freedom with the Lord, and at Generous Giving helping people “take hold of the life that is truly life.” (1 Tim 6: 19)

If I had to choose three words to be remembered by, they would be: Faithful, Joyful, Beloved

Giving was the reason that my dad opened his own retail store. He was a preachers kid and all 5 of his siblings were either preachers or married to preachers at some point. But my dad knew he did not have the preaching gift. Instead he watched his mother be a "widow's mite" sacrificial giver and that sacrifice made such an impact on him that he wanted to build a business that could eventually give away 50% of it's profits. Now the most joyful thing our family does together is give together. We work hard and then come together to give away the profits to ministries that are making an impact on souls for eternity.

God's love is the most generous thing that I have ever received. For God to send his Son to die for my sins is a gift that I can never repay. Not only did He send His son, but He allowed Him to stay on that cross when he could have stopped it at any time. As a father I cannot imagine how much this hurt God to watch His son be crucified. The Bible says, "For God so loved the world that he gave..." and through God's generous love I can have a personal relationship with Jesus forever.

As a 16 year-old I was frustrated that my dad would not buy me a car when I knew he could afford to do so. Now as I look back, I realized that my dad was teaching me stewardship. Looking back I can remember those who bought their cars knew the hours of work it took to buy that car and took care of it in a whole different way.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:21, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  We can help lead our hearts to truly treasure Jesus by giving our money to what Jesus cares about. Generosity is a gateway to intimacy with God. It is because we believe that God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are the ultimate treasure that we want to live a generous life. That's why our family mission statement is "Love God Intimately, Live Extravagant Generosity".

One of the most wonderful developments of my life over the past 20 years has been learning the joy of giving through our business and as a family. Had we started it when I was 25 I could have enjoyed that blessing another 10 years!

It was Feb. 7th, 1998 on a trip to Guatemala that I witnessed a man named Gaspar, whom God would use to change my life. Gaspar had been waiting and working for 40 years to see God's word translated into his language of Eastern Jacaltec. And finally, at a Bible dedication ceremony I watched as Gaspar was handed his very own copy of the Bible. He openly wept. His weeping over his Bible, convicted me. I had over 40 Bibles in my home and yet they all sat idle most of the time. So on Feb. 8th, 1998 at 2:00am in the morning, I made a vow to the Lord that I would get up first thing each morning and read His Word. Over 19 years later, I have not missed a morning and it is the most important time of my day.

When our family looks for organizations that we partner with, along with a clear mission that includes a Biblical worldview, we believe that leadership is a vital key. Personally, I am looking for leaders who have GHI (G – Generosity, H – Humility and I – Integrity). I believe these three character traits are the antidotes to the three “tricks” Satan offers, which are “Lust of the Eyes, Pride of Life and Lust of the Flesh” (1 John 2:16). If you find someone with GHI they are on their way to conquering the tricks of the devil and doing great things for the glory of God.

The Green Family mission statement is to “Love God Intimately, Live Extravagant Generosity”. My passion is “This Book is Alive” and through my work with Every Tribe Every Nation and the illumiNations initiative, we are bringing Gospel Patrons and Bible Translation ministries together to Eradicate Bible Poverty.

If I had to choose three words to be remembered by, they would be: Family, Bible, Generosity

Giving is about more than just money. Our ‘treasure’ is only one part of the equation. Our ‘talents’ and our 'time' are equally things that God has given us to be used in His service. The giving of our financial resources without any sort of relational engagement with the individual or ministry being supported is fine as far as it goes, but there is a profound joy to being more holistically involved with the individuals and ministries one supports financially.

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich." (2 Corinthians 8:9) Need one say more than Paul has already said in this verse about the generosity of God to undeserving sinners?!

Wealth can be an idol on various levels and also a cruel and deceptive mistress. It pretends to satisfy our need for security. It woos with the status it buys. And it seduces with the temptation of luxury and an ‘easy life’. It’s important in the face of these dangers to have relationships of accountability, which can help anchor one in reality, to differentiate between ‘need’ and ‘want’, and to be a warning bell in the event of slippage. Practically one might also think about putting a proportion of one’s assets into a non-recourse structure, dedicated to supporting Gospel work.

I am painfully conscious that I don’t treasure Jesus as I should. The cares of the world and the idols it throws up so often crowd in and steal my affections. It is through the Word and reflecting on the promises of God (e.g. Phil 1:6, 1 Pet 5:7 and so on) that I keep on being drawn back to the magnificent grace that is in Christ Jesus and to the One "who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men."

Early in my career it would have been good to have had these stories and resources available to read and shape my thinking about Gospel Patronage. How much more fruitful my support of gospel ministry would have been over the years! I suspect it also would have made me more purposeful in the choices I was making and wiser in the ways in which I sought to serve.

The disciplines of studying and meditating on God’s Word and time with Him in prayer are so crucial. When I drift and struggle it is never hard to see the connection between my present circumstance and these things not happening! Above all, it is coming to the foot of the cross and re-realizing each time that Jesus "being found in human form, humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." In this is the motivation to treasure Christ, to live for eternity and to finish the Great Commission!

A framework we have found useful is the 3 C’s of Competence, Conviction and Character. Does the individual have the gifting and capabilities to bear fruit in the ministry they are pursuing? Do their theological and ministry convictions align with Scripture? Are they of good character, able to ride the joys and trials inherent in gospel ministry with prayerful and godly equanimity, depending on God’s grace in all things? Lastly, it is useful to remember that it is easy to overestimate what we can achieve in 5 years, and underestimate what the Lord can achieve through us in 20 years. Doing ‘a deep work in a few to reach the many’ is a multi-generational approach to ministry that we have seen yield rich and abiding fruit, and the great thing is it requires one to really trust that it is the Lord ‘who gives the growth.’

The ‘sanctimonious alert’ is flashing red so I am cautious on this one! I don't think the mission has ever changed - to love and serve the Lord Jesus wholeheartedly and to proclaim Him in word and deed. I do see more clearly the role we can play in enabling and resourcing gospel ministries beyond ourselves, and Gospel Patronage has become a more central part of that. But loving Him with heart and soul and mind and strength remains the core.

If I had to choose three words to be remembered by, they would be: "Walked with God" (Gen 5:24, written of Enoch)

My giving journey started fifteen years ago when my wife and I were purchasing our house and had little or no money. We really prayed for God’s direction whether to purchase this house or not and felt like there was all this confirmation that we should buy it. So we did. But when we started fixing it up we realized that it had black mold and had to be torn down. Our $10,000 budget to fix up our house became a $300,000 rebuild which we clearly did not have. So we stopped and prayed. And the message that came to us was ‘Give!’ We were thinking, “God, the thing we need more than anything else is money and you’re asking us to give?” But we did it. We obeyed and started giving regularly and joyfully. And for six months we let the house sit there, while we paid the mortgage. But then at the exact same time our business took off and unbelievably so – complete divine intervention. We were able to build a really nice house and we credit our home 100% to God. It was 100% God’s timing.

God is generous in so many ways and I try to recognize it on a daily basis. One of the things personally is that I chose an unconventional path at 23 years-old (after graduating from USC and working as a commercial banker) and God blessed me with a very flexible work schedule that has allowed me to work hard, but also to travel and pursue other things. God has allowed me to make more money that I have ever dreamed and allowed me to have even more free time, flexibility, and influence to be used for him.

People that have wealth tend to worry about money more than anything else in their lives. They worry that it’s going to be taken away or that someone is going to try and exploit them somehow. It can be real bondage. I know very wealthy people who are consumed with worrying about money. Several years ago I lived in Beverly Hills and in some very affluent areas and it was some of the most depressed people I had ever been around. And I think it was because they were so driven to create wealth and they thought that when they got it they were going to arrive and be happy. But once they achieved more than they thought they would ever achieve, they realized it didn’t make them happy. And now what? Without God in their lives, they have a gigantic hole.

It’s easy to give if you really believe that everything comes from God. If you truly believe that then giving is easy because it’s not ours anyway. Jesus needs to be the focus and foundation. In times of failure, move toward Jesus. And in times of success and prosperity, move toward Jesus. And thank him for both. We can become distracted, very distracted, and end up spending our time protecting and managing our investments and all that stuff. Not that you shouldn’t do those things, but they can be consuming.

My wife and I got married and took a six-week honeymoon in the South Pacific backpacking. And it was beautiful and it was great. (Although for a honeymoon I would recommend staying in a place that has air conditioning!) During the six weeks, all that we had was on our backs and that was enough. And when we came back to our rental house with all our stuff in it, we recognized that really don’t need much more than that. Two months later our house burned down and we lost everything. Some of the sentimental things like pictures and yearbooks were kind of a bummer, but honestly it wasn’t that big of a deal. It’s just stuff. It’s ok to have some things and to take care of them, but giving things away is very freeing.

I am not someone who has a lot of repetition. Every day for me is different and I love that. But the one thing for me that I will say is when I wake up I pray. That is the first thing I do. When I wake up and God is on my mind, that’s how I know when I am on a better track.

I believe in giving to your home church, your home base first. And then for each individual there are so many good organizations and people and missionaries. You can’t give to everything you are asked of. We tend to give more to what resonates with us and what is personal. I like giving where I can see a ripple effect. And then I also like seeking out opportunities to give. I try to step in front of a need and ask what I can do to meet it, instead of waiting to hear about a need.

My mission, it sounds simple, but it’s to be more and more generous. I strive to be more generous with my time, my resources and my talents. When I see things or I am given things, my first thought is, “Oh wow, this is wonderful. This is great. Who can I share this with?” I am blessed with great tickets to Lakers basketball. (You know, that team that used to be good.) I love basketball. I have followed the Lakers all my life. But I love it when I am able to give it away. I have a house in Hawaii. But honestly I get more joy by giving it away. So that’s sort of my mission. I am thankful to have opportunities to give.

If I could choose three words to be remembered by, they would be: Generous, Fun, and Available. Somebody recently said of my wife and I that we always show up. I think that’s really good thing.

My father was a farmer and when I was 8 years old I was playing in my father's shop a week before Christmas. I went looking for some wood for my project and found a brand new Radio Flyer Wagon and a big box of apples hidden under a tarp. Of course I thought it was for me. On Christmas Eve my dad told us we needed to run an errand. He went to his shop and uncovered the wagon and asked me to help him put it in the car. I was distraught knowing it was now not for me. We drove to “the other side of town” and delivered the wagon and apples to a poor family with 6 kids. When they saw the wagon, they went crazy and I learned my first lesson in the joy of generosity.

For the first 40 years of my life I viewed God as a distant Savior that was generous with his Son because he cared for my spiritual being. But I did not view him as being very concerned with my material possessions. When the light went on at the age of 40 and I came to a full understanding of stewardship versus ownership, things changed. When I changed from living for me to living for him, it soon became apparent that God was not only generous, but wise and willing to help me be the best manager of the resources he had entrusted to me.

One of the dangers of wealth is wealth creates complexity and complexity takes your focus away from relationships. This is true for relationships with God, your family, and your friends. If wealth is consumed then it typically harms relationships, but if wealth is stewarded then it can be used to build relationships.

God has granted me both financial success and financial failure. And I believe I have been granted that privilege because I can now see that success is not satisfying and failure is not fatal. God brings various circumstances into our lives so that we can be “mature and complete, not lacking anything” and that our total and only dependency should be on him.

It’s not a 90/10 deal, it’s 0/100. God doesn’t want 10% of our money, he wants 100% of our lives.

One key habit that’s powerful in my life is living with the attitude that everyone I meet is a divine appointment. Doing this forces me to ask how I can help or encourage everyone I come across.

When making giving decisions, my wife and I try to balance giving to both evangelism and mercy because we think the need for both is great. I would say that we have a strong focus on creating sustainability.

I believe the Christian business community can have great impact on our country and our culture. And that is why I am such a fan of Gospel Patrons. Many of us have the opportunity to use not only our treasure for great Kingdom good, but also our influence and expertise as well.

If I could choose three words to be remembered by, I’d go with: Vision, Faith, & Courage.

Giving became a lot more liberating when I structured my income in a way that diverted a part of it into a charitable trust where I could no longer retrieve it. Then, giving became more about where to give, not if to give. What I find incredibly exhilarating is to observe the way in which my giving enables the proclamation and dissemination of biblical knowledge, understanding and teaching. I am amazed that a modest amount of money can be transformational in enabling some of the ministries I support to go much further and faster than they could ever imagine doing otherwise. I am convinced that a lack of financial resources is a major obstacle to a bigger and better understanding of God’s word in the world today. That’s why we need more Gospel Patrons!

God has been supremely generous to me in sending his son Jesus Christ to earth to take my sin on himself and thereby enable me to be reconciled to God. This for me was the greatest revelation about what it is to be a Christian. There is no generosity to which any of us can aspire which can match God’s generosity. All our generosity is as stewards of the resources that God has entrusted to us. I think it is essential that we see whatever resources we have as resources we have been entrusted with to fulfil God’s purposes in this world and not ours to do with as we please. I don’t think for a moment I would be where I am in terms of wealth and success unless God had willed it and if he had willed it, nothing I could have done would have frustrated it. Equally if he had not willed it, nothing I could have done would have allowed it. Nothing I do or attain is possible apart from God. I find it healthy to remind myself of this constantly.

I think the greatest danger of wealth and success is that it can subtly seduce us into elevating our own worth in our own eyes and forgetting that God is ruler of our lives. Wealth can lead us to a dangerous unreliance on God. It can diminish our view of God and lead us to make idols out of wealth and success, ultimately leading us away from God and separation from him. I have often found myself succumbing to the temptation to see myself as better than others because of my wealth even if I don’t consciously admit it to myself. Also, success and material things can preoccupy our lives. I can easily make an idol out of my work. The time commitment I need to make to my work has left me without the time I want to spend in teaching myself and being taught to better know and understand Scripture. I sometimes feel a bit stunted in my understanding of my faith relative to where I feel I should be after 30 years as a Christian.

By reading God’s word and hearing Bible teachers explain Scripture I have come to understand that our lives in this world are to be lived in light of eternity with God. If this life were all that there is, wealth and success would be what’s most important. But because eternity is real, Jesus is above all things. Once our focus becomes Jesus and honoring him, then wealth and success like everything in this life become about him rather than about us. Life becomes about how I use the wealth and success that I have been granted for his purposes. He has entrusted it to me for a specific purpose of his. I grasped this intellectually early on in my life as a Christian, but internalising it and walking the talk has been and continues to be a work in progress. I now see that wealth and success can be resources for helping us to glorify God.

When I was 25 I wish I knew then as clearly as I do now that my wealth was not a measure of my self-worth. I wish I knew that it did not belong to me, but belonged to God. It would have saved me from a lot arrogance and conceit in my dealings with others. At 25 I had been a Christian for five years but all this was not yet clear for me. I wish I understood as clearly then as I do now that I am a steward of all my wealth on God’s behalf. I think until relatively recently I saw God being entitled to a small share of my wealth and struggled with the idea that it could be as much as 10%. I saw most of it as mine rather than it all being his and that I am a steward of it on his behalf. Coming to the realisation that it was all his was a major departure point for me in my giving.

I am not sure I have a daily habit beyond reading the Bible (and even that is not daily) and prayer (I do manage that daily) that I would say has been especially powerful for me in my walk with God. I don’t know if you call it a daily routine, but I am blessed with a family where we discuss/argue about the learnings of Scripture and their application to our lives. I can’t remember the last time a day passed when a discussion with my wife or any of my children did not involve a discussion about some aspect of Scripture. This has been a great privilege for me in terms of continuously stress-testing and internalising everything that Scripture teaches us.

I do feel called to unambiguously prioritise word ministry in my giving versus mercy ministry. I suppose I take the view that the greatest need of my fellow man is to discover the means by which he can be saved for eternity, which is what word ministry is about. Relieving poverty, suffering and hunger are not ultimately going to meet my fellow man’s greatest need, though I recognise that compassion is also something we need to be ready to show to our fellow man in the way Jesus did himself in his earthly ministry. However, I more often than not find it hard to choose mercy ministry when there is a competing word ministry call on my giving. I also take the view that there are lots of non-Christians who will feel called to support mercy ministries while the potential givers for word ministry are much more scarce and this undoubtedly informs my thinking.

I believe God has placed me where I am with the resources he has given me and the connectivity he has given me here and now to glorify and honour him. I used to think that I was a kind of “sleeper cell for God” and would only need to attend to my ministry calling once I finished with my investment-banking career. But now I realise that I am not in training for something else and that this is where God has called me to serve him and the people among whom he has called me to serve. So I don’t see retiring from my day job to do something else as an option in the near term.

It is not three words, but these words from 2 Timothy 4:7 I would hope to be remembered by: “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.”

My giving started with obedience… to whom much is given, much is expected. Then, over time I learned that Jesus is right; it is more blessed to give than to receive. Obedience in giving leads to the joy of giving.

I believe God is generous. For our redemption God gave his only son, Jesus Christ. It makes me think of my own son who serves in the U.S. Marine Corps and his willingness to put himself in harms way in order to defend the defenseless, protect those serving with him, and as a father I couldn’t be any more proud of my son. This gives me a small glimpse into our Heavenly Father’s love, that for our salvation he would give his own son to pay the price for our sins. God is generous. He gives us what we don’t deserve… grace.

As a Wealth Manager, I’m invited into deep personal relationships with individuals and families and I believe the primary danger of money is making money the goal. When wealth becomes our objective it becomes our idol. It possesses our hearts and we don’t even know it because most people will discuss religion and politics before they discuss their finances.

My background includes being directly involved with the management of multi-billion dollar budgets and financial portfolios. The opportunity for growth in ego, pride, achievement and success was real and I thought I was immune to it. However, it took the financial crisis of 2008-2009 for God to get my attention. My employer wanted me to move to the east coast, but we decided long ago that we weren’t going to move to chase jobs and money. Therefore, God used my employer’s ultimatum (move or else) to get my attention and force me to make a choice. God then prompted me to accept an offer to join the firm where I was a client. For me this has been an amazing opportunity to use my education and experiences to serve Jesus and his kingdom, his people, and his purposes.

Our children are all in their early twenties and when I was their age I wish I believed that God is sovereign over all. That means my time, my talents and my treasure are not mine at all. They’re God’s. I am a steward called to do what is best with God’s resources. So I must turn to Scripture to learn from God’s perspective what he thinks is best. I’ve learned that we are charged with the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. To make disciples of all nations, baptize them, and teach them to obey all that Jesus commanded and to love God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength and love our neighbor as ourselves. This frames how I approach each day, striving to give my best in all that I do to honor the God who gave his best, his only son, for me.

Every day I talk with my clients about wealth. I am encouraged and inspired by them and then I am blessed to be able to offer my learnings with others.

We each have different spiritual gifts and there are many ministries and works to be accomplished to further God’s Kingdom. What’s important to us is an ongoing listening to God’s promptings of where to give. Good giving requires discernment and this comes out of relationship with God. I believe we are called to resource the whole spectrum of church needs, especially those of us with the gift of giving. This is our way to honor God with our unique giftedness.

I’ve found much richness in the depth of 1Timothy 6:17-19. Paul tells Timothy to command people to do good, be rich in good deeds, generous and willing to share. It’s a command to use our time, talent, and treasure for God and others. We are stewards. God owns it all. Our responsibility is to pursue what we believe the owner wants us to do with his stuff. This has to be the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. This is how we take hold of life that is truly the life, the life God intended.

Three words I would want to sum up my life: God-Honoring Life

Giving is a real joy and a real blessing, and I certainly feel like we have received more from it than we have actually given over the years. It is a joy to be able to fund those who are gifted for the ministry that we are passionate about, more than we are ourselves. It is a source of great thanksgiving to be able to support a number of key works and see those works multiplying in a way that would not be possible if I were trying to do them myself. Another great joy is being in growing relationships with those we support. They stay with us when they’re back in the UK and we catch up on the phone or via email. They help keep us on track in our own walk with Jesus. Often their example challenges us, encourages us, holds us accountable, and even rebukes us.

God’s generosity is simply overwhelming. And I only dimly see it now. I can’t wait to fully comprehend the full extent of his generosity in heaven! That God should give his most precious possession, using the payment of his blood, to redeem someone as wretched and unworthy as myself in order that I can enjoy every spiritual blessing in Christ now and one day be physically in his presence for ever, is as I say simply overwhelming.

Wealth brings with it a temptation to become more proud, to be seduced into thinking that somehow I have earned my wealth rather than seeing it is a gift from God. I can be tempted to think that somehow I am better than others. Other people can also put you up on a pedestal when you have been successful. And that isn’t just non-Christians. Christians can also be tempted to puff you up, either because their thinking is wrong or because consciously or subconsciously they want to benefit from your giving. It can be very easy to be caught up in all this. Pride is a very great enemy. Wealth can also become the object for my reliance or trust. I can somehow think that my future is more secure because of it. It can make me less prayerful in decision-making. Multiplying assets can also be very time-consuming and a real distraction from matters of eternity. I could go on…

God helps me treasure Jesus over wealth and success by continuously showing me my sin, humbling me, and highlighting my need of a Saviour - and what a wonderful Saviour I have. When I have been running around in my own strength, at my own speed, and rushing into situations without due thought and prayer the Lord brings me up short.

When I was 25 I wish I had seen how giving is a real personal partnership. I would have benefited from the vision of really getting behind and backing gifted and gospel-minded men and women. I wasn’t thinking about how to reach the next generation of believers or how to train up future Bible teachers and preachers. There’s also a responsibility to know the support is doing more good than harm. It can be a very time consuming discipline at times to stay on top of what we give to, the direction the works are going, and the ministry’s financial situation. It can also be hard saying no to worthy causes to make sure our giving goes to the best ones.

Two daily habits have been essential for me over the years. First, I daily listen to God by reading his word, which is sharper than a double-edged sword and which teaches, rebukes, corrects and trains me. Second, I daily speak to God in prayer, by specifically coming to the foot of the cross. I remind myself of how great my sin is, how great God’s anger at my sin is, and just how great and wonderfully perfect the blood of Jesus is to satisfy God’s wrath. The cross is where we see God’s love most clearly. It humbles, liberates and motivates us to live for God and for his glory.

As Christians we have been uniquely commissioned and commanded by the eternal God and King to ‘make disciples’ of all nations. To preach, teach, explain and live out the gospel. The world is never going to give to ‘make disciples’ of Jesus Christ. This is our job. A material chunk of our giving goes to work amongst the poor and persecuted church. To care for people’s physical needs just isn’t enough and our greatest focus should be on their spiritual needs. People’s eternal well-being is at stake. If I care for someone now, but have no regard for their eternal well-being by not sharing the gospel with them, I question whether I truly love them. Our support for the poor and persecuted church is specifically works where the gospel is being shared faithfully, clearly, and consistently. We focus on sustaining those dear brothers and sisters, but even more so preparing them to rejoice with us around the throne of the Lamb forever in heaven.

My mission is to reach and train up the next generation of believers. The Church is only two generations from dying out so the majority of our giving goes to evangelistic and training works amongst youths and students. Catch a life young, train them up in God’s word and priorities, and God willing they will have a lifetime of fruitful ministry and service ahead of them.

Three words to be remembered by… I just hope when others look at my life they see a sinner who trusted in a much greater Saviour, someone very ordinary, mediocrely gifted, an extremely blunt tool, but one that was used by God’s grace to make a difference. And if that encourages someone, somewhere to be more focused on Jesus and the gospel and to take a few risks for his name’s sake with their own personal evangelism, decision-making, and giving I shall give God great praise.

I discovered that giving was fun when I was young…around 8 or 9 years old. Around Christmas and my mom and dad would come up with a sum of money that they wanted to give to charity or to missions that was over an above their tithe. They would bring us kids together and we got to participate in choosing where it went. It was fun.

God is very generous. He gave us his Son. He gave us his only begotten son. He generously came after us when we weren’t worth anything. He loved us enough to come after us and rescue us.

As a CPA I deal so much with people and their finances. I see the results of how wealth can corrupt and ruin people. I have a new client whose dad passed away late last year. He told me his dad made tons of money throughout his life, but left his family in debt, owing a lot to the IRS for back taxes. They blew through tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars with nothing to show for it and no charitable giving. You know a lot of people get wealthy, and live for right now. They don’t plan for the future. They aren’t really charitable. It’s very rare that I find clients who give more than $5,000 a year. It’s very very rare to see clients give more than $10,000.

I’ve come to know and understand that I have nothing but for God’s grace. The wealth I have is not mine, it’s his. God has blessed me with it. And sometimes I do foolish things with it, but its his money, not my money. The more I go along, the more I see the reason why people are in the mess they are in financially and it boils down to personal decisions. Most are always thinking of themselves not others. But when it’s all God’s money, that changes everything.

When I was 25, the seeds of generosity had already been planted. What’s changed is our ability to give more as God has blessed us with a successful business and finances. When I was young my goal was to be a millionaire, but now I think, “Really? That’s a stupid thing to do.” I see a lot of young people these days, young and dumb. I’ve been there and done that. I’m wiser now by God’s grace. But how do you tell someone who’s 25 that you’re just wasting your money and wasting your time? Serving God is a better pursuit.

A new habit for me has been to listen to the audio Bible. The YouVersion App allows me to play it on my phone and listen while I drive. Recently, I ran through a bunch of the prophets. And you know they are short and you can listen to them in one sitting. I did Habakkuk and Malachi. I did three or four back to back. And then I thought lets start back at the beginning so I went back to Genesis.

I grew up on the mission field and my wife was a missionary for a season so we tend to give with a mission focus. A lot of people and churches nowadays don’t have the vision for missions and don’t have the will to support missionaries. So we certainly take up that flag and let others take care of other things.

God has given me an ability to use my work to help people…even people in hard times who can’t repay me. I want them to see that God cares about them, that God is generous to them through my generosity.

If I could choose 3 words to be remembered by I’d go with generous, fun-loving, and always willing to share a kind word.

About eight years ago I attended a Generous Giving conference in Dallas. There were about four or five hundred people there who were lit-up about sharing the resources God had given them to heal the world. They were the happiest group of people I had ever met. I heard stories of radical generosity for the first time and these people were having a ball. I wanted in at this party. After the conference my giving went from transactional stewardship to relational generosity.

I absolutely see God as the genesis of generosity. Our salvation starts with generosity..."for God so loved He gave". Without our God giving and sharing his love and life radically there would be no redemption. Once I realized that there was nothing that I possessed that God hadn't given me, whether it is my intellect, education, or opportunity, the logical next step was to acknowledge God owns it all. Now when God says he owns it all He means He wants all of me...my time, talent and treasure and that's a process. So everyone's journey looks different. God has given me a lot of grace to experiment with different concepts like a financial finish line, capping my income and rewriting my will to leave a legacy beyond my son.

I think one of the greatest dangers of wealth is when we believe our money can give us significance and security, safety and fulfillment. So we spend years pursuing more zeros only to ultimately find out it cannot satisfy us...only God can. Also for me I've realized that my greed blinds me to the bondage I have around money. I often don't really consider myself greedy. I just look around at my friends with bigger homes, fancier cars, and more exotic vacations not to mention more shoes and I feel just fine. However, my checkbook tells a different story. Lately, I've been hearing God say, “my enough is your enough."

I constantly need to wrestle with the question, “Am I getting my identity from what Jesus did for me or from my achievements and success?” Often it’s both. It's a struggle. As my heart rests in my true identity as a daughter of the King, I can be radically generous with my money. Embracing God’s grace will always make me more generous. Embracing our world’s materialistic culture will always make me hoard. When my identity and security are rooted in Christ, then my money becomes a tool for doing good and serving people.

When I was 25 I wish I knew that generosity is truly a journey and money is the tool God was using to set my heart free. As I more fully surrender to God I am free to see giving as a "get to not a have to." The generous life is the quickest pathway to a life of freedom and joy. I know now that my money and my success will only bring me a happy, abundant life as I spend it on behalf of others. The abundant life is not about how much I have, but how much I can give. True life is partnering with God on a giving adventure to heal the world.

I have become addicted, I hope in a healthy way, to reading the Bible in 90 days. I've been committed to doing this continually for the past three and a half years. This is definitely not meditating or studying God's word, but more about being constantly washed by His word. For me it has made scripture truly foundational and vibrantly alive in my life. It's like reading God's memoirs and discovering new things about Him everyday.

I have a donor advised fund with the National Christian Foundation. This is a great giving tool. It is like having a personal giving assistant. There is a giving pie chart feature, which breaks down your giving. It showed that my giving is dramatically skewed towards supporting gospel ministry. I am a huge advocate of Redeemer's City-to-City church planting ministry. I support a number of college ministries, an evangelism ministry, and the We Want More in Bridgeport, Connecticut. I believe generosity is the new evangelism and when I give extravagantly it opens the doors for the gospel to re-weave the fabric of society and bring social shalom.

I am a generosity junkie. My two-word purpose statement is Expanding Territory. I love to see things grow! My passion is spreading this message of generosity. When I excel in my purpose--expanding territory and am in my passion spreading the message of generosity to God's glory, I am in the zone. Currently I serve on the boards of Generous Giving, Women Doing Well and the NCF New York affiliate. As God uses me through serving with these three organizations to assist people in living more biblically generous lives, I am in my sweet spot. I am on purpose, in my passion and ready for the Holy Spirit to give me His plan to be part of bringing the kingdom of God here now.

If I had to choose three words to be remembered by, I'd like to be remembered as a woman who is a: 1. God-chaser 2. Loves lavishly 3. Gives promiscuously