Episode 132 - Faith Driven Investing: The Book That Defines a Movement
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Today on the podcast, we are joined by Henry Kaestner, co-founder of Sovereign’s Capital and Faith Driven Investor, and Ron Blue, founder and president of Ronald Blue Co. Our conversation focuses on the recently released book “Faith Driven Investing: Every Investment Has an Impact. What’s Yours?” This global movement is all about investing in human flourishing and driving capital into initiatives that stand for something significant. Put the collective words in the palm of your hands. If you haven’t downloaded the book yet, click here. Get a free copy if you’re one of the first 200 to register now for a Faith Driven Investor Foundation Group launching in January 2023.
All opinions expressed on this podcast, including the team and guests, are solely their opinions. Host and guests may maintain positions in the companies and securities discussed. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as specific investment advice for any individual or organization.
Episode Transcript
Transcription is done by an AI software. While technology is an incredible tool to automate this process, there will be misspellings and typos that might accompany it. Please keep that in mind as you work through it.
John Coleman: Welcome back to the Faith Driven Investor podcast. We have a very special episode for you today. This is John Coleman and I am joined by two legends of the faith driven investing movement. Ron Blue is here with us today as well as Henry Kaestner. And we're celebrating the launch of the Faith Driven Investor book, which has come out now and is available over electronic copy. It's launching soon in hard copy. And we're just so pleased that the book is out there that so many people have been able to tell their stories and that both Ron and Henry can talk to us about the launch today. Those of you who are listeners of Faith Driven podcast generally will know my business partner, Henry Kaestner. Henry, co-founded Sovereign's Capital. He co-founded Bandwidth, co-founded Faith Driven Investor and Faith Driven Entrepreneur, and has really been an encouragement to so many of us. He's one of the reasons I got into this industry and has helped so many others get activated. And of course, Ron Blue has been at the center of some of the most important institutions in the faith driven investing world. The founder of Ronald Blue Trust, one of the founders of the National Christian Foundation of Kingdom Advisors, and such a counselor to so many other folks. And so we're really privileged to have both of you join today. Thank you for coming on.
Henry Kaestner: Thank you, John. I think that's if he call it a legend alongside Ron Blue is very deserving of a chuckle. I'm anything but that, but Ron is indeed that. And so it's a great honor to be on this episode, to talk about the book. And then for somebody like Ron Blue to spend time with us, both with the book and on today's podcast is a great honor.
Ron Blue: Well, you're very kind, but you let me tell the truth. So thank you. I appreciate that. And the reason you become a legend is you don't have a long time. I'm 80 years old. So have you just said this ten years ago? I wouldn't be a legend, but today I am maybe.
John Coleman: Well, thank you both for being here. And maybe just to kick off Henry, I know this is the second book in a series of books on Faith Driven. The first was Faith Driven Entrepreneur. Maybe just to start with, what made you want to try and pull together folks around a Faith Driven Investor book and tell us what your hope is for the book?
Henry Kaestner: We really enjoyed the Faith Driven Entrepreneur book that we put together, and one of the things that was great about it was that I did get an opportunity to share a bit about the way that God had worked through bandwidth, through David and I. But we also had J.D. Greer write some of the chapters and Chip Ingram, write some of the chapters, and Lecrae wrote the foreword, and it was a great joy to work on this is a team of four and I wanted to double down on that. I thought as we look at something like faith driven investing with the complexity that's involved in stewarding the resources that God has entrust us with across market return investments, concessionary return investments or patient capital. And then on the third end of the spectrum, of course, philanthropy and giving, there's a lot there is also a lot of history there. And if we want to be able to tell the story the right way and I still think that there's so much more of the story to be taught, but if we wanted to be able to approach it the right way, it would be most beneficial for the movement and for our readers if they could hear lots of different perspectives from people who are really experts in the space. And some of those people are experts in the world of finance and investing. Ron Blue Of course, being a great example and others like Finny Kuruvilla and it will be McKinsey, Cathie Wood, Will Thomas, Ofosu Jumo, just the list goes on and we've got I guess maybe 15 people worked on this project, but also people like Tim Keller and Andy Crouch, who ostensibly when you look at it, you want to think of them as being finance experts, and yet they are experts in culture and identity, spiritual formation and discipleship. And so we wanted to get their voices into a really important project.
John Coleman: That's fantastic. Henry And maybe dive into that a little bit deeper, because I think as you approach the book, you note that this is not just about sin screens, although that may be okay. It's not just about negative screens. This is about a more comprehensive look at what it means to invest with faith aligned values. What does that mean for you and why is this a different contribution to the literature on this subject?
Henry Kaestner: Great question. So I think it is core of the book and the core of all of our lives is this desire to know God and enjoy him forever. And what we wanted to convey in the book is a lot of practical advice about how we might go about doing that with the investments that God has entrusted us with. But to start that off on this formation of the two principles that really guide our Faith Driven Entrepreneur and Faith Driven Investor movement, which is number one, is to receive the gift of the gospel, a new and even deeper level to be reminded of the God who loves us so much that sent His son at great cost to reconcile us to him and allow us to steep in that where we are as disciples, but then also where God has us in the marketplace as entrepreneurs and investors. And then to accept the invitation. To participate in the work that God is doing in his kingdom, to have a different sense of what God might have in store for us and His Kingdom as it is brought about on Earth, as it is in Heaven under His power for His glory, and just the joy that comes along with that. So we know that there's great utility in having practical advice and wisdom, but we wanted to steep it again. A new in a gospel and kingdom message and then to build off of that with some concepts of, okay, so how do you bridge the discipleship, the gospel through to markets? Well, how do we think differently about risk? How in a world in which there's been some great work done on making sure that we know about the products we invest in and how to avoid investing in so-called sin stocks, things like gambling and adult entertainment, etc. But how are we known for what we're for? How can we have our investing that reflects the image of the Creator? God, how do we redefine return? What does that look like? How do we find beauty in broken things? How do we, as I said before, think differently about risk? How do we do it in community? God create us in community. The temptation, especially with wealth, is that wealth isolates. How can we invest well in a way that rewards those we invest in in ourselves and community? How do we think about partnerships and then really looking at this concept of point from one pocket? And I mentioned this before, we want to be able to look at investing in this newer, holistic level, which is, okay, we have these financial resources that God has entrusted us with. How might He have us deploy those assets to participate in the work he's doing, but then to deploy them with market rate return when it's called for it, when the opportunity or the cause that we see calls for market rate return, because that's oftentimes the best way to be able to deploy capital. Sometimes it's patient or concessionary. And then let's bring giving and philanthropy into the equation as we're really investing not just for financial return for ourselves, but like in the parable of sowers, we're investing for eternity here. And so I think that when we get up to heaven, it's not going to necessarily be this key distinction of what our investment portfolios did or what our philanthropic portfolios did, but just holistically, how do we deploy capital? So how can we look at that? And that's one of the reasons why we have so many authors, because that's a complicated question and dynamic. We wanted lots of people to speak into that.
John Coleman: Ron, I want to turn to you, if that's okay. I mean, you've thought as deeply and as long about faith driven investing is probably anyone on the planet. Maybe you could just reflect on some of what Henry said and your own understanding what the Scripture tells us about investing and what our calling as investors is with relation to our faith.
Ron Blue: Well, Henry just used a word that I wrote down because I didn't want to miss it. And that was think. Okay. We think differently as believers than those who aren't, because our thinking is Holy Spirit driven, God's word as our source. And so we think differently. And I like to illustrate faith based investing and faith based finances. And when I speak and I hold up the Wall Street Journal and I said, Now here's the best of the best that comes out on a daily basis. But when I look at it and I say now, however, the date on this is April 20, 2021. Now. How relevant is it today? And the answer is, it may be there may be some things that are relevant, but I've got to read this every day, and it may or may not be relevant for some length of time. And then I hold my Bible and I say, this was written 3000 years ago, and it never changes. And I, I take the Wall Street Journal then, and I put it inside the Bible, and I say, this is faith based finances. And faith based investing is applying God's wisdom to the best of the professional world. And it looks different when you make wisdom based decisions. You need the knowledge. No question about that. But that alone will not necessarily give you the right thinking on investments. And you know what's really interesting Colossians 2 versus two and three, say for in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Isn't that interesting? That is my answer to what is faith based investing. It is applying God's wisdom to the Holy Spirit and His Word to the best that there could possibly be out there in the professional world. So I look at a guy like Henry who's been incredibly successful in the investing world. Now, a lot of people have been really, really good in the investing world. And I think if any, you know, one of the brightest guys that any of us would ever want to meet or Jerry Bowyer or Bob Dole or a lot of the people that are out there are the best of the best. But you know that they begin their day talking to the Lord. And God then can work through them, through the day. And I know I've experienced and I'm sure you have to, John and Henry, but I've gone into a meeting with someone and I prayed for wisdom. And I go in there and something happens. I'll ask a question that I did not plan on asking or make a comment that I did not plan on making. And I'll say, Wow, God was at work. And I've walked out. And I said, That was one of the best questions I've ever asked. And I knew it didn't come from me. It wasn't mine. So that to me is the combining of the wisdom and the knowledge. So I'm combining two languages into one and making my decisions on that basis. That's the way I would think about it. The other thing I would think about, Henry said something else about eternity, and I was asked a question by a really successful investment guy a couple of weeks ago, and he said, I'm getting ready to have a meeting tomorrow with a client. And he's really concerned about this economy. And this morning at coffee, I was asked by somebody, what's the stock market going to do? You're a financial expert. And I said, Well, let me answer it this way. I said, Some of my friends think it's going to go up. Some of my friends think it's going to go down. And I'm for my friends. So we don't know, of course. But anyway, I was answering this question about how do I talk to this person? And I say, What is your client a believer? And he said, Yes. And I said, okay. Number one, I would ask him, So have you sold? And if the answer is no, and then I say, Well, then you haven't lost any money yet. And that's where people make a mistake. They tend to think it's kind of like buying a house. Markets go up, markets go down. And that and I said, secondly, if you've planned well, you've planned for the ups and downs. I mean, that's a part of the economy. And we know that we live in a fallen world and markets are going to go down. I've lived 80 years. I've seen a lot of markets, a lot of crashes. But then the third thing that I say, and it's coming back to what Henry said in terms of eternity, I said to this adviser, I said, you know, if the person believes that God owns it all, then he hasn't lost anything yet. Yeah, it's God's. Yeah. And God has a right. And it changes my perspective if I think of it that way. I think God is I'm doing this, I'm investing. And you said it already that God entrusted me with these resources and they are going to go up and go down in terms of the investments that I do. They don't always go up. And if he owns it, I can't lose it.
Henry Kaestner: Yes. One thing I want to add in and, John, that I should have mentioned before about the book, because this is so important, because it underpins the movement, is that while in the book you'll see great examples about public markets investing in private investing and real estate investing, etc.. What undergirds all of this is the concept of hard posture, which is this movement is not meant to be prescriptive or presumptuous. It's an invitation for us all to get down on our knees with our spouses or with our investment committees and ask God how we might steward the capital that He has entrusted us with. It's an opportunity to commune with the living God, and that's something that's really, really powerful. And so it's not meant to be this big yoke around. It's like, Oh my goodness, guys, give me this money. And it is just if I make this mistake. No, no, no, no. God wants us to be faithful and obedient. Yes. But he's invited us into something greater, which is just being with him in our 9 to 5 job to include the money that we invest. And it's a beautiful thing, but it's not meant to be a negative thing. Like, don't do this, don't do that. Or if you don't invest this way, it's going to be bad. Or, you know, you can get down on your knees with your spouse. And the answer may be from God to invest in solar farms in Nevada desert. Somebody else may get down on their knees and the answer may be to invest in an emerging market. It's in developing entrepreneurs. There is somebody else. Real estate. There's no answer other than to seek God in his wisdom.
John Coleman: When did this first hit home for you, Henry? With regards to both entrepreneurship and investing, I know it's been some time, but do you remember that moment where this hit home for you?
Henry Kaestner: Well, when I was running bandwidth with David, I had a verse. It was printed on my computer to remind me not to. Every hour, check out the latest going on in the sports world at the espn.com, which was effectively. To whom much is given. Much is expected. And effectively, if you don't deliver, you're going to be beaten with many blows. It was meant to keep me focused, and there is a performance mentality that I had about my job and then the investments I had, which is I'm going to be held accountable at the end of time about all the things I thought and did. And my view of God was so much different than it is now. It was an incomplete and I think a false version of God. Now, while all those things are in Scripture, the totality of Scripture is an invitation to the life that is fully life. And the fact that we are actually participants in what we pray for every day, that God's kingdom would come about on Earth as is in Heaven. And I can't remember exactly when it happened, but there is a transition from me believing that I was earning my own salvation to one where I finally realized I couldn't I couldn't do it, couldn't do it under my own power. And it brought me deeper into the gospel. And actually a big pivotal point for me both in my entrepreneurship and my investing, is when I met a really good friend of mine and Ron's when I was 38. So I came to faith at 28. At 38, I met this guy named Daryl Heald. Kimberly and I were given maybe 20% at the time, Bandwith was doing well, given 20%. I thought there's probably a special place in heaven for the double tithe. I don't know what we're getting, but it's coming to us. Right. And he asked me this question that sent me reeling, which is. Henry, why do you give. Why do you give? And I don't know what my answer was at the time, and he doesn't either. We've become great friends, but it's probably theologically seem like something along the lines of, I don't want to pay it forward. I don't even know. But it seemed that everything that happened in my scripture reading over the next six months, it had to do something with money. Wow. Even the ones that even the passages that didn't. So things like God taken five loaves and two fish from that boy and feeding 5000. And I realized that he had all of that boy's heart, but he had 20% of mine. Ron mentioned something a little bit ago about the concept of God owning it all. When I came to understand that and I came to understand he actually didn't need me to advance his kingdom, but he invited me into it is a gift and it's not a burden, but it's an invitation to something much bigger. It completely changed my world and gave me a sense of a God who loves me and wants something better for me in my vocation and in my investments. And a countercultural view as I came to understand that God owned it all in a way that freed me up. To have more joy is just you can only see that in God's economy. So that's what it happened for me. Thanks for asking.
John Coleman: And this holds a special place for me because, you know, when I came to the industries, God led me into faith driven investing. But he used a guy named Henry Kaestner and another guy named Luke Roush who really exposed me to this. And it's exactly that authenticity and passion, I think, Henry, that were first attracted to me. I want to turn back to Ron momentarily. But Henry, what do you hope people reading this book leave with? What are the kind of two or three things that you hope as people read this book that they really come away with?
Henry Kaestner: Just this deeper realization of the God who loves them and just an invitation to participate in the work he's doing in the world that will give them more, more joy. And in doing it and community being a part of the story that he is working in our backyards, across real estate, across private equity, public equity, and then also overseas. He's got something beautiful in store for us and the gifts that he's asked us to store and he's given them to us because he wants them to be a tool to bring us closer to him. And if people can come away from this with a different view and a fuller view of the loving God, that's a win. If people can come away from this and do nothing other than getting down on their knees again and just say, God, I now I think I understand the financial assets you've entrusted with me more. Direct my steps. Help me to understand. That's the big win.
John Coleman: That's a good word. And I know we've all talked about how we can't earn our way to heaven, but I have heard that you can get a leg up if you leave a five star review on Amazon or your favorite review site or purchase more than ten copies. And I have heard that that makes a difference. Correct me if I'm wrong. And so, Ron, we've heard from Henry what he hopes people take away from the book is you think about your own contribution, which was, as you touched on earlier, being attuned to God's word in the course of investing. Or if you're in financial life, what is it that you hope people really take from your contribution to the book?
Ron Blue: Well, I think that the most significant question we referred to it a couple of times, but that is who owns it. You know, and until you answer that question, you're not a steward. And when you answer that question, it changes everything. Because money transcends all of life. So if we just look at money being investments are being how I spend my money, if God owns it all, my decision making is different. And I believe that, you know, your checkbook reveals your spirituality. It is one objective measurement of spirituality. So what I would hope people take away from it is that God owns it all and He gives you all the wisdom you need when you need it to think right about what you're doing, be in investing or whatever. So that question I guess the second question, John, would be Hebrews 13:5. I used to say this until you set a finish line. You'll never stop accumulating. There's nothing wrong with accumulating, but accumulating for what? And then when you have a finish line, it allows you to go beyond even in your giving. We helped a lot of people in our firm give away, a lot of money, but they had to set a finish line first and then they understood that the rest of it was really excess. And it's okay to have it. It's okay to have wealth. There's nothing wrong with that. But the people who give major amounts away have set a finish line. And I come back to the question, how much is enough? And the answers in the Bible, Hebrews 13:5. It says, Be content with what you have. And so I believe this, that if if you're not content with what you have, you'll never be content with what you don't have yet. And I think we fight a real battle today against greed because it is so prevalent in this affluent society that we live in. So I would like for people to come away asking the right question, because you don't ask the right question. You never get the right answer. Who owns it? How much is enough? Are you content? That would be my hope.
John Coleman: Ron, one of the things we've heard from Henry and from so many others is how you've inspired them in the area of faith driven investing, of managing your capital in a way that's aligned with faith as you think about your own career in life. Who have you looked to as an inspiration in that world of people? Obviously, the Scripture very much so. But are there people who have really encouraged you on that path, or are there people you look to today who you think are innovating and are really helping us to move this idea of faith driven financial management or investing forward?
Ron Blue: Well, yes, kind of in the past and in the future, I was really, really fortunate, I think, in that when I became a believer in 1974, I was in a discipleship group. Within a week, and discipleship, especially one on one discipleship is pretty rare today. And that's really unfortunate because we need that accountability. We need that direction. You know, the guy that was discipling me, he and I were getting on an elevator, a five story building, and we stepped on the elevator and the doors closed. The elevator was full. And he said, Ron, tell me what you think of Jesus Christ. And, you know, I muttered and stuttered and so forth. And we got off on the fifth floor and he said, I wanted to just to teach you the value of a 10 seconds testimony.
John Coleman: Wow.
Ron Blue: I've never forgotten that, of course. And that was 50 years ago, probably now. And he stayed a mentor of mine throughout his life. He died not too long ago. In fact, the three people that impacted me the most, he was one. Dr. Howard Hendricks from Dallas Seminary, was a person in his generation who may have done about as much for the kingdom as anybody. But I called Hendricks all the time. He had the ability to take a concept or a thought and put an end to saying, for example, he said, You don't know whether you've been a successful parent, until your children have raised their children. Well, that gives you a whole different perspective on raising kids. He also said, never forget it. He said, You know, if you want to find out how important you are, you should put your fist in a bucket of water, take it out and see what kind of impression you left. He had the ability to say things like that. And so I quote Hendricks a lot when I speak, and he meant a lot to me. And then the third person that had a real impact in my life was Dr. Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade. I was on the Campus Crusade board for about 25 years, and I stayed on that board because he gave me eight days a year ago, right? And Bill was a man of faith. Incredible faith. If there was ever a problem, I call him one time. And I said, I got a real problem, Bill. I need some help. And I told him of my problems and he said, Wow, what an opportunity to trust God. And that was. Bill. He was famous for saying that because that was his life and the way he lived his life. So Dr. Bright taught me a lot about faith. He taught me a lot about leadership. He taught me a lot about vision. There is no greater visionary. He taught me a lot about leadership. He let people lead. You know, I think of the ministries that came out of Campus Crusade with the Jesus film and athletes in action and family life radio and on and on and on and on. 50,000 staff around the world. It was such a privilege to have a world perspective and to be in the shadow of such a man of faith. So I've been a very, very blessed man, John. You've gotten to know a lot of leaders and see those that succeeded and seen those that failed. And I tell you, quite frankly, my concern right now is that we've in the Christian world, we've become somewhat of a celebrity culture. And that's scary because that is really hard to handle. Celebrity. I wouldn't consider myself a celebrity, but I've done a lot of speaking and I just I discipline myself when anybody complimented me on a speech or thought or whatever. I never denied it. But in my heart I said, thank you, God, because God did. And I just am concerned that I would become a celebrity culture in the Christian world. And so the humble man of faith is rare. Now, frankly, I consider Henry to be one of those guys and a guy like Bob Dole that I know really well in the investment world, same thing. I don't know much more humble man than Bob. So there are examples out there, hugely successful people who have humility and we need it. It scares me when people become famous. Whether they can handle it or not.
John Coleman: When we've seen so many instances where that's gone wrong recently and you're right. You know, it feels to me there's a careful balance to strike in the sense that God does raise up men and women to do his work, to do great things. He's done that since biblical times. At the same time, with that profile comes risks, right? With the elevation comes risk. And how people manage that with humility is such an important part of their legacy because it's so easy for that to go wrong. And you're right, it does seem to me that humility is the key component that keeps people from going off track, right? The ability to credit credit where it's due to know that it's not about them and to constantly remind themselves that they're on a mission and that that mission is not their own advancement, it's not their own celebrity. And to never become too enamored with that, because we know that's all ephemeral. Right. And that we're really serving something much higher.
Ron Blue: Well, and frankly, in the faith driven investing world. You've got a real opportunity there to help people understand. I would say the perspective of wealth and why God gives you wealth. And I believe he gives you a wealth to use. Maybe it's giving and maybe it's investing. From a spiritual standpoint, there's no difference because God owns it all. Okay, so you're using his resources to accomplish his purposes and people respect those that are experts in the investment world. So there's an authority there that has been given to Faith Driven Investor and Faith driven entrepreneurs and needs to be handled with terrific humility because it's a gift. Okay. It is a gift.
John Coleman: That's right.
Ron Blue: I consider myself one of the most blessed men in the world because I know so many really good people and I've seen so many faithful people. So I'm pleased that you considered me to write a part of the book and be a part of what you're doing.
John Coleman: One that's Ron. I can say this because I am not a contributor to the book. It is an exceptional group of people. And and you're right. I mean, there are so many really bright voices in the space right now. There are a number of incredibly smart, incredibly capable, but also incredibly humble people like Kathy, like Finney, like yourself, like Rob, like my partners, Luke and Henry, who I think are really advancing this work in a meaningful way and also avoiding many of the trappings that you described. And I know that we all are incredibly grateful that you chose to be a part of the book, but much more importantly than that, that you've chosen to build a career in this area and that you've chosen to really advance the ball through Ronald Blue Trust, through NCF, through Kingdom Advisors, through your other efforts in a way that's inspired so many others. So we're really grateful to have you on today, Ron, to talk about this.
Ron Blue: I consider it a privilege. John, thanks for asking me.
John Coleman: And I would be remiss if I didn't end the show by just reiterating the Faith Driven Investing book is out now, an electronic copy. There will be hard copies available in January of 2023. It's from Tyndale and if you go to Faith Driven Investor dot org right now and register for one of the Faith Driven Investor Foundation groups launching in January. If you're one of the first 200, you will get a free copy of the book. So there is a great deal if you're going to do that. We encourage everybody to check it out. There are wonderful contributions by Ron and Henry and others, and we're so grateful to you for listening to us today. Thank you.