Latest / Christian Business Growth Podcast / Faith, Finance and Stewardship

Transcript

Faith, Finance and Stewardship · Christian Business Growth Podcast

• 0:01
  Hello and welcome to the Christian Business Growth Podcast.
• 0:04
  I'm here with Ed Anderson.
• 0:05
  He's from New York Life.
• 0:06
  He's got quite a story to share with us today.
• 0:08
  So, Ed, kick us off.
• 0:09
  What brought you into business?
• 0:12
  How did God get you there?
• 0:13
  Wow, well, that was a long, long story, but I'm gonna make it really, really short.
• 0:18
  First of all, Brother Lyle, thank you for this opportunity to be able to share.
• 0:22
  I don't take it lightly.
• 0:24
  It's an honor to be able to do this with you of all people because we haven't known each other for a long period of time, but I know that you are anointed and you're gifted to do
• 0:31
  what God has called you to do, so I really, really appreciate this.
• 0:34
  uh How did I get here?
• 0:37
  Well, um...
• 0:38
  It started with me actually being in ministry for a number of years.
• 0:41
  I've actually been in ministry now for just shy of 30 years and uh was pastoring for a while.
• 0:49
  And I really enjoyed what I was doing, but I wanted to be able to do something a little bit different.
• 0:54
  I wanted to get involved in some other things.
• 0:56
  And so the opportunity to be able to help people go through and walk through life, of course, is something that I'm already doing.
• 1:05
  but also to be able to see the gaps that they may have within their finances to make sure that their families are taken care of.
• 1:12
  As a pastor, I saw that a lot, uh especially when it came time for people to transition from here to going home to be with God.
• 1:20
  And there are a lot of times there were families who just didn't have anything in place.
• 1:23
  And so we had to go through this thing of either the church trying to help the family or the family trying to get help from other family members, even doing gofummies and things
• 1:32
  of that nature.
• 1:33
  And I just thought there has to be a better way.
• 1:36
  And so just so happened to make it an issue of prayer and God opened up this opportunity and I began to learn more about it.
• 1:43
  There's also some experiences I had already had personally and I just sort of walked into it.
• 1:48
  And I appreciate the opportunity to be able to make connections with families and with individuals to help them walk through this process to make sure that their families are
• 1:58
  protected.
• 1:59
  awesome.
• 2:00
  I'm gonna ask you hard question, do you mind?
• 2:01
  All right, this question I always get when you're something like this, when you go and talk to somebody, you meet somebody new, how do you decide if you have a conversation with
• 2:10
  them about finances or have a conversation about Jesus?
• 2:13
  Well, very good question.
• 2:15
  For me, I always lean into Jesus first.
• 2:22
  Finances may come up secondly, but yeah, usually for me, I'm a very relational person.
• 2:27
  So it starts off with relationship.
• 2:30
  So I get to know the individual, share with them as far as who I am.
• 2:35
  And in that, it kind of sort of breaks the walls down.
• 2:38
  It causes them to melt a little bit.
• 2:40
  They see me as a big teddy bear.
• 2:42
  I think people get to tell me their whole life stories.
• 2:45
  And so that's a good entrance for me to be able to share Jesus.
• 2:50
  And then we may have some conversation about finances too.
• 2:53
  Because ultimately, my first job is always to share Christ.
• 2:58
  That's the first and foremost thing.
• 3:00
  And then anything else, I do afterwards.
• 3:03
  And for somebody who's kind of, they're kind of balancing that for themselves, kind of talk us through what brought you from, hey, I'm in ministry and I'm doing ministry, but
• 3:12
  now I want to start impacting their lives more holistically, not just spiritually.
• 3:18
  Now that probably is a harder question than the first one you asked.
• 3:24
  For me, it was a combination of things.
• 3:27
  I always have a heart to want to help people, whether it is help them walk through something that they're going through, help them protect their families, things of that
• 3:37
  nature.
• 3:38
  So I have that whole piece and component of it.
• 3:40
  But another sidebar, another piece to this too,
• 3:44
  was the fact that I wanted to be able to take care of my family.
• 3:48
  uh Anyone that's in ministry uh and has been in ministry for a long period of time, most cases, ministry doesn't always pay well.
• 3:57
  ah And it really just depends upon the situation.
• 3:59
  And you don't necessarily go into ministry for the pay because you're doing it to further God's kingdom.
• 4:05
  And so I needed something and desired something that would help take care of my family financially.
• 4:12
  And this is the vehicle that God brought.
• 4:13
  brought before me.
• 4:15
  And once I began to study it and research it and then began to get involved with it a little bit more, I felt like this was a very good fit for me.
• 4:24
  Does that make sense?
• 4:25
  Absolutely, yeah.
• 4:26
  So the Bible talks a lot about money.
• 4:29
  So give us just a couple little tidbits of how the Bible impacts what you're currently doing.
• 4:34
  Absolutely.
• 4:35
  ah It talks a lot about money, yes.
• 4:38
  It speaks about how for some, that money can be the root of all evil.
• 4:44
  There's nothing wrong with having money.
• 4:46
  It's the love of money that's the problem.
• 4:49
  When people lean into money over relationship, money over Jesus, then that's where the problem uh takes place.
• 4:58
  And so there's nothing wrong with it.
• 4:59
  It's money is a tool that God gives us to be able to do certain things, to further his kingdom, to be able to support people and things of that nature.
• 5:07
  So there's nothing wrong with it.
• 5:08
  But when we lean into money being the most important thing where money becomes a God, that's where the problem lies.
• 5:15
  And that's what we have to make sure that we're not doing those types of things.
• 5:19
  We got to be very intentional about what we're trying to do and what our true intent is.
• 5:23
  Does that make sense?
• 5:24
  Absolutely, yes sir.
• 5:26
  And let me ask you then, what's, I know you're a minister, so you're always in the Word, you're studying and everything.
• 5:32
  What's God currently teaching you, not just in your personal life, but in your business life?
• 5:37
  is he teaching me?
• 5:38
  Well, my life from the very beginning, my spiritual life from the very beginning has always been founded upon faith and trust and confidence in him.
• 5:48
  So it seems like I've been having uh a never-ending study or teachable moments with God by way of faith.
• 5:58
  I had a friend of mine tell me recently, they said, you truly have the gift of faith.
• 6:03
  because there are certain situations that come up and I hear that God has brought you through and you walk through and they're saying, you know, I couldn't have done that.
• 6:12
  So I know that God has given you the gift of faith to be able to see things differently than most people to be able to walk through those things.
• 6:19
  So one thing he's constantly teaching me is how to trust him even more.
• 6:24
  And you may say, you know, somebody that may have established a relationship with God, you know, decades ago,
• 6:30
  ah we're still called to be disciples.
• 6:33
  And if you understand what a disciple is, it's a learner, somebody who's constantly learning.
• 6:39
  And so although I may have been walking with God for a few decades now, I'm still learning how to continuously trust Him and to step and walk in faith.
• 6:49
  Does that make sense?
• 6:50
  oh
• 6:52
  going to ask you dig a little bit here if you want to share a little bit.
• 6:56
  Give us an example of one of those faith issues that you've had to overcome in your own life.
• 7:00
  oh Let's see, which one do you want me to choose from?
• 7:08
  Okay, I'll start with this one.
• 7:10
  When I first established my relationship with God, you know, I confess with my mouth and believe in my heart, you know, that whole piece, you know that, and those who are
• 7:19
  listening may know it too.
• 7:21
  But I added peace to that was I told God, I said, God, if you're real, and you reveal yourself to me, I said I would do
• 7:30
  whatever you want me to do, I'll say whatever you want me to say, I'll go wherever you want me to go.
• 7:35
  And from that moment to this moment, God has helped me to that.
• 7:39
  One example is He's given me um like instructions or given me assignments to go to different places.
• 7:48
  So for instance, God gave me an assignment to go across this country and pray in every state capital.
• 7:55
  And I had a year to do that.
• 7:57
  And I was pastoring a smaller, would be considered a smaller ministry at the time.
• 8:02
  And oh I'm like, well, God, can I just, you know, step over the border and raise my hands and pray?
• 8:10
  And he's like, no.
• 8:11
  He said, you got to go to the state capital.
• 8:13
  He said, because that's where the laws are being made.
• 8:15
  So I need you to pray for each state capital.
• 8:17
  And so that's what I did.
• 8:20
  And with that, uh after that, he told me to go to the nations.
• 8:24
  And so
• 8:25
  I've been to over 60 different countries to minister since 2007.
• 8:29
  And that once again required a different level of faith and trust and confidence in him.
• 8:35
  And so he's tested me to that word.
• 8:38
  He's tested me.
• 8:40
  How are you getting any work done being all that places?
• 8:44
  Mother, praise the God for sure.
• 8:46
  just being in these places?
• 8:48
  Just kidding.
• 8:50
  So I want to dig in a little bit here because a lot of Christians deal with financial issues and they deal with the issue not the love of money, but they don't understand their
• 9:00
  relationship with money.
• 9:01
  Could you kind of talk a little about what's your relationship with God and how is that impacted by your relationship with money?
• 9:09
  The problem sometimes is that we see money as air quotations, the devil.
• 9:15
  um you should live a life of poverty, once again, air quotations.
• 9:24
  You should live a life that um doesn't have a lot.
• 9:30
  You should be happy with small things.
• 9:31
  And there's absolutely nothing wrong with being happy with small things.
• 9:35
  I believe scripture also speaks about how God wants us to prosper in all things and not just financially, but prosper in our health, prosper in our relationship with Him and
• 9:44
  things of that nature.
• 9:45
  And so there's nothing wrong with that.
• 9:48
  And I think the other thing too is a lot of times we don't teach about the importance of how to handle and steward money well.
• 9:57
  I'm using that word because most people who have a relationship with God understand the concept of stewardship.
• 10:02
  And so
• 10:03
  money needs to be stewarded well.
• 10:06
  And so it's good to be able to get connected with individuals who have an understanding on how to steward money well and then go forth from there.
• 10:14
  So I believe as believers, uh we can steward money well by setting things aside, by investing in certain things and getting greater understanding about that because
• 10:24
  ultimately, those things that we're stewarding can help us once again further God's kingdom.
• 10:31
  as we begin to sow into some things or um support certain ministries that are doing certain things.
• 10:37
  And once again, even for us, know, I like to be able to go on a vacation every once in while with my family.
• 10:44
  And I'm sure other people would like to be able to do that too.
• 10:46
  But once again, you have to learn how to steward money well in order to be able to do certain things like that.
• 10:52
  Absolutely.
• 10:53
  And money is a tool.
• 10:54
  can be used for good or for evil.
• 10:56
  It can distract you from God or can bring you closer to God.
• 10:58
  There's lots of nuances in there.
• 11:01
  our audience is specifically business owners.
• 11:04
  What are three quick tips you would give a business owner on being a good steward of their
• 11:09
  Three quick tips, first and foremost, always put yourself in a position to hear what God has to say.
• 11:16
  ah And whatever he has to say, have the courage and the boldness to obey.
• 11:21
  Because sometimes that's not easy to do.
• 11:24
  Right?
• 11:27
  It's just not easy to do at all.
• 11:30
  So put yourself in a position to hear what God is saying and then be willing to obey.
• 11:35
  That's one.
• 11:36
  um Ask questions.
• 11:39
  um Whether you're asking God questions or asking God for wisdom and strategy in those situations, be willing to ask questions.
• 11:46
  um And then I think maybe the last one is follow through.
• 11:51
  Sometimes we're good with hearing what God is saying.
• 11:54
  Sometimes we're good with getting wisdom and strategy.
• 11:58
  But then sometimes we have a problem with following through with whatever we need to do.
• 12:03
  And as a Christian business owner, it's always good to make sure
• 12:08
  that we're able to follow through with whatever instructions and strategies God has given us.
• 12:14
  Absolutely.
• 12:15
  little bit about tithing on that.
• 12:17
  As a Christian businessman, we just kind of throw a scenario out there.
• 12:20
  So I'm in business, just this is a scenario in general, and I make money and I pay my taxes and then I tithe for my money and everything.
• 12:29
  But then the end of the year, I might get money back on my taxes.
• 12:32
  Am I supposed to tithe on that money?
• 12:34
  Am I supposed to tithe on this money, that money, before gross, after gross, net gross, whatever.
• 12:40
  What's your, I'm just being silly.
• 12:42
  There's a lot of people that really they're trying to fine tune, or how they honor God with their finances.
• 12:49
  Can you kind of give us some wisdom?
• 12:50
  Because you're in that world a lot.
• 12:53
  So here's the thing for me, a little sidebar story.
• 13:00
  When my wife and I first got married, I didn't fully understand the concept of tithing.
• 13:05
  I thought it was okay to, in my mind, make an arrangement with God.
• 13:10
  And so when we first got married, our finances weren't together just yet.
• 13:15
  We hadn't combined everything because we were still in that process.
• 13:18
  And so my wife asked me, she said, well, did you give your tithes, uh you know, this week or whatever the case may be?
• 13:24
  And I told her, no, I made this arrangement with God and I'm going to take care of it next week.
• 13:28
  And so she looked at me and she said, she said, you can't do that.
• 13:32
  She said, you have to understand something.
• 13:34
  She said, when I was in my father's house, I was under my father's covering.
• 13:39
  So whatever my father did, I was either blessed or cursed based upon what he did or didn't do.
• 13:45
  She said, now that we're married, I'm under your covering.
• 13:49
  And so now I'm gonna be blessed by or cursed by whatever you do or don't do.
• 13:54
  You can't make arrangements with God as far as your God is concerned.
• 13:58
  That was a lesson I never forget.
• 14:00
  And this is almost 30 years ago.
• 14:03
  And so I'm a firm believer in making sure that we are giving of our tithes and our offerings.
• 14:10
  I would even take it a step further.
• 14:12
  because this is another concept that God had even taught us, was that um when tithing is elementary, it's something that we should do anyway, because this is something that God is
• 14:24
  asking for us to do.
• 14:25
  um We should get to the point where we become givers.
• 14:29
  So what does that mean?
• 14:30
  So this is, you're giving above the tithe, okay?
• 14:33
  um And what my family and I have realized, when we give above a tithe,
• 14:40
  and just become givers because it's about the heart first and foremost, there's a blessing in doing that.
• 14:46
  So our family has been blessed when we were willing to be not just tithers, but a giver.
• 14:52
  And a giver, once again, we need to find something that's over and above a tithe and just do that.
• 14:57
  As far as the business owner is concerned, your success in business can also be tied into your willingness to
• 15:06
  participate in those statutes and those ordinances that God has put in place for us as believers to do.
• 15:13
  So if you're one that would be willing to tie and also become a giver, you can also kind of sort of see the success of your business based upon if you're willing to tap into that
• 15:24
  resource, because it is.
• 15:26
  Yeah, that's a great word.
• 15:27
  Thank you for that story.
• 15:28
  That's going to impact a lot of people, tell you.
• 15:30
  Because people are afraid of that word tithe.
• 15:32
  It's just honoring God with our money, that stewardship.
• 15:35
  Back to that word you used before.
• 15:36
  I love the word stewardship when it comes to money.
• 15:38
  If God gives it to you, God blesses you.
• 15:40
  Bless him back and black others.
• 15:42
  That's what God gives us.
• 15:43
  Money's a tool again.
• 15:44
  Let it go.
• 15:45
  Don't hold on to it.
• 15:46
  Money ain't doing you any good.
• 15:47
  It's in your pocket.
• 15:48
  Put it to work.
• 15:49
  all your dollars to work, right brother?
• 15:52
  All right, so we've got about five more minutes.
• 15:55
  So tell us
• 15:56
  What are some things you're currently doing to grow your business that might help someone else grow their business?
• 16:01
  One of the things that I'm doing is connecting with other believers in my area.
• 16:07
  Hence, this is why we were able to connect.
• 16:10
  and I, that's how our relationship started, was connecting with other business owners in my area.
• 16:14
  So get connected with other Christian business networking bodies, if you will, where you are.
• 16:22
  That's one.
• 16:22
  And then also be willing to just step out and make new friends.
• 16:28
  Sometimes it's really hard to do that for people, even for business owners.
• 16:32
  You're like, well, you're in business, you're supposed to want to connect with people.
• 16:35
  But every once in a while, people, you know, some people have that fear, if you will, of doing it.
• 16:40
  And there's absolutely nothing wrong with it.
• 16:42
  It's just a conversation.
• 16:44
  One of the things that I can appreciate with the company that I work with and with the mentors that I have, it's not about selling.
• 16:54
  Their whole thing is don't start a conversation
• 16:58
  Don't start a meeting with trying to be a salesperson.
• 17:02
  Connect with the people.
• 17:04
  um And as you connect with people, they'll feel more comfortable with you.
• 17:08
  And maybe somewhere lay low and down the road, you can have that quote unquote sales conversation.
• 17:12
  But just make the connection.
• 17:14
  Get to know people and let people know who you are.
• 17:17
  go from there.
• 17:18
  So yeah, so don't make it a sandwich.
• 17:21
  right.
• 17:21
  Yeah, if you come to a relationship and you're just getting started and you jump to the sell, you just miss the whole point of the conversation.
• 17:27
  Because the more you know, the more you can meet their needs, the more you can impact them.
• 17:32
  And sometimes as business owners, you may have to meet with them two, three, four, five, six times before they say, yeah, I can use or I can utilize what you're doing and
• 17:39
  everything.
• 17:40
  Absolutely.
• 17:41
  So somebody who's afraid to make those connections or make that first step, what are some tips you give them?
• 17:49
  Ask the Holy Spirit to be with you.
• 17:51
  I'm laughing, but I'm being serious.
• 17:53
  Definitely.
• 17:56
  Yeah, and it seems really simple and it is just that simple.
• 18:02
  Lean into your relationship with Him and let Him lead you and guide you and direct you and remember that He's with you so you're not by yourself.
• 18:12
  The worst someone can say to you is, I don't want to talk to you.
• 18:16
  which in more cases than that, they're not gonna say that to you.
• 18:20
  But just make it, keep it simple and light and easy and go from there.
• 18:27
  Yeah, and I like to tell people just to add to that just a little bit is don't focus on yourself, focus on them.
• 18:32
  If you focus on yourself, you're going to be nervous.
• 18:33
  You're going to be afraid when you God go before you.
• 18:37
  When you let the Holy Spirit kind of work with you, you begin to reach in that person's life and talk to them as a person, not as a sales pitch.
• 18:44
  You're right.
• 18:44
  Can I also add to that too?
• 18:46
  Be an active listener.
• 18:48
  That's one of the things too.
• 18:50
  Be an active listener.
• 18:51
  Sometimes we go into, whether it is relationship, even outside of sales, whether it's relationship or something like that, a lot of times you'll go in thinking about, okay,
• 18:59
  what's the next thing I can say when they finish shopping?
• 19:02
  Be willing to lean in, listen to what they're saying, ask questions after they make a statement.
• 19:06
  That way you can be a good active listener.
• 19:09
  Good, thank you for that.
• 19:10
  Yeah, active listening, everybody needs to learn that skill set.
• 19:13
  Matter of fact, if you're listening in here and you haven't learned that skill set, go find a YouTube video say, how do I activate listening in business?
• 19:19
  It makes a difference.
• 19:20
  So what is one tip do you want to leave us with?
• 19:23
  One little bit of wisdom that you want to leave us with as we end up our session.
• 19:29
  God has called you and He's equipped you.
• 19:32
  uh If you're in business right now and you feel that this is what God has called you to, if He's called you, He's also equipped you.
• 19:40
  So lean into your relationship with Him, most definitely.
• 19:44
  Amen.
• 19:45
  you for that, brother.
• 19:46
  Tell us how we can get in touch with you.
• 19:49
  you can reach me by phone.
• 19:51
  number is Erico214-551-3759.
• 19:56
  Once again, 214-551-3759.
• 20:00
  Email is EAnderson09 at ftlikefrankthomas.nyy.com.
• 20:10
  Great.
• 20:11
  Well, thank you for your time today, brother.
• 20:12
  And I look forward to getting to know you even more after this conversation.
• 20:16
  You have a great day,
• 20:17
  You too, same here.