This book is an advanced look at stewardship. We answer the question: how can we build a portfolio that accomplishes eternal impact? I hope to motivate investors to move capital from where it is piled up to where it is in short supply so that we can grow the kingdom of God on earth.

How many times have you heard people say, or perhaps have said yourself, that “God owns it all”? This is a common statement made by Christians to affirm that the One who creates everything, by right, also owns everything. Although we may acknowledge this in our words, few of us behave in a manner that accurately reflects God’s ownership. Human nature drives us to “possess” as much as we can accumulate and to hold it with all of our might.

Perhaps the incarnational, integrated strategy of Phil, his family, and their business partners explains why they’ve been able to stay where they are planted for nearly fifteen years. Building trust in a cross-cultural context takes time. While around fifty percent of missionaries leave the field before ten years of service, it’s encouraging to hear of those who are able to faithfully remain.

Many of us suffer from a “scarcity” mindset in which we believe that life is a finite pie and if one person takes a big piece, there will be less for everyone. Counter to this is an “abundance” mindset in which there is plenty available for everyone.

In order to effectively move capital from where it is stored up (retirement accounts, charitable funds, savings accounts) to where it is in short supply (SMEs in emerging markets, corrupt communities, or impoverished lands), we need to reconsider our personal investment goals. What are your investment goals?

I want to challenge those of us who have achieved basic financial competency and have plans in place for our investments to earn financial returns. If we truly believe that God owns all of our resources, we must believe that includes our investment holdings as well.

Business as Mission is a proven method of using business to align with God’s Great Commission and Great Commandment objectives. Serving brothers and sisters in emerging markets and places of spiritual darkness by partnering with them in their business enterprises is an act of obedience.

We easily recognize how absurd it is to create a god, an idol that we worship, out of ordinary materials like a piece of wood or metal. Are we blind to the fact that our culture promotes something just as absurd—could money, riches, and wealth be the common object that we have turned into an idol?

Once you have covered your basic financial needs such as food and shelter, being poor isn’t as bad for you as feeling poor. A person’s subjective socioeconomic status is far more critical to their health and well being than their objective socioeconomic status.

When our investing goals don’t align with God’s goals, there are significant consequences for the world around us. Billions of dollars of capital are tied up in funds and accounts owned by Christian investors. This piling up of resources means missed opportunities to start businesses in hard to reach locations that promote economic development in emerging economies.

Poor wheel alignment on a car increases friction between tires and the road, eventually resulting in thinning tire treads and a potentially dangerous blowout. A misaligned spine can lead to central nervous system dysfunction as well as a variety of other health problems.

We have fallen into a trap of thinking that donations to charity or to missionaries are considered sacred and investments, because they are connected to business, are secular. We pray for God’s kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven, but do we invest to achieve that goal?