Rob West Sometimes becoming more generous means giving away less money. I am Rob West. Biblical generosity is about far more than a percentage on a spreadsheet. Sometimes God calls us to open not just our wallets, but our homes, our schedules, and our lives. Today, John and Megan Cortines share how foster care and adoption transformed their understanding of what it means to give generously. And then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000. This is Faith & Finance on American Family Radio—biblical wisdom for your financial journey.
Well, what a treat to have John Cortines back with us. John is a family office advisor with Blue Trust and a regular FaithFi contributor, and joining him today is his wife, Megan, who co-authored their recent Faithful Steward article about their foster care and adoption journey. John and Megan, great to have you in the studio.
Megan Cortines Thanks, Rob.
John Cortines It's great to be here.
Rob West You both grew up in the Christian faith, and you say you were doing many of the things you thought faithful Christians should do, so I'd love to know: what did generosity look like for you early in your marriage?
John Cortines Well, Rob, I was blessed with a wife who is both beautiful and frugal, so that's a win. So we did save a ton, but I'd say that was really our focus—was saving. We did give faithfully, though, at around 10%.
Megan Cortines John was probably a bit of a tightwad, but I love that because I'm frugal, too. We loved giving to our church and some global ministries. We saw our parents live as faithful examples of good stewardship, but our hearts really changed when we were at Harvard Business School.
John Cortines So, when we were there, the prospect of me earning a lot of money forced us to think hard and thoughtfully about that question for the first time ever. And we discovered that Christ's generosity to us is the model for our generosity to others, and that our giving should be a joy. And so that was really when we started getting excited about being generous with the money that God might provide in my career.
Rob West Well, and that story is chronicled by John and Greg Baumer, his co-author, in the book God and Money: How We Discovered True Riches at Harvard Business School. I can't encourage you enough to pick up a copy; it is a game-changer. Now John, financially, you did really go all in. At one point, I know you were giving, you say, 23% of your gross income. What was happening in your hearts during that season?
John Cortines Well, giving beyond 10% became actually exciting, not burdensome, because our hearts were changed. And it was so interesting that as we gave more, God was providing more, and we just kept chasing that. And we felt like we were growing closer to God through our giving. There were times when He called us to scary numbers, or what felt scary to us, but He always met us in our obedience for that.
Megan Cortines I think that as we learned financial surrender, we started opening our hearts to surrender in other areas of our life, too.
Rob West Yeah, I can see that, and I know that leads to the surprising part of your story. Over the next five years, your giving rate actually fell from 23% to 12%, but you say you became more generous during that time. So, share what happened.
John Cortines Well, when your giving rate drops in half, it sounds like maybe you became a tightwad or went backwards, and I did feel guilty about those numbers. But behind the numbers was a change to our family. So as we learned financial giving, God began challenging our understanding of the family—both in whether we should control or limit the number of kids He'd bless us with, and in whether we'd open our home through foster care or adoption. We already had three biological children, so from a standard American standpoint, we were kind of done. But we felt that reading the Bible, God has already called us to care for needy children, like in Job 29:16: "to be a father to the needy, to seek out the cause of those we do not know." So we felt, hey, if God has adopted us spiritually, maybe we should be willing to adopt a child physically, and really started wrestling with that question.
Rob West Yeah, that is powerful, and I know that decision began to change your perspective, and you all followed that by really leaning into what the Lord was leading you to. And after this break, we're going to come back and talk about saying yes to foster care and what that meant, and then the twins that actually became part of your forever family, and perhaps help to shift this thinking around what it means to be truly generous. Yes, that can include your financial means, but it's not just about what you give away; it's about, at the end of the day, what you're willing to surrender. And I think that's a powerful part of this message, and I love, John and Megan, that you have demonstrated that through your lives.
John Cortines and Megan Cortines here today talking about their journey of generosity, which includes adoption and foster care, and perhaps it might be what the Lord is leading you to. Much more to come just around the corner, and then your questions at 800-525-7000. Stick around.
SEGMENT 2
Rob West Generosity isn't just about what you give away; it's about what you're willing to surrender. Today we're talking about the life-changing generosity of adoption and foster care. We're joined by John Cortines and Megan Cortines, a couple that has leaned into this opportunity to be generous with their time and with their home and with their family. And John and Megan, I so appreciate you all being here today and sharing your story.
Megan, take us into the decision to lean into this, what the Lord was leading you to. You already had three children at home. How did the two of you reach the point of saying yes to foster care?
Megan Cortines Well, it's not like we ever felt a specific calling. Some people say, "Wow, you must be called to it!" We believe, biblically, that we are all called actually. Isaiah 58 became important to us, particularly the call to bring the homeless poor into your house. Now, not everyone may be able to directly foster or adopt, but we should all be involved at some level. We eventually welcome newborn twins, beautiful newborn twins through our foster care. They arrive from the NICU as 5-pound preemies. What began as a foster care became a two-and-a-half-year journey toward permanent adoption.
Rob West Incredible, and I know those twins eventually became part of your forever family, but there was a long road between saying yes and adoption day. So what did that season require from you, Megan, and the family?
Megan Cortines It can be a really, really hard road. Of course, there are sleepless nights caring for two premature babies, their medical and practical needs. But our church helped us so much with the logistics. And of course, our grocery and diaper and childcare budget exploded at the same time. There's also significant stress that came around the court dates, interacting with caseworkers, and the whole legal system. John took on additional work to provide for a growing family, and we eventually sold our three-bedroom home and bought a five-bedroom home. John was on a ministry salary then, so we started to feel the financial squeeze. This season required time, energy, money, patience, and trust. It made giving money away seem easy because this was more about giving our lives away.
Rob West Yeah, oh, I can only imagine. And John, I know as the cost of raising your family increased, your financial giving rate began to fall. You've written that you actually felt guilty about that. I know you referred to that a moment ago. Why was that?
John Cortines Well, that's correct, Rob. I was this Christian author on stewardship and generosity and was probably a bit too proud that my giving rate was over 20%. With our bigger family, it fell all the way down to 12% of gross income, and I was asking myself, am I even a radical giver anymore? The financial stress of having less margin was real and sometimes kept me up at night, but I knew that we were walking faithfully. It was just hard to keep trusting God in that season.
Rob West Yeah, I can imagine, and I know there was a moment where you had a realization during a time of prayer that really changed the way you looked at those expenses. Share that with us.
John Cortines Well, I was wrestling with all this one day in prayer, and I felt like God just spoke to my heart loud and clear, and what I heard was, "Every dollar you spend on your adopted children is a dollar given to the orphan and widow to me." And in that moment, I just I started crying because it was like God was saying, "Hey, I look at your whole life to see whether you're faithful to the gospel, not just lines in your financial spreadsheet." And so, feeling God's love and acceptance of our journey to love on children who were in need really changed my perspective. And you know, I'd say to everyone out there, each of us is called to surrender our whole lives to Him. That, of course, includes our finances, but it's also our family and everything else. And caring for vulnerable children was not competing with our generosity. It was actually one way we were living it out, even if it didn't show up as a tax-deductible donation to a charity.
Rob West Oh, that is such an important point. Folks, I want you to hear that as you think about your life of generosity and all the various ways that can manifest itself. Megan, I imagine that lesson looks different when generosity is measured not just in dollars, but sleepless nights and caregiving and all the uncertainty that comes with foster care. How has that changed the way you think about what we give back to God?
Megan Cortines Some of the greatest sacrifices in this journey could never be captured by a giving statement. I've spent a lot of time wrestling with God. Why is it that when we're faithful to the gospel, sometimes it leads to great suffering? Sometimes John would be out preaching to thousands of people and I'd be at home with five sick kids, and of course, something in the house would break. Right. We knew it was our calling together and building His kingdom, but it was so, so hard. We could definitely have found an easier life path, but that's not what any of us is called to as believers. I thought about recently where it says in Romans that your suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character hope. And how Peter writes so much in his epistles about suffering in the Christian life, we should expect some suffering along the way. I think I've learned that it's not all about comfort and joy. It's about putting Jesus first, even when that leads to great inconvenience to our own schedule, bank account, or even family structure.
Rob West Yeah, that's absolutely right and such an important lesson for us. And John, we talk a lot on this program about giving intentionally, and certainly percentages can be helpful, but your story clearly shows the danger of letting the percentage become the definition of generosity. How might we think about that?
John Cortines Well, that's right. And you know, our giving rate is a useful metric. It's something that's helpful to look at. But it is not the New Testament standard under grace. So we could have kept giving 20% of our income away and ignored God's invitation to grow our family through adoption in that season, and I think we would have been ignoring God's calling even when writing some big and exciting checks if we had done that. So biblical stewardship looks like all we've been given: time and energy level and health and money and relationships, and asks what has been surrendered to God and how it's being used for His glory. So our money should be surrendered, but alongside all those other things. And and you know, in fact, I think if we're doing things right, it should sometimes be really hard to tell whether we're spending or giving. Like is a meal for an adopted child something that's given to God or is that just a grocery expense? Is hosting church small group in your house, is that an expense or is that part of your giving? I don't actually know the answer in God's accounting for all of that, but I do know that if we have to ask the question, we're probably doing something right in the way that we're living.
Rob West Oh, I think that's absolutely true. Megan, lastly, for someone listening who feels stirred by your story, but is thinking, "I could never do what they did," what would you want to say to them to take away about generosity and surrender?
Megan Cortines Our story isn't a formula requiring every family to make those same choices. The larger question is whether we're willing to surrender what God has entrusted to us. In fact, foster care and adoption is not for the faint of heart, or for anyone whose marriage and faith isn't in a solid and strong place. You wouldn't write a $100,000 check if you only had $50,000 in your account. That's right. I think this journey is pretty similar. But some people out there are strong and healthy in their family and marriage, and God may be stirring you. I'd say listen to him, pray together, and be obedient. Our life on earth is going to be really short and eternity is really long. We're going to have thousands of years in heaven to look back on whether we were faithful with just a few years we have on earth. The true goal is to be fully and totally surrendered to God.
Rob West Wow, well said, and I think that's a great place to end our conversation today. I'm so thankful for you both, thank you for sharing your story and challenging us to reconsider how we view generosity.
John Cortines Thanks for having us on, Rob.
Megan Cortines Thanks.
Rob West That's John and Megan Cortines. Did you know over 500,000 children pass through the foster care system each year? Well, this is National Adoption Awareness Month, and we're so delighted to shine a light on foster care and adoption. If you'd like to learn how you can be involved, check out Bethany Christian Services at bethany.org or find a local ministry at your local church. We'll be right back.
SEGMENT 3
Rob West Thankful to have you with us today on Faith and Finance here on American Family Radio. I'm Rob West. Well, we're going to be taking your questions today as we turn the corner, help you apply biblical wisdom to what you're considering in your financial life today. Call right now if you've got a question. The number is 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. The team is standing by. We've got lines open for you. We will dive into those calls here in just a moment.
Well, in the news today, American homeowners are borrowing against their home equity at the fastest pace in more than 20 years. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, home equity line of credit balances are increasing and have increased by $23 billion in the third quarter, the largest quarterly jump since 2005. Total outstanding HELOC debt now stands at nearly $500 billion.
One reason? Well, nearly half of homeowners with mortgages have interest rates of 4% or less. So, rather than giving up those favorable rates by moving, many are choosing to borrow against their existing homes, and there's plenty of equity available. The American mortgage holders in collective have about $17.5 trillion in home equity, but borrowing against your home certainly comes with risks.
HELOCs typically carry variable interest rates, which means monthly payments can rise, and once the initial borrowing period ends, homeowners may face significantly higher payments as principal repayment begins. Using home equity for necessary improvements may be reasonable, but using it to pay off credit cards can put your home at risk if spending habits don't change.
Your home's equity can be a valuable resource, but it's not free money by any means. So, before borrowing against it, make sure you're solving a financial problem rather than creating a new one. I would say let's leave that home equity exclusively for things that are going to improve the value of the home, certainly not using it to consolidate debt, absolutely not for lifestyle spending.
But if you're going to put an addition on or update the kitchen and you've got the ability to service the debt, pay it off in a reasonable period of time, and enhance the value of your home, that's the kind of project I would be looking for.
All right, we're ready to dive into your questions today. The number to call: 800-525-7000. The team is standing by. Let's go to Virginia. Allen, you'll be first up. Go ahead.
Allen Hi, Rob. I appreciate your show. I listen to it a lot.
Rob West Thank you.
Allen Um, my question is, my wife and I are currently giving to couples up to the IRS maximum of $19,000 per person, with me and my wife each writing checks to the husband and to the wife. Um, we can give up to $76,000 a year to each couple that way. But my question is, our cash will run out, so we want to transfer shares at their current value also. We've already explored how to do this with our broker, but we're unclear as to how to preserve a record the IRS would recognize, if necessary, demonstrating that we transferred no more than the IRS annual limit to each person. How can we document that?
Rob West Yeah, yeah, great question. So, um, the IRS allows you to give money or stock to family members or as a gift to someone without triggering any gift tax reporting as long as you stay within that annual gift tax exclusion.
So, as you point out, $19,000 per recipient per donor. So, you and your wife could give any one individual 38,000 total. Um, and so that's great. So you're doing that, which means, um, potentially, um, 76,000, uh, to that couple annually without exceeding the annual exclusion.
Uh, for cash gifts made by, uh, check, you just want to keep copies or images of those checks. Um, if you give shares of stock instead, uh, which you can do through a brokerage, and sounds like you've already made contact and you know the process, I would just keep records of the stock's name, the number of shares, the transfer date, and then the fair market value on that date, um, you know, along with the adjusted cost basis and purchase price.
The recipient is going to inherit your cost basis if they then later sell the appreciated shares, uh, so they may owe capital gains. Gifting stock doesn't eliminate the embedded capital gain.
So two IRS considerations, I think, if you do go above that 19,000, it's not a problem. You just need to fill out gift tax form 709. There's not going to be any tax consequence. It's just going to chip away at your lifetime exemption of $15 million, which, uh, you're going to have to give a lot away to get there unless the law changes.
And, uh, obviously, if one spouse makes a gift and both spouses elect to treat it as coming from both, the 709 reporting is generally required. Separate gifts clearly documented from each spouse can simplify matters, so you may want to do that.
But I think just keeping a simple annual spreadsheet, Allen, uh, with the recipient's name, date, amount, type of gift, and then supported brokerage records, uh, you generally don't submit those to the IRS, uh, for ordinary gifts within the annual exclusion.
Allen Okay.
Rob West Yeah. Is that helpful?
Allen Yeah, that's very good. So my own personal records are good enough. I don't have to have some, uh, documentation, electronic documentation from the brokerage firms that are involved in order to satisfy the IRS as long as I have a spreadsheet that has all the correct details, then I'm good to go. Is that right?
Rob West Yeah, I think it's a both and. I would keep the personal records and then, you know, make sure they're accurate, and then have them able to be supported by documentation.
So you might keep that spreadsheet for everybody you make a gift to, and then you've got, you know, electronically stored securely or in a fireproof safe, just the the brokerage statement with the information showing that transaction.
And, again, you're not going to need to do anything with it unless the IRS, you know, challenges that or asks questions. You would want to show your personal records and then the supporting brokerage statement.
But that's generally going to be enough, a simple spreadsheet, copies of the canceled checks or bank statements, or for the gifted stock, the brokerage transfer confirmations that show the fair market value on the gift date. And then keep that original cost basis so you can pass that along for the recipient.
Allen Okay. That's very good. Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
Rob West Absolutely, Allen. You sound like, uh, you and your wife are generous people. I'm grateful for your call today. I'm sure that's, uh, been helpful for someone else as well. God bless you, sir. Thanks for listening. Well, we're going to take a break. When we come back, uh, more of your questions, 800-525-7000. Anything financial, call right now.
SEGMENT 4
Rob West We're taking your questions today, anything financial. 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. As you think about giving, saving, spending—those things you've been struggling with, you're just trying to make that decision, but you just don't know which way to go—we'd love to hear from you today. 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. We would love to be able to weigh in on whatever you're processing today. Our team is standing by. We'll get to as many questions as we can, and we'll head back to the phones here in just a moment. So, if you have a question, call right now: 800-525-7000.
Tim called yesterday. We were not able to get to his question, but here's what he asked. I think this is a really thoughtful question. He says, "Rob, I receive so many requests for donations in the mail, and there are countless worthy causes to support. So, with so many needs out there, I often feel overwhelmed." And I'm sure you can relate. I know I can. He goes on to say, "How can I decide where to give without feeling guilty about the opportunities I have to pass up?"
And you know, I think for Tim and those who are thinking the same thing, one of the most important things to remember is that you can have a heart for every need without being called to meet every need. I remember a pastor who would often say, "Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone." And I think that's an important distinction because we live in a world where we're constantly confronted with opportunities to give. Every letter represents a real need, and many of those organizations are doing wonderful work. But when every request feels urgent, generosity can begin to feel more like an obligation than a joy.
So, here's what I'd encourage you to remember: God has unlimited resources; you don't. And he doesn't expect you to give as though you do. 2 Corinthians 8:12 says, "For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have." And I think that's a great reminder. Perhaps it takes the pressure off because we know God isn't measuring our faithfulness by the number of needs we meet. He's looking at how faithfully you steward what he's actually entrusted to you.
So, rather than responding to every request, take some time to pray about where God may be leading you to give. Establish a plan that reflects your priorities and financial capacity, and give faithfully within those boundaries. And here's something else: you don't have to feel guilty about throwing away a fundraising letter. You can be grateful for a ministry's work without being personally responsible for funding it. And I know there are some people out there that are thinking right now, "Oh, good," because I was feeling really bad, especially as they start to pile up and you feel like you need to do something for everyone and you just don't know what to do, and you know you don't have the capacity to do so.
Take a deep breath and know that God isn't relying only on you. He's allowing you to be a part of those things that intersect with his heart and your capacity and your passions, but that doesn't mean everything. You are one member of the body of Christ; you're not the entire body. God is working through countless others too. So, here's the bottom line: faithful generosity isn't about doing everything; it's about doing what God has entrusted to you with a willing and a joyful heart. I hope that's an encouragement to you.
By the way, we are working on Field Guide number three right now. In fact, the writing workshop is going to happen next week with the team—the initial team at least—it's going to begin assembling the biblical perspective based on 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, the exercises around how do you give intentionally and really thoughtfully, and then the case studies for you to learn from others who have gone before you. And we're so excited about this series, the Field Guide series, that started with How Much Money Is Enough? and how do you set a financial finish line, and then continued with Field Guide number two that literally just came out in the last month, How Do I Prepare the Next Steward?—looking at transferring spiritual and financial and character capital, and then financial capital with a biblical perspective and the exercises to think about preparing that next steward, which by the way, is one of the most important decisions you have to make as a steward: is the next steward chosen and prepared? How do I pass wisdom before wealth? And then Field Guide three: How Do I Give Intentionally? And we think this is going to be a phenomenal tool for you to use on your own, and then perhaps to take to your Certified Kingdom Advisor and begin to work on that giving plan that's not just only reactive, but is thoughtful and planned, and allows you to maximize your giving potential because you're giving in a way that is certainly more thoughtful and includes your balance sheet.
Remember, you know, we talk about this periodically on this program: 90% of giving happens in the form of cash. Well, guess how much of our wealth is in the form of cash? Only about 10% on average. That means your greatest opportunity for giving is on your balance sheet. It's the assets that you have—the stock portfolio, the real estate, the other assets that you have—and we often don't look to those for our giving, which is one of the reasons we're so excited in this fourth quarter of the year to be partnering with our friends at the National Christian Foundation, founded by Larry Burkett, Ron Blue, and Terry Parker.
NCF has what they call the Giving Fund, which is basically a donor-advised fund. You can open one in less than five minutes at ncfgiving.com. But it's such a powerful giving tool. Think of it like a charitable checking account, okay? And you can put cash in it, you can put appreciated stocks, you can even put an interest in real estate or livestock or art. You just literally title a percentage or all of that particular asset in the name of the donor-advised fund, and the team at NCF can help you. And guess what? As soon as you do that, you get immediate tax deduction for the market value of what went in, okay? And then when it's sold—because we're going to give, then sell—when it's sold inside the donor-advised fund, or whatever portion of that asset is in the donor-advised fund, no capital gains. And so the account is now funded with the full market value equal to the percentage of that asset that was in the Giving Fund. You get that immediate deduction. Now the money's there, and you can give it away over time. You could give a little bit now, a little bit later, you could do it over a few years—maybe it's a significant sum, you're not ready to give it all away right now. You could do it in your name and anonymously, you could do it through the mobile app or the website, you can even invest it. There's a whole suite of investment portfolios that are faith-based that NCF will allow that money to be invested in. Now, you don't get that income, you don't take it back—it's been given away—but the money, while it's waiting to be given, is actually growing. So that means there's more to give away over time. And so that's why this is just such a phenomenal tool. Again, if you'd like to open your Giving Fund today, I would encourage everyone to have one: ncfgiving.com.
Let me also share with you, just as we think about managing God's money, and we think about the messages that the world is really putting out and that so often we're getting swept up in—especially inside the church, where we can hear people talking about what sounds like the prosperity gospel. And you know, I think it's important for us to understand that the problem with the prosperity gospel isn't that it promises too much. You might say, "Wait a minute, where are you going with this?" Listen: it's that it promises too little. It tells us that God wants to make us rich and healthy and successful and comfortable. It offers us the things of this world as though they were the greatest blessings heaven could provide. But the gospel offers us something infinitely greater: God himself. The prosperity gospel takes the gifts of God and makes them the goal, which reduces the Giver to the means by which we obtain them. But Jesus didn't come merely to improve our circumstances; he came to reconcile us to the Father. John 17:3: "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."
That's what we do here every day on this program, and that's what you're funding when you jump in with us for our year-end goal, trying to raise $200,000 between now and December 31st. Every gift is doubled, and we'll send you Randy Alcorn's devotional. Faithfi.com/give.
SEGMENT 5
Rob West Well, as Christians, we often think about stewardship in terms of how we spend, save, and give our money, and that's important. But what about the influence we have through the companies we invest in? You know, when we own shares of stock, we also have a voice in how those companies operate, and that voice can make a difference. Well, Jerry Bowyer and Walker Wildmon are with us in this segment to talk about how Christian shareholders are engaging with corporate America, holding companies accountable, and making their voices heard. Jerry, I want to start with some meetings you were involved in this week in Washington, D.C. Anything you can share about some of the things the SEC is talking about right now?
Jerry Bowyer Well, yeah, and Walker was involved in those meetings as well. And what we're seeing is the Securities and Exchange Commission is proposing a rule that's going to make it harder to do shareholder proposals, which is a tool that AFA, Heritage Foundation, and David Bonas, and our friend Rick Figueroa, and others have been using very effectively to get companies out of sort of left-aligned politics. Not into right-aligned politics, but just back to business. So we had a strategy session about how to deal with that. There are ways, but it's going to get harder. And this is one of these things sometimes where even your friends in Washington, who may share your political philosophy, can have unintended consequences, even when they're trying to move in the right direction. And so Walker and I are part of a group that's saying to the administration, "We see what you're trying to do. You know, we understand how in the past shareholder proposals have been used by people to move companies in the wrong direction, but we're using those same tools now to move them back, to correct that. And if you just suddenly take that tool away, you're end up going to be exacerbating the problem that you're trying to solve."
Rob West Yeah, and Walker, it's great that we're organized in such a way that you and Jerry and others can speak into that, right?
Walker Wildmon Yeah, that's exactly right. And it's it's to Jerry's point, it's like now that we're like at halftime and we're we're in the game and we're competing, uh they they want to change the rules. And to to Jerry's point, the intent behind it is is pretty is good in the sense that uh they're trying to depoliticize the shareholder engagement process, uh but unfortunately, the left has been using the shareholder engagement process for decades now. And a lot of the uh uh proxy advisors are um are pretty much hard-left uh corporations that are not representing conservative values. And so, you know, we show up the last two years and we're making tremendous headway, which I'll I'll allude to here in a minute. And then now that they're talking about rule changes to block us out. So, um I think something needs to be done, but but but I think it needs to be a little bit different than what the SEC is currently proposing uh to not block out the little guy, for lack of a better word, which is what this would effectively do. So, uh the shareholder engagement process has been abused in the past, uh but we're not the ones abusing it. We're using it for proper means, and we're respectfully communicating with corporations and their boards uh to better the company and better the return for the investors.
Rob West We'll get to some of those wins here in just a minute. Jerry, it sounds like there's some unintended consequences going on here. Is that right?
Jerry Bowyer Yeah. And that's something—conservatives have frequently pointed out that government has unintended consequences. Like, you know, let's let's raise the minimum wage. Well, hold on a second. Let's think about that for a second. If you raise it too high, then you cause unemployment. You want to help people, right? That's that's a perfect unintended consequence, right? Um, so assuming that these people actually do want to help the poor, um then it can sometimes have the opposite effect or, you know, uh welfare programs that pay people to, you know, pay people if they don't get married. You know, again, I think unintended consequence. Well, that happens to conservatives, too. They can change the rules, and it can have the opposite effect from what they want, what it do. And for a long time, a certain faction of society used the rules with shareholder proposals, going to the annual meeting, etc., and asking questions to move companies away from their mission. Now, Walker and others are using it to get companies back on mission. And I think some of these plans were put together uh by people in the administration. Now, the SEC is separate from the administration, right? The commissions are not in the government; they're appointed separately.
So they're kind of independent to try to fix the problem, but the market is fixing the problem right now, right? Innovative solutions like what AFA is doing, that's fixing the problem right now. So they would be shutting down the fix, not shutting down the problem if they do this wrongly.
Rob West Hmm. Yeah, that's helpful, Jerry. Well, hopefully, they'll take note of you and others that are thoughtfully engaging and pointing out what perhaps they're not realizing is going on here. Uh Walker, let's talk about some of those wins. What have you all been up to?
Walker Wildmon Yeah, the one of the top issues we're focused on uh this uh season is these corporations' partnerships with groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center. Now, the Southern Poverty Law Center has been notorious for labeling Christian and mainline conservative groups and non-profits and even churches as quote-unquote "hate groups" and putting us on their map. And uh they did that to Charlie Kirk. They targeted Charlie Kirk, actually, uh with their hate list just a few months before he was assassinated. So, it's a very dangerous thing that the SPLC has been engaged in and uh basically putting a target on the backs of Christians and mainline uh denominations and churches and conservative groups. And so, our message to corporations and what we've been trying to work on is that they don't need to be using the SPLC for any anything internally, externally, etc. And especially they don't need to be using the SPLC for uh which charities qualify for corporate matching. And so, that's been our message to multiple companies this shareholder season. And uh we're still working on the final details, but we did get a major win. Jerry and his team and AFA got a major win with a major technology company, of which we'll hopefully announce in the coming weeks. We're still working out the details, but we we at least got them to acknowledge that they're not using the SPLC in their corporate matching uh filter program, if you will, for lack of a better word. So, we're we're racking up wins, um you know, over the last few years. Jerry's team has been phenomenal. They handle all the paperwork, all the logistics, and they set up all the meetings. But I will say, another reason that this uh uh this rule it could hurt us is that we're about to head into, unfortunately, a season politically of hostility, with Democrats taking control of both chambers in January. Uh we're going to need to be able to keep this open line of communication with these corporations as the the vibe, unfortunately, moves more towards the left. And so, now's really not the time to lessen the opportunity for groups like ours to engage.
Rob West Wow. Yeah, that's incredible. Jerry. I mean, these wins just keep stacking up, and so real change is afoot here.
Jerry Bowyer Yeah, they are. Um and this is a constructive place to put our energy. Yeah, we had an election recently. Um that's one election. We've got 500 other elections over the next half year. The Fortune 500. Um and frankly, I if I had to choose, I would choose the wins there because corporations are that's a culture is upstream from politics. Corporations determine the long-term course of our lives much more than any single congressional seat, senatorial seat, probably than most governors. Um Christians didn't show up much in this last election, less than usual, but they showed up. People are complaining because evangelical Christians, only 20% of them voted. Guess what? In these corporate elections, only 2% of them are voting. Wow.
So, um yeah so we get those numbers up if we think of it as part of our citizenship responsibility just like voting, then that really accelerates these gains and locks them in so that if a next administration comes along like Biden does and starts to say, "Hey, maybe you should debank some of these trouble-making people who are reputational risk," the companies will already have in place language in their terms of service in which they say, "We can't. We've already told customers that we cannot debank them for political or religious reasons. So, no, it would be breaking our contract. It would be fraud, um Harris administration, or Newsom administration, or whatever, it would be fraud." Well, now's the time to get that language in in advance of a possible electoral loss in two years, because it could happen.
Rob West Hmm. Jerry, what would it look like for the average listener today who's saying, "Wow, I hear you, this resonates with me, I'm in, what do I do next? Is it really a matter of aligning with the right advisor who understands this and is engaged in it, or is there another path?"
Jerry Bowyer Absolutely. It's a matter of aligning with the right advisor. It's you cannot do this on your own; it's too hard. We have a team of 13, okay, at Boyer Research, uh who are doing this. Now, I mean, if you give money to AFA, like if you give your appreciated stock to AFA, they'll they'll use it, right? So that's one way to do it. But the money that you're keeping, um you can invest with a faith-based asset manager, but not all of them are paying attention to this, and the vast majority of them don't engage. Even the ones that are voting, right, very, very few of them are actually doing shareholder proposals. Almost that so I get that there are friends. Hey, hey friends, get in the game. That's right. Uh you know, we want you to get better. But really, the advisor is the key. If you've got a good KA member who's paying attention to all this, then they are not not they don't automatically that's not automatically the case. So, this is a when you're when you're um interviewing your advisors, what are you doing with proxy voting? What are you doing with corporate engagement? I don't want my money weapon I want a good return, but I also don't want my money weaponized against me. If they don't have satisfactory answers for that, well, there are others who do, who are CKAs, uh who are part of the network, um and there are some who do it. That's really the key. It's the advisor.
Rob West Yeah. And for too long, people were just saying, "Oh, proxies? Yeah, you just throw those in the trash when they come in." The problem is the other side wasn't doing that. Walker, um we're right here at the end of the year. What a great opportunity to support the work of AFA through the gift of stock, especially because of the corporate engagement.
Walker Wildmon Yeah, that's right. If you donate outright stock to American Family Association, we'll take a look at those holdings and see if there's opportunities for engagement with Jerry and his team. And so, that's just one of a of a multitude of ways to help support the work of AFA.
Rob West AFALife.net's the place to go. The team there, uh Chelsea, Riley, Jessica, everybody there at uh the AFA Foundation will walk alongside you, make it really simple. But don't wait, uh because the end of the year is coming ever so quickly. AFALife.net. Walker, Jerry, thanks for your time today.
Walker Wildmon Thanks, Rob.
Jerry Bowyer Thank you. God bless.
Rob West All right. Jerry Bowyer, Walker Wildmon today, we're talking corporate engagement. That's going to do it for us. So thankful for my team that makes this possible each day: Devin and Michael and Taylor and Patty and Pat and everybody here at FaithFi. Thank you as well for your calls, thank you for your encouragement, and your support. Here at FaithFi, we have a goal: $200,000 by the end of the year. Every gift doubled, up to $200,000, and a gift of any amount, we'll send you a copy of Randy Alcorn's new devotional being published through FaithFi. It's called Wealth That Lasts. It comes out in January. We'll put a copy in your hands as soon as it releases when you make a gift of any amount before December 31st. FaithFi.com/give. Have a great weekend. Come back and join us next week. We'll see you then. Bye-bye.
Rob West Sometimes becoming more generous means giving away less money. I am Rob West. Biblical generosity is about far more than a percentage on a spreadsheet. Sometimes God calls us to open not just our wallets, but our homes, our schedules, and our lives. Today, John and Megan Cortines share how foster care and adoption transformed their understanding of what it means to give generously. And then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000. This is Faith & Finance on American Family Radio—biblical wisdom for your financial journey.
Well, what a treat to have John Cortines back with us. John is a family office advisor with Blue Trust and a regular FaithFi contributor, and joining him today is his wife, Megan, who co-authored their recent Faithful Steward article about their foster care and adoption journey. John and Megan, great to have you in the studio.
Megan Cortines Thanks, Rob.
John Cortines It's great to be here.
Rob West You both grew up in the Christian faith, and you say you were doing many of the things you thought faithful Christians should do, so I'd love to know: what did generosity look like for you early in your marriage?
John Cortines Well, Rob, I was blessed with a wife who is both beautiful and frugal, so that's a win. So we did save a ton, but I'd say that was really our focus—was saving. We did give faithfully, though, at around 10%.
Megan Cortines John was probably a bit of a tightwad, but I love that because I'm frugal, too. We loved giving to our church and some global ministries. We saw our parents live as faithful examples of good stewardship, but our hearts really changed when we were at Harvard Business School.
John Cortines So, when we were there, the prospect of me earning a lot of money forced us to think hard and thoughtfully about that question for the first time ever. And we discovered that Christ's generosity to us is the model for our generosity to others, and that our giving should be a joy. And so that was really when we started getting excited about being generous with the money that God might provide in my career.
Rob West Well, and that story is chronicled by John and Greg Baumer, his co-author, in the book God and Money: How We Discovered True Riches at Harvard Business School. I can't encourage you enough to pick up a copy; it is a game-changer. Now John, financially, you did really go all in. At one point, I know you were giving, you say, 23% of your gross income. What was happening in your hearts during that season?
John Cortines Well, giving beyond 10% became actually exciting, not burdensome, because our hearts were changed. And it was so interesting that as we gave more, God was providing more, and we just kept chasing that. And we felt like we were growing closer to God through our giving. There were times when He called us to scary numbers, or what felt scary to us, but He always met us in our obedience for that.
Megan Cortines I think that as we learned financial surrender, we started opening our hearts to surrender in other areas of our life, too.
Rob West Yeah, I can see that, and I know that leads to the surprising part of your story. Over the next five years, your giving rate actually fell from 23% to 12%, but you say you became more generous during that time. So, share what happened.
John Cortines Well, when your giving rate drops in half, it sounds like maybe you became a tightwad or went backwards, and I did feel guilty about those numbers. But behind the numbers was a change to our family. So as we learned financial giving, God began challenging our understanding of the family—both in whether we should control or limit the number of kids He'd bless us with, and in whether we'd open our home through foster care or adoption. We already had three biological children, so from a standard American standpoint, we were kind of done. But we felt that reading the Bible, God has already called us to care for needy children, like in Job 29:16: "to be a father to the needy, to seek out the cause of those we do not know." So we felt, hey, if God has adopted us spiritually, maybe we should be willing to adopt a child physically, and really started wrestling with that question.
Rob West Yeah, that is powerful, and I know that decision began to change your perspective, and you all followed that by really leaning into what the Lord was leading you to. And after this break, we're going to come back and talk about saying yes to foster care and what that meant, and then the twins that actually became part of your forever family, and perhaps help to shift this thinking around what it means to be truly generous. Yes, that can include your financial means, but it's not just about what you give away; it's about, at the end of the day, what you're willing to surrender. And I think that's a powerful part of this message, and I love, John and Megan, that you have demonstrated that through your lives.
John Cortines and Megan Cortines here today talking about their journey of generosity, which includes adoption and foster care, and perhaps it might be what the Lord is leading you to. Much more to come just around the corner, and then your questions at 800-525-7000. Stick around.
SEGMENT 2
Rob West Generosity isn't just about what you give away; it's about what you're willing to surrender. Today we're talking about the life-changing generosity of adoption and foster care. We're joined by John Cortines and Megan Cortines, a couple that has leaned into this opportunity to be generous with their time and with their home and with their family. And John and Megan, I so appreciate you all being here today and sharing your story.
Megan, take us into the decision to lean into this, what the Lord was leading you to. You already had three children at home. How did the two of you reach the point of saying yes to foster care?
Megan Cortines Well, it's not like we ever felt a specific calling. Some people say, "Wow, you must be called to it!" We believe, biblically, that we are all called actually. Isaiah 58 became important to us, particularly the call to bring the homeless poor into your house. Now, not everyone may be able to directly foster or adopt, but we should all be involved at some level. We eventually welcome newborn twins, beautiful newborn twins through our foster care. They arrive from the NICU as 5-pound preemies. What began as a foster care became a two-and-a-half-year journey toward permanent adoption.
Rob West Incredible, and I know those twins eventually became part of your forever family, but there was a long road between saying yes and adoption day. So what did that season require from you, Megan, and the family?
Megan Cortines It can be a really, really hard road. Of course, there are sleepless nights caring for two premature babies, their medical and practical needs. But our church helped us so much with the logistics. And of course, our grocery and diaper and childcare budget exploded at the same time. There's also significant stress that came around the court dates, interacting with caseworkers, and the whole legal system. John took on additional work to provide for a growing family, and we eventually sold our three-bedroom home and bought a five-bedroom home. John was on a ministry salary then, so we started to feel the financial squeeze. This season required time, energy, money, patience, and trust. It made giving money away seem easy because this was more about giving our lives away.
Rob West Yeah, oh, I can only imagine. And John, I know as the cost of raising your family increased, your financial giving rate began to fall. You've written that you actually felt guilty about that. I know you referred to that a moment ago. Why was that?
John Cortines Well, that's correct, Rob. I was this Christian author on stewardship and generosity and was probably a bit too proud that my giving rate was over 20%. With our bigger family, it fell all the way down to 12% of gross income, and I was asking myself, am I even a radical giver anymore? The financial stress of having less margin was real and sometimes kept me up at night, but I knew that we were walking faithfully. It was just hard to keep trusting God in that season.
Rob West Yeah, I can imagine, and I know there was a moment where you had a realization during a time of prayer that really changed the way you looked at those expenses. Share that with us.
John Cortines Well, I was wrestling with all this one day in prayer, and I felt like God just spoke to my heart loud and clear, and what I heard was, "Every dollar you spend on your adopted children is a dollar given to the orphan and widow to me." And in that moment, I just I started crying because it was like God was saying, "Hey, I look at your whole life to see whether you're faithful to the gospel, not just lines in your financial spreadsheet." And so, feeling God's love and acceptance of our journey to love on children who were in need really changed my perspective. And you know, I'd say to everyone out there, each of us is called to surrender our whole lives to Him. That, of course, includes our finances, but it's also our family and everything else. And caring for vulnerable children was not competing with our generosity. It was actually one way we were living it out, even if it didn't show up as a tax-deductible donation to a charity.
Rob West Oh, that is such an important point. Folks, I want you to hear that as you think about your life of generosity and all the various ways that can manifest itself. Megan, I imagine that lesson looks different when generosity is measured not just in dollars, but sleepless nights and caregiving and all the uncertainty that comes with foster care. How has that changed the way you think about what we give back to God?
Megan Cortines Some of the greatest sacrifices in this journey could never be captured by a giving statement. I've spent a lot of time wrestling with God. Why is it that when we're faithful to the gospel, sometimes it leads to great suffering? Sometimes John would be out preaching to thousands of people and I'd be at home with five sick kids, and of course, something in the house would break. Right. We knew it was our calling together and building His kingdom, but it was so, so hard. We could definitely have found an easier life path, but that's not what any of us is called to as believers. I thought about recently where it says in Romans that your suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character hope. And how Peter writes so much in his epistles about suffering in the Christian life, we should expect some suffering along the way. I think I've learned that it's not all about comfort and joy. It's about putting Jesus first, even when that leads to great inconvenience to our own schedule, bank account, or even family structure.
Rob West Yeah, that's absolutely right and such an important lesson for us. And John, we talk a lot on this program about giving intentionally, and certainly percentages can be helpful, but your story clearly shows the danger of letting the percentage become the definition of generosity. How might we think about that?
John Cortines Well, that's right. And you know, our giving rate is a useful metric. It's something that's helpful to look at. But it is not the New Testament standard under grace. So we could have kept giving 20% of our income away and ignored God's invitation to grow our family through adoption in that season, and I think we would have been ignoring God's calling even when writing some big and exciting checks if we had done that. So biblical stewardship looks like all we've been given: time and energy level and health and money and relationships, and asks what has been surrendered to God and how it's being used for His glory. So our money should be surrendered, but alongside all those other things. And and you know, in fact, I think if we're doing things right, it should sometimes be really hard to tell whether we're spending or giving. Like is a meal for an adopted child something that's given to God or is that just a grocery expense? Is hosting church small group in your house, is that an expense or is that part of your giving? I don't actually know the answer in God's accounting for all of that, but I do know that if we have to ask the question, we're probably doing something right in the way that we're living.
Rob West Oh, I think that's absolutely true. Megan, lastly, for someone listening who feels stirred by your story, but is thinking, "I could never do what they did," what would you want to say to them to take away about generosity and surrender?
Megan Cortines Our story isn't a formula requiring every family to make those same choices. The larger question is whether we're willing to surrender what God has entrusted to us. In fact, foster care and adoption is not for the faint of heart, or for anyone whose marriage and faith isn't in a solid and strong place. You wouldn't write a $100,000 check if you only had $50,000 in your account. That's right. I think this journey is pretty similar. But some people out there are strong and healthy in their family and marriage, and God may be stirring you. I'd say listen to him, pray together, and be obedient. Our life on earth is going to be really short and eternity is really long. We're going to have thousands of years in heaven to look back on whether we were faithful with just a few years we have on earth. The true goal is to be fully and totally surrendered to God.
Rob West Wow, well said, and I think that's a great place to end our conversation today. I'm so thankful for you both, thank you for sharing your story and challenging us to reconsider how we view generosity.
John Cortines Thanks for having us on, Rob.
Megan Cortines Thanks.
Rob West That's John and Megan Cortines. Did you know over 500,000 children pass through the foster care system each year? Well, this is National Adoption Awareness Month, and we're so delighted to shine a light on foster care and adoption. If you'd like to learn how you can be involved, check out Bethany Christian Services at bethany.org or find a local ministry at your local church. We'll be right back.
SEGMENT 3
Rob West Thankful to have you with us today on Faith and Finance here on American Family Radio. I'm Rob West. Well, we're going to be taking your questions today as we turn the corner, help you apply biblical wisdom to what you're considering in your financial life today. Call right now if you've got a question. The number is 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. The team is standing by. We've got lines open for you. We will dive into those calls here in just a moment.
Well, in the news today, American homeowners are borrowing against their home equity at the fastest pace in more than 20 years. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, home equity line of credit balances are increasing and have increased by $23 billion in the third quarter, the largest quarterly jump since 2005. Total outstanding HELOC debt now stands at nearly $500 billion.
One reason? Well, nearly half of homeowners with mortgages have interest rates of 4% or less. So, rather than giving up those favorable rates by moving, many are choosing to borrow against their existing homes, and there's plenty of equity available. The American mortgage holders in collective have about $17.5 trillion in home equity, but borrowing against your home certainly comes with risks.
HELOCs typically carry variable interest rates, which means monthly payments can rise, and once the initial borrowing period ends, homeowners may face significantly higher payments as principal repayment begins. Using home equity for necessary improvements may be reasonable, but using it to pay off credit cards can put your home at risk if spending habits don't change.
Your home's equity can be a valuable resource, but it's not free money by any means. So, before borrowing against it, make sure you're solving a financial problem rather than creating a new one. I would say let's leave that home equity exclusively for things that are going to improve the value of the home, certainly not using it to consolidate debt, absolutely not for lifestyle spending.
But if you're going to put an addition on or update the kitchen and you've got the ability to service the debt, pay it off in a reasonable period of time, and enhance the value of your home, that's the kind of project I would be looking for.
All right, we're ready to dive into your questions today. The number to call: 800-525-7000. The team is standing by. Let's go to Virginia. Allen, you'll be first up. Go ahead.
Allen Hi, Rob. I appreciate your show. I listen to it a lot.
Rob West Thank you.
Allen Um, my question is, my wife and I are currently giving to couples up to the IRS maximum of $19,000 per person, with me and my wife each writing checks to the husband and to the wife. Um, we can give up to $76,000 a year to each couple that way. But my question is, our cash will run out, so we want to transfer shares at their current value also. We've already explored how to do this with our broker, but we're unclear as to how to preserve a record the IRS would recognize, if necessary, demonstrating that we transferred no more than the IRS annual limit to each person. How can we document that?
Rob West Yeah, yeah, great question. So, um, the IRS allows you to give money or stock to family members or as a gift to someone without triggering any gift tax reporting as long as you stay within that annual gift tax exclusion.
So, as you point out, $19,000 per recipient per donor. So, you and your wife could give any one individual 38,000 total. Um, and so that's great. So you're doing that, which means, um, potentially, um, 76,000, uh, to that couple annually without exceeding the annual exclusion.
Uh, for cash gifts made by, uh, check, you just want to keep copies or images of those checks. Um, if you give shares of stock instead, uh, which you can do through a brokerage, and sounds like you've already made contact and you know the process, I would just keep records of the stock's name, the number of shares, the transfer date, and then the fair market value on that date, um, you know, along with the adjusted cost basis and purchase price.
The recipient is going to inherit your cost basis if they then later sell the appreciated shares, uh, so they may owe capital gains. Gifting stock doesn't eliminate the embedded capital gain.
So two IRS considerations, I think, if you do go above that 19,000, it's not a problem. You just need to fill out gift tax form 709. There's not going to be any tax consequence. It's just going to chip away at your lifetime exemption of $15 million, which, uh, you're going to have to give a lot away to get there unless the law changes.
And, uh, obviously, if one spouse makes a gift and both spouses elect to treat it as coming from both, the 709 reporting is generally required. Separate gifts clearly documented from each spouse can simplify matters, so you may want to do that.
But I think just keeping a simple annual spreadsheet, Allen, uh, with the recipient's name, date, amount, type of gift, and then supported brokerage records, uh, you generally don't submit those to the IRS, uh, for ordinary gifts within the annual exclusion.
Allen Okay.
Rob West Yeah. Is that helpful?
Allen Yeah, that's very good. So my own personal records are good enough. I don't have to have some, uh, documentation, electronic documentation from the brokerage firms that are involved in order to satisfy the IRS as long as I have a spreadsheet that has all the correct details, then I'm good to go. Is that right?
Rob West Yeah, I think it's a both and. I would keep the personal records and then, you know, make sure they're accurate, and then have them able to be supported by documentation.
So you might keep that spreadsheet for everybody you make a gift to, and then you've got, you know, electronically stored securely or in a fireproof safe, just the the brokerage statement with the information showing that transaction.
And, again, you're not going to need to do anything with it unless the IRS, you know, challenges that or asks questions. You would want to show your personal records and then the supporting brokerage statement.
But that's generally going to be enough, a simple spreadsheet, copies of the canceled checks or bank statements, or for the gifted stock, the brokerage transfer confirmations that show the fair market value on the gift date. And then keep that original cost basis so you can pass that along for the recipient.
Allen Okay. That's very good. Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
Rob West Absolutely, Allen. You sound like, uh, you and your wife are generous people. I'm grateful for your call today. I'm sure that's, uh, been helpful for someone else as well. God bless you, sir. Thanks for listening. Well, we're going to take a break. When we come back, uh, more of your questions, 800-525-7000. Anything financial, call right now.
SEGMENT 4
Rob West We're taking your questions today, anything financial. 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. As you think about giving, saving, spending—those things you've been struggling with, you're just trying to make that decision, but you just don't know which way to go—we'd love to hear from you today. 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. We would love to be able to weigh in on whatever you're processing today. Our team is standing by. We'll get to as many questions as we can, and we'll head back to the phones here in just a moment. So, if you have a question, call right now: 800-525-7000.
Tim called yesterday. We were not able to get to his question, but here's what he asked. I think this is a really thoughtful question. He says, "Rob, I receive so many requests for donations in the mail, and there are countless worthy causes to support. So, with so many needs out there, I often feel overwhelmed." And I'm sure you can relate. I know I can. He goes on to say, "How can I decide where to give without feeling guilty about the opportunities I have to pass up?"
And you know, I think for Tim and those who are thinking the same thing, one of the most important things to remember is that you can have a heart for every need without being called to meet every need. I remember a pastor who would often say, "Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone." And I think that's an important distinction because we live in a world where we're constantly confronted with opportunities to give. Every letter represents a real need, and many of those organizations are doing wonderful work. But when every request feels urgent, generosity can begin to feel more like an obligation than a joy.
So, here's what I'd encourage you to remember: God has unlimited resources; you don't. And he doesn't expect you to give as though you do. 2 Corinthians 8:12 says, "For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have." And I think that's a great reminder. Perhaps it takes the pressure off because we know God isn't measuring our faithfulness by the number of needs we meet. He's looking at how faithfully you steward what he's actually entrusted to you.
So, rather than responding to every request, take some time to pray about where God may be leading you to give. Establish a plan that reflects your priorities and financial capacity, and give faithfully within those boundaries. And here's something else: you don't have to feel guilty about throwing away a fundraising letter. You can be grateful for a ministry's work without being personally responsible for funding it. And I know there are some people out there that are thinking right now, "Oh, good," because I was feeling really bad, especially as they start to pile up and you feel like you need to do something for everyone and you just don't know what to do, and you know you don't have the capacity to do so.
Take a deep breath and know that God isn't relying only on you. He's allowing you to be a part of those things that intersect with his heart and your capacity and your passions, but that doesn't mean everything. You are one member of the body of Christ; you're not the entire body. God is working through countless others too. So, here's the bottom line: faithful generosity isn't about doing everything; it's about doing what God has entrusted to you with a willing and a joyful heart. I hope that's an encouragement to you.
By the way, we are working on Field Guide number three right now. In fact, the writing workshop is going to happen next week with the team—the initial team at least—it's going to begin assembling the biblical perspective based on 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, the exercises around how do you give intentionally and really thoughtfully, and then the case studies for you to learn from others who have gone before you. And we're so excited about this series, the Field Guide series, that started with How Much Money Is Enough? and how do you set a financial finish line, and then continued with Field Guide number two that literally just came out in the last month, How Do I Prepare the Next Steward?—looking at transferring spiritual and financial and character capital, and then financial capital with a biblical perspective and the exercises to think about preparing that next steward, which by the way, is one of the most important decisions you have to make as a steward: is the next steward chosen and prepared? How do I pass wisdom before wealth? And then Field Guide three: How Do I Give Intentionally? And we think this is going to be a phenomenal tool for you to use on your own, and then perhaps to take to your Certified Kingdom Advisor and begin to work on that giving plan that's not just only reactive, but is thoughtful and planned, and allows you to maximize your giving potential because you're giving in a way that is certainly more thoughtful and includes your balance sheet.
Remember, you know, we talk about this periodically on this program: 90% of giving happens in the form of cash. Well, guess how much of our wealth is in the form of cash? Only about 10% on average. That means your greatest opportunity for giving is on your balance sheet. It's the assets that you have—the stock portfolio, the real estate, the other assets that you have—and we often don't look to those for our giving, which is one of the reasons we're so excited in this fourth quarter of the year to be partnering with our friends at the National Christian Foundation, founded by Larry Burkett, Ron Blue, and Terry Parker.
NCF has what they call the Giving Fund, which is basically a donor-advised fund. You can open one in less than five minutes at ncfgiving.com. But it's such a powerful giving tool. Think of it like a charitable checking account, okay? And you can put cash in it, you can put appreciated stocks, you can even put an interest in real estate or livestock or art. You just literally title a percentage or all of that particular asset in the name of the donor-advised fund, and the team at NCF can help you. And guess what? As soon as you do that, you get immediate tax deduction for the market value of what went in, okay? And then when it's sold—because we're going to give, then sell—when it's sold inside the donor-advised fund, or whatever portion of that asset is in the donor-advised fund, no capital gains. And so the account is now funded with the full market value equal to the percentage of that asset that was in the Giving Fund. You get that immediate deduction. Now the money's there, and you can give it away over time. You could give a little bit now, a little bit later, you could do it over a few years—maybe it's a significant sum, you're not ready to give it all away right now. You could do it in your name and anonymously, you could do it through the mobile app or the website, you can even invest it. There's a whole suite of investment portfolios that are faith-based that NCF will allow that money to be invested in. Now, you don't get that income, you don't take it back—it's been given away—but the money, while it's waiting to be given, is actually growing. So that means there's more to give away over time. And so that's why this is just such a phenomenal tool. Again, if you'd like to open your Giving Fund today, I would encourage everyone to have one: ncfgiving.com.
Let me also share with you, just as we think about managing God's money, and we think about the messages that the world is really putting out and that so often we're getting swept up in—especially inside the church, where we can hear people talking about what sounds like the prosperity gospel. And you know, I think it's important for us to understand that the problem with the prosperity gospel isn't that it promises too much. You might say, "Wait a minute, where are you going with this?" Listen: it's that it promises too little. It tells us that God wants to make us rich and healthy and successful and comfortable. It offers us the things of this world as though they were the greatest blessings heaven could provide. But the gospel offers us something infinitely greater: God himself. The prosperity gospel takes the gifts of God and makes them the goal, which reduces the Giver to the means by which we obtain them. But Jesus didn't come merely to improve our circumstances; he came to reconcile us to the Father. John 17:3: "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."
That's what we do here every day on this program, and that's what you're funding when you jump in with us for our year-end goal, trying to raise $200,000 between now and December 31st. Every gift is doubled, and we'll send you Randy Alcorn's devotional. Faithfi.com/give.
SEGMENT 5
Rob West Well, as Christians, we often think about stewardship in terms of how we spend, save, and give our money, and that's important. But what about the influence we have through the companies we invest in? You know, when we own shares of stock, we also have a voice in how those companies operate, and that voice can make a difference. Well, Jerry Bowyer and Walker Wildmon are with us in this segment to talk about how Christian shareholders are engaging with corporate America, holding companies accountable, and making their voices heard. Jerry, I want to start with some meetings you were involved in this week in Washington, D.C. Anything you can share about some of the things the SEC is talking about right now?
Jerry Bowyer Well, yeah, and Walker was involved in those meetings as well. And what we're seeing is the Securities and Exchange Commission is proposing a rule that's going to make it harder to do shareholder proposals, which is a tool that AFA, Heritage Foundation, and David Bonas, and our friend Rick Figueroa, and others have been using very effectively to get companies out of sort of left-aligned politics. Not into right-aligned politics, but just back to business. So we had a strategy session about how to deal with that. There are ways, but it's going to get harder. And this is one of these things sometimes where even your friends in Washington, who may share your political philosophy, can have unintended consequences, even when they're trying to move in the right direction. And so Walker and I are part of a group that's saying to the administration, "We see what you're trying to do. You know, we understand how in the past shareholder proposals have been used by people to move companies in the wrong direction, but we're using those same tools now to move them back, to correct that. And if you just suddenly take that tool away, you're end up going to be exacerbating the problem that you're trying to solve."
Rob West Yeah, and Walker, it's great that we're organized in such a way that you and Jerry and others can speak into that, right?
Walker Wildmon Yeah, that's exactly right. And it's it's to Jerry's point, it's like now that we're like at halftime and we're we're in the game and we're competing, uh they they want to change the rules. And to to Jerry's point, the intent behind it is is pretty is good in the sense that uh they're trying to depoliticize the shareholder engagement process, uh but unfortunately, the left has been using the shareholder engagement process for decades now. And a lot of the uh uh proxy advisors are um are pretty much hard-left uh corporations that are not representing conservative values. And so, you know, we show up the last two years and we're making tremendous headway, which I'll I'll allude to here in a minute. And then now that they're talking about rule changes to block us out. So, um I think something needs to be done, but but but I think it needs to be a little bit different than what the SEC is currently proposing uh to not block out the little guy, for lack of a better word, which is what this would effectively do. So, uh the shareholder engagement process has been abused in the past, uh but we're not the ones abusing it. We're using it for proper means, and we're respectfully communicating with corporations and their boards uh to better the company and better the return for the investors.
Rob West We'll get to some of those wins here in just a minute. Jerry, it sounds like there's some unintended consequences going on here. Is that right?
Jerry Bowyer Yeah. And that's something—conservatives have frequently pointed out that government has unintended consequences. Like, you know, let's let's raise the minimum wage. Well, hold on a second. Let's think about that for a second. If you raise it too high, then you cause unemployment. You want to help people, right? That's that's a perfect unintended consequence, right? Um, so assuming that these people actually do want to help the poor, um then it can sometimes have the opposite effect or, you know, uh welfare programs that pay people to, you know, pay people if they don't get married. You know, again, I think unintended consequence. Well, that happens to conservatives, too. They can change the rules, and it can have the opposite effect from what they want, what it do. And for a long time, a certain faction of society used the rules with shareholder proposals, going to the annual meeting, etc., and asking questions to move companies away from their mission. Now, Walker and others are using it to get companies back on mission. And I think some of these plans were put together uh by people in the administration. Now, the SEC is separate from the administration, right? The commissions are not in the government; they're appointed separately.
So they're kind of independent to try to fix the problem, but the market is fixing the problem right now, right? Innovative solutions like what AFA is doing, that's fixing the problem right now. So they would be shutting down the fix, not shutting down the problem if they do this wrongly.
Rob West Hmm. Yeah, that's helpful, Jerry. Well, hopefully, they'll take note of you and others that are thoughtfully engaging and pointing out what perhaps they're not realizing is going on here. Uh Walker, let's talk about some of those wins. What have you all been up to?
Walker Wildmon Yeah, the one of the top issues we're focused on uh this uh season is these corporations' partnerships with groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center. Now, the Southern Poverty Law Center has been notorious for labeling Christian and mainline conservative groups and non-profits and even churches as quote-unquote "hate groups" and putting us on their map. And uh they did that to Charlie Kirk. They targeted Charlie Kirk, actually, uh with their hate list just a few months before he was assassinated. So, it's a very dangerous thing that the SPLC has been engaged in and uh basically putting a target on the backs of Christians and mainline uh denominations and churches and conservative groups. And so, our message to corporations and what we've been trying to work on is that they don't need to be using the SPLC for any anything internally, externally, etc. And especially they don't need to be using the SPLC for uh which charities qualify for corporate matching. And so, that's been our message to multiple companies this shareholder season. And uh we're still working on the final details, but we did get a major win. Jerry and his team and AFA got a major win with a major technology company, of which we'll hopefully announce in the coming weeks. We're still working out the details, but we we at least got them to acknowledge that they're not using the SPLC in their corporate matching uh filter program, if you will, for lack of a better word. So, we're we're racking up wins, um you know, over the last few years. Jerry's team has been phenomenal. They handle all the paperwork, all the logistics, and they set up all the meetings. But I will say, another reason that this uh uh this rule it could hurt us is that we're about to head into, unfortunately, a season politically of hostility, with Democrats taking control of both chambers in January. Uh we're going to need to be able to keep this open line of communication with these corporations as the the vibe, unfortunately, moves more towards the left. And so, now's really not the time to lessen the opportunity for groups like ours to engage.
Rob West Wow. Yeah, that's incredible. Jerry. I mean, these wins just keep stacking up, and so real change is afoot here.
Jerry Bowyer Yeah, they are. Um and this is a constructive place to put our energy. Yeah, we had an election recently. Um that's one election. We've got 500 other elections over the next half year. The Fortune 500. Um and frankly, I if I had to choose, I would choose the wins there because corporations are that's a culture is upstream from politics. Corporations determine the long-term course of our lives much more than any single congressional seat, senatorial seat, probably than most governors. Um Christians didn't show up much in this last election, less than usual, but they showed up. People are complaining because evangelical Christians, only 20% of them voted. Guess what? In these corporate elections, only 2% of them are voting. Wow.
So, um yeah so we get those numbers up if we think of it as part of our citizenship responsibility just like voting, then that really accelerates these gains and locks them in so that if a next administration comes along like Biden does and starts to say, "Hey, maybe you should debank some of these trouble-making people who are reputational risk," the companies will already have in place language in their terms of service in which they say, "We can't. We've already told customers that we cannot debank them for political or religious reasons. So, no, it would be breaking our contract. It would be fraud, um Harris administration, or Newsom administration, or whatever, it would be fraud." Well, now's the time to get that language in in advance of a possible electoral loss in two years, because it could happen.
Rob West Hmm. Jerry, what would it look like for the average listener today who's saying, "Wow, I hear you, this resonates with me, I'm in, what do I do next? Is it really a matter of aligning with the right advisor who understands this and is engaged in it, or is there another path?"
Jerry Bowyer Absolutely. It's a matter of aligning with the right advisor. It's you cannot do this on your own; it's too hard. We have a team of 13, okay, at Boyer Research, uh who are doing this. Now, I mean, if you give money to AFA, like if you give your appreciated stock to AFA, they'll they'll use it, right? So that's one way to do it. But the money that you're keeping, um you can invest with a faith-based asset manager, but not all of them are paying attention to this, and the vast majority of them don't engage. Even the ones that are voting, right, very, very few of them are actually doing shareholder proposals. Almost that so I get that there are friends. Hey, hey friends, get in the game. That's right. Uh you know, we want you to get better. But really, the advisor is the key. If you've got a good KA member who's paying attention to all this, then they are not not they don't automatically that's not automatically the case. So, this is a when you're when you're um interviewing your advisors, what are you doing with proxy voting? What are you doing with corporate engagement? I don't want my money weapon I want a good return, but I also don't want my money weaponized against me. If they don't have satisfactory answers for that, well, there are others who do, who are CKAs, uh who are part of the network, um and there are some who do it. That's really the key. It's the advisor.
Rob West Yeah. And for too long, people were just saying, "Oh, proxies? Yeah, you just throw those in the trash when they come in." The problem is the other side wasn't doing that. Walker, um we're right here at the end of the year. What a great opportunity to support the work of AFA through the gift of stock, especially because of the corporate engagement.
Walker Wildmon Yeah, that's right. If you donate outright stock to American Family Association, we'll take a look at those holdings and see if there's opportunities for engagement with Jerry and his team. And so, that's just one of a of a multitude of ways to help support the work of AFA.
Rob West AFALife.net's the place to go. The team there, uh Chelsea, Riley, Jessica, everybody there at uh the AFA Foundation will walk alongside you, make it really simple. But don't wait, uh because the end of the year is coming ever so quickly. AFALife.net. Walker, Jerry, thanks for your time today.
Walker Wildmon Thanks, Rob.
Jerry Bowyer Thank you. God bless.
Rob West All right. Jerry Bowyer, Walker Wildmon today, we're talking corporate engagement. That's going to do it for us. So thankful for my team that makes this possible each day: Devin and Michael and Taylor and Patty and Pat and everybody here at FaithFi. Thank you as well for your calls, thank you for your encouragement, and your support. Here at FaithFi, we have a goal: $200,000 by the end of the year. Every gift doubled, up to $200,000, and a gift of any amount, we'll send you a copy of Randy Alcorn's new devotional being published through FaithFi. It's called Wealth That Lasts. It comes out in January. We'll put a copy in your hands as soon as it releases when you make a gift of any amount before December 31st. FaithFi.com/give. Have a great weekend. Come back and join us next week. We'll see you then. Bye-bye.
Biblical generosity is about far more than a percentage on a spreadsheet. Sometimes, God calls us to open not just our wallets, but our homes, our schedules, and our lives. On this Faith & Finance on AFR, John and Megan Cortines join Rob West to share how foster care and adoption transformed their understanding of what it means to give generously. Then, it’s on to calls.
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