The Critical Savings Question?

I know I should save but I'm not. Why?

There are multiple studies showing that 45% of millennials have no savings. They don't have savings for a time between paychecks. They don't have savings in case of illness. And they don't have savings for future needs of any kind including retirement.

Now, retirement is something I know about having spent 30 years encouraging and facilitating savings for that purpose, to fund faith workers during the last 30 years of life. While we call it the Future Funded Ministry years, the issue is the same no matter how you come at it, "Will you have enough to...?" fill in the blank.

As Christians, we believe that there is a Kingdom building purpose in life, one that brings glory to God. What happens during those last 30 years is largely a function of the preparations made during the prior 40. Not only financially but experientially, spiritually and yes, even physically.

My observation is that there are too many of faith who have not connected with the truth laid out in the prior paragraph. When I do a data base sort on the 10,000 faith based workers in our database, Envoy Financial, and check out the average balance it is troubling. Certainly there are those that have other outside resources other than what is in their 403(b) or 403(b)(9) retirement savings accounts. Anecdotally, I believe that the percentage of those with "outside" resources is small at maybe only 10-15 percent. That leaves the remaining amount with not much of a balance.

When running those numbers it includes not only those in the millennial generation, those that followed the Baby Boomers, but incidentally the Baby Boomers as well. From this reality, the issue or problem of not enough resources to freely impact and change lives, is even bigger.

I recently read an article suggesting that saving for retirement has issues because many don't think it is possible, worthwhile or necessary. The author put forth a circumstance suggesting that by not buying that daily cup of java and instead investing the money in a moderate mutual fund could generate over $100,000 during a 30 year period. He observed that paying the equivalent of $100,000 for a cup of coffee was expensive. Much to his surprise, his newspaper article engendered a surprisingly wide variety of responses. He used an assumption of a 6% return and was questioned about the possibility of achieving such results. Yes it is possible!

He was challenged about his assumption that people could or should give up such a vital pleasure. On the one hand, I own a coffee plantation in Laos and I am always happy to see coffee consumption rise worldwide but on the other hand, that $4.00 cup of coffee is not really a necessity, or is it?

He was challenged about how realistic it was to assume someone could be that committed to taking the indicated action for 30 years?

This got me thinking about our very human nature. How many truth's do we know that we do not follow?

1. My health depends on healthy eating: I eat salads sometimes. And other times, I have a double cheese burger from In-and-Out with fries and a shake.

2. My mental acuity depends on actively using it to keep it shaper: I spend time on the couch doing nothing but watching aimless chatter.

3. My relationships require constant nurture: I procrastinate on returning that missed phone call.

4. My spiritual growth depends on my practicing the spiritual disciplines: I open my Bible when I go to church.

5. My writing skills depend on practice: I don't.

6. My relationship with God depends on the frequency and depth of our conversation: I treat my time as only for me.

You see the point? Consider your own list.  It's a good thing we serve a leader full of Grace, otherwise, I would be a total failure in each of the above areas.

Here is the concluding paragraph in the newspaper article that prompted this missive:

Saving success doesn't hinge so much on which expenses you cut back on, or which investment assumptions you use, but rather on the commitment you make.

In Russ White's article "Trying to Make A Lot of Out of a Little Money Ignites Debate" in the July 5th 2017 issue of USA Today's Money Section, he hits on a truth that applies to money and to many other additional topics.

Everything we do, when we do it to the glory of God, requires a commitment. Every Commitment is then a decision. It revolves around first knowing the act is necessary to achieve a given result and then deciding whether to do it or not. It's the decision part that is critical. And you know what comes with that decision? The painful but necessary truth of accountability. Saint Paul said that he often knew what was right and did not do it. So do I. So do you.

I started the conversation talking about millennials and saving for retirement and other necessities and let me finish with that topic. The "if we don't" issue is obvious yet obviously ignored. The circumstance that pains me the most is when a ministry employer takes donated dollars and prioritizes them for the retirment benefit of staff. Some, too many, ignore the gift.

The typical excuses include: too busy, don't know how, investing scares me as well as plain old procrastination. But all of these are hollow excuses. We make time for what is important or what we simply want to do and there is help available to teach us both how to save and invest. We have a couple thousand years affirming the fact that we do not know when the end is near while during the same time frame, the lessons of Matthew 25 affirming the priority of preparation and good stewardship are ignored.

 Success is just a decision away. Be committed to success.

Stay with us on the Journey with Truth Along the Way.

Bruce 

Intersecting Doing and Being

Judy often says that she is on the right side of doing and the left side of being.

Judy, of course, is my wife of 55 plus years. We’ve developed some short cuts to communication over those years. When I’m reading, studying, reflecting and praying she says I’m working on my “being." When she is busily about her committed tasks for the day, she says she is working on her “doing." As you might expect, her priorities are doing and much of my joy comes from the “being” side.

We all have both components. All of us are in the process of becoming what we will be while we go about doing what needs to be done. Upon reflection, there is more to it than what I’ve just described. Christians are called to be more like Jesus and then to reflect him by doing his work in the world. It seems to me that the more we become, the greater things we will do in His name.

So how does that play out as we move through different stages of life? During my early stages I was just wondering what I was going to do while the "being" part was automatically happening through great teachers at Oakdale Christian School. In the seventh grade I finished as essay with an assigned topic, “Where will I be in 30 years." I’ve still got the essay and re-read it the other day. I was quite clear back then.” I will be serving as a judge with the goal of being on the Supreme Court.”

With fellow Coloradan Neil Gorsuch just appointed to the Supreme Court, these old desires of mine came back to mind. Clearly I’m neither a judge nor have any prospect of serving on the Supreme Court of the land. Yet I can see the strains of that vision playing out in my “becoming” if not in my “doing."

A judge needs to run the courtroom and oversee its administration. A judge needs to understand the issues in front of him and make sure the law is being applied with both fairness and justice. A judge needs to understand and apply the accumulated wisdom, decisions and precedence of what other judges have found before. A judge needs to synthesize the issues and write about them in a clear and compelling manner. A judge needs to be able to justify his conclusions in a winsome manner.

I can’t say I do all those things well, but when I review the daily challenges of running a significant ministry/business organization, sitting with peers deciding future directions for ministries and churches, it certainly requires many of the same skills. Not saying I do them all well, but I am expanding my “being” so the “doing” is better.

I was wondering, what happens when I am at the juxtaposition of “being and doing?" You know, that sweet spot where work isn’t work and it just flows out of who you are? Pondering what it means to “step into God’s preferred future," as our pastor is fond of saying, seems to connect with the issue of “being and doing."

             When the “who you are” is disconnected from “what you are doing” there is no happiness, and not much meaning.

Being relieved that you performed well is a long ways from the joy of being in the middle of God’s will and accomplishing his directed task to the best of your ability. The juxtaposition of “love to do” and “needs doing” is at the heart of joyful living.  The "love to do" stems from our DNA plus the living experiences God has orchestrated for us. The "needs doing" stems from where we live and the juxtaposition of needy people who respond to our help delivered with love.

I wrote an ebook entitled Live with Meaning. The main point of the book is that without meaning there is little hope, and without hope there is little joy. So finding meaning allows us to experience joy and move towards our preferred future. Our preferred future is shaped by God through our DNA, our circumstances and how we choose to respond to them and God’s whisper to “Follow Me” becoming light to the world and the yeast that extends throughout it.

Stay tuned as we Journey with Trusted Advice along The Way.

Look for that interface between being all you can be and then doing all you can do.

Bruce

Live with Meaning: Faithful for a Lifetime

During a recent trip to Australia, I was privileged to speak with ministry leaders from across Australia. All of them are in their 4th Quarter and this occasion was the launching of the 4th Quarter Connection ministry of Christian Management Advancement organization. What a privilege it was to share with them and give a jump start to this new ministry! Their goal is to help change the country for Jesus with those who are in or entering their 4th Quarter which begins at the age of 60 and continues throughout the remainder of their lifetimes. 

In that presentation I encouraged them to focus on and retain three ideas:

1.    The 4th Quarter lasts for a lifetime.

2.   Each stage of the 4th Quarter must be funded and it can be referenced as a Future Funded Ministry rather than retirement.

3.  There are three key stages in retirement; the 4th Quarter or even what the Bergstrom’s, in their book by that name, suggest the 3rd Calling.

The three stages of retirement are:

Active Application

Consultative Input

Reflective Sharing

Before and between each of these stages is a Strategic Pause. This is a time to pursue reflection, prayer and careful listening for God’s whisper in your ear.

Our future is often and usually rooted in our past with either a reaction to something negative or an affirmation of the positive. Either way, a time of reflection, prayer and listening is an integral component of preparing for the next stage of life, including those three during the 4th Quarter.

Here is an admonition from the Apostle Peter shared at the end of his life

1 Peter 4:10-11 NIV

[10] Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. [11] If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Next, let’s embrace the key issues and process available to move into the 4th Quarter coupled with the issues many struggle with to make it both meaningful and purposeful.

1.     We need to develop and agree on the language of longevity: We are the first generation that has to confront the issues of longevity. Up until recently we were faced with the brevity of life and now we are faced with its length. Finding and agreeing on the language to use to describe both the issue and the solution is evolving. We are developing the language of longevity as well as a lexicon that is both recognizable and accepted.

 2.     Developed in the crucible of discovery: A crucible is a container, like a bowl, where we place our issues, suffering, and confusion and something new results because of the integration of the different elements. Together, we will discover that out of the pain these new discoveries can add immense purpose into our lives.

 3.     That reflects an energetic confidence: Energetic confidence is the energy that proceeds from knowing where you are going and why you are going there. All Christians can live with energetic confidence and it is heartbreaking that so many do not.

 4.     As we navigate the river of life: The river of life continues for a lifetime. Each stage of the river is different, yet God has a purpose in each one for all of us. Every aspect has value and a purpose if we are available to pursue it. He prepares us to help build his earthly Kingdom during every stage of our lifetime.

 5.     That leads to the active application of all we have learned: This is the first stage of the 4th Quarter. This is where we can both lead and wisely apply all the lessons learned during our previous journey on the river of life.

6.     The purposeful and consultative input into the real and significant issues of life: This is the second stage of the 4th Quarter. Here is where we have the opportunity to bring insight and wisdom to both the issues and struggles of the journey for others.  

7.     And the reflective sharing about those issues with those who follow: This is the third stage of the 4th quarter which is encompassed by reflective sharing. Billy Graham is a wonderful example of a man that utilized every opportunity for reflective sharing all throughout his life.

Can you see it? Can you see your retirement that isn’t marked by insignificance while lacking value but instead, a continuation of a life with both meaning and purpose that completes your God appointed roles of building the earthly Kingdom? This 3rd stage also enters us into our joyous roles in His Heavenly Kingdom

 The three facets of the 4th Quarter are:

1.     No diminution, no lessening, no reduction of meaning and purpose, but an increased intentionality to appreciate and interact with the changing landscape of life. While that landscape changes during our journey, our call to interact with that changing landscape in God appointed ways does not. It extends for a lifetime!

2.     The call to do all that He appoints while allowing our individual roles to come together and compose a body of believers here on earth creating a cacophony of blessing to others and a sense of deep fulfillment to each of us who thankfully follow JESUS on that river of life.

 3.     This is a life of meaning and purpose that reflects praise to JESUS our Prophet, Priest and King and clearly invites others to join with us where they can also experience what it means to be faithful for a lifetime. Where they too can experience a fulfilled and joyous life of meaning and purpose.

This does not change the realities of life such as aging, challenges or suffering, but it certainly changes how we respond to them. It does not change the facts but it does change the results. 

 Reflect on what is above. Decide how you will respond. The decision will be life changing, regardless of how you make it. And remember, “no decision” is still a decision.

Be blessed and continue with us on the Journey and take a moment to share this with others in your life.

Bruce Bruinsma

From Half-Time to Life-Time

Bob Buford’s impactful book, Halftime, written in 1994, challenges the following generations, including myself, to move from success to significance. In the book, he identifies what he calls Life I and Life II. According to the Halftime Institute, Life I is the period of time that lasts into your late 40's up to age 50 while the remaining balance of life is Life II. Life I is what occurs before halftime and Life II is what occurs after….presumably until death.

Halftime then is that period of "in between”; that tactical pause between Life I and Life II when  most people are unprepared and are searching for meaning in mid-life. I found this idea challenging and it prompted my own search for deeper meaning both in purpose and in relationships. For me, this introspection took place in my 40’s. For some it could come earlier while for others much later.

During the past two decades since 1994, we have experienced those early years of that Life II. Now it is time to consider and perhaps evolve or expand Buford’s thinking a bit more. Because of longevity, living well into our late 80’s or 90’s, our life can be understood more fully as Life I, Life II and Life III which the world calls retirement. It is the time when it is important to rediscover and refine the significance of what we thought about during our younger, Life II years in light of the new reality of a much longer life.

Building relationships with God is our call.

When viewed from a Christian perspective we can continue to expand the ideas and feelings rising out the halftime discussion about vision, purpose, and meaning to include our role as Kingdom Builders. Kingdom building, expanding the world’s relationship with God, is the purpose for which we were created along with the ongoing call to follow Jesus; not simply for a time or a season but for a lifetime. The current expectation of how long we will live is into our late 80’s and perhaps stretching all the way to 100!

Themes of life are consistent, the look and feel changes.

When we include that lifetime aspect and acknowledge that there are at least three stages during retirement, or the Fourth Quarter, the overarching theme of life does not change. The important themes of life remain the same but how they look, act and feel are quite different. That halftime reflection point that occurs around age 49 is then re-introduced and often re-experienced in our 60’s or even later as we look to our retirement. We know this time is culturally referred to as retirement, the 4th Quarter, Life III, 3rd Calling, or simply being "Faithful for a Lifetime”.

All decades of life are significant.

It is interesting to note that the significant time frame lasting between ages 50 and 70 is the same amount of time as that between the ages of 10 and 30 or between 30 and 50. The realities of life during each of these time frames look different, feel different and are different. It is then reasonable to presume that the twenty years between 60 and 80 or even 80 to 100 can be just as different and just as  significant as those prior two decades.

Life III; a lifetime of purpose.

Loyd Reeb, spokesman for the Halftime Institute, says in his Ted Talk about Halftime, “The most productive years in your life may surprise you!” And he was referring to those years after halftime! I’d like to suggest that the Faithful for a Lifetime years can and should be as, or even more productive, than the years immediately post halftime. The Life-Time years typically begin in their mid to late 60’s. As a matter of fact, I’d like to suggest that for many it is time to expand our thinking from Half-Time to Life-Time and to extend them to now include Life III.

Many of the life issues raised in "halftime thinking" and subsequent discussions are simply not addressed by most Christians for a number of reasons. One is that they do not have the financial flexibility or ability to consider much more in their late 40’s or early 50’s then "what’s next?" Some are so caught up in life that their head stays down and elbows keep flying while others simply never thought about the issues of change and personal significance during those early post halftime years.

Our life journey includes our spiritual journey.

Grappling with these issues of meaning, purpose and relevance is also directly related to where we are in our spiritual journey and our relationship with Jesus. While issues of meaning and purpose often cause serious introspection it is also the longing of the Christians' heart to both be more and do more to build the Kingdom. Both the "why" and the "what" of life are important to living a life of meaning and fulfilling our specific purpose of building the Kingdom.

When explaining "halftime", they talk about this tactical pause in life's journey as an unsettling feeling or simply asking the introspective question, “Is this all there is?” But as Christians we know that there really is more. Our lives will explode with purpose when we acknowledge and accept God's call to personal relationship with him. This is the foundation needed for building the Kingdom.

Whenever we come to realize that reflecting him means that we are both called and able to impact others for the Kingdom we discover our universal call as Christians. And we discover that “serving and helping” others is the initial level of response to that call by God on our lives.

There is also a specific “call”.

The next response to God’s call is the realization that he has something unique in mind for each of us. We can listen and hear his “specific call” on our lives. This is the process for connecting with to that call: 1. He whispers it in your ear. 2. He uniquely prepares you for your role. And 3. He strengthens you for it. Hearing, doing and following through with the action plan associated with the call is the way we demonstrate that we have heard the call and are committed to  him. Not surprisingly this results in a deep level of personal satisfaction.

There is much more to be said about moving from Halftime to Lifetime and this introduction  begins to lay out the essence of what it means to be Faithful for a Lifetime. In both the Halftime pause and Lifetime pause there is an embrace of the need for significance. This feeling of significance is accompanied by finding the content and context that fills the “heart sized hole in your soul” with both meaning and purpose.

Begin to reflect on what Faithful for a Lifetime might mean for you.

Stay tuned as we journey with Trusted Advice along The Way.

Bruce

Buford, Bob. Halftime. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1994 by The Leadership Network, Inc.

An Exploding Mosaic of Ministry

The ills of our society, of our world, are greater than ever before. While Presidential candidates pummeled our country, society, and world, the reality is there truly are local, national and world issues that demand our attention as Christians.

At the same time, it is somewhat disconcerting as a Christian when leaders seem to set aside our Christian values in order to address perceived societal ills. As a matter of fact, when Christian leaders also set aside Christian values in favor of addressing those issues as well, it causes a conundrum as to how we proceed to think about, approach and solve them.

The conundrum was brought home to me during a recent visit to Israel. The challenges are for the Israelis as they deal with militant Palestinians and for seemingly the majority of Palestinians who want to embrace hope and live in peace. As a taxi driver once shared in Jerusalem, all of us want to live in peace, trade with each other, raise our families, and look to the future with anticipation.

Think of all the different “interested” parties involved in pursuing “peace in the Middle East” and then those who seem to have a priority in pursuing conflict and war. One element that appears to be common to all sides is that the Israeli Christians and the Palestinian Christians are both marginalized. The Israeli Christians are marginalized by the Israeli’s and the Palestinian Christians are marginalized by the Palestinians.

The issues are difficult.

When I attempt to understand the issues on both sides from a secular standpoint, it does appear virtually certain that peace will never come. So is there another path that reflects God’s character and his design for our world? Perhaps there is.

The people who are capable of reflecting God’s wisdom, power, compassion and love are Christians and followers of Jesus are on either, or both, sides of the walls that divide. Secular Judaism and Secular Palestinians both marginalize Christians including Muslim Palestinians and conservative Israelis, as well.

Without laying out the specific action plans available that will allow Christians to bring Jesus perspective to this divided land, suffice it say that without a mosaic of ministry, very little will change. As a matter of fact, it might even get worse.

Unfortunately, the challenges that face our country and most of the world are a mirror image of what I’ve described in Israel. While some of the style or features of the maladies appear quite different, the underlying issues and causes are very similar.

Greed, corruption, false pride, bombastic leadership, killing, drugs, and sexual immorality are just some of the issues. These and others have gone from problems to tearing the fabric of our society apart. As Christians become an increasing minority, the marginalization process becomes more evident. As Christian leaders attempt to remain relevant in the halls of power, the moral adjustment to the prevalent and evolving societal norms is only too clear. As you and I attempt to remain relevant to our society we are continually being challenged to adjust our values and the actions that go with them to line up with those evolving norms.

I believe that the challenge to Christians to stem the tide and reflect Jesus to our office, city, state, country and world will be worked out with a mosaic of ministry. A mosaic of ministry means that followers of Jesus address the critical issues we face with the positives of the Christian life rather than the negatives of our society.

Some radical thoughts for both here, Israel, and the world:

1.     Reflect love and compassion to those who are hurting

2.     Utilize God given gifts and talents to address those issues

3.     Steward resources and focus on solutions

4.     Express our faith in both word and deed

5.     Spread the “word” effectively and efficiently

6.     Be ready to change the process while protecting core values

This mosaic of ministry will attract some new ways of thinking and acting.

In future writings we will explore the ideas of being Faithful for a Lifetime and then funding the future with a Future Funded Ministry. These two perspectives will inform and impact how we implement a mosaic of ministry and change the world by changing people one at a time. After all, isn’t that the definition of “ministry”?  Changed Lives!

Come with me as we impact the world with Trusted Advice.

Add your thoughts to the “comment section” and we can continue the conversation.

Bruce