Consider & Imitate

My guest today is Bob Brooks. Bob is a professor of finance at the University of Alabama and a financial risk management consultant. He received his PhD from the University of Florida and is a CFA charterholder. Bob lives in Tuscaloosa with his wife and has 6 grown children and 5 grandkids. He is a cofounder of the Christian Finance Faculty Association and was easily one of my favorite professors during my time at Alabama. As you’ll hear, Bob has a lot of wisdom to share regarding the Biblical approach to money.Show Notes:02:15: Bob’s testimony and background08:45: Bob’s decision to go into academia 11:05: Importance of finances and money13:55: Having our financial houses in order15:00: Biblical warning regarding debt22:30: Budgeting and behavior change28:00: Obedience with wealth is not an issue of quantity, but stewardship29:40: Evidence of God’s provision35:10: Balancing affluence and asceticism 38:10: Guidance on savings42:25: Enduring stores of wealth (hint: it’s not US dollars)45:05: Guidance on discipling and finding seekers50:05: Guidance on giving53:55: Accountability in giving57:10: Recommended resources

Sorry for the long delay - don't hold your breath for new episodes! My guest this week is Greg Phelan. Greg is an Assistant Professor at Williams College and earned his doctorate in Economics from Yale. His research and expertise are way above my head but fortunately, we manage to keep the conversation focused on how God is calling us to be obedient with our resources – particularly our careers and our money. I initially connected with Greg through an article he wrote for the Gospel Coalition entitled “I left the Global Poor to Serve the Global Poor,” which I highly commend (link below). Greg is an elder at Community Bible Church and lives in MA with his wife and 2 (soon to be 3) kids. Show notes:1:55 – Greg’s background4:50 – The beginning of Greg’s career 15:10 – How Greg decided to join academia 21:35 – Greg’s advice for choosing a career31:00 – Small financial habits like expense tracking 35:40 – Accountability in savings: “We should assume we struggle with greed and fear.”41:05 – Thoughts on retirement savings43:45 – How has God positioned us to give? 54:00 – Using our money to love Links: Greg's article, "I 'Left' the Global Poor to Serve the Global Poor"https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/left-poor-to-serve-poor/

This week, we're joined by David Johnson, the founder and CEO of Doulos Partners, an international discipleship and church-planting organization. The Lord has made several big moves in David's life, calling him first from the business world to pastoral ministry and then from pastoral ministry to global evangelism. 01:30 - David's story11:20 - The strategy of Doulos Partners17:20 - How we construct our "giving portfolio"22:40 - Going vs sending 32:30 - Evangelism in difficult locations38:00 - The current state of the Great Commission 46:00 - Strategic spending in order to give 48:50 - Fighting apathy in the midst of affluenceFor more information on Doulos Partners, check out: https://doulospartners.orgFor stay up to date on Consider & Imitate, visit https://considerandimitate.com/

Welcome to Consider & Imitate, a podcast seeking to understand what God has to say about our money.