The Kingdom Investor

30 - Stewardship, Not Ownership | Matt Stone

November 25, 2022 Daniel White Episode 30
The Kingdom Investor
30 - Stewardship, Not Ownership | Matt Stone
Show Notes Transcript

In our quest for life success, too often we struggle with the need to chase money and wealth versus the desire to pursue God’s kingdom as if there is a guilt-ridden disjoint between them.  However, engagement in business for financial rewards can be viewed in two ways - ownership and stewardship. Ownership says that we can possess material assets and do with them what we wish while stewardship, a biblical principle, tells us that we are entrusted with a life, with gifts, and with material assets that belong to God, not owned by us, and for which we are responsible and accountable. 

Our guest today, Matt Stone of SVN Stone Commercial Real Estate, sheds light on what stewardship means for business leaders. Sharing his own journey of discovering and pursuing his life mission, he recounts the process and the struggles in discerning what God has called him to do. What shapes his mindset and influences his decisions is always rooted in the conviction that God is the owner of all the talents, resources, and opportunities. Click now and let’s challenge ourselves to connect everything we do in all aspects of our lives with what God is doing in the world. 


Key Points From This Episode: 

  • Matt talks about an interesting deal that he’s been working on recently.
  • Matt’s personal background and how he came to faith.
  • Matt discovers his relational talent and devotes himself to vocational ministry with students and young people.
  • How Matt sorted through what God is calling him to do.
  • How did Matt get into the real estate business?
  • The story of how Matt achieved worldly success and significant business growth while focusing on building God’s kingdom.
  • What is Matt’s advice for people who are struggling with their missional and financial focus?
  • Examples of what it means to steward God's company for His purposes?


Tweetables:

“Have people around you that can speak truth into your life that can lead you through a Bible study, or that can disciple you, or that can encourage you as you process and struggle through what it means to have your identity in Christ.”

“Don't focus so much on what you do, focus on who you are in Christ and being in Him.” 


Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

SVN Stone Commercial Real Estate

Matt Stone on LinkedIn

Click to Find out more about our upcoming event: "Crafting Your Kingdom Investing Thesis" 

About Matt Stone

Matt Stone, CCIM, SIOR, MBA is the Managing Director of SVN Stone Commercial Real Estate. Since 2006, Matt has been the trusted advisor for many clients in transactions within the retail, office, industrial, multi-family, and hospitality product types. Matt personally oversees the day-to-day operations of the company, brokerage of commercial investment properties and user properties, as well as property management. He has worked with banks, private investors, and as a receiver to help with asset management and evaluation for distressed loan purchasing, workouts, REO disposition, and general opinions of value. Matt and his team continue to perform property management and bookkeeping services for retail, industrial, office, and multi-family properties throughout Central Kentucky.

EPISODE 30

[INTRODUCTION]

ANNOUNCER: Imagine taking your generosity to the next level, impacting more lives, and leaving a godly legacy for generations to come. Get ideas and strategies to do just that when you listen to these personal stories from high-level Kingdom champions.

The Kingdom Investor Podcast showcases business leaders who have moved from success to significance, sharing how they use worldly wealth for Kingdom impact. Discover how they grew in generosity, impacted more lives, and built godly legacies. You'll find motivation, inspiration, and practical steps to grow as a Kingdom Investor.

[INTERVIEW]

Daniel White (DW):  Welcome to The Kingdom Investor Podcast where we interview kingdom champions who invest their time, talents and treasure to advance God's kingdom, creating eternal returns. I'm your host, Daniel White. And today I interview Matt Stone. Matt's here in the studio with me. And he is the managing director of SVN Stone Commercial Real Estate. He serves on various boards, and is involved with many nonprofits and ministries locally and nationally. Matt is one of those guys who I aspire to be more like. And now without further ado, Matt, would you introduce yourself and tell our listeners where you're coming to us from?

Matt Stone (MS):  Thank you very much. Good morning, everyone. Excited to be here in the studio with Daniel. And I'm a Lexington native and here in the studio, excited to tell a little bit of my story and kind of what God's done in my life and how all that intersects with business and everything that you're doing with kingdom investing.

DW:  Absolutely. Hey, Matt, do you have an interesting deal or something that you've been working on this past week that you don't mind sharing about? 

MS:  Sure. We did most recently sell some land in Lexington near I-75 near the interstate. We have a new professional soccer team that's coming to Lexington and so we got a chance to be a part of a piece of land out there that was sold to the group that now is bringing the team to Lexington and they're going to put some practice facilities out there. So, we've been talking about what else is going to go on the rest of that land. The city's involved and the private developers are involved. They're asking our advice and so we're processing some of that with them. And that's been a cool story. We love to be a part of things that have a generational impact. So, this is one of those that we just got a chance to be a part of, and God opened that door. We worked on that for a few years, outside of the soccer side of things just trying to sell the land. Yeah. And it turned into an opportunity for that group to purchase that. And it looks like it's going to hit into the kind of the soccer piece. So, it's fun. I've got three young kids and they all play soccer. So, that's also fun to sort of see that impact our family directly but also lots of families from the region. That'll get a chance to use those fields.

DW:  Yeah, I think we were talking about that. I met with Weston and we were talking a little bit about that sale. So that's that's really exciting. Do you mind praying for us? Before we get started.

MS:  Happy to. Lord, thank you for today. Thank you for Daniel, thank you for this podcast. Thank you for the opportunity for so many to share their story of what you've done, and what you're doing in and through us. I just pray that you would lead and guide everyone who's listening today that we would lean into what you're doing today and will be prompted by your Holy Spirit to walk forward in what you're calling us to. So thank you for the day you've given us. Thank you for your son Jesus and an opportunity to be together in fellowship directly here with Daniel but also with folks that are listening. In Jesus' name. 

DW:  Amen. Thank you, Matt. Matt, do you mind sharing your story with us?

MS:  Sure. I'll kind of start back. I'm from Lexington, grew up here. Parents were divorced so there's a little piece of that in my story. And my mom was a churchgoer and so she continued through that and prayed as we grew up, but I wasn't very interested in kind of all that, didn't really understand the god side. And so, for me, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Young Life took a big interest in me in high school. So, a lot of seeds were planted, was able to, you know, hear the Gospel through those ministries a couple different times. As you know, seeds were planted. My mom continued to pray for me. I had a sister who came to faith and invested in me. And then eventually when I got to be a senior Henrico High School in Lexington became a Christian kind of through the ministry of young life and had a God moment in Colorado frontier ranch out there where I really felt like I was kind of the only one in the room being spoken to. Many of you often maybe had that experience. And just as the speaker was sharing and talking about maybe there's something more in life, I really felt well He was saying that directly to me. And I was saying, that's what I'm looking for more. There's, there's got to be more. And he said, it's Jesus and its relationship with Jesus. So at 17, surrendered my life, December of '96. And fast forward it's been a pretty cool journey ups and downs but trajectory towards Jesus during that time.

MS: And so that's kind of how, you know kind of came to faith and then from there sort of had a 180 experience with my life and just sort of said, alright, I'm all in what does this look like and stumbled and processed along the way, but ended up going to University of Kentucky right after I graduated, got involved with Young Life there, got involved with campus ministry called Christian Student Fellowship and FCA, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Southland Christian Church. All those kind of invested in me through discipleship Bible, study different things, and put a lot in me where I started to understand God's word, and what it would look like for me to walk daily with Jesus. So those are really important. 

MS: Then, as I got further into college, and was around people that were doing vocational ministry, something I realized about myself was that I was extremely relational. And I was wired for people. And so as I started thinking more and more about what I was going to go do, I realized that vocational ministry in investing in students like I was doing as a volunteer with Young Life was something I wanted to consider. So, I started praying and processing and I ended up going on staff with Young Life when I graduated the University of Kentucky. Shortly thereafter, married my wife, Mandy, and we've been married for 19 years. She's hung out with me, I feel like I'm her case study sometimes, she's a child therapist. So, sometimes I feel like I'm the, I'm the child that she's there to... But nonetheless, we've had a fun ride and got three kids, Maddie, Miller, and Mary Kate, 14, 12, and 9. So, we're in the full swing of high school, middle school and elementary school now. 

MS: So, that was 2003. Continued with the Young Life in Lexington, helped build middle school ministry here called Wildlife. That's been really fun, come full circle 20 years later, started at Morton Middle School. Now my son's at Morton Middle School, and he's involved in the ministry. Kind of one of those things you don't expect, you don't think about when you're, you know, 23 years old, or 24 years old, kind of help and get that started. And then fast forward, you know, here we are. So that's been really fun. And then, you know, really started processing, right around that time, other, you know, financial things, even when I was working for Young Life because we were fundraising. They do some training with that. 

MS: So, those seeds started to be planted in me about what does it look like to view money differently. And so they gave some books "Your Money Counts" by Howard Dayton and other people's probably read that book, or know of Howard Dayton's ministry. And I ended up hearing about Halftime from some of the people who were, you know, were our donors, and had kind of that Halftime experience with Bob Buford which was sort of that success for the first half of your life, then you sort of have this pause, and then its significance after that. And it was this really cool opportunity for people to to process that, and kind of share that. And so I ended up reading that book at 23 years old and going, what about me? Am I supposed to sort of have this time where I build, you know, success, quote unquote. And I realized that maybe that wasn't my story. Maybe my story could be kind of significance throughout and maybe success throughout too. 

MS: The struggle that I had, which many of us have had, and we're all on the journey of is what is that definition of success? And so for me, I had to redefine that. And I, it took me a long time. And I still, you know, to this day, process it. But I think at that time, I still had a lot of worldly processing to do to understand what that could look like. And so even within the ministry setting, which some folks listening might relate to this, that have maybe done vocational ministry or in it, you still have those same metrics, whether it's fundraising, whether it's how many people show up, whether it's how many conversions do you have to Jesus, how many baptisms in your church, all these different things that we have metrics for which are important. But we end up measuring ourselves by that as opposed to leaning into our identity fully being in Christ and then asking, what is He doing? And how can we, you know, understand that?

MS: And so fast forward, I would say today, my definition of success truly has been boiled more down to the grace commandment, which is waking up in the morning and saying, Lord, I know you created me, I exist to honor you and serve you and serve my family and serve those around me. So what does it look like to love you fully with my heart, soul, mind and strength and to love others around me? And so that's kind of how I've boiled it down. Now, obviously, there's details within that with all of us, we've got responsibilities, we have other things going on whether we're, you know, a husband, a father, a parent, you know all those things. And then in addition to that, in my case now, which we'll fast forward to, you know, as we get through the podcast, but, you know, running a business. And so I think one of the things that really helped me in that season was having some people around me, and then that would be my encouragement to a lot of us, all of us, is to have people around you that can speak truth into your life that can lead you through a Bible study, or that can disciple you, or that can encourage you, as you process and struggle through what does it mean to have identity in Christ. What does it mean to follow Jesus? Because it's, it just sounds interesting. But then you're like, what does that mean practically on a day-to-day basis, living in Lexington, Kentucky, as a, you know, X year old person, you know, in whatever vocation you're doing, or if you're in school, all those different kinds of things. 

MS: So, back to kind of where it wasn't my story, I guess, I kind of started reading those things and thinking about those in and thinking, I'm going to be a full-time vocational minister of the gospel of Jesus through for my whole life. Like, this is what I'm called to do. And so as I've and that was probably a couple of years into, you know, doing Young Life ministry as a vocation, got married and God started kind of opening up some stuff up in my heart about going back to school, and I really didn't want to go back to school. But you know, God wanted me to so I thought, okay, I'm a Christian, I'm doing full-time vocational ministry, definitely getting a master's in divinity. Like, that's what God would call you to, right? Get a master's, and go to seminary. Well, those doors were not opening as I started to kind of look at them. And I used to be the kind of person that would look at the door and just sort of go the three-point stance and try to knock it down if it wasn't opening for me. And instead, I started to get in this mindset. And that was the early time of shift where I started thinking, Maybe I'm supposed to knock on the door and if it opens, walk through, and if it doesn't, go to another door. 

MS: And so that was helpful because in that time, the doors were not opening for seminary, and I was feeling frustrated. And then a door started to open up that I wasn't knocking on to get a master's in business administration. And I said, business, why would I get a master's in business? And then I started to think and there's all these mega-churches and Young Life is kind of a business. And so maybe I'll go work for Young Life corporate, or go help a church like Southland or whatever, now learning business, the business side behind it all. And then I can go and do that, you know, within a ministry setting. And that wasn't the story either. So, I did kind of surrender myself to go back to school, did a Masters in Business at UK, it was a one year program. And as I was there, I really got really started to work on me and just reminded me that he wanted me to spend time with people, and he would take care of the rest. So I've continued to feel that journey with the people being the focus of my life, and graduated. And as I was graduating, a guy who had been on our Young Life board had bought the SVN franchise at that time, which is a commercial real estate firm, national firm. And he had the franchise for Central Eastern Kentucky in Lexington and said, I want you to come work with me and me to teach you the business. And I said, I don't really know anything about real estate. And I said, how much are you paying? And he said, it's all commission. And I said, all that sounds terrible.

MS:  So, it just wasn't one of those things that seemed like it was going to line up with, you know, what I had originally felt like God was calling me to and I think I shared with you before a guy named Gary Barlow, I did a retreat with him in 2013 about "it's your call". And this whole idea that our calling is more about who we are as opposed to the things that we do. And then from that calling, and kind of the special giftings that he's given each of us, then we get roles and assignments, and different things that God gives to us during our lifetime. But the calling kind of stays the same on our life. And there's different things that we do throughout our life. So, that was helpful. Obviously, at that moment, when I was doing real, starting in real estate, I didn't already have that perspective. So it was confusing to me to think wait, I thought my calling was a vocational ministry. Really, my calling was more around investing in people in evangelism and discipleship and ended up being in financial things as well. And we'll get into that, but just excited to kind of think back to that moment and realizing other people saw things in me that were my calling, around you're good with people, you're good with numbers, we can teach you real estate.

MS: And so that's kind of how that started. For those of y'all who've been in, you know, either commercial real estate or other sales where you're all commissioned-based, it can be scary and so I kind of jumped in with this whole, God sort of said, hey, you go take care of just building relationships with people. And I'll take care of the, you know, the deals. And I felt confident in that. However, I also felt that struggle of I need to go make money especially when your wife comes to you six months in and says, hey, we're pregnant with our first kid. So you feel that pressure and that struggle, and you think, gosh, I've got to go get this done. And so, you know, struggled with that on and off for, you know, probably four or five years, honestly. And I got into a place, in a spiritual place where I wasn't, it was, it was dry. And I wouldn't call it a full desert experience. But I would definitely call it a dry season. A season where I took my eye off of Jesus as the main, main focus at different points in there, overall, still heading towards Jesus but definitely had moments where the money became more of the thing and I felt like I needed to be the provider. And I kept going back to Matthew 6 and I kept going back to "do not worry". And I kept going back to seek first the kingdom. And he's gonna take care of the birds in the field and how much more important are you but I didn't, I couldn't live in that. It's like I heard it but I wasn't experiencing that. And I look at the fruit of the spirit and I'd say, I'm not experiencing the fruit. And really, it was because I was focused on trying to make things happen myself. 

MS: Again, I did that summon ministry, that's kind of a struggle there too, like how many people are coming and all that, as opposed to what's God really doing? What is He doing in and through us? And then as I realized that that struggle was happening, we had our second child. And some things happen personally in my life and I said, you know what, I've got to, I've got to get refocused here from a spiritual place. Business was starting to grow from a commercial real estate perspective because we've gone through the downturn. So, you know, didn't even get into all that. But 2008, '09 and, you know, fell off the cliff, I didn't really realize what was happening. So that was kind of the blessing was part of it was I didn't know what I didn't know. And so I was able to lean in and just keep working, doing leasing, and, you know, building the book of business. And as I did all those things, God started to reveal to me some of those struggles that I had, again, brought me back into community, people around me that could care about me and speak truth. We could look at scripture together. So I started to get in a couple more Bible studies, because I had gotten out of a Bible study. So got back into those kind of a weekly meeting with other men, and just realizing that I needed to seek freedom in Christ and identity back in him. And from that place of that identity in Jesus, then I could go forward and do things. 

MS: And so a lot of people asked me now, they'll say, you know, I've been interviewed for other things, but they've mostly been commercial real estate brokerage related, like, wow, you have grown a ton over the past six years since you took ownership. And I'll say, God owns the company, and I steward what he's given me and all those things. And for some people that's kind of in one ear and out the other. For some people, it's, you know, exciting, or it's confusing to them. But in this case, you obviously know your heart's desire about what you are trying to accomplish here with this podcast. And so I can lean in a little further into that and say, I realized in 2012, 2013, that I wanted to wake up one day, and be in a place where I could really say, I'm a follower of Jesus, who does x. At that time, commercial real estate, and fast forward now, still commercial real estate work. But I didn't know if that's what it would be. I just said, I got to get back on the right path, and really do that. 

MS: So that'd be my encouragement to anyone listening as well as just to think about don't focus so much on what you do. But focus on who you are in Christ and being in him. I'm speaking to myself just as much as anyone else. I mean, it's a struggle for all of us every day. And so what does it mean to do that? So I started walking in that and as that happened, business started to grow as well, because my focus wasn't so much on the money. My focus wasn't so much on making happen, I was starting to lean into who I was. And I was able to release kind of that relational gift that I had and break out into freedom. Jesus offers us freedom, but so many times we don't claim it. And so that, to me, was kind of a breakthrough moment was sort of in that 2012, '13, '14 timeframe where all that started to happen. And from a business perspective, lots of growth was happening then too in the market, which we have no completely, one individual doesn't have complete control over what's happening in the commercial real estate market. But I was primed up to a place now where I had grown in my abilities within commercial real estate. So the market getting stronger. I'm getting better at what I do. All the while I'm not focused on making that my priority, but yet it's kind of simultaneously happening. And that was really cool.

MS: But, 2009 was kind of original planting that seed with generous giving. And I'd kind of forgotten about that piece that's really important. And generous giving, I went on a JoG, Journey of Generosity, which I know you've gotten involved in. Yeah. And so that was really incredible for me to be in that room and say, wow, my perspective can be shifted, that money doesn't have to be the focus. But again, I was still in a room with folks. And not that any of this is as bad as it is good. They were in a place where they had gained financial wealth accumulated over a portion of their lifetime and I'm still sitting in the room going, I don't have accumulation of wealth. And I'm just kind of starting into commercial real estate. So, sort of, one, why am I sitting here in the room? Like, I don't fit the sort of high-capacity person. But I realized, if I'm here, I might as well lean in and listen. 

MS: And so from there went into campus bible study, power dating again, and work through that with some folks and after going through that Bible study, open a National Christian Foundation, giving fund, an account with them. So, started kind of learning, okay, 

What would this look like to really understand that everything is God's? And that is where I signed the deed, my wife and I signed a deed inside of that Bible study of actually having to go through an exercise and don't force you to do it. But they say, if you want to go through the exercise, you write down all your possessions, your worldly possessions. And then you sign it over at the end, just making a statement that God owns it all. And at first, when I saw that, I thought it was so weird, but as I went through it, it really freed my heart up to say, I've seen other people live this way and I see great joy in them. And I think that's a part of the puzzle here. And I think that's why God speaks so much to Scripture. 

MS: So that was key, catalyzed into 2012, '13, '14. And as I grew in my faith, and walking truly with Jesus and having my identity in him, the business started to grow. And I was kind of ready to handle it. It was almost like, I was in a better place spiritually so that when that worldly success came, I wasn't focused on that for my identity. So that was really helpful. And then in 2014, I had an encounter with the Lord in Columbus, Ohio, I was up there watching a buddy who plays professional golf. And I was in a hotel room, and I just truly felt like the Lord said, it's my company. And at this point, I'm not working within I didn't own the company. So I said, what does that mean? And he just said back to me, you know, again, not audibly, but in my spirit, in my heart, I heard him clearly say, you know, give it to me, and I'll show you. And I just said, it's all yours. I'd already signed that deed in 2009. And I thought in my head, in that moment, I honestly didn't think, oh, this is the commercial real estate company. Because I was at that time working under somebody else's ownership. And I just said, this could be anything. I mean, I'd seen people do business brokerage around me, we've had some of that going on through our office over the years. And I thought, well, maybe there's some company that God's gonna open the door for. Maybe it's a commercial real estate brokerage firm. 

MS:  And so, as that happened in 2014, you know, classic Matt Stone, I decided, well, I'll get home and I'll make that deal happen. I'll put something together. But now, then I backed off and I said, wait a second, he said, give it to him. So, I tried to give it to him again, let go of it for a couple mo ofnths. And, you know, here's how God works. I walk in one day to the office, and the two guys who own the company said, hey, we want to sit down with you and talk. And they said, we've decided that we want you to be our partner and we want you to take, you know, take full ownership eventually. And let's talk through what that looks like. So, then they turned around, said, hey, you know, we all put deals together, once you come up with the script of what you want us to look like. And I said, okay, great. And then I went and tried to put it together myself again. So, that constant struggle that we all go through. And I couldn't put it together. I mean, it just it shouldn't be that complicated but I just couldn't figure it out. And so my wife reminded me, remember, you're supposed to give it to the Lord. So, let go, release control again, went and sought wisdom from a few good, really good men and counsel around me. And then from there, she said, the great counselor, she said, have you asked them what they want and listened?

MS: So I went and did that which I had not done. And they didn't want all the same things that I thought they would. They weren't focused on their money. They weren't focused on all the things that you would think you would need to do to put a business deal together. They were focused on other things. Of course, there was money involved, of course, there was business terms, but those weren't the focus of what they cared the most about. And so that was really helpful for me to remember that and that's that's served me well over the years to have a wife who's counselor who listens well, when you know, I like to speak. 

MS: Anyway, all that to say those things put me on a trajectory to then take ownership with them, and then take sole ownership in 2016. And when I, when we did launch in 2016, and I was a sole owner, I was able to say, which was a little bit scary, even though I knew for sure that God had done the work. But I got up in front of the company, because mind you, I'm a peer of some of the people in the room. And most of them are older than me. Actually, at this point, everyone in the room was older than me. And so here I am walking in as a 36-year-old saying, okay, now I own the company. But yet, I'm going to put a spin on this and let you all know that actually, God owns the company, and we collectively are going to steward that company. And we're not going to try to become the best commercial real estate firm in the world, we're going to try to become the best commercial real estate firm for the world, for God's kingdom. 

MS: So kind of flipping that around. And there was folks in the room that already knew that's where I was headed. But there was a few in the room that that was something a little different. So I thought, you know, I don't know if I'll lose people. I don't know if this will mean it was a risk. But I knew it was what I had to do. And from there, I mean, that was January of 2016. And here we are fast forward. And part of the reason why you're asking me to come share is because we've had what most would consider worldly success and we've had incredible growth within the business that we are in, which is very humbling. 

MS: But it's also really easy now to say, I know that God's done this. He's built us from a company of seven people to 22 people. And we're a full-service commercial real estate firm but we get a chance to impact lots of other people. And we're our, my focus is, what does it mean to wake up every day and focus on God's kingdom? And so as that happens, that looks different in some of the things that we do, and some of the ways that we operate. And it's been really fun to kind of be on that journey with a whole group of people now as God has built a company. Remember he said, give it to me, and I'll show you so each day I just process with him. You know, what things do you want us to say yes to and what things do you want us to say no to? Kind of the divine no. And so what does that look like for us to walk forward? How do we serve people? How do we put the focus on people truly? And we struggle just like anybody else. I mean, we're human, just like anyone else. So we don't always do it perfectly, of course. But we're trying to walk forward in that.

DW:  Do you have some tangible examples that you can give of what it looks like to steward a company or God's company? For his purposes?

MS: Sure. I think it all starts with the people. It all starts with if he's going to build a company, all companies are, most companies are people-based. And so the employees, the advisors, the folks that work within the company, it's how does he bring those people along, and who's supposed to come onto the team and win. Because when you're, we weren't a startup, because we were already going, but I re-imagined the company with God's guidance, and with a few others guidance within the company and with my wife, just to say what would this look like if it was truly a full service commercial real estate firm with the capacity for us to do more, or property management, or opportunity to do other deals, more folks trained up that we could, could grow. So as we did that, you know, some people would say, well, then train up 10 people, and some of them will stay, and some of them won't make it. It's commission-based so you know, I did get some training like that nationally. 

MS: And I would push back on that and say, I agree with that, in general but that's not my story. I'm supposed to maybe train one person at a time if that's who he brings along. Maybe I'm supposed to say no to people who are asking me to come work. And it's an all-commission-based job and you're thinking, why would you say no to someone. But to me, our culture and our people are the key. So, if our culture and our people are the key, then I feel like the right person at the right time is important. And just because I said no to some people over the years, it doesn't mean they weren't good people. It just meant they might not be the right person that God wanted at the right time. And so I said no to and then fast forward, then it came back around. And I've said yes to them, or, you know, they said no to me, and now they've said, or whatever. So that would be a practical example of just processing and not just throwing a bunch of resumes out there or just hiring a bunch of people and seeing sticks, but really kind of almost like one at a time understanding people's story. And saying, okay, I think it's time for this person to join the team.

DW:  Yeah, I was interviewing somebody. And they were telling me how most of the people that they have employed have been their disciples, people that they've already invested in, they've already developed and from a, you know, a standpoint of wanting to make disciples. And then it just happens to be that, you know, they're the right fit for a position or right. So I thought that was really neat. 

MS:  We've seen some of that with Young Life. I wouldn't say all of them are people I've directly discipled. But I would say that I've been around those folks, I've invested in a lot of these people over time from past, or they've been invested in. And Young Life happens to be a common thread within a lot of those folks. Young Life for those of y'all who don't know, you know, it's an international ministry investing in teenagers, and mostly reaching out to disinterested teenagers who aren't connected into church already, and really trying to reach that furthest out kid. So you get a lot of those. You get a lot of, you know, you have to learn how to walk into a tough room and care for people and invest in them. And, you know, you get rejected a lot. On sales jobs, you get rejected a lot. So, you know, it's one of those things where I know they've had incredible training. And so when they come in, I'm just getting high-quality people that, you know, may have been volunteers, they may have had, many of them had second, or first careers before they came to work with me, or multiple careers before that. 

MS: And so now, getting a chance to kind of steward a whole office of people was something I did not know is going to be part of my story. And it's been really fun, I really enjoy it. I enjoy the day-to-day of hearing people's stories about what's going on with their family. You know, I talk to them a lot about how our office is an office family. But I really care about how what we're doing impacts, what it looks like for them to live out their faith within their own sphere of influence, outside of our business. So as they go home and invest in their own family, and as they go from there. And then, you know, get involved in their church, because not everybody is interconnected as we are in the office outside of the office. Some are, some aren't. And so that's been really fun just to see to watch people learn and grow in their own faith, learn and grow in their own life and have children and buy their first home and process what it means to, you know, make money and give some of it away and save some of it and spend it and what does all this look like and sort of pointing them towards some of the things that I've been through with either Generous Giving, or National Christian foundation or Compass and processing some of those things with folks. 

MS: So that's another practical way is that I get a chance to walk one on one with a lot of these advisors that I have that, you know, you wouldn't normally maybe take that same approach of helping them understand what it means to be in an all-commission-based job and truly rely on the Lord. And so leaning in with them into that, and praying with them and helping them process and not just say, well, good luck, let's get more in the pipeline and make more money and everything will be okay. Because I don't believe that. I believe that, you know, we need to lean into what God is calling us to and reminding each of them that their own story is what's most important. I'm not looking for them to look like the person that is next to them at the desk or is in office next to them or, you know, is being trained in the office and doing deals with them. I want them to be who God's created them to be within their story. And then that to be a part of the bigger story of the company, that God is doing because I'm just stewarding what's already happening. Because if I really know that God owns it all, then I don't have to feel like I've got to hold on to it and control it. Nor do I then have to hold on to control people, which is definitely something you feel a struggle with, as a business owner sometimes - is that you want to control the people and have them do what you think's best. You still have to guide them. But I do think from a development standpoint, I want to see them develop and have their character develop into the people that God wants them to be more so than me trying to decide.

DW:  Yeah, and then they have visions that God has put on their heart and calling. And you're just there to support in and pour fuel on the fire for what God is already doing in their lives. 

MS: That's right. 

DW: That's really neat. 

MS:  One of the practical things you asked earlier about practical, one of the things we do from a giving standpoint within the company is if people have something that they're aware of, then we try to say we're already going to give proceeds from the company. So if we're already giving that some of the things I'm going to give to the I'm excited about and I'm the business owner, some of the you know the main steward of what we got, but I'm trying to help them understand this as collect, we're collectively earning this money. So I want them to feel ownership and stewardship over top of these decisions. And so as they come alongside and get comfortable, they'll say, oh, I know about this family that needs this help or we know about this situation. And we need to, you know, consider giving to this ministry or consider giving to this opportunity. And so we try to process that, pray about it. And a lot of times we try to say yes as much as possible. To be able to invest in something that they want. Sometimes it's a one time sometimes it's you know, we start giving monthly to something or whatever, but it's an opportunity. 

MS: We've seen what's interesting about that, is a lot of our folks is helping Young Life start kind of around the state of Kentucky lately. We've got a guy who's helping start in Richmond. Neil is helping down there. And so we've got a few folks that said, hey, what if we had some of the money that came through the business sort of be the seed capital that helped get that started? And sort of investing in the communities around us? Is Lexington strong or Lexington live strong, why don't we help serve start a surrounding county? And so that's been really fun. And so Neil was excited about that. But then some of the other people in the office got excited about Neil getting excited about it. And they said, we want to give to that and we want the company to give to it. And Neil's given his time, talent, treasure to it. So it's sort of snowballed from there. And it's just fun to see how generosity from one and an open heart from one create this excitement from others because they see the joy and they want to stack hands and be a part of what God's doing.

[END OF PART 1 INTERVIEW]

[OUTRO]

ANNNOUNCER: What if you could take your generosity to the next level, impacting more lives in your community and around the world, creating a godly legacy for generations to come? 

Now you can. Your first step is crafting your kingdom investing thesis. Reserve your spot in our next online workshop where we guide you through the process of discovering your passions, create a strategic plan and connect you to opportunities that will help you fulfill your God-given calling as a kingdom investor. Register today by clicking the link in the show notes. 

Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe and we'll see you next time for another episode of The Kingdom Investor Podcast.

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