Faithful Men

There were some great stories on 20/20 last night. John Stossel did a special called Enough which featured some stories of men and women who are changing things that need to be changed through their work. One of the stories featured was a piece on Rusty Leonard- who I know personally.

Rusty is an excellent money manager who quit a lucrative job with Templeton Investments to open his own money management firm that seeks to invest with a biblical screening process. He also funded Ministry Watch- a Christian non-profit organization that seeks to educate Christians on responsible and effective giving.

The 20/20 piece focused on some of the abuses of the non-profit status of many organizations that claim to be spreading the gospel of Christ. Rusty has taken them to task for the secrecy in which they run their finances- rightfully so. This is a hot topic for me and one that I have written several blogs on. The 20/20 piece exposed this but also cast a light on the fact that many Christian organizations do an excellent job of being faithful stewards of finances. Unfortunately, the bad apples get the most media attention. You can read the 20/20 report here: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2976684&page=2

A personal story about Rusty. When I wrote a book on the topic of whole-life stewardship, I asked Rusty- along with many others to proofread it and offer feedback. Many said that they would do so and some did. But Rusty took the time to read it all the way through and offer lots of constructive advice on how to make the book better. He also ordered 50 copies of it. These are things that demonstrate the kind of guy he is- seeking opportunities to help others. He is a great example of genuine, faithful Christianity.

There was another feature on the same 20/20 program on Tom Coburn- US Senator from Oklahoma. Coburn is a devout Christian who has made plenty of enemies in Washington DC because he has taken on reckless federal spending.

Business as usual in DC has been to let "earmarks" get attached to spending bills which include wasteful projects in Senator or Congressional districts. Most people do this and wink at each other so that there are no obstacles when it is the Senator's turn to pass their pet projects.

Tom Coburn doesn't do this. And he is a thorn in the side of his fellow public servants because they don't appreciate the fact that he can't be bought. So they try to dig up dirt on him and attack through the media. Unfortunately for his opponents, there is not much there. He holds biblical convictions and many of those are unpopular- his views on abortion, etc... You can read 20/20's piece on Coburn here:

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2969636&page=1

Thank you John Stossel for highlighting problems but also men and women who are seeking solutions.

For The Glory of Christ,

Ashley Hodge