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

Another Birthday, More Reasons to Give Thanks

Today is a reflective day for me- I turn 38. Birthdays are days to reflect on all the blessings and trials in this life. I am reminded although I deserve much worse, the Lord's mercies are new every morning.

Lamentations 3:22-23, "Because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness."

I am not as thankful as I should be. It is hard to live up to I Thessalonians 5:18, "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Here are seven things I am currently thankful for- in no particular order:

1. I live in a great country. Is it the best country? It is debatable. But for some great providential reason, God has chosen to bless this nation for a long period of time. We experience many good things and life is not the daily grind for most Americans that it is for people in other nations. For this, we should give thanks. But also remember that with great prosperity comes great responsibility. "To the one who has been entrusted with much; much more will be asked."- Luke 12:48

2. Answered prayer. I have way too many to list them all. But one recent specific prayer that God granted was the sell of our home. I had prayed every day for six months that God would bring us a buyer for our current home and that the hassles would be minimal. There were many reasons for me to plead with God for this request. I office from home. We are building a new home. My wife- Amy- is 9-months pregnant and coping daily with neurological problems. We have a 3-year old active little boy.

We wanted to avoid as much chaos as possible. God brought us a family that we knew to purchase our home. We avoided having to list it and have people coming through our home constantly. Our buyers- the Blakeleys- were gracious enough to allow us to lease the home back until our new house is ready. If you have ever sold a house, you know these things don't happen. I can only attribute it to God's graciousness to answer this specific prayer.

I am not saying all prayers are answered on my timetable. I pray daily for my wife's neurological issues to be healed and that has not happened yet. There is never a formula. God has His reasons for saying yes to some prayers; no to some; and wait for other prayer requests. His ways are mysterious. But He can be trusted. Read Psalms 25. It is a powerful chapter. Psalms 25:5, "Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are my God and my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long."

3. I am thankful for hope. When I reflect on my sin, I am discouraged that I am not further along. I let people down. I say things that I intend to fulfill but then make a liar out of myself by not doing them. I am prideful. I complain a lot. I struggle with lots of other sins. But I have hope. I rely on God's promises that He will perfect me in time. I am hopeful that my 38th year will be a little more faithful; a little more worthwhile to others. Philippians 1:6, "Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

I am thankful for the hope of resurrection and the coming day of Christ Jesus referrenced in Philippians 1:6. One day, God will make all things right. Evil will be destroyed. Good will triumph. Disease, death and decay will go bye-bye. Christ will rule a renovated earth and His followers will reign with Him. I believe this. And for this reason, I have hope that all things in this life can be put into perspective. I love the word hope. So much that I convinced my wife to name our daughter Hope- who is due in April.

4. I am thankful for family. I have a great wife who puts up with all my quirks and idiosyncracies. She has a tough job being married to me. But she perseveres daily. I am thankful for Hudson and Hope. I never thought I could experience as much joy as I experience daily being a parent.

5. I am thankful for basketball and for the friendships with William, Jay and others that have been formed on the courts at Lifetime Fitness. I feel God's pleasure when I play basketball. I am not very good, but I love the game and am grateful that I can play at a competitive level at 38 years old. Despite teeth being knocked out, bumps, bruises and nagging injuries, I enjoy the exercise and release that basketball provides.

6. I am thankful for my financial planning business. I have terrific clients. They are patient, disciplined and optimistic as a whole. It makes my job not seem like work most days. I am continually inspired by my clients. I have the privilege of working out of my home which is a tremendous blessing.

7. I am thankful for the men in my life that have impacted me in so many positive ways. My grandfather, dad and father-in-law have shaped me in many good ways that I am grateful for. There have been Christian men that have modeled the faith well- they have shown me what it means to be a man who loves God and balances toughness and tenderness. I know that every positive contribution that I am able to make to this life will be an indirect result of God working through other men and women to light a path for me.

I have rambled long enough. I am thankful for the life I have. God has given me 38 years. I consider every day a bonus. What do I have to complain about? Nothing legitimate.

Thank You God for what You have done in my life and for what You are going to do,

Ashley Hodge

Exclusively Inclusive

I spent a couple of days in New York City this past week for an investment conference. I enjoy NYC for two major reasons:

1. It is the most vibrant city I have experienced
2. It is a melting pot of all the different races, ethnicities and peoples of the world

For me, these two points give me cause to contemplate Heaven- the true home that awaits God's children. I envision that Heaven will be like NYC in these ways.

Heaven will be vibrant- full of life. One of the promises of Christ is that He came to give abundant life- John 10:10. This of course is twisted by many "believers" to rationalize seeking pleasure and comfort in this life at any cost. But my point is that vibrancy is to be expected and longed for. I believe cities of Heaven will be like New York on steroids in this regard.

Heaven will also be a melting pot. We are told that every tongue, tribe, people and nation will be represented at the end of time worshipping Christ who was sacrificed for the sins of the redeemed. Christ has chosen people from every corner of the earth to serve God and reign over the earth- Revelation 5:9-10. We will fulfill the stewardship mandate- Genesis 1:28- for which we were created.

This verse is summarized in a song by the Newsboys called He Reigns:

It's the song of the redeemed; Rising from the African plain;
It's the song of the forgiven; Drowning out the Amazon rain;
It's the song of Asian believers; Filled with God's holy fire;
It's every tribe, every tongue, every nation; A love song born of a grateful choir;
It's all God's children singing glory, glory, hallelujah, He reigns.

I sat in a sports bar on Friday night watching my beloved Baylor Bears play a very competitive game against Kevin Durant (can't wait until he goes pro so I don't have to see him play against the Bears again) and the Texas Longhorns in the big 12 basketball tournament. As I was watching the game, I observed at least 15 different races represented in that one place. People mingled together as if there were no racial divisions or prejudices to overcome. I thought this is Heaven like. This is what I long for- learning from and appreciating people from every race with a common love for God.

What makes Christianity so unique among the religions of the world is that it is so inclusive. Islam is predominately North Africa and the Middle East. Judaism is also widespread, but predominately Israel, Europe and North America. Hinduism is predominately Indian. Buddhism is the Far East. But Christianity is spread out among all the lands and peoples of the world. The fastest growth is in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

But Christianity is also exclusive. Christianity believes the words of Christ are true. Christ and the apostles said some exclusive things. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to God except through me."- John 14:6. The Apostle Peter said that there is no other way to be saved except through Christ- Acts 4:10-12. Truth by its very nature is exclusive. This is one of the great deceptions of our postmodern age: that as long as you are spiritual you are on the right path.

It is true that world religions are basically the same except for some small little matters such as how we were created; who God is; sin; salvation; what happens to us after we die; free will; evil and a couple of other things. Other than that, all religions are the same. Pascal's wager on Christianity needs to be considered: http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics/pascals-wager.htm

There are parts of the world today where declaring Christianity as exclusive truth is considered hate speech. If it is untrue, it is certainly a cruel belief to expouse. But if it is true, it must be declared. It will would be cruel to be silent. I believe what Christ said is true. There is no other way to Heaven than to submit our wills to Him, have faith that His promises are true and seek to obey what He taught. The Apostle Paul said, "Let God be true and every man a liar."- Romans 3:4

Christianity is inclusive. Christ says: Come; Believe; Trust Me. But it is also exclusive. It is not vague. It declares one way to God. It says: Believe or reject. But don't play games.

I look forward to Heaven. I long for the best things this earth has to offer. But I am ready to leave the sin and limitations. I look forward to experiencing Christ in a resurrected body and a resurrected earth. I pray that everyone reading this will experience it with me. We will grow and learn as God's stewards over paradise restored. Only by God's mercy.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

Is it a good use of resources to spend so much money on clothing for work?

I recently had this dilemma. I was invited to New York City for a few days of listening to some of the top money managers on Wall Street speak. The meetings are business casual as is customary for these types of events. But the dinner is tie and jacket required.

This was not popular with me for two reasons. First, I only wear ties to weddings and occasionally funerals. I gave all but a small handful of ties to charity when I left the big brokerage firm world of Merrill Lynch and UBS. Second, bringing a suit and tie would require me to bring two bags on my trip and check one of them. Airlines have a history of misplacing my bags so I try to avoid checking bags whenever possible.

I posed the dilemma to my friend- William Reymond. I met William at Lifetime Fitness in Dallas and we have enjoyed philosophizing on many subjects. Plus, we share a common addiction to the game of basketball. William is an author from France who is living in the US and author of a recent #1 selling book in France- Toxic. The book is about the problems with chemicals being added to foods and how this is contributing to the obesity epidemic. It sounds great. Unfortunately, I don't speak or read French. If you do, you can find out more at http://williamreymond.com.

William thought it was a no brainer. The food would be overpriced. The company boring. Skip the dinner and watch basketball in the hotel room. I agreed and decided to do that. William sent me a blog written by Mark Cuban- owner of the Dallas Mavericks. It is an excellent read about how ridiculous it really is for owners of companies to require their employees to wear dress up clothes to work. You can read it at http://blogmaverick.com. It is titled "Why I don't wear a suit and can't figure out why anyone does!"

One of the reasons I love working from home is that if I don't have appointments that day, I can wear shorts and a t-shirt. On days that I have appointments, I wear business casual. I don't think my clients or prospects care. In fact, many of them have commented positively that the more casual dress elicits confidence in them. There is something to the phrase "empty suit" or belief that someone in a suit screams salesperson. My dry cleaning and clothing budgets have been a freefall since my days at Merrill Lynch and UBS.

I have many friends that wear suits every day because they are required to by the company they work for. I have other friends who own companies and choose to require their employees to wear suits and ties. Although I respect the decision, I concur with Mark Cuban's comments about the whole thing. Does dressing up really add to effectiveness at work? Does it add something to the bottom line? Doesn't it add a financial burden to workers who are already burdened with higher gas prices, daycare costs, etc...?

It seems like it would be better stewardship of resources to allow employees to ditch the ties and suits. Now this can go too far. Obviously, you don't want people showing up in ratty t-shirts and shorts if they are meeting with customers. I am also a big fan of personal hygiene. I don't want the people that I meet with to skip showers and brushing their teeth as they do in some parts of the world for days on end. But the tie around the neck seems ridiculous. It is a conspiracy, man (I have watched Cars too many times with my little boy).

If you have control over this area, use the money that you would spend on suits and ties to pay off debt, save or give more. I haven't even touched on wearing suits and ties to church. This to me is silly. Proponents argue that it shows reverence for God. But when I read the New Testament, I don't get the impression that worship of God was ever about playing dress up. In fact, Jesus pointed out how foolish the Pharisees were for seeking to impress others with their dress- Matthew 23:1-7. Jesus impresses me as a come as you are God.

Towards the Continual Goal of Better Stewardship,

Ashley Hodge