Until a month ago, I believed true Christians shouldn’t seek money. I wrote about my skepticism in 2021, coming to the simple conclusion that being wealthy is justified as long as it’s shared. But the book, Stewards Not Owners: The Joy of Aligning Your Money with Your Faith, showed me there is more to it than that.
A Look Inside
Stewards Not Owners casts a vision for Christians to use their money for the kingdom of God. A refrain throughout the book is that we steward all we have; we don’t own any of it. To most of the book’s readers, stewardship is likely a familiar concept. However, the authors take it further than I have heard before–in a good way!
The book makes its case with testimonies from twenty-four people and couples who are doing incredible things with their money in ways that glorify God. Whether they had worked for their wealth or inherited it, had lusted for it or despised it, they all found a way to invest their money and resources to bring God’s kingdom to earth as it is in heaven. Once each of them understood that what they had actually belonged to God, the logical conclusion was to ask him how to use it.
Among the testimonies, the married authors, Dana and Bill Wichterman, share wisdom, principles, and advice they’ve learned, often from close friends who guided them in a lifestyle of God-honoring financial stewardship.
Stewards Not Owners offers little that’s novel to the Christian stewardship conversation. Yet in walking readers through their unique journey of aligning their money with their faith, the authors recommend habits, methods, and paradigms that support their call to action.
Budgeting with Friends
One habit they encourage is to “[break] out of the secrecy that usually shrouds money…bring money out of the shadows of your life.” Talk about it out loud and “[use] it as an expression of your love for God.” One way to practice this is by disclosing your income and expenses with your small group.
Actual billionaire friends of the Wichtermans, Dennis and Eileen Bakke, did just that. They showed their budget to their small group—not to boast, but to ask for accountability. As I read their story, I began to think that money can be just a number among believers.
Tools of the Trade
A favorite financial tool of the Wichtermans’ is Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs). From their first mention, they do not let you forget it. I’ll let them explain the technical definition (page 141), but its “process of investment and reinvestment can go on indefinitely, effectively multiplying the impact of the initial capital many times over.”
A financial advisor’s motto might be, “I want to make your money work for you.” Practices and tools, like DAFs, described in Stewards Not Owners will make your money work for God. Because of the book, I learned ways I could go beyond tithing and charitable giving, and contribute to something even more lasting.
Working on Commission
In Chapter 3, the authors claim that the Great Commission is “often misunderstood to mean the only thing that matters is saving souls.” But, they argue, it “doesn’t override other biblical imperatives, including the Cultural Commission,” which involves “advancing justice for the oppressed,…poverty alleviation and poverty prevention…and it’s why we invest in Christian businesses run according to God’s principles.”
According to the Wichtermans, God is interested in making a profit. “God loves profit because He loves life. Profit increases, enriches, and beautifies life. Profit is an essential tool in God’s plan of creation, and He loves both addition and multiplication.” This idea of God seeking profit on what he’s given us to steward is exactly what I’ve always known in the Parable of the Talents.
Despite hearing the parable countless times, reading about it being lived out through the Wichtermans’ two dozen or so friends put it in a new light. My long-held stance that Christians shouldn’t seek money started to falter. They can, as long as they realize it is not their money to own. It’ll be God’s money to steward.
Who Should Read This Book
The Wichtermans write, “This book is for all Christ-followers—rich, poor, and everyone in between.” And while “some parts [may] apply less to you in your current situation…most people will find that the principles in the book hold true for anyone seeking to align their money with their faith.”
As one of those in between, I found the book to be for five-talent folk: Christ-followers entrusted with much more than me (see Matt. 25:14-16 ESV). Bill, the husband-author, once had Marvel’s Stan Lee for breakfast in the West Wing of the White House (see Chapter 6). That kind of access can only come with money and connections. Moments like these made it hard to see myself being able to do anything like what the authors or their millionaire and billionaire friends have done as stewards.
Yet, a statistic on page 181 placed me somewhere in the top 74th percentile of the world’s wealthiest. So, maybe I’m entrusted with more than I thought. As I read Stewards Not Owners, I began to rethink some of my opinions on Christians and wealth. I have come to agree with this line from Chapter 1: “[T]here’s nothing inherently good about poverty or inherently bad about wealth…The question is whether we are faithful with what we have, no matter if it’s a lot or a little.”
