#256: Andrew McNair: The Giving Crisis

#256: Andrew McNair: The Giving Crisis

Tony Miltenberger

EP. 256

Tony: [00:00:00] Hey everybody. Welcome back to the Reclamation Podcast, where our goal is to help you reclaim good practices for following Jesus. If we haven't met yet, my name is Tony, and I'm your host with over a decade in the local church. I care deeply and passionately about helping you connect with Jesus in practical ways.

Today is episode 256. We're cruising right along, and I loved. This conversation with Andrew McNair. Andrew is an author and an entrepreneur and he writes his latest resources all about the giving crisis. He hosts a podcast, the Rich, young, and Powerful podcast, and he shares so much of his life and the pursuit of happiness.

I think you're really gonna enjoy this conversation. I have so many notes on it. Andrew is just an absolute gem. Hey, if you do find this conversation [00:01:00] life giving to you, do me a favor. Hit that subscribe button wherever you listen to podcasts. Leave a rating or review on iTunes or Spotify. And the highest compliment.

As always, share this episode with a friend. Maybe somebody you know has a little bit of curiosity around giving and why it's important. Now without any further ado, here's my conversation with Andrew McNair. Hey everybody. Welcome back to the podcast. Andrew, thank you so much for being here 

Andrew: today. I am so excited to be on the show.

Tony: I always love to start out with kind of a macro view. You, you've done a lot of different things in your world. You do lots of different ministries. I'm curious, how would you describe the calling that God has placed on your. 

Andrew: Ooh. The, the calling for me is basically a, a, a Zac moment in my life where I believe that salvation leads us to gratitude, which ultimately leads us to generosity.

So, but [00:02:00] that wasn't, How my story began. I started out at 14, actually interning at a financial firm. And at 14, I also started weighing tables at Denny's. In lo and behold, I had saved up $62,000 by the time I was 16. And wow. The stock market fell out and I invested that money and it turned into 147,000.

And so I was investing this money and it was, you know, I felt like I had the Midas touch and it was growing like gangbusters, but then I lost every single penny, like I like to say, the University of Hard Knocks, U n H called into tuition payment for the exact amount. And so you would find me at 19 just screaming into my pillow and punching my mattress because sadly I had confused my self worth with my net worth.

And mm-hmm it was because this greedy little voice was over my shoulder, constantly egging me on to make more grow my net [00:03:00] worth. And it just was exhausting and it was weighing down my spirit and. After I lost everything, it was such a great experience because I said, I'll never do it this way. I cannot lose what I've given away.

And the Lord showed that to me. And that's, that's my calling, is to share that with others that be ambitious. But don't be ambitious to build your kingdom, to build the eternal. 

Tony: Wow, there's a lot to unpack there. I wanna start with something that really caught my attention as a teenager. You save $62,000 and you know, it's, it's difficult for people to be savior.

Savers. It requires discipline at times. I, I, I'm curious to get your theology around discipline. Is that something that you think was naturally born inside of you, or is it something that you developed or combination of the two? I mean, can, can anyone really be that disciplined? I, I 

Andrew: think it, I think you can, because [00:04:00] I think we're all disciplined.

I think we just all have different habits and mm-hmm. Back then, my habit was all about this fire movement, about be financially independent, retire early, and I'm trying to switch that is no, be financially independent so you can serve the Lord and don't have any encumbrance of this day-to-day living, but not to serve your own needs.

So I would. Everybody can be disciplined. And that's where I talk a lot about in my book about first fruits, that tithing is the first fruits. And so when we start with our habits, our priorities at the top being God-centered, then everything can flow naturally downhill like it should. But sadly, we've got it backwards in.

Tony: Now, one of the things that happens a lot in the church is that we're a little scared to talk about money. Right. And you, you, you've mentioned getting it backwards in America. I, I agree a hundred percent. W what do you think happened [00:05:00] along the way? When did all of a sudden money become taboo? Any any thoughts or theories on where that came into existence?

Andrew: You know, I just think it's. In a Bible study among men, we can talk about addictions to substance abuse. We can talk about addictions to pornography, and we can talk about all kinds of addictions, but workaholism is the only addiction. I know that people will applaud you all the way down till you hit rock bottom.

Mm. And so I think it's the church's responsibility to say, Hey, let's talk about money and talk about what the Bible says about money. Cuz the Bible isn't silent on money and, and if it offends some unbelievers that think, well they're just out there for my money, then we're not communicating it often enough and clearly enough to say.

Christianity is costly. And the only reason we're talking about ties, we're only we're talking about offerings, is because we're so committed [00:06:00] to the gospel and the great commission. 

Tony: And one of the things I know about money is that it's often down is it's oftentimes passed down from generation to generation, like our understanding of it.

I'm kind of curious about who who discipled you in your financial theology. How did it, how did it become so robust? How did it become this passion? 

Andrew: Well, I, I will give a lot of credit to my parents and my grandparents. I, I stand on their shoulders, that's for sure. My, my grandfather, I, I had the pleasure of living with him for a year.

When at Sally, my grandmother had passed away, so we were two bachelors. He was 93, and I was about 20. Now, is this, is this h. This is Hines McNair. This is my grandfather. Yes, I I saw that 

Tony: you dedicated the book to Hines McNair, which I, I always love to check out, so, okay, keep going. I'm sorry to interrupt.

Andrew: No, it's fine. I mean what happened was my parents said, Hey, you know, he, he is never been alone in like 60 years. Would [00:07:00] you mind spending time with him? And I said, yeah, I would be happy to. So I opened the door and it's this shag carpet from the seventies. It's the toilet that's yellow, the showers yellow, the matching shower, that's yellow.

And I. Wow, this is, I stepped back in a time capsule and so the whole thing is, is I thought I was going in to help him and I had no idea that he was about to help me cuz I had had just lost everything and I was starting over from scratch. I was just starting my wealth management company. I hadn't started the hedge fund by then.

And so I'm starting this wealth management company and, and my grandfather again, we, we took these long walks in the morning. And he would tell me about how the Great Depression, that even though people were penniless in soup lines, that they were generous. And I went and actually looked up the facts. We were more generous in the Great Depression percentage per capita to income than we are in the great expansion.

And I thought, Wow. These people had literally nearly, [00:08:00] what, 40% unemployment, depending on the calculations. And the, the, the history book you look at, they had high inflation high un, high unemployment. They had, again, trouble economically, but they were saving and giving as much as they can. And I said, wow, look at us now where we have double income households and we're not giving as much as the Great Depression.

Tony: Do, do you think it's a community mindset? Do you think it's just we've become more selfish or the, the moral compass sl, is that how, how do we explain where that comes from? 

Andrew: Well, I think what we can be distracted and let astray is thinking that this win and then thinking as our earnings increase, so do our expectations.

And there was a book called The Psychology of Money, and that was such a great line there. It's so true that. Even though we have double income households [00:09:00] which my grandfather and grandmother were just a single income household, now we have double income households. That's the norm. And sadly, the homes are 32% bigger on average.

Everyone's got a tv, everyone's got a cell phone, everyone's got a smartphone. What we've seen is, is expectations have increased even though economically we should have outpaced. Everyone should be a good save. Financially, everyone should be a, a, a giver and should be able to do it easily. But the opposite has happened.

The average American spends 92% of their money on themselves. If they save, they only save 6%. Some now at 4%. And then if they give at all, which most people don't give, they only give 2% of their income. So we, the, the culture has it backwards. And so what we're trying to do is reverse that trend, which we're swimming upstream, but we're gonna do our best.

We're gonna paddle.

Tony: One of the things that I appreciate about the work that you do is, is the use of the word [00:10:00] generous and kind of this philanthropy kind of mindset. How, how do you define what generosity is in your life and, and when you're working with people on, on how to become more generous, how, how do, how do you help people come to a a definition that's work?

Andrew: Well, I, I, I'd like to look at how Jesus' ministry, he, he dealt with a lot of people that were poor. He dealt with a lot of people that were rich tax collectors, and he called all of them and, and a lot of them let go, nearly everything they have. And this is where a lot of times people become automatic biblical scholars overnight and they say, well, Andrew, he didn't call everyone to give.

Everything they had. And I said, no, he, he didn't call everyone to give up everything he had, but he sure did call a lot of people to give up what they had. And so that's a real challenge [00:11:00] that I have in my own life, is, am I being a good steward of what I've been given and what we're trying to share with people, a practical application of this.

Everyone can be a philanthropist. I call it an everyday philanthropist. See, I think we've taken the definition of a philanthropist and we just assume it's someone that's rich, old and has accumulated a lot of assets, so much assets that they can't spend. My definition. Of an everyday philanthropist is someone that gives a large percentage of their income and their net worth away and it's relative.

Mm-hmm. You don't have to wait till you're rich and old to give away. And I, this is very controversial, but I am not a big fan of the Giving Pledge where these billionaires are giving away their money when they die because it takes no faith to give away money when you die. Everyone gives away their money when they die because you can't take it with.

Tony: Oh, that's really good. That's really good. You know, it's, it's clear to me that you [00:12:00] have walked with the Lord for a while. One of the things that I love to ask people is about their daily disciplines. We say around here that if you're not dedicated to your disciplines, you'll be destroyed by your distractions.

What are some of the things that you do on a regular basis that help you stay rooted in a, in a healthy place? Because I, I would imagine with the wealth management firm and all the things that you've got more than enough distractions out there, if you. 

Andrew: You are so right. I, again, we talked about everyone's disciplined, but the habits are what really is differentiating people that are so cold disciplined versus not disciplined.

And just like, I want to give my money first to God and then figure out how to get a save and then figure out how to spend with my time, I want the Lord to. First the best of me. And so the first thing I do is I'm going to read three pages of the Old Testament, one page of the New Testament. And I was really challenged.

I didn't always do this. My, my [00:13:00] pastor challenged me. He said, wouldn't it be great to say over your lifetime you've read the Bible cover to cover? And I said, I've never done that. And he said, wouldn't it be better to say you've read the Bible? Covered to cover every year of your life. And I thought, whoa, that sounds just too hard.

And he, and he gave this analogy and not this analogy, the story, I mean, this is right there in Exodus where the Israelites are coming to Moses to hear from God and Moses is like, You can hear from God, you should be praying to God. You don't have to just come to me. If you're, if you're going to Moses, you're going to your pastor every Sunday to hear from God.

You are missing out on six days of the week from hearing from God. God has already spoken his words there. And we take it for granted. It's on shelves and bookshelves of libraries and a lot of people's homes, but we are not reading it on a daily basis. So that's, Daily discipline is so important to me, and what it's allowed me to see is how many times [00:14:00] the Bible is quoted outta context that I never knew because I'd never read it for myself.

Tony: Yeah, that's that's good. I, I like that. I think one of the interesting things You know that this latest resource, the Giving Crisis, as it gets out into the wilderness, one, one thing that people are gonna notice right away is that you open the book with a prayer for the reader. And I, I'm kind of curious if you could take me into that thought process when you, you know, writing is a, a laborious kind of unforgiving task at times.

What was the process of like, Hey, I'm gonna start with an actual prayer and blessing for every person that reads this book. 

Andrew: You know, I, I would be remiss if I didn't give some credit. I believe it was David Plat that wrote a prayer before I read the Book of Radical, I believe it was. And I was so challenged by it.

And so I thought, you know, The person I'm writing this book to is the person I once was, [00:15:00] and that's the person I'm most qualified to speak to, is that young, ambitious person that wants to be rich, young, and powerful. And when you read the story of the rich, young ruler that came to the Lord seeking Eternal Life, the Lord, Yes, I want you to go sell everything.

And the, the rich young ruler walked away thinking, well, I, I don't wanna give up being rich, young, and powerful. He, he was actually asking him not to give away everything, but to trade everything. For earthly treasure. For eternal treasure. And so what I would want to do, In that book and why I pray have that prayer in the beginning is I wanna pray over that young person that pastor that's trying to teach that young person, that bible study teacher that's trying to teach that young person that you've done well.

Financially, but you have an obligation and responsibility to be a good steward of it and to make sure that you are generous and you [00:16:00] let money pass through you and, and actually give that towards Gospel Ministries into your local 

Tony: church. Hey guys, just pausing this conversation with Andrew to remind you to subscribe to the Spirit and truth CK.

If you haven't heard me talk about it yet, it's a blog that comes out twice a week. There's a paid and a free version. So, so many different options and it's really designed for the spirit-led leader, somebody who is trying to lean into what it means to follow the Holy Spirit in their everyday life. I write for it, the team over its spirit and truth, rights for it.

I think you're absolutely gonna love the content that's put out there every single week. Of course, I am biased, but the only way to know for sure is to check. Go to Spirit and truth.ck.com. Andrew, one of the things that you mentioned is about being a vessel. Right. And that's one of the philosophies that I've taken when it comes to money, is that it's, it's my job to steward God's resources.

But I think there's a lot of people listening who while they want to do that, one of the big things that. [00:17:00] Feels so scary is knowing what to be generous to. And, and I know that you have some, some thoughts on this and I'm kind of curious if you could kind of educate us a little bit on how, how do we know what to be generous to?

Andrew: Yeah, I think this is very controversial and I, I talk about this on my everyday philanthropist. YouTube channel is answering questions like this. People say, can I tithe to my family? Can I tithe to my favorite charity? And the tithe? That is very clear in the Bible that it's to beat. Brought into the local storehouse.

Now again, as someone that I recommend people give more than 10%, I give 50% of my income away. The tithe goes to the local storehouse, it goes to my local church where I live. Now, the other, the offering can go anywhere you want it to. I think it should be going to Gospel ministries. I believe that the tithe is the floor and that.[00:18:00] 

Has not lowered the bar, but raised the bar that we should be very generous. And we can see this, there's so much biblical evidence this of Acts and Paul Paul's writings to like Timothy about how we should be giving more than the ti. 

Tony: Andrew, did you just say that you give 50% of your income away?

Andrew: I didn't start that way, but yes. Because what happened, and this is in my teachings in the book, the Giving Crisis is Azure income increases. It's very natural for us to increase our expectations. So what I do is every time I would get a pay raise starting a decade ago is I would do a little deal.

I would. I'm going to give, I got a 5% increase. I'm gonna do 2% more to giving 3% to more savings. Or I would do 2% to more giving and 1% for me, and 2% for more savings. And by doing that, it's this little exponential compounding that happens as your income increases over [00:19:00] time. And that's why even if you're starting very early in your career, you know you're making minimum wage if you do that throughout your career, exponential things can.

Tony: What does your wife say about all this? Like, I mean, this isn't, I, this isn't normal, right? You know, I know that you, you also dedicate the book to your wife and you talk about how she's tirelessly supportive, but how did you guys come to a mutual financial 

Andrew: theology? Ooh. This is I didn't know we would go down this route, but I'm glad you asked.

Me and my wife came from very different backgrounds. I grew up in church. She knew the Lord. But we both we both came to a point where we were on our knees about previous relationships, and I do recommend this book when God writes your love story. And I said, I'm looking for a, a woman of God that I can spend the rest of my life with.

And so you, and this is why I tell young people, is when you get into a dating situation, you should treat it more like an interview and be more serious [00:20:00] with your relationship. So when we actually had our first date, she just hammered me with questions. She said, what do you believe spiritually? What do you believe politically?

What do you, well, tell me about your family. And she started asking me all these questions and she's like, do you wanna. Till marriage before having sex. And I was like, yes, yes. I haven't done that in the past. I've failed. I've failed. I've been a, a bad testimony to my to my savior, but I'm gonna do it better this next relationship.

And she said, sign me up that we we're compatible. And so yeah, when it comes to finances it's been actually awesome because that first. We made sure that we were going to head towards Jesus together. And by doing that we don't really have a lot of, we have fights other, in other areas. Sure. We're a natural couple, but when it comes to money, we, we got on the same page together about being a vessel with the resources that we have that we're going to give it towards gospel centric ministries.

Tony: How long have you guys been married?[00:21:00] 

Andrew: Approaching six. Okay. 

Tony: Okay. Any kids 

Andrew: yet? No kids. We pray all the time for it. Okay. 

Tony: Well, my, my podcast family are really great prayers, so, we'll, we'll add that to the prayer list. 

Andrew: I really appreciate it. 

Tony: You've done so many things really young in your life, right?

Like you. You started your wealth management company at, at 21. You've been doing this, you've been writing this is your second book you've got this podcast that's, you know, reaching so many people. What have you learned about being a generous leader in this process? Because I you've got a lot.

You've got a big team around you and undoubtedly as a, as a somebody who studies generosity, I think that that probably has to kind. You know, kind of flood over to your leadership as. 

Andrew: Yes. You know, leadership, I, I don't think people are, are born leaders. I think people die leaders, but I don't think they're born that [00:22:00] way.

And I, I can't say that I was a natural born leader. So leading the team that we do it, it's, it's been, it's been a journey and I just had to learn that it, it's my job to lead by example. It's, I can't, you know, push rope. I gotta pull rope and I gotta be out there in. And I, I think that it's also, when it comes back to the finances, is I always wanna make sure, especially when you run a a for-profit business, that we do put our, our people above the money.

We should be using money to get people and that is what we should be doing it when we're giving that's when we should be leading is we should. Say, and it's back to Matthew 6 24. You cannot serve both God and money. Mm-hmm. But you can have money serve the gospel. You can have that, but you shouldn't be serving money.

We, we have, it flipped many times. We use people to get money and that won't work in the long run. And it's just not a, it's hypocrisy, honestly. 

Tony: Yeah, [00:23:00] I think that's right. This, the book is, is super interesting cuz it, it's practical, but it offers kind of a theological basis. I can tell that you put a ton of work into this process and so I, I am curious about what did you learn about God in the process of writing this book about generosity.

Andrew: What I would what I learned most is how many times, and it's, it's not, it's not their fault, but how many pastors and people will quote one scripture. Mm-hmm. And we all know the scripture that I'm about to say it's, it's Malachi. And, and I said, wow, that, that's a great scripture. But I've actually worked really hard to not utilize that scripture.

I wanted to use scripture throughout the Bible in the Old Testament and the New Testament, and show people that the Bible is not silent on money, and it doesn't have to be a taboo subject. Let's just talk about it with Christ-centered conversations. And the other thing that, one of the inspirations for the book that was a big deal to me is how [00:24:00] now there's this.

I don't know this false message being actually taught even in sim seminaries, that that it's not a command in the New Testament to give and to tithe. And I thought, wow, are people not reading their Bible? Because it's very clear. I mean, ge and people say, well, Jesus never said that actually, Jesus.

Did. Jesus said it actually multiple times, and one very easy example is when he said to pay your taxes, he said, give to Caesars. What is Caesars? And to give to God. What is God's? What is God's? He was report, he was going back to what Scripture said, which is to give a tithe. And again, we know the Israelites gave more than 10.

Tony: Yeah, I, I really do think it comes back to a posture of of our hearts when it comes to generosity, right? Like I, the tide is really the base point, and then everything after that is, is posturing of the heart. If, if somebody was like getting started for the very first time, thinking [00:25:00] about giving and how to become generous and how to change that posture, what are some of the first steps that you re.

Andrew: I think the first step is make sure, especially if you're married, you need to get on the same page with a spending plan. This is very controversial, but I'm anti budget. I don't believe in a budget. No, just like I don't believe in a diet. I, I just think that's, I wanna have an identity of being a, a giver and being generous.

And I don't want to be, well, I have to restrict myself from spending cuz I'm a natural spender. And so then I will give and then I'll save. No, I wanna change that on, its on it. I wanna flip it upside down. And so that's why the formula 10, 20, 70. Is to me like gravity, we should be minimally giving 10%. We should be investing for the long term, 20%.

So there were not a burden on society and burden on our family. And then 70% should be spent. Mm-hmm. And again, if you want to change that 70% like [00:26:00] I did, and I encourage others to do. Great. But that's the formula. And, and if I could talk to my younger self again, I would, I would tell them that just because you don't understand something, just cuz you don't trust or believe something doesn't make it not true.

Just like gravity. I mean, it, it doesn't ask for your belief in it, but it's true. If you jump out of a window, it will remind you that gravity's real. 

Tony: Oh, that's good. I, I wanted to ask you about a quote that I found on your website. It's, it's your quote, it says, the pursuit of happiness is an endless road while the pursuit of fulfillment ends abruptly at giving.

Can you tell me where that's born out of and, and how that came to be a a truth in your. 

Andrew: Certainly this, this voice that put me on a rat wheel of just, you know, pursuing happiness, and it's even in our documents, as you know, as a country, is to pursue happiness. Well, I mean, happiness allude you. I [00:27:00] mean, it's, it's like a butterfly chasing butterflies.

It'll allude you. I think when we take our spotlight off ourself and we put it back on Christ what should be the center of our universe, then gravity back to gravity starts to get back in our life where financial worries start to fall off. I start to have purpose because. My purpose is not to extend my name, extend the McNair legacy.

No, my, my legacy is Christ. And if they don't remember me at all, but they remember Christ because of my life, then that is a legacy and that's fulfillment. And so I, I. Commonly try to challenge people. I, I tell people, tell me who your grandfather's name is. I know mine at Heines McNair. I know my dad's name.

It's Russ McNair, but who's my great-grandfather's name? Ooh, that starts to get hard. What about my great-grandfather's name? Ugh, I don't, I don't know that one. The great-great-great grandfather who should know my great-great-grandfather other than me. I mean, you won't [00:28:00] know him. I don't even know him. But I hope that my legacy, if I have the blessing of having children that they don't remember me.

But they remember Jesus. And, and that's what I want. 

Tony: One of your latest projects, in addition to this this resource, the Giving Crisis, is this brand new podcast coming out. You've, you've got some amazing interviews. What have you learned about giving and the world that you live in as you talk to some of these people who are generously giving so much?

Andrew: Well, they say Don't meet your heroes, but that, that's not true. I've met some of the, the earthly heroes I have here, and they've been really awesome to get to know. You know, a lot of times these podcasts are one way you feel like you only get to hear from someone and you get to really know them. Mm-hmm.

But when you finally get to turn the table and get to ask them some questions, it was a whole different dynamic. But I was just, Happy to see, like when I [00:29:00] talked to Dabo Sweeney from Clemson, the head coach there, or Danny Goki for example. I'll, I'll take those two because those come up really quickly in my mind that both of them said that giving happened.

Early in their life, and I thought, isn't that profound? I said, wow. If they started giving, when they were making, you know, the, the money they are making today, how much harder that would be to start tithing and giving and being radically generous. It's easier to be radically generous when you don't have much, because when you do have much, you also have a lot of distractions too.

Hmm. 

Tony: That's really good. That's I like that. How, how do you. Wh when you're, when you're taking on clients, or wh when you're talking to someone about generosity, who, who is later in life who maybe didn't start early. How do you get people to see the, the, the blessing that comes with being generous?[00:30:00] 

Andrew: Well if, if they're a believer, I, I, I point him back to the scripture. I mean, I've let God down a lot, but he's, he is, his track record's really good. Mm-hmm. And so the Lord says, Hey, if you give, you will be blessed financially. No. I can't guarantee that by any stretch of the imagination. And I don't think that that's what God was saying either.

I think he had said You'd be blessed because you'll have more of me. And so you even see it in the be attitudes. Blessed are the poor in spirit. I mean, they're not gonna get anything earthly probably here, but they're gonna get something eternal that's gonna last a lot longer. And so that, that would be my, my response.

Tony: I love it. As this book gets out into the world, I, I know that my listeners will want to pray for you and the ministry that God's gonna do through this resource. What can we be praying as more and more people get their hands on this book? 

Andrew: I would just pray that [00:31:00] people have an honest conviction from the Holy Spirit.

Because n I'm not, I, I wouldn't say there's no great amount of writing that can get people to swim upstream from culture. The only person that can do that, not my writing, not my eloquent speech, as Paul would reference it, it's not. It's going to be the Holy Spirit. Yeah. So I pray that the Holy Spirit doesn't work.

I would love to see a giving generation. That's, that's the movement I I want to be pushing forward is that the first early church, the first century church was a giving generation. Yeah. They gave they, they gave exponentially they gave radically so much that people became curious and, and I would challenge you.

That if people aren't curious about why you're giving so much of your money away. Hmm. That, that's a, that's a conviction that the Holy Spirit may need to do a work in you. I want people, I want my testimony to be how I use my time, my resources and I want that to be so radical [00:32:00] that people say, that's different.

I need to know more about that. And that is that salt and light experience that people cannot not see. So that's what. 

Tony: Preach. Come on, let's go. I'm here for it. Okay. One more que I have one more question for you, but before I ask it I know that my listeners are gonna want to connect with you all over the innerwebs.

Subscribe to your podcast, pick up a copy of the book. Where is the best place to learn all things? Andrew McNair. 

Andrew: Sure. Everything rich, young and powerful is at Rich Young and powerful.com. So it's rich young powerful.com, rich young and powerful.com. Just go there. You can find the book, you can find Philanthropy 1 0 1, which is our class that.

Teaches you great financial habits and all the things that we help day-to-day with families one-on-one when we do planning for them. But it also teaches you with scripture how to be more generous over time. And that's our goal. Also you can check out our pod our podcast, rich, young and [00:33:00] Powerful.

But you can also check out our YouTube channel Everyday Philanthropist on. 

Tony: Yeah. Really great resources that you're putting out into the world that I know. We all appreciate it. Okay, last question. I love to ask people, it's an advice question except I'm gonna take you back to a very specific season in your life and I'm gonna ask you to give yourself one piece of advice.

And this time I, I wanna take you back to to 14 years old. The day, at the end of your very first day of work, if you could pull up a chair in front of that young man. Ambitious teenager and sit knee to knee with him. Hold his hands, look him in the eye. What's the one thing that you're telling him?

Andrew: Ooh. Well, it's hard. I, because you know, many of those things I had to go through to become the, the man I am today. But if I had a chance to tell that young boy who was really just strapped with fear, I think most people behind their ambition is mostly fear. Yeah. It's fear to be. [00:34:00] You know, have poverty.

It's fear to you know, be middle class wh which is not a terrible thing, but it's this fear that was driving me. And I would say, you know, fear will climb and make you scurry up a ladder. Mm-hmm. And the problem is when you climb up Maslow's Ladder, what's gonna happen is you're gonna look left and right.

And every time you look at someone that's faster than you running up this ladder, you're gonna slide back down and you're gonna feel worse about yourself. But God offers a better option that you should start by giving. See, masal says, by the time you reach the good life, se self-actualization, then you'll be happy.

Christ gives us another way, another ladder. He says, start with giving like Zak HEAs began with his salvation. Then start climbing I maturity to Christ and it'll all work out. Financially. Don't, you don't, just by going up that ladder, you don't, you won't lose your ambition, but you'll find way more. 

Tony: Wow.

That's so good. Andrew, [00:35:00] thank you so much for being so generous with your time today, for your heart, for the resources that you're putting out into the world. And, and I really do pray with you that that it has an opportunity to change, if nothing else, Christian culture and what it means to be a generous giver.

Andrew: Well, the pleasure was mine. I've really enjoyed this show, and thank you for just asking some, just really thought provoking questions. I really appreciate it, ma'am. 

Tony: Loved, loved, loved that conversation with Andrew. He's got sound bites for days. I think one of my favorite quotes from him is The pursuit of happiness is an endless road while the pursuit of fulfill.

Ends abruptly at giving such a great perspective on giving and wealth and what it all means. There's some great dialogue there that I think is worth so many of us pursuing. So, hey, do me a favor guys. Let Andrew know that you heard him here on the Reclamation Podcast. Let him know how much you appreciated his visits.

And I'm so thankful for you guys and the opportunity that we [00:36:00] have to do this together. It's such an honor to continue to do what I love and help hopefully you in the process. So thankful for you guys. And remember, if you wanna follow Jesus, you must be willing to.

#257: What is the Most Important Discipline When Following Jesus?

#257: What is the Most Important Discipline When Following Jesus?

#255: What is the Cost of Following Jesus?

#255: What is the Cost of Following Jesus?