Less than the least...

"In investing, what is comfortable is rarely profitable." 

Robert Arnott

As I talk with friends in the business world I'm taken with how much our worlds have in common. Take last week as an example. I was talking with a successful young woman about her strategy for her business' growth and her philosophy for further team development. She was surprised that it was so in zinc with our ministry's methodology and volunteer development. I explained that people are people no matter what endeavor they are involved in.

As I read the Economist every week I repeatedly discover in it's pages that "business" is wrestling with the same things our ministry wrestles with.

Two of the looming questions for the near future in both business and ministry are as follows. What do we invest in? And how can we balance sustainability with profitable risk?

There are those in Christianity today who see change as something to avoid, others are slightly more adventurous souls who see it as something we should approach with incredible reluctance and only after it has been "proven" to be "safe."
These reluctant investors cause our institutes to be seen as regressive, conservative, and outdated. We rarely lead the wave of change, rarely invest in things that are new and unproven. We tend to bury our "talent" in the dirt of perceived security, fearful of allowing it to be exposed to even the slight fluctuations of "conservative" investment opportunities.

Christianity's tendency to adhere to the "safe" approach rarely produces extraordinary results, and most often leads to the dilution and even loss of what we have so carefully and fearfully buried.

"The master was furious. 'That's a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest."

Matthew 25: 26-27

"Less than the least." For a Christian this may be one of the more uncomfortable evaluations to hear from the One who claims ownership of our life.

Why the focus on investment?

This is the time of year when I focus on raising money for our ministry. It is also the season when I am recruiting volunteers to lead our ministry. I use the same method to recruit our financial volunteers as I do to recruit our direct ministry volunteers.

We call it the "98%" principle.

98% is what the average American sets aside for things they expect to receive a return on the investment. 2% is what the average American gives to charity. That seems to be defined as giving to something that the giver has no expectation of receiving a return on their investment. I work hard to avoid asking for the 2%, whether that be Time, Talent or Treasure. I work hard to find people who will give of their 98% that is set aside for profit.

I try hard to always express the opportunity being proffered in terms of profit. In the terms that express the belief that it will be a good return on their investment. The investment is in a high risk venture, that offers a profit that reflects the risk. Our ministry methodology is untested, it is being invented as we go, and is targeting a brand new market. The potential profit is staggering, but so is the potential for a total loss of the investment.

If you belief the Christian world-view the you believe that God has given us a finite amount of Time Talent and Treasure to invest with the intent that we could grow that initial investment and produce a profit at some unspecified time in the future.

This idea of personal and corporate growth reflects a fundamental belief within Christianity. It is one of those wonderful beliefs that define us as a World-View. Christians are supposed to be growing and gaining. I'm not suggesting a perpetual cycle of health and wealth, that is a tale only children and the gullible should swallow. No, I'm suggesting a strategic sense of growth. Where the cycles of pain and pleasure, failure and success combine to produce a harvest that is considered profitable by God. Growth isn't about winning, but it is about becoming more than we were yesterday by effectively investing what we have today, to expand ourselves and our capacity to serve others tomorrow.

Last week I sat in a boardroom of a wealthy Christian community and witnessed a leader who was willing to invest in the high risk venture called Young Life College to the tune of $25,000. This community have very clear hopes for the profit they will realize and we at YLC St. Louis have clear understanding of those expectations. If we grow, they will see a profit, if we crash and burn at least we put all we had into the market of life and invested it in something that had a chance of making the greatest profit.

What is the least you could be doing with the investment you have been entrusted with? And what is the most you could do with that same investment?