Category: Stewardship

Impact – Why we do what we do!

February 6, 2023
Bare Services

by Ron Bare

“Through intentional stewardship and extravagant giving, Bare Wealth Advisors help generous people shift the culture and change the world for the glory of God.”

As we have been writing about in our latest series of blogs and articles, our vision is to not only help you plan strategically with your finances, but our main desire is to help you maximize your impact (with the financial capital you are stewarding) for the next generation and for the good you desire to have on this earth. The quote that begins this blog is what we are calling our “impact statement.” We have seen and believe that intentional money management and generosity are a key element to making the impact we desire.

Throughout history there have been individuals that God has used to shift culture for the glory of God. Billy Graham, William Wilberforce, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Corrie ten Boom, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King all come to mind as individuals that used their time, talent and treasure to make a difference in our world. To a great extent, we are benefactors of their efforts. You can read more about some of these individuals in Eric Metaxas Books; Seven Men and Seven Women.

Often as you look behind the names mentioned above you can find others who have supported these movements with their gifts – including financial gifts. I think of William Tyndale, responsible for translating the Bible into English (putting his life on the line!) and how this may never have happened without Humphrey Monmouth who financially backed the endeavor. I also think of John Newton, responsible for writing many hymns including “Amazing Grace”, who also mentored William Wilberforce to use his gifting’s in politics rather than go into “ministry.” Wilberforce went on to help lead the abolishment of the English slave trade. Without John Thornton’s financial support from his successful business enterprises we may not know of the name John Newton or William Wilberforce –  that jolts me! You can read more about these stories in John Rinehart’s book, “Gospel Patrons.”

These stories inspire us to think about our impact. We may not be Billy Graham, William Wilberforce or Mother Theresa – however what if we are those who are to support and financially fund the movements in 2023 that will shape the next 50 – 100 years of history? There has never been a more prosperous time in history, and with that in mind, we must ask ourselves – what does God want me to do with his resources (that He has entrusted to us) to make an impact in our culture today?

We have a great opportunity. Lets expand our vision of what God may want to do through our stewardship and generosity so we can shift the culture and change the world for the glory of God. William Wilberforce had a dream to end the slave trade – as a result of him fulfilling this calling, generations have been changed, culture has shifted and God has been glorified. We can do the same! Our desire at Bare Wealth Advisors is to help you leave this kind of impact!

2023 – The Year of Story

January 16, 2023

We have themed 2023 “The Year of Story”.  Over the past 21 years of hearing your stories, we have come to believe that capturing your story is an important piece of preparing the next generation for successful stewardship. Therefore, in 2023 we are making an intentional effort to give you tools to help you capture your story.

In Biblical times, stories were often passed down orally from one generation to the next. In Deuteronomy Moses reminds the people of Israel about their story and journey to freedom. He tells them to “remember” and gives careful warnings of how to live as they enter the promised land under new leadership from Joshua. “Remember” is a word that Moses repeats often! By remembering their story of the past the Israelites will be protected from repeating mistakes as well as prepared for the impact and purposes God had for them.

As we begin 2023, I feel the burden of helping the next generation be prepared to enter life and make the difference God has called them to. I’m sure you think about this as well. I believe we can model what was done in Moses’ time today. This current generation (Us!) can intentionally prepare the next to enter their calling. Some of this preparation involves passing down wealth. But more importantly, we should be passing down our stories – which allows the next generation to understand the wisdom you’ve gained, lessons you’ve learned, the challenges you endured during hard times and the perseverance you employed to overcome those challenges. We believe your stories will help prepare the next generation to pick up where you leave off so they can continue to create positive change to impact the world for good.

As mentioned above, money is an important part of our story. When managed with wisdom, we can use financial capital in a way that helps us tell a story that inspires the next generation. Think about it, you could do a lot of great things in life, however if you do not learn to manage and handle money well it will most likely lead to regrets as part of your story. We have all learned a lot through our successes and failures in managing money – why not intentionally pass these lessons learned to the next generation? Here are 3 suggestions to help you tell a successful story:

  1. Build a financial plan tailored to your story, values, purpose, and goals. This will create clarity on the purpose of the money and help you stay focused on what matters most in life – it’s like putting guardrails on the side of the road. They protect you from going over the edge while you retain control of where you are heading financially.
  2. Write down your story and how it interacts with money. Answering questions like: what was money like growing up? What was I taught about money and how to manage or care for it? What is your first memory of money? What do you want to be remembered for? Putting pen to paper with these types of questions will help you clarify your values and what you want to communicate to the next generation.
  3. Define what is enough. Once you know how much is enough you will unlock potential resources to pour into your purpose and the next generation. This could help you accomplish more than you imagined during your lifetime to continue to build on the story you have told to this point in time.

We look forward to connecting with you in 2023 and helping you explore these steps above and work together to help you capture and tell the story you desire. Blessings to you and your family as we embark on another year together!

By Ron Bare

Why “Beyond Abundance” for Our Tagline?

December 12, 2022

by Ron Bare

As we mentioned in our last blog post, we have recently gone through a rebranding process and now have a “new” look and feel!  We hope you love this new look as much as we do! As we mentioned last month, as part of our rebranding, we created a new tagline  – “Beyond Abundance.” This tagline connects to our core value of “biblical wisdom” and ultimately connects to our approach of helping you with your financial decision making. We believe that living “beyond abundance,” is a posture of confidence in God, acknowledging that He can richly provide for us beyond what we need so we can generously share with others (2 Cor 9:8-12). A “beyond abundance” way of living offers freedom and opportunities to live a life of fullness (John 10:10), to impact the world far beyond what we could hope or imagine (Eph 3:20).

As we began thinking about what our tagline should be we first thought of what would resonate with you! And this is what we know – you love to be generous, and we love to promote generosity! We were reminded of all the generosity stories we have heard from you, and we have watched so many of you walk in a generous life that we can confidently say that 2 Cor 9:8-12 is true! We believe generosity is the most important part of a financial plan and a necessary component of a lasting legacy. A fulfilling and abundant life must contain living with open hands – looking for ways to be a blessing to those in need, our families, and others who we can love and serve.

In addition to generosity, we believe that it is important to be intentional to think about and expand our vision to align with desired impact, and then connect finances to this vision. Proverb 29:18 says in the KJV “Where there is no vision, the people perish”. We know as well as you do that people follow “visions” they deem worthy. What vision are you following? Have you paused to think intentionally about the vision for your life, family members and others you care about? Through our intentional process, we will help you bring clarity to your vision as well as work with you to align your money decisions to help carry your vision forward.

By living generously and clarifying your vision you can be confident that you are leaving a lasting impact in our world! You will be able to truly say you are living, “Beyond Abundance!” We look forward to connecting with you soon to continue to explore ways to do this together as well as share some new tools we are developing to help you tell your loved ones and the world your story of a “Beyond Abundance” life!

Celebrating 21 Years & A New Look For Us!

November 21, 2022

by Ron Bare

At the end of October, we held a 21-year anniversary celebration event! It was a wonderful evening with great food and friends, an encouraging challenge from Chuck Bentley and amazing musical entertainment from Voices of Lee. In addition, we looked back at the last 21 years of Bare Wealth Advisors and Ron set a great vision for where we hope to head in the coming years. We are committed to helping you have great impact and tell your story intentionally for generations to come. For those of you who were in attendance, we hope you were blessed and inspired. If you could not make it, we missed you!

At our celebration, in addition to the above, we launched a new look and feel for Bare Wealth Advisors!  As many of you know, 2021 was our “Year of Intentionality.” We felt that this was the right time to be sure that we were intentionally telling an accurate story of who we are and what we do. We worked through an in depth 6-month process being sure we did this well. We are so excited with the results! We will be sharing more of the details of our rebranding in the coming months through our blogs and social media.

When going through the rebranding process our goal was to listen and think about you and your needs or desires when working with financial professionals. We know one of your biggest desires is to make a difference, an impact – in your families and in our world through causes you support with your time, talent, and your treasure. Knowing that the busyness of life and sometime the worries of this world can get in the way of this kind of living, we are committed to forming trusted partnerships with you to help you plan intentionally and give generously to your impact areas (family and giving decisions). Ultimately, we believe, as many of you do, what we invest into the next generation and charitable causes are what will last well beyond our lifetimes.

Our focus is helping you maximize your impact (with the financial capital you are stewarding) for your family and the causes or good you wish to make on this world as part of your legacy.  We do this by providing wealth management and holistic financial planning grounded in Biblical wisdom to encourage generosity, empower vision, and influence the world for good. In the coming months we will continue to share the details of our rebranding including our NEW tagline…”Beyond Abundance.” We look forward to helping you grasp this exciting vision!

Intentional Contentment

August 11, 2022

by Tina Petersheim

Cancelled plans. High school proms, college graduations, weddings, baby showers, birthday parties, anniversary celebrations, sporting events, vacations. The pandemic changed a lot of plans over the last couple of years as important milestones looked different. It would be easy to complain about all that was missed but what if we changed our focus and perspective for this “new normal”: A chance to be more intentional with the people in our lives, longer conversations with the people we love, meaningful encounters with those around us and time to disconnect from the chaos around us.

I met, dated, and married my husband in the middle of the pandemic. Like almost every girl, I imagined the princess dress, the extravagant cake, the lavish venue full of guests, the sendoff in a horse and carriage…. my very own fairytale wedding. Instead, I said “yes to the dress” online; our wedding list was shortened, our wedding cake was a few small desserts, the ballroom became the church lobby, and the grandeur exit was sitting around the table enjoying conversation with our kids.

As we focus on a year of intentionality at Bare, intentional contentment means choosing to be satisfied in all situations, experiencing joy and seeing God’s goodness, even when things don’t go as planned and life throws an unexpected curveball. After years of praying and experiencing loss, God had answered our prayers and my husband and I chose to find joy and contentment in the simpler things. We became intentional with the people we invited to our wedding as the room was filled with those who had weathered our journeys with us and with the ceremony as we shared how God merged the paths of two people who had lived through difficult circumstances.

The Apostle Paul learned the secret of being content and reminds us in Philippians 4:10b-11… “for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.”

How are you being intentional with being content in every circumstance? Are you choosing to be happy with the little things in life and live in the moment? Are you fully trusting in the One who has promised to meet every need? Maybe, like me, some things in your life don’t look quite like you thought they might. Maybe some of your goals have shifted or changed. At Bare, we help you through transitions to ensure your values, goals and purpose are directing your financial plan.  Having a good financial plan that you feel confident about, along with regular “check-ins”, can help with living out the verses in Philippians and being content in every circumstance.

Ultimately, choose to recognize God’s blessings and enjoy the simpler things: long walks in the park, snuggles with a new baby, a cup of coffee on a rainy morning, relaxing on a sunny day. Know that God is in the details, canceled plans, and missed activities. After all, I still found my Prince Charming and am choosing to be intentional in living happily ever after.

US Economy

Is This Time Different?

June 17, 2022

The Equity (Stock) market by most gauges is now down well over 20% and has entered a bear market. We understand that times like this can be difficult as an investor, and we are here to help you make wise financial and investment decisions. Because we care about you and your financial plan, we want to provide you with some overall thoughts and perspectives on market volatility.

What is the cause of this bear market?

Inflation has surged, the federal reserve is raising interest rates (and reversing what is called QE or Quantitative Easing) and these actions are increasing the odds of a recession. Oil prices are at record highs (we all see this at the gas pump daily), and food prices are skyrocketing – not to mention the war in Ukraine. All these headlines and events may lead you to believe that “this time is different.”

Therein lies perhaps the most dangerous phrase of becoming a long-term successful investor. “This time is different.” If we believe this, then the next thought is, “I must pull my money out of the markets, or at least start preserving cash and stop investing my monthly amount into something that loses money each month.”

This time is NOT different. Recessions occur once every five years on average. While inflation is a problem right now, there have been times where it was much higher. Also, although the federal reserve is raising interest rates, they are still relatively low. Oil supply is still limited due to pandemic shutdowns (and other factors for another time) and demand has surged due to a full reopening of the economy. All of this will work its way out. In our opinion, more oil supply will come, demand will soften, inflation will cool, and the market will realize that the world is not ending. In time, this bear market will end.

This time is not different, if just FEELS different. It always does. In 2008 when banks were failing, housing was busting, and the market dropped over 50% (remember how that felt? I do!) – it certainly felt very different. However, those who stayed the course, added to their portfolios, and had faith in the future prevailed, and this time should be no different. During uncertain times it is good to reflect on time tested principles:

  1. Give more money away this year to a cause you care about (giving is a step of faith in a God who provides)
  2. Do not make financial decisions out of fear or worry.
  3. Think long term – we make better decisions when we think long term
  4. Add to your investment portfolio, assuming you have a few years until you need the money a drop in the market may be a good opportunity to invest with a long-term perspective.
  5. As we have talked about in the past, make decisions based on your holistic financial plan that is based on your goals, values, and timeframes – we are here to help review any of these details with you if that would be helpful.


Thank you for your continued partnership, and I wish to close with words from Paul in Philippians 4:6-7; “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the Peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and minds in Christ Jesus.”

Thoughts on the crisis in Ukraine

March 9, 2022

by Ron Bare

Like you, all of us at Bare Wealth Advisors are concerned about the recent world events, most significantly the Russian invasion into Ukraine. In the days ahead, please contact your team here at Bare Wealth Advisors if you have specific questions on how this affects your personal financial plan. In the meantime, I feel compelled to share some overall thoughts and words of encouragement.

  1. There will be plenty of blame to go around for this event in the days and months ahead – for now, I suggest praying for peace and protection for the nation of Ukraine.
  2. We are seeing extreme price movement in food and energy, which is likely to continue. Keep in mind, the US was energy independent within the last couple years. I believe our country has the capability to produce the energy we will need in the long-term. Since Ukraine is a large producer of wheat, we will continue to see increases in our food costs until this uncertainty is behind us.
  3. In my opinion, Russia desires control and money from both energy and agriculture (mostly energy) and that is what this war is about. In my opinion, Putin does not want to start World War 3.
  4. Financial Steps to take:
    1. Live within your means – spend less than you earn
    2. Give generously to those in need – here is a link to 20 organizations that are helping people in Ukraine: https://www.ncfgiving.com/stories/help-for-ukraine-10-charities-on-the-frontlines/
    3. Minimize debt
    4. Think long term – this too will pass. Continue to “work” the financial plan we have put in place. If you are adding to investment accounts, please continue to invest and possibly increase the amount of money you are investing. You are investing into some great companies that over the long term may reward you with good profits. If you have excess cash (margin) in your financial plan this may be a great time to consider buying some of these companies shares.
    5. Do not fear: Read Matthew 6: 19-34 (read verses 25-27 below)
      1. V25: That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life – whether you have enough food or drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t your life more than food, and your body more than clothing? V26: Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? V27: Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?”

Thank you for trusting in our team. We are here to serve you and we would be happy to help bring clarity to any questions you have concerning your personal financial plan.

Sincerely,

Ron Bare and the entire Bare Wealth Team

Intentional Generosity

March 2, 2022

by Curtis Burkholder

As a young boy growing up on a dairy farm, I remember my mom talking about adding money to her Christmas Club.  At the time, I didn’t understand what this meant.  What I understand now is that she was intentionally setting money aside each month so that when Christmas came around my parents would have money saved to be able to buy gifts.  Instead of just buying gifts out of their monthly income they had a lump sum saved to buy gifts.  My parents valued generosity at Christmas time and knew that it wouldn’t happen naturally.  They intentionally planned to save monthly so they could be generous at Christmas time.  They had a vision of being able to enjoy giving as well as experience the joy of my sisters and I opening our gifts.  This was one of the earliest examples of intentional generosity that I remember.

For many of us, giving and generosity does not occur naturally but requires intentional thought and planning.  2022 at Bare Wealth Advisors is the “Year of Intentionality.” In addition, one of our core values is generosity.  Today, we’ll consider how intentionality and generosity are related.  Generosity is a way that we can inspire others, a way to enrich our relationships, and allows us to expand the influence of what we manage.  This kind of generosity requires intentional thought and planning.

Generosity inspires others by making an impact upon their current situation.  It may be a gift that is made right when funds are needed to pay a bill or to meet the current need of a charity. Generosity can also provide funds for an organization to venture into new areas of opportunity.  Then, as we share stories of generosity, others are inspired to give as well.  This can cause a community to gain momentum around generosity.

Giving generously enriches relationships as it communicates, “I value who you are and know what is important to you.”  Generosity requires intentional thought and planning to find a gift that reflects who the person is as well as their interests. With an organization, giving can also enrich the relationship between the giver and the organization as it allows gratitude to flow back and forth between the giver and the recipient.

Generosity expands the influence of what we manage by sharing what we have with others.  Instead of keeping money, time, or talent to ourselves, as we share our resources it allows us to influence others in ways we would not have been able to do otherwise.  We can encourage, train, and teach others as we share what we have.

The apostle Paul in a letter to the church at Corinth encouraged them to excel in the “grace of giving.”  To excel in something requires hard work and effort.  It does not occur naturally but requires sacrifice and discipline.  To intentionally live a generous lifestyle requires us to say “No” to some things and make sacrifices so we can say “Yes” to others and be generous.  This requires us to have a vision for our giving and to intentionally plan. Just like my parents saw on Christmas morning when they watched the joy on our faces, the energy that it takes to intentionally be generous is well worth the effort.

As you think about your personal life and giving strategy, take time to consider one area or cause that you feel inspired to be more generous in.  Consider the potential impact of an increase in your generosity and develop a plan that will help you accomplish that goal.  (We would love to help you create this plan!) As you develop a plan, make sacrifices, and take steps towards greater giving, you will be living in intentional generosity and experience the truth, “It’s more blessed to give than to receive.”

Larry Burkett – A Life of Impact

September 27, 2021

by Ryan Kurtz

As many of you know, our theme at Bare Wealth Advisors for 2021 is “Impact.” Specifically, we are challenging our staff and clients to ask, “how can we use our resources and lives to have an impact on others?”

As I reflect on my life and career, a man comes to mind that was very influential in my own life as well as extremely influential in our industry.  Even though he is no longer with us on earth, Larry Burkett epitomizes a life of impact.

Larry passed away when I was 25 years old, and I was never able to meet him.  My remembrance of Larry Burkett was when I spent afternoons as a young boy feeding animals and milking cows in the barn on our family farm.  Typical of many farmers, the radio was playing, and every midafternoon a show called “Money Matters” aired. It was a “call-in” type of show where people would ask Larry financial questions and he would answer them.  I was always struck by the way Larry gave answers to callers with knowledge for each financial situation while simultaneously integrating Biblical wisdom with the answer. His words were full of love for each person regardless of the financial situation – even if the caller found themselves in very negative appearing circumstances.  Years later, as I began my career in the financial field as an advisor, part of my desire to help others came from wanting to “be like Larry” – to give loving financial advice integrated with God’s Word.

In addition to the radio show, Larry published over 70 books in his lifetime, and sales of these books now exceed 11 million copies.  As I prepare for meetings with clients, I still have many of his books in my office that I pull out from time to time to see what Larry said about a certain topic.  It is interesting to me that when I look up the advice he gave in his writings there is almost always a Bible reference included.

Not only did Larry impact me personally (and many others) through his radio broadcasts and writings, Larry was also instrumental in starting or helping to start a number of wonderful Christian financial ministries. At Bare Wealth Advisors we still are closely connected to several of these ministries, and they continue to impact so much of what we do each day. Some of these organizations that we use and connect with regularly are Kingdom Advisors, National Christian Foundation, Crown Financial Ministries, and the Money Wise radio show.

As I reflect on the impact that Larry’s life had on me and many others, I ask myself, “on who am I having an impact?”  “Am I having the same life changing impact on others as Larry’s life impacted mine?”  I will always be forever grateful for Larry’s life and the way God used him to influence me in so many areas of my life.