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  • “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” (Proverbs 11:14, NKJV)
  • “For by wise counsel you will wage your own war, And in a multitude of counselors there is safety.” (Proverbs 24:6, NKJV)
  • “Without counsel, plans go awry, But in the multitude of counselors they are established.” (Proverbs 15:22, NKJV)

The thread in all three of these verses is that in the abundance of counselors, there is wisdom! We are so glad that God has worked in the lives of other people, and that we can learn from their life experiences instead of continually going through the school of hard knocks.  A current leader in the financial arena today is Dave Ramsey and his organization through his live radio show, websites, business units, and his ministry called Financial Peace University. We recognize that many people have strong opinions about Dave Ramsey. Very few people are ambivalent towards him. Most people will fall into either the “love him or hate him” camp. It is important to note that there definitely are some very good things to point out about his organization!

Please hear this…WE ARE NOT FLAMING RAMSEY…. HE IS GOOD! 

But we have our concerns.  Not just us, but many others do also. You may have heard the phrase ”throwing the baby out with the bathwater.” Well, know that we are NOT doing that with Dave Ramsey!  As a stewardship ministry, we want FPU to continue on and to thrive.  But, it is not the end-all-be-all to proper (and complete) Biblical stewardship.

 

The Beauty & Praiseworthy of Financial Peace University

  • Changed Lives! Lots of people have gotten out of debt and are able to move forward.
  • Personal Financial responsibility. The FPU program helps people own their situations. This is important!  Dave Ramsey and FPU are making it clear that a person or couple is NOT to pass the buck to someone else as the reason why they are in the financial situation that they are in!  They highly encourage and speak directly to one taking PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY and to take the needed action to move forward!
  • Hope! There is hope that you can actually get out of debt, invest, and become wealthy! Dave and FPU does not allow you to play the victim card!  They make it clear in their programming that you are not a victim of society and the government. You are not a victim of your own situation. You have personal agency, freedom, and ability to improve your situation…so get to it!
  • Simplicity. His plan is SO easy to grasp. FPU is very clear and very simple! FPU is a one size fits all, which is good, but also could be a danger. For example, everybody goes through the “Baby Steps.” It’s black and white and there is very little room for nuance. The simplicity is attractive, especially for those laden with debt. 
  • Consistency. Ramsey is consistent with his own worldview, and the way he teaches people and operates his business. He is not a hypocrite!  The Ramsey organization does not accept credit card payments for any products or services that he offers. He only accepts cash, debit cards, or checks/ACH. That shows his conviction to his approach to finances, and that is certainly respectable!
  • Unambiguous about the negative aspects of debt. While many people will recognize that there are both good and bad uses of debt, Ramsey is, for the most part, unambiguous about both the moral and financial dangers that living a life indebted to others brings. Whether you love or hate his thinking about debt, he is not going to apologize for his personal convictions.  He has been and will be consistent with what he believes and what he teaches about debt.
  • Churches use FPU as an outreach opportunity. When Christians and churches care about money and people through using FPU, relationships can happen! Through relationships, Gospel sharing and Kingdom advance happens. 
  • Community…I’m not alone! One of the beautiful things is the community that FPU provides. You will not be alone!
  • Assumes Biblical Principles. Dave Ramsey builds his teaching and his assumptions on Biblical thought, but he is not explicit about those assumptions. While this is oftentimes a bad thing, we do see that operating this way enables Ramsey and FPU to attract listeners who would not otherwise be interested in a Christian’s teaching about money. This is also a danger…and when we get to the Dangers, this point will come up again.

 

The Dangers & Concerns of Financial Peace University

Before jumping into these points, we MUST make it clear that the following points are based on our own experiences and the experiences of others that have gone through the FPU Program. Please do your own research, or even be part of a FPU course before making your own conclusions. But again, these are based on our own experiences and the comments we have gotten from others who have gone through Financial Peace University.

 

Assumes Biblical Principles

Ramsey talks about the purpose of money, about how you can give more and provide for your family. Money is used for a purpose. He doesn’t go and teach stewardship for the sake of getting rich. He doesn’t teach necessarily that every dollar is the Lord’s either. But he does recognize that the Bible gives us principles to go out and create a better financial situation.  Ramsey focuses on the Universal timeless truths that come from Scripture, but he doesn’t necessarily always provide key and properly contextualized Scripture. He makes statements that imply truth without providing Scriptural context. The beauty of that is it doesn’t turn off individuals who would be in opposition to a Christian worldview unnecessarily. Yet, one of the negatives of that is he never really gets to the heart of the issue. Money is not the ultimate issue. He doesn’t necessarily take a hard “public” stance on the dangers of wealth and possessions. Yet, he does take that stance in certain works like his books. But in the more “public” personas, such as radio shows, he doesn’t take a hard stance. If he does, he almost always won’t “show his cards,” by giving Scripture references to back it up.

Seduction of wealth.

Ramsey’s approach could inspire Christians to just pursue more wealth. “Material possessions seduce people to transgress God’s laws in a myriad of ways” (Christianity in an age of wealth).

Personal Experience: One of the comments that an individual shared with us is that his church put on Financial Peace University, and he was initially drawn to the framework that Ramsey promotes, and motivated to get out of debt, and motivated to grow his wealth and savings. Over the course of several weeks, he started seeing a change in his heart, where his heart was turned more towards money. There’s nothing explicitly in the teaching to guard against that turning in his heart. That is why when we came to his church with the Life Institute Stewardship Lifestyle Seminar, for him it was a breath of fresh air because it spoke to the tendencies of his struggles, and helped his heart get free from the love of money and possessions. 

In Life Institute’s Stewardship Lifestyle seminar, we try to be explicit by saying that money is not the end all be all. It’s ALL God’s money. God’s money is to be used for God’s purposes. If at the end of the seminar, you love money more than you love God, we have failed. Money is in the service of worship, not an object to be worshiped. We’ll explain this in more detail in our next episode.

The Scripture is FILLED with warnings on the dangers of possessions 

  • Matthew 6:24 “You cannot serve both God and money.”
  • Luke 12:15 “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
  • Heb. 13:5 states “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have.” [Heb 13:5].
  • To be sure, the warnings concerning loving money are not merely New Testament teachings. Even the tenth commandment itself was a prohibition against greed, “You shall not covet” [Exod 20:17].

It’s not something that we just “miss” as we read scripture. For if you read the scriptures at all, you can’t possibly miss these warnings! If you are talking about increasing in wealth using Biblical principles, you NEED to follow it up with the dangers of wealth and idolatry. (Page 95 of Christianity in the age of Wealth).

 

Overwhelming drive for wealth (1 Timothy 6)

We previously mentioned that the Ramsey approach encourages personal responsibility, which is a good thing! But we need to remember… It is God who gives the ability to gain wealth (Deut. 8:18). Ultimately, if we are pursuing “more” without first pursuing the Lord, we are chasing the wind, and potentially moving ourselves toward our own destruction!

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6:9–10, NKJV)

Their “destruction” was due to THEIR DESIRE to be rich! Their “destruction” was self-induced!

With Financial Peace University, the [unintentional] outcome of good stewardship is no debt and financial security. If you live by these principles, you will be wealthy, and wise! However, If you have debt, or are financially insecure, you must be in some way a bad steward. It’s like a “nice” prosperity Gospel. It’s not as crass, but it can lead you to the same place. It is prosperity Gospel thinking without claiming Prosperity Gospel theology. 

We are not shaming churches for using Financial Peace University. Hear us loud and clear!  We are not shaming churches for using FPU! Keep doing it! There is a lot of good that FPU brings! But we are cautioning pastors about ignoring this danger that could manifest in the hearts and lives of the people who go through the class. If you are running an FPU class, consider doing a modification to the class to include the Scriptural warnings of wealth! If you are a Pastor listening to this, we want you to be aware so you can shepherd the hearts of Believers well.

Stewardship is more than just budgeting and getting out of debt.

Being a good steward is more than being able to budget and be debt free. Financial Peace University focuses heavily on the acts of budgeting and destroying debt. These are both wonderful things that you should absolutely keep doing! However, the course keeps these two as its primary focus, without addressing other areas of stewardship on a deeper level; such as giving to the church, giving to other ministries, estate planning, and Christian investing. 

Maybe the danger here is not that Financial Peace University is trying to be everything to everyone, but maybe the church THINKS that FPU covers the entirety of stewardship. Church leaders and Pastors may think, “I’m bringing in FPU, so all my people are going to be good stewards by the time they are done!”…. But that is not the end result.

 

Finances aren’t always one-size fits all. 

Not everyone has the same priorities and values. We would all fall somewhere in Ramsey’s Baby Steps, we may not all have the same priorities to get to the next Baby Step as soon as possible (and that’s okay!). 

 

Thoughts from a Former Financial Peace University Instructor

In my research of this episode, as I mentioned earlier, I spoke to my friend who led FPU at my former ministry for close to or over 10 years. We had a deep conversation and he gave me a very good insider’s perspective over a period of years.  

Here are his thoughts that he shared with me:

  • There is a strange connection of FPU to the radio program he does. The radio is for the masses, FPU is for the church.
  • He recognized a big disconnect because of not having the Ramsey Legacy Class take off.
  • He noticed that for most people that he is still connected with, it took around 11 years to go through the baby steps.
  • He liked the FPU Junior. His own kids are still doing it and it is helpful.
  • A few quotes from Chris:
    • “Dave is trying to drive his financial points through the Bible, but he is not driving the Bible!”
    • “Dave’s theology of money is lacking”
    • “Dave is trying to appeal to Christians and non-Christians alike…goal is for all, not just for believers (in FPU)”
    • “Dave seems to be a chameleon…because he wants to appeal to all”
    • “You have to apply your own Biblical principles to your finances…don’t expect that from Dave or FPU”
    • “Chris said that he did not see FPU as an effective outreach tool for the church.”
    • “There is no individual counseling session available.  Amy and I did sit down with a few couples who asked for more in depth help, but that was not part of the class, just something we did to help them better understand what Dave was teaching on the budget side of things.”

 

Thoughts from a Former Financial Peace University Attendee

A former FPU attendee originally found Dave Ramsey on Instagram, and started to listen to his show.  He learned much and so did his sister.  They decided to order FPU and used the course to get themselves out of debt! He also said:  One thing though that I would like to be clear about is this: I listen to the Dave Ramsey Show for financial advice; not for theology.

Here is what this FPU attendee wrote to me:

  • “Dave’s show has several areas of strength. There’s his financial advice like the debt snowball, the resources he has available to give away to help listeners in urgent need, and his blunt persona that can help a stubborn caller realize the mess they’ve made. I also enjoy hearing the encouraging stories of individuals and couples that worked hard to pay off their debts and I celebrate with them when I hear their debt-free screams.”
  • “Dave sometimes will quote some Bible verses that have to do with finances, which is good, I’m not knocking the usage of the Bible. However, oftentimes they are cherry-picked verses and not used in their correct interpretation according to their context, which can be misleading.”
  • “Dave and his team will usually point people towards counseling sessions without taking into account which worldview to choose from. A secular counseling or therapy session tends to be more about the patient talking their problems out, and the counselor sometimes leans on relieving symptoms with prescription drugs, and give vague advice. While in a biblical counseling session the counselor will confront the patient’s root issues with the Bible and give practical advice that can be used to turn things around and overcome the problem. Since marriage is something that God established, a secular therapist, psychologist, or counselor may have a different approach to marriage issues. That can be the difference between a nasty divorce or a restored marriage.”
  • “Overall, Dave has a great show that I sometimes will listen to. In fact, my goal with this is not to deter any Stewardology Podcast listener from listening to Dave’s show, but rather, for us to be discerning while listening to him or other podcasts. The robust theological perspective that I don’t get with Dave, I get through the Stewardology Podcast. Both shows have been helpful to me, and have helped countless others. It’s not a competition between these two shows, they can learn from one another and do great things for the Kingdom of God. Always remember, whatever you all do, do it excellently and do it for the glory of God. Thank you for all your advice and all that you do!”

 

Are There Any Alternatives to Financial Peace University?

How do we, individually, and in the church, get good solid stewardship education that is comprehensive and doesn’t miss different pieces such as:

  • Not compromising on Biblical truths
  • Giving, along with sacrificial giving
  • Investing that honors God
  • Estate Planning that blesses the family and your church
  • Biblical warnings against wealth / luxuries.
  • Nuances in my personal finances
  • Etc…

That’s where the Stewardology podcast seeks to help Believers in the many realms of financial stewardship. We are by no means THE voice of truth on the topic, but we strive to honestly approach the Bible to seek out what God has for us in stewarding what God has put into our care and its related topics.

And along with the Stewardology Podcast, we also offer The Stewardship Lifestyle Seminar by Life Institute. Our nation-wide ministry, Life Institute, and its church-based three day seminar called “The Stewardship Lifestyle Seminar” comes alongside the Pastor and church leaders to help those in their congregations establish a Biblical framework for everyday financial decisions.  We do this is by using the Word of God as the basis for what we teach and counsel, all across the country.

 

 

Next Steps

 

Material presented is property of The Stewardology Podcast, a ministry of Life Financial Group and Life Institute. You may not copy, reproduce, modify, create derivative works, or exploit any content without the expressed written permission of The Stewardology Podcast. For more information, contact us at Contact@StewardologyPodcast.com or (800) 688-5800.

The topics discussed in this podcast are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations.Investing and investment strategies involve risk including the potential loss of principal. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

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