Let us know what you think!

We’re looking at changing the Financial Advisor: About Wes Bridel page and several others of the site.  When we first put up the site, I hired people to help me and they basically wrote what they wanted to.  This is my attempt to quickly tell my story (in 3rd person!) in a more relevant way.  I’d love to know what you think about the change before we go live with it.

Wes Bridel was a traditional financial advisor with two big firms before becoming disillusioned with the failure of mainstream  financial advice to actually make a difference for people.  Because the typical platitudes often sound good when espoused, it took Wes a few years to realize that these ideas don’t actually work in practice.  But  being a good financial advisor was important to Wes.  He strove to  learn more and discovered several factors crucial to protecting and building wealth over the years.

Did you know that financial institutions do the exact opposite with their money that they train us to do?

Do you know anyone who has created real wealth doing what the typical financial advisor teaches (as they are taught to by the financial institutions)?

Did you know that the things most often taught by a financial advisor are really math equations that don’t work in real life with real money?

Do you understand that financial institutions gladly give away free education to advisors and spend billions teaching the financial media and public to do the things which most enriches these institutions?  Do you think these strategies are necessarily in your best interest?

Wes began to understand the answers to these questions by going outside of the financial institutions for education and instead learning from economists who don’t have a product for his clients to buy.  Economists, and in turn, Wes, focus on economic  realities combined with strategies of saving and investing which actually work in both good times and bad to provide a solid foundation and build real wealth.

Being a financial advisor is far more than simply plugging some guesses into a future calculator and recommending some products to achieve this mythical goal.  Traditional financial advice hasn’t worked for anyone, and fortunately, there is a better way!

As Wes was learning these financial truths, the Lord grabbed hold of his life and flipped it upside down.  Slowly at first and then in dramatic fashion on many mission trips, he began to understand how present and real God is in every moment of life.

Over time, Wes was lead by this Truth to help those who want to glorify Christ in each area of their lives.  He went from being a financial advisor to being a stewardship advisor.  So he nurtured these financial principles and techniques and designed Kingdom Calling’s stewardship and financial planning programs.  These second-to-none Christian training programs equip you to grow as a steward so that your calling is synchronized with your personal saving and investing decisions.  You should understand how each part of your financial life works together to protect and build the assets you steward, so that your financial decisions are in line with God’s purpose.

Wes believes that the model 99% of financial advisor/client relationships have, where you hand over your stewardship to the “expert”, is wrong!  Everything he does is aimed at growing your understanding and abilities as a steward because no one else will ever care as much for and no one else will ever be as responsible for what you have been given to steward.

Read what others are saying about their experience with Kingdom Calling. The program is full of success stories from many satisfied people just like you.

Today, Wes leverages his boundless spiritual energy to help others become better stewards of their finances and lives in Christ.

Contact Wes directly or sign up for his email newsletter to receive ideas, information, and tips. Or, attend an upcoming Kingdom Calling event and get to know Wes in person. We promise you won’t hear the typical “mind-numbingly” dull financial advisor.

Photo credit: planetschwa

“He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.” (Genesis 28:12)

The people that work their way through The Steward’s Calling Process vary widely.  Sure, we share a belief in Christ as our Lord and Savior, and a responsibility to live our lives as God would have us.  But Kingdom Calling clients come from different backgrounds, are at different places in our walks, have differing financial resources, take varying amounts of time to go through the process. And, of course, each of us has a different path we need to follow.

Yet at the end of this process, most will have become the steward of their finances that we are all called to and inherently long to be.  This doesn’t mean that you’ve reached a place of never needing to learn or grow again because this is a never ending process.  However, most will have achieved a level of financial protection, success, confidence, and freedom – in who you are and what you manage as a steward – you would’ve never thought possible…and in the direction that God has ordered for you.

And that’s where The Ladder comes in.  In this stage, we ask, “where do you go from here?  Now that you have accomplished so much in your life, and have become clearer about God’s purpose in your life, what will you do?”

At this stage, you’ve become focused on moving in the direction that He calls you.  And you’ve aligned every financial decision in your life with that purpose and calling.  The new wisdom you have received in how to properly steward your resources has led to immediate results that you can measure.

But this is not the end.  This is a new beginning.  God calls each of us to be responsible for what He gives us and to thus represent Him to the world in our area of responsibility.  This is stewardship.  You’ve now been equipped for successful stewardship in a way that most never achieve.  You are ready for whatever come next.

So the question is, where do you go from here?  Even though you have grown as a steward and are now far more capable of making godly decisions in multiple areas of your life, it is always smart to keep wise, Godly counsel.  You are now in a position to determine unequivocally if this relationship with Kingdom Calling should become a more long term fixture in your life.  Many of our clients, no matter what their calling, will decide to keep working with us.  Some won’t.  Assuming we do continue together, then we will discuss how you would like that to look.

Either way, we talk about future events, opportunities, or resources that could aid you in being all that Christ calls you to be.  A plan for how to continue our work together will be established in whatever way is best for you.  This process has been the beginning of a new phase of your life and has helped implement a plan for success as you move forward from here.

The Ladder is an exciting place to be.  But everyone must begin at the beginning.

This post is Part 9 in the new series The Steward’s Calling. To use this as a growth tool to better understand your own calling, you might start by reading Part 1, Pt 2, Pt 3, Pt 4, Pt 5, Pt 6, Pt 7 and Pt 8.

Artwork credit: “The Ladder”, original artwork by Don Tate

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” (Psalm 23:5-6)

The Feast is the time where you enjoy the fruits of your labor.  We step back from the process and take a moment to enjoy the progress that you’ve made.

Kingdom Calling’s methodology for helping you convert your finances from haphazard, to focused and ready for purposeful use following your unique calling is carefully designed.  From the insight and learning of the first four stages, into the action steps of The River, they are ordered to get you in line with God and what he has planned for you.  They’re also designed to work – to protect everything God has given you to steward, improve cash flow, and impart financial freedom.

In stage 6 –The Feast – we review just how well things are working.

We’ll review questions like: What progress was made?   What did you implement, and what was the subsequent outcome?  Are there additional adjustments or tweaks necessary?

Have you ever noticed those diet programs that have the before and after pictures?  They’re used as marketing, but such pictures also encourage the individual to take a picture of themselves and hang it on the mirror.  The reason for this is that progress happens slowly.  And you don’t notice the change happening day to day, but when you look back, you can see that enormous progress being made over the course of months.

The same is true in your financial life.  As you make the small changes over the course of this process, each one is very manageable.  But now as we sit back and look at what’s happened in your life, you begin to see that you’re able to function in the world in an entirely different way.  You are a much more responsible, prudent, and productive steward of what God has given you.  This stage is about enjoying this breakthrough.

The Lord has prepared a feast for those who truly hunger to eat from His table above all others of this world.  The food He offers is His Life which He desires to give you more of each day.  And there is no reason to diet from this banquet!  The Steward’s Calling process up until now will have helped you be more prepared to eat of His table as you have become more aligned with His will for your life and have subsequently aligned your financial life with this reality.

A feast indeed!

This post is Part 8 in the new series The Steward’s Calling. To continue with this series, click on Pt 9. To use this as a growth tool to better understand your own calling, you might start by reading Part 1, Pt 2, Pt 3, Pt 4, Pt 5, Pt 6 and Pt 7.

Artwork credit: “The Feast”, original artwork by Don Tate

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.  No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.” (Revelation 22:1-3)

Too often, people view each financial decision as something that is separate from every other financial decision in their life.  Because of this, their financial lives are stagnant and real wealth is typically only created for those who have earned a large amount of money outside of their personal stewardship efforts.

But throughout The Steward’s Calling, you’ll learn another way entirely.  You’ll come to understand the importance of velocity, or the movement of money throughout your system.  Your personal stewardship is a living, breathing system (whether it’s big or small) and this movement is important to effectively and efficiently grow what you’ve been given to steward.

Everything flows together in The River.  Everything you’ve learned.  All of your preparation.  It all comes together here.  Getting an education is useless without real action and the life change that comes from it. The River is where this happens.

The financial stewardship principles and techniques that you’ve been learning are applied.  A number of opportunities are analyzed.  Resources are uncovered.  Most people have resources that they are totally unaware of.  Throughout the process these will have been discovered, but if there are others that have not come to light up until this stage, then every possibility will be examined.  Old dogmas and assumptions will be challenged and your new education applied to your real life situation to determine the best course of action for your life right now.

The River is the stage where all your hard work begins to pay off in quantifiable ways.  You have matured as a steward and can see the fruit of your labor!

This post is Part 7 in the new series The Steward’s Calling. To continue with this series, click on Pt 8. To use this as a growth tool to better understand your own calling, you might start by reading Part 1, Pt 2, Pt 3, Pt 4, Pt 5 and Pt 6.

Photo credit: David Gunter

“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (John 15:8)

You’ve studied what it means to be the steward who God calls you to be.  You’ve become more crystal clear on His purpose in your life.  You’ve established a solid foundation by nurturing every important aspect of Your Fruitful Tree.  Now you’re ready for The Orchard!

During this stage you’ll learn practical elements essential to being a successful investor.  You’re now moving beyond the fundamentals and learning how to analyze opportunities to see if they’re the right financial move for you considering where God is calling you.

There are multiple areas of focus within this education:

1. You’ll receive an education on the way different types of investments (such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, options, futures, and real estate) work so that you’ll have a fundamental understanding for discerning the risks and opportunities inherent to anything that crosses your path.
2. You’ll also receive tools for evaluating different opportunities to see if they are right for you.  Some investments are right for one person, but totally wrong for another, so when analyzing opportunities across a variety of asset classes, it’s important to have tools that will evaluate each in a simple, easy to understand manner.

You’ll learn how to determine:

1. Do I understand this investment well enough to invest?
2. Do I understand how this investment creates value in the world?
3. Is this investment in line with God’s calling in my life?
4. Who are the people involved, and should I embrace this venture with them?
5. What will happen if this investment doesn’t go the way I expect, and am I okay with that outcome?
6. How do economic trends affect my investments?
7. How can I take advantage of economic trends to grow what I have been given?

Answering questions such as these and the others you’ll learn are vital to entering the right investments.  When you are equipped with the basic understanding of how different asset classes work and are equipped with tools to help you discern whether an investment is appropriate for where God has you, you’ll be in the best possible position to follow the Lord’s leading in choosing the right investments and avoiding the wrong investments for your family.

This post is Part 6  in the new series The Steward’s Calling. To continue with this series, click on Pt 7. To use this as a growth tool to better understand your own calling, you might start by reading Part 1, Pt 2, Pt 3, Pt 4 and Pt 5.

Artwork credit: “Your Fruitful Tree”, original artwork by Don Tate

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24-25)

The same truth that Jesus taught about a building a solid foundation in your spiritual life also pertains to your financial life.  The first two stages of The Steward’s Calling have helped you to lay a solid spiritual foundation to all future financial endeavors and now as we turn to financial matters it is vital that we build on the same solid rock.

This core wisdom is incomprehensible to many and a big reason why they never achieve financial success.  Because they don’t see the need to spend time building a strong foundation, they experience turbulence whenever economic or personal sands shift (which they always do in this life).   However, a strong foundation built on rock will enable your financial stewardship to flourish.

Your Fruitful Tree is the central component of The Rock.  Through this education you will discover the the best products and strategies to use to protect your family and lay a proper foundation.  You’ll learn how these fit together and the common mistakes that most make.  You’ll learn about many different areas of insurance and savings so that you are protected from every potential threat that we can conceive of so that you are not only prepared for the coming storm, but are also situated to prosper in difficult times.  At the same time, you’ll have learned a variety of techniques that will suit you well in any number of circumstances since we can’t know exactly what the future will bring.

As you learn the power of little understood core strategies (which actually reduce risk) to grow your wealth, you will become excited about the workings of simple products and strategies within your financial life that others who don’t understand these things find too boring to even learn about.

Once you’ve done everything you know to do to protect your family financially, you are free to focus on the areas in which God calls you to without worry of the unknown.   This becomes the perfect place from which to grow into more complex financial strategies and products.

This post is Part 5  in the new series The Steward’s Calling. To continue with this series, click on Pt 6. To use this as a growth tool to better understand your own calling, you might start by reading Part 1, Pt 2, Pt 3 and Pt 4.

Artwork credit: “The Rock”, original artwork by Don Tate

The Steward’s Calling offers an additional, optional program within The Seed that is available to those who feel called to experience it and grow in this way.  Although we’ve put an incredible amount of effort into this portion of The Seed and feel it might be the most valuable thing we’ve created, we also feel like it has been freely given from the Lord and don’t feel that we can charge for this.  So it’s a free extra component within The Steward’s Calling added to the work that we are already doing for clients.

At the same time, God will only use it to grow those who are called to (and hungry to grow through) this process and so we would encourage you not to complete this portion if you do not feel this hunger.  We (you and your advisor) will spend significant time going through this additional workbook and none of us want to waste our limited time.  The Lord might be calling you to focus on other means for your growth in Him at this time and if that’s the case, this discipleship process would be a waste of time.

On the other hand, if you sense the Lord nudging you to move forward with this process AND you are hungry to see how He might grow you through this process, then this should be an important opportunity to lay additional foundation for your spiritual life.

If this is you, we are excited to help you walk through this process of learning the fundamentals of the spiritual life.  Whether you have been on your faith walk for many years or are just beginning, God is truly raising sons on the earth like never before.  He is calling those who are willing to lay down their lives for Him and live the lives He calls you to.  He wants to teach you to grow, just as Christ did, to be able to hear His voice as He speaks to you directly so that you can obediently follow Him wherever He calls you.

This is not an easy choice.  Many Christians will quickly say that they are willing to give up their lives for Christ, but it is a much harder thing to actually do.  The good news is that as long as you are willing and have this deep desire, He will do the hard work for you.

And your life will never be the same!  There is no greater joy than seeing God move powerfully in your life and in the circumstances around you!  Or of experiencing His love as He directly shows it to you.  Or of experiencing His power as He moves in ways that defy the laws of the physical world.  But these things are simply side benefits to experiencing the amazing truth that God sees you as a special son whom He wants to teach all of His ways to so that you can take a special place within and represent Him to all of His Creation!  He wants you to know Him as He knows you!  This is what you were made for.  This is what Christ came to redeem in the fallen Man.  Yet this is far below the normal Christian life that most experience.

The Seed Discipleship Program and Workbook aim to help you get started on this journey by laying a foundation of the spiritual life.  We can see from the scriptures that these things were taught by Jesus to His disciples and by those Apostles to the early Church.  You will notice that the 16 foundational truths are woven throughout scripture.  And yet they were not written in any letter because they were always taught in person.  The letters simply refer to these things which had previously been taught.
You’ll grow in understanding in the following areas:

1. Gospel of the Kingdom
2. God’s Image and Likeness
3. The Fall and its Consequences
4. The Cross
5. Restored back to the Father: Son and Orphan
6. The Gift and Work of the Holy Spirit: Resurrection Power and Eternal Life
7. Spiritual Gifts and Fruits
8. Three Compartments of Man and the Work of Sanctification
9. Disciplined by the Father and Self-Discipline
10. The Order of Melchizedek
11. Ministry under the New Covenant
12. The Body of Christ and our Role in it
13. The Government & the Economy of the Kingdom of God
14. Spiritual Reality, Order and Wisdom
15. Natural Laws and Spiritual Laws
16. Laws in the Kingdom of God

Again, this one program will not be the end of spiritual growth, but instead will be an incredible new beginning if you seek Him through it.  We believe that He will plant a mighty seed  in you which He will never stop growing as you achieve more of His Likeness bear more of His fruit.  Wherever you are in your development, He wants to grow you into His mature Son.

Is this process for you?

This post is Part 4  in the new series The Steward’s Calling. To continue with this series, click on Pt 5. To use this as a growth tool to better understand your own calling, you might start by reading Part 1, Pt 2 and Pt 3.

Photo credit: David Gunter

The Seed is a process designed to nurture this seed of His Kingdom within you and bring out the eternal in your life.  It is beyond the abilities of Man to turn a seed into a mighty fruit-bearing tree.  Yet if one seeks this blessing from the Lord and follows certain steps, this mystery of life comes to fruit.  This principle is at work during your activation within The Seed.

We have designed activation exercises for you to get crystal clear on the things that God has shown you throughout your life that He is calling you to.  We help you organize those into a coherent vision for your future.  God constantly reveals more and more of our calling to us as we live this life and so this will not be the last time that you ever focus on your calling.

We often find that people have a scattered idea with little to no coherence of understanding in the life that the Lord is leading them to.

Others have a very strong sense of where God is calling them and who He is calling them to be, but might not have taken the time to refine that vision so that it can be used as the starting point of every future financial decision.  No matter where you stand on your current understanding of your calling, this process allows your advisor to come right alongside you to ensure that God’s calling in your life is always the driving motivation for every conversation and decision.

This process will help you better understand the answers to questions such as:

1. What is the life that God has called you to?  Are you living it?
2. Do you feel like there’s more to this life than what you are experiencing so far?
3. Are there deep desires within your heart that seem to be going unfulfilled?
4. What are your gifts, values, & passions and how do those contribute to your calling?
5. How is God weaving the unique strands of your life with that of your spouse into one amazing family calling?

The truest definition of every person’s calling is to mature towards the likeness of God as seen in Christ.  Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing.  This is the true calling that everyone in Christ is called to, but it is also the invitation that most will never accept.  The primary purpose of The Seed is to give you awareness of this calling and to help you understand how the uniqueness of your very life fits into this Godly vision of your life and point you in the direction for achieving true abundant life.

This post is Part 3  in the new series The Steward’s Calling. To continue with this series, click on Pt 4. To use this as a growth tool to better understand your own calling, you might start by reading Part 1 and Pt 2.

Artwork credit: “The Seed”, original artwork by Don Tate

Yet most of us have had little to no training in stewardship.  We make every decision at the spur of the moment without any larger framework or context from which these decisions should be made.  Becoming a steward of Christ’s blessings requires the wisdom of His ways and a deeper understanding of what He is calling you to; of what He expects of you.

The Way trains you in the core principles of stewardship so that you understand the responsibility and freedom that you, as a son of God, are called to as one who manages the business affairs of your Heavenly Father.

We’ll look at questions like:

1. How does God view assets?
2. Does God want you to be rich?  Poor?
3. What has the calling looked like for those who have handled mighty wealth for the Lord & His people in the past?
4. Should you tithe and what is the tithe about?
5. How does the wisdom of God pertain to stewardship?
6. What is the difference between stewardship & ownership?
7. How does financial stewardship relate to your entire spiritual life?

Learning about products and techniques to protect and grow your money are of limited value if they are not placed within the context of the eternal stewardship which God calls you to practice with what He’s given you.  The deep truths taught are not meant as “head” knowledge, but are intended to deepen your understanding of the responsibility and trust that God is giving and that this change in you will be of eternal value.  Your Heavenly Father is looking to bestow upon you an amazing grace to make decisions for your area of assignment in His most important business and He longs to guide you along the way as you learn to step into this responsibility.

The Way is designed to grow you in this understanding and awareness so that you can receive the wisdom of God which pertains directly to the calling He has for you.  Only after this do financial tools and techniques gain the utility which is possible in stewardship of one lead by the Lord.

This post is Part 2  in the new series The Steward’s Calling. To continue with this series, click on Part 3. To use this as a growth tool to better understand your own calling, you might start by reading Part 1.

Artwork credit: “The Way”, original artwork by Don Tate

Believers are called to be wise stewards with what God has given them.

The Steward’s Calling is an in depth training and discovery process that begins with where you are at present and helps transform you into the steward that God intended you to be.  This is the most complete and comprehensive program that we offer.   It equips you in the many different and seemingly incongruous areas which are fundamental to wise stewardship.

The Steward’s Calling is NOT the place for you if you simply want to turn your money over to someone and let them handle it because you don’t want to be bothered and you believe they’ll do a good job.

We believe that every believer is called by God to responsibly manage (steward) all that he has been given.  This is not only a duty, but a privileged honor which the Lord uses to train us and bring us into His family that His Glory might be revealed in us.  Stewardship is the process by which He transforms you to be more like Him and teaches you to represent Him to all of Creation as a favored Son.  This is what He has called you to do and be.

Obviously, stewardship is not simply about financial things, but about managing everything in this life that He has given you: Your spiritual life, your social life, your mental/emotional life, your physical life, and YES, your financial life.

Christ taught so much about money for a variety of reasons.  The way you handle money reveals much about your heart.  Also, many important habits, skills, and disciplines in life are learned and reinforced through the way that you handle money.  They carry over and affect every other area of life.

When going beyond the basics of prudent financial management, it is impossible to separate the wisdom necessary for exceptional financial stewardship from the wisdom of God which only comes through the abundant life of the Spirit.

The Steward’s Calling brings each facet necessary for prudent discerning stewardship together by taking you through a seven stage course.  These are:

1. The Way
2. The Seed
3. The Rock
4. The Orchard
5. The River
6. The Feast
7. The Ladder

Each stage is designed to augment and expand what the Lord teaches you in the previous stage and is designed to be interactive both with your advisor as well as in structured time alone with Him.  The purpose is to grow you as a steward both financially and in living the life God calls you to.  We’ll spend the next week or two looking more deeply into each stage of this process so that you can see how it might be a tool to live the life you were made for.

This post is Part 1  in the new series The Steward’s Calling. To continue with this series, click on Pt 2.

Photo credit: EcoSean