On this episode of Imagine with Me, General Minister and President, Rev. Terri Hord Owens welcomes Rev. Dr. Todd Adams, President and CEO of the Pension Fund of the Christian Church, Rev. Gary Kidwell, President of the Christian Church Foundation and Belinda King, President of Disciples Church Extension Fund. Their conversation talks about the role of the financial ministries of the church in doing the transformative work of the church.
Learn more about the ministries mentioned in this episode and their programs.
Pension Fund of the Christian Church offers three programs for clergy beyond the pension plan: Excellence in Ministry, Learn to Live, and Your Money Line.
Christian Church Foundation serves congregations through planning investments for the future.
Rev. Teresa Hord Owens: Hello Disciples and welcome to another episode of Imagine with Me where I get an opportunity to talk with creative and innovative leaders across the life of our church today. I am excited to have the leaders of the three ministries that we refer to, as the financial ministries. And we will talk a little bit more about what that means. But the leaders of the Christian Church Foundation, the Pension Fund of the Christian Church and The Disciples of Christ Church Extension Fund. So we’re so excited to have a Gary Kidwell, Todd Adams and Belinda King with us today.
Welcome my friends and colleagues, I am so glad that you all took the time you’re busy people as we all are. We also thank you for taking the time to talk to the church. I know that you all know that sometimes we can assume that people in congregations know a lot about general church ministry, and they often don’t know as much as they need to know. And so we wanted to have this opportunity for people to learn more about your ministries. So Gary, I will start with you as the senior statesman, so to speak. You have been with the Christian Church Foundation in general ministry for quite a while. So tell us a little bit about yourself, the Foundation and give us a hint of some exciting things that are happening with the Foundation these days.
Rev. Gary Kidwell: Yeah, as they say age before beauty right? Well, I am a product of the Christian Church in Kentucky and I graduated and ordained…graduated from Lexington Seminary and ordained in 1981, and I have been in general ministry since ‘91 and my story is much like a lot of servants of the church. I never imagined I would be here. I always thought that when I made the commitment to ministry that my only ministry would be in the parish and was able to serve student church in Sparta, Kentucky and serve the church in Walton, Kentucky and then was part of a new church start in Lexington before coming to the general ministries. And then all of a sudden I looked around and I realize that my calling is at the intersection of money and ministry. And for some reason I am not sure how I let this happen but Todd Adams introduce me at some event, and he introduced me as having a Bible in one hand and the Wall Street Journal in the other. And that was actually that’s actually kind of the way my mind and ministry shaped up so.
So things happen at the Christian Church Foundation…I have been with the foundation since 1998 and I have been privileged to be a part of tremendous growing ministry. When I joined staff the foundation’s assets were at around one hundred, about 130 million and last year, we crossed in total assets of over a billion dollars. So that’s tremendous growth and that’s not about us. That’s about, that’s, that’s really just as a witness of the love that people across the life of the church have for Disciples and for the ministries that Disciples are doing.
So it’s been a great privilege to be a part of that play a small part in the, in the tremendous growth, I think the most exciting thing happening at the Foundation is we are doing more and taking less because as we have grown, as we have accumulated more than donors have made gifts through us. And as if we and as minister and as partner ministries have invested alongside us, we have use that growth to give back more to the church by lowering our costs. And when we lower our costs, that means more dollars to mission. And so, we really see our mission as moving money to ministry. And so, that’s exciting for me.
Amen, that’s incredible growth and I have witnessed your passion for that marriage of money and ministry and moving finding people’s passion and helping them direct the resources to it. So the whole church is grateful for that. I am going to turn to the newest member of this group Belinda King, who is the new president of Disciples Church Extension Fund a historic choice, first woman and first person of color to be in this role. So congratulations again, Belinda in your new role, what seven months into the role? I do invite you to share a little bit about yourself. And, and to tell folks a little bit about what’s happening with DCEF and some exciting things going on there.
Belinda King: Thank you, Reverend, Terri. I appreciate and am humbled to be here. My name again is Belinda King, and I am the new person. However, I am not new to Disciples Church Extension Fund or to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). I have actually been serving DCEF, we call ourselves for short, for 10 years before coming on, in January as the new president and CEO. While I have also been a member and still is obviously a member of Light of the World Christian Church. I have been doing this work with Christian Church for 30 plus years.
So, I am not new to the Christian Church. I have served, I am the laity and so not only am I the newest person, I am also a late leader and this, but I am very proud of the that effort because I have been very involved in every part of the church from serving my church in every leadership role there is, and also serving the Indiana region as well as now serving the greater church. So, I am excited to do that.
When I joined Disciples Church Extension Fund 10 years ago, I came from the commercial lending banking industry where I served in big conglomerate banks to small local, local bank. So I have seen every side in facet of that and of course, when I was in those banks, people always called me the church lady because I wanted to always do churches. I navigated to that. No one else wanted to do church loans, or help the churches in that, just was a natural ministry for me.
Of course, when I come fast-forward and come to Disciples Church Extension Fund, then the financial skills and talent that came along with that I got started being called the bank lady. So there we are. But anyhow, I am excited on the things that Disciples Church Extension Fund is doing our role here is that we get to, we get to guide, our Disciples congregations to use all of their assets and their buildings, their finances, and the people you to take your ministry to the next level. I often say our motto is when churches thrive week thrive, and so we have a vested interest in doing that with our congregations. Our passion, and people drive these Ministries, they know what they’re doing, and we’re just there alongside to guide them along that way.
And so with their finances, one of the things that we are excited about is the main thing that I am most excited about is, you know, watching our churches now emerge from the last two and a half years, and with the new confidence and commitment about their ministry. And so that has been exciting to see. I think there was a time when we were comfortable in our pew, and we just, you know, we used our building as our anchor. And so now we are realizing that our building is a way now, in order to do ministry and it’s just it’s a process, it’s a process in getting there. And so as congregations, learn to be faithful in the new things, I am excited about the ways in which Disciples Church Extension Fund continues to guide our congregations coming out with some new things that will be sharing and Regional assemblies and of course General Assembly, as we do this work in a different way in of our current situation.
THO: Thank you so much, Belinda. We’re excited that you’re now in that leadership role that you will continue to serve DCEF. Well, full disclosure Light of the World Christian Church is my home congregation, so you and I have known each other for many, many years. So, it’s great to work with you in this new way. And now I will turn to the ministry—wherever the pension fund is named people always say thank God for the Pension Fund, and so we welcome the Dr. Todd Adams, who is the current President of the Pension Fund of the Christian Church. Thanks Todd, tell us a little bit about yourself and your ministry, and what’s happening with the Pension Fund?
Rev. Dr. Todd Adams: Thanks, Terri. It’s good to be with you all today. Todd Adams, I am a product of the Christian Church in Oklahoma and importantly, I think I am a product of Disciples Mission Fund. I can look at my call to ministry and see the different places Disciples Mission Fund made that call possible. Whether it was church camp growing up here in Oklahoma or Disciples related scholarships at Chapman and Phillips. And then having the opportunity to serve in the Office of the General Minister and President for eight and a half years before coming to the Pension Fund staff. But I am again, a product, a child with a church and pleased to be in this chair serving on behalf of our pastors at Pension Fund.
We Steward 3.9 billion dollars in assets, and we do so understanding that, that money belongs to our members and that we make member-centric decisions when it comes to stewarding those assets and that we get to invest with the faith and the teachings of the church that definitely shape our decision-making. We’re also privileged to be one of 75, non-bank trustees in the US. So I think it’s an interesting place for us to be at this unique intersection of finance and mission as a highly regulated financial institution. And I think all three of us have different parts that the tax code and the federal statutes that we have to comply with that.
Make us different in the work that we do but also getting to do so through the lens of ministry, stewarding the assets administer relief and assistance and ensuring the strong smart, secure retirement. For each of our pastors and church workers in about the new initiative front right now for us at Pension Fund. Literally this morning, signed the ink on the contract with a marketing consulting firm will be helping us to look at historically underserved communities in the life of the church and how we might better relate to those communities, and many of them are communities of color, but also our bi- and tri-vocational pastors.
And we are an employer-sponsored, employer-oriented retirement provider. But as a non-bank trustee, we also have the opportunity for individuals to save with us resources that they accumulate in other places. And so this diversity Equity accessibility and belonging initiative will really carry us forward into the next 100 plus years of service as we look forward to future.
THO: Thanks, Todd. That’s exciting news and again wherever the Pension Fund is mentioned I see you in lots of places presenting honored ministers pins to recent retirees and people are always so grateful for the provision that is offered to them because of the Pension Fund.
Your point about reaching historically underserved communities leads me to another question. We call your three ministries, the financial ministries. And we know that, as you have mentioned, you all operate under various forms of regulation that you that kind of creates a firewall in many cases between you and the rest of the church. But how do you see yourselves as part of the whole church? And how does it, how do these financial ministries help the church really live in Covenant with one another? And I open up the floor to anybody who’d like to begin answering that question, how do you see yourself as part of the whole church?
TA: Well, I will jump in, I think when we think about clergy, that’s the part of the church that we serve. We partner with the congregation says the employer, but when they Covenant, at the point of ordination, or they covenanted at the point of entering Seminary, Pension Fund starts their relationship with them. And that relationship is not just about getting to a magic age, where you have accumulated a certain amount of money, or a certain amount of credits and can retire. Well, it’s a relationship that continues throughout, so our programs around Excellence in Ministry, Learn to Live our online mental health program that we have launched this last year, Your Money Line, all of those pieces that we offer to help keep people healthy and get them mentally, physically, spiritually healthy throughout their ministry, to get them to that place of retirement so they can enjoy. And I think that’s part of the way that our Alpha and Omega logo from the beginning, your first day of seminary, all the way through your last breath, we’re there with you and we’re helping to uphold the churches of it to support ministry and to be there for the support of ministry.
THO: Amen. Amen.
BK: I’ll jump in. I feel like these three ministries Disciples Church Extension Fund, Christian Church Foundation, or the foundation as we often refer to them as, and the Pension Fund, all have aspects that really can be translated into the ministry, just like our congregations we need to be able to allow, you know, our net assets to become an anchor as I kind of mentioned before, we’d like our churches to be and need our churches to be creative using financial resources as a launch pad for their ministry.
And so Christians, as Christians, we don’t you know get extra points and brownie points or anything like that. For amazing wealth, but we are called to do with the financial responsibilities that we have. And so our financial Ministries can bully model for our congregation, what it looks like to continue to use everything that we have and all that we have As Financial organizations, in order, to make sure that our congregations are empowered to be the body of Christ in the world that we have been called to do.
And, to end, to end to be okay with know that it takes Financial Resources in order to do this,
GK: And to tag onto that with what Todd and Belinda both said, none of us are vendors. We are ministry partners, and we were created by the church for the church. And so every part of our work is we, you know, we have legal fiduciary responsibilities but we even, but we have a higher calling and that is every dollar which we receive every dollar which we manage, we have a responsibility to care for that because it’s God’s money and you’re not going to get that from vendor.
So as we work with congregations, as we work with regions, as we work with General Ministries, as we work with all our ministry partners, I know that the Foundation, the Pension Fund and Church Extension. We never do what’s best for our ministry, we’re there to do what’s best for the church because again, we were created by the church to serve the church, and we have a higher calling which means that we have a greater responsibility. To not only care for the resources, but to use those resources in as a, as a way in which we could proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ and, and carry out our mission to serve the whole world and to serve everyone.
So, I mean, that’s why we’re, our ministries are involved, you know, with Interfaith on Center for Corporate Responsibility, for example, You know, we have taken stands on human rights on a short for racial equality, just for just one small example.
I know that in this latest proxy season, we were advocates for calling companies to do racial equality edits, the audits racial quality audits and, you know, that’s making a difference and, and I think the great misconception sometimes is that there are ministries that are social witness and then there are ministries that manage money. We’re both of those
THO: I think that’s a really important point to add to make Gary and Todd. You made reference to not only gives me not only the marketing efforts that are looking at serving at historically and it’s their communities but you have gone through your own racial equity work as well. I may want to throw that question back out. We talked about being the church that we say we are we have wonderful language that say we’re a movement for wholeness and a fragmented world is part of the one body of Christ, we welcome all to the Lord’s table is God has welcomed us and that we are in a pro-reconciling, anti-racist Church. How are we that? Given some examples of ways in which your ministries help us live into that. And Gary, you have mentioned some sort of responsible investing, the racial audit other examples of the way these ministries, reflect who disciples are and are living into who we say.
TA: We are I am a very tangible way for us at pension fund, we just hired a new member for our call center. So we’re able to now press 1 for Spanish preferred. And so we have four fully, bilingual employees, who can assist those members who are Spanish, preferred, and can help bridge the gap rather than someone who doesn’t speak Spanish trying to, you know, find somebody who can and explain and to somebody what they’re trying to do. And you know, and then around our strategic initiative, and it’s also about the way in which our border structure.
We have 45 percent persons of color on our board of directors now at Pension Fund, which is the largest percentage we have ever had, representing the diversity of the church but not any one of those individuals as their simple because of their racial ethnic background. These are qualified competent industry professionals leaders pastors, members, actuaries, accountants, auditors, attorney, you name it. Who also happened to be part of our racial ethnic constituents within the life of the church. And so, I think part of that is intentionality, right?
So it’s easy to go with your network and who, you know, and it’s but the challenge of the call of churches for us to be intentional and everything that we do, whether it’s for development investment selection, hiring recruiting staff, expectations for training around racial ethnic diversity, and pro-reconciliation, anti-racism priority. Those are decisions, we make as leaders and ways in which we are Covenant, partners with the church and ways in which the church also helps to hold us accountable to do the work, the church calls us to do.
GK: I would lift up couple examples. We partner, we have been partnering with Disciples Women and the whole area of human trafficking and, you know, it’s one thing just to call for change. It’s another to to leverage our resources and the resources of pension fund and church extension and other ministry partners to say to a company. Look, why don’t you examine your supply chain and ways of which you are a part of human trafficking?
That’s just one example. Another example we became very involved in the campaign against Ghost guns which are unregistered guns. I know that Todd and Belinda been a part of that, you know, we, we are all involved in the Human Rights Coalition. So there are all sorts of ways in which we as ministry partners can resource each other and frankly when you get down to many of the human rights and equality issues, they are very much economic issues.
THO: I think that’s some of the power that you all have demonstrated that the church is committed to that kind of justice. As we live in to being an anti-racist Church, a movement for wholeness in a world that is so fragmented. And ensuring that serving underserved populations as well.
Belinda, is there anything that you’d like to say we’re about to wrap up? But I wanted you to weigh in on that last question. If you had anything you wanted to add?
BK: Yes, I just wanted to add is I am excited that we are doing things as a financial Ministries out there, but I also want to honestly recognize that we still have a ways to go, but some things that Disciples Church Extension Fund is doing is we have had a part of our policies and our procedures from hiring to how we do our lending practices, to making sure that there are particular loans and interest free loans set aside for are racially ethnic congregations.
And so, those are things that we have been doing and need to do more of. We also obviously have a separate anti-racism pro-reconciliation team or a AR/ PR team that we call who leads that effort in everything that we do for my policies like we’re reviewing our entire policies and procedures in our handbook. And they will have a say in that before tt actually is finalized before a board.
And of course we continue to have the balance on our board members and intentional which is what Todd said, I like that because we are intentional and who’s on there in the gifts that they bring but also recognizing that. And then the last thing, Thing is we have actually set aside funding, and we have begun conversations through AR/PR. Our team to work alongside of all of the ethnic racial ministries as to how we do this work together. And so that’s some of the things that we’re doing it to continue to do, as we move.
THO: Yeah, I think that’s a wonderful way to close the loop the intentionality, right? That it requires all of us to live into ministry, so that we don’t just have wonderful language, but that we’re actually living in to being the church that we say we are and what tremendous partners we have in the three of you and the ministries that you represent, it’s been great to have you with us today.
And I hope what congregations anyone who’s listening, make sure your pastor’s in the Pension Fund. Make sure that clergy, who are part of your community, understand the benefits that are there from the online assistance to financial wellness programs like Thriving Ministry.
The online mental health encouraging, people who have a passion for giving to connect with the Christian Church Foundation, as a way to figure out how you can share your resources with the whole church and then as a pastor I had to get a new heating system when I was a local congregation and my the chair of my church Council was looking at Banks and was like bags, we have a bag Disciples Church extension fund, and so I was able to make them aware of that and There’s so much support and consultation that DCF provides for congregations about using their resources.
And as you said Belinda how we’re expanding beyond the use of our buildings or re-purposing in some cases existing buildings and thinking about the infrastructure that we need to do ministry in this time.
So thanks again to all of you and it’s been great to have you here on another episode of Imagine with Me, I am so grateful for your time and all that you do for the church. Thank you. God bless.
Disciples, I just want to thank you again for being with us for this time of information and hopefully inspiration. I hope that you understand there’s so many ways in which we are church together in our finances. Financial ministries are certainly our ministry partners and hopefully something that you have learned today will give you some ideas as to how you can engage with the work of the Pension Fund, the Christian Church Foundation and Church Extension.
So thanks again, and we will see you on the next episode. And in the meantime, remember that God loves you and so do I. Take care.