PERSONAL FINANCE Biblical planners bank on faith

Bible-based financial planners differ over saving.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
What would Jesus invest in?
The question might come up among followers of financial planning based on Scripture.
Biblical money management that links personal spending decisions to Christian priorities has gained a significant following in recent years, particularly among evangelical Christians. Church seminars, syndicated radio programs, newsletters, books and investment firms dedicated to Christian principles urge both thrift and generous giving to follow biblical precepts on charity.
Many of the rules echo traditional financial advice, such as avoiding debt. But some Christian advisers also endorse what amounts to heresy for many secular accountants: saving moderately for retirement while trusting in God to provide for the future, rather than maxing out 401(k) contributions to pursue as large a nest egg as possible.
"That's one area where you will find a great deal of consensus among financial planners: You've gotta save, you've gotta save, you've gotta save. Whereas some biblical-oriented people will say you've got to live on faith," said Dan Moisand, a financial planner in Melbourne, Fla., who sits on the board of the secular Financial Planning Association.
Biblical investing
Biblical financial planning saw a surge in popularity over the past five years, according to people in the industry. The Timothy Plan Mutual Fund, which invests in what it deems Christian-friendly companies, had about 1,500 financial planners asking to sell its shares three years ago. Now, it has more than 4,000.
One Christian approach to finances focuses on donating money to religious endeavors. Followers should carve out at least 10 percent of earnings for their church or Christian charities -- tithes that often require significant reworkings of household budgets.
"We're creating a surplus so we can share out of our surplus," said Carl Margenau, chief executive of the Pinecrest, Fla., accounting firm Berenfeld Spritzer Shechter & amp; Sheer, who also teaches Christian financial seminars. "Every spending decision is a spiritual decision."
Like most financial strategies, some Christian plans urge drastic debt reduction. "Owe no man anything, but to love one another," reads Romans 13:8, a passage cited in the "Crown's Financial Ministries' Biblical Financial Study" textbook Margenau uses in his class.
Mortgage perspectives
But although mainstream financial planners see credit-card interest as a fiscal sin, some leading Christian counselors also frown on what is typically considered a financial haven: home mortgages.
"Crown" advises extra loan payments to retire mortgages quickly. That is counter to the traditional maxim that it is better to invest disposable income in stocks or bonds with yields that are higher than what a mortgage costs in interest -- especially because the interest payments are tax-deductible.
"There's certainly a strong Christian movement out there that says you should have your house paid off," said Christi Gebhart, a financial planner in New York and an active Christian. "I struggle with that one."
Free for ministry
But going debt-free appeals to Christian leaders partly because it gives followers flexibility to pursue spiritual callings and missionary work.
Tim and Karen Chase took Margenau's financial course in the 1980s, then cut spending to pay off the mortgage on their modest South Miami home. Four years later, in 1996, they sold the house and left for Indonesia, where they fly Bible students and supplies to poor villages.
"We believe that we have seen God's blessing in our lives because we have endeavored to be careful and wise with what he has entrusted to us," said Karen.
All money belongs to God in popular Christian financial theology, so earners have a duty to spend it responsibly. Christian financial planners encourage savings and investments for short-term emergencies and retirement. But they often discourage aggressive retirement plans because they "hoard" money, instead of spending it on good works while having faith in God's provision for the future.
"Is this hedging our bets? Is this a backup in case God doesn't come through?" Randy Alcorn wrote about retirement investments in his Oregon-based Christian newsletter Sound Mind Investing. "I do not want to be a fool by not planning for the future. But I also don't want to be a fool by overplanning for it."
Dan Miller, a Coral Springs, Fla., stockbroker and a member of the National Association of Christian Financial Consultants, questioned the wisdom of moderation when it comes to investments.
"I don't know if there's such a thing as saving too much," he said.