We Aim to Encourage, Not Condemn

Our Faith Equality Index (FEI) is a key part of who we are and what we’re achieving at Faith Driven Consumer™. It’s also an invaluable tool for Faith Driven Consumers who want to learn more about a specific brand or business. Particularly, the FEI highlights how well they do or do not equally treat and welcome the faith community and its members in the workplace, marketplace and culture at large. As a core part of what we do at FDC, the FEI is a project that we believe not only aligns with, but is integral to, our values and our mission. But, you might ask, how can a database designed to give scores to brands, some of which are better than others, remain a positive tool for positive change? Is the FEI just another opportunity for people to bully, boycott and become more divided?

There is no question that we live in a world full of constant conflict between ideologies and identities. These communities compete with others for attention, privilege and acclaim, often doing so through divisive means and with destructive effects. FDC’s Faith Equality Index is designed to facilitate a profoundly different kind of goal. At FDC, our spirit is one of positivity and encouragement, reflected in our Christian faith, with an emphasis on grace and love. This means we strive for greater inclusion and encourage the welcoming of ALL people. The FEI’s purpose is to enable our community to achieve this positive goal in broader cultural contexts, specifically in commerce. We believe that you, a Faith Driven Consumer, empowered by the information the FEI provides, can make specific choices. These choices are amplified by the collective power and voice of 41 million FDCs spending $2 trillion annually, enabling the FDC Community to change the landscape of diversity and equality in the marketplace, workplace and culture around you.

This goal is of utmost importance to us at FDC and is why we developed the Faith Equality Index. Of equal importance to us is how we do what we do, not just what we accomplish. This is where constructing and utilizing the FEI in such a way that aligns with our core goals and values becomes crucial. Specifically, we designed our FEI around three different grades or scores. These are: Incompatible, Acceptable, and Compatible. You’ll notice that we prefer these designations to the more common Good, Better, Best method of grading.

This preference expresses the spirit of FDC which is not to “keep score,” nor to condemn or disparage certain businesses. Instead, for the benefit of our members, we want to evaluate how consistent a brand’s corporate actions have been with a truly equal and diverse attitude towards Faith Driven Consumers. Further, these grades have been given based only on what has been done for Faith Driven Consumers at this point in company’s history; it is a snapshot. The implication of this caveat for the FEI lies in our goal for these brands – to hear our collective voice and engage in conversation, learn ideas to promote their scores, and ideally carry out those ideas without negatively impacting their own positive core values. In fact, we are excited for brands with lower rankings to prove us wrong by demonstrating to Faith Driven Consumers that they are in fact a brand compatible with who we are and our freedom to live accordingly in the marketplace, workplace and culture.

We look forward to the FEI becoming an ever-changing account of brands and their journeys toward corporate actions compatible with people of faith, improving their scores and climbing the ranks among others to produce a more welcoming environment for FDCs. And we won’t get there through bullying the market or condemning those who haven’t yet appreciated the importance or impact of our community. Instead, we will utilize the FEI in ways that are consistent with our values and conducive to positive change. We hope that you follow and engage with it closely, so that you will be able to track the effects that you and the FDC community as a whole have on and within the marketplace. We plan to implement ways that you, as an FDC, can actively participate in the FEI on the path toward positive change as well.  The FEI is an opportunity to do something unique, important and positive, and we invite you to utilize this exciting new resource, in its current form and its form yet to come, to make a real difference.

It’s no secret that much of what we do at Faith Driven Consumer™ involves money. We exist within the marketplace – the place where money is exchanged. We represent consumers – people who use money to buy things. And, while we operate as a business within the commerce industry, we also represent you in that industry. In our position in the industry, we offer ways for you to save money and offer businesses ways to make more money, through promoting those which demonstrate faith compatible actions. Although we are committed to our mission and believe we are bringing glory to God and supporting the faith community through our services, we don’t hide that we are also a business. We also need to make money ourselves in order to support this mission. But, isn’t money a dirty word? Doesn’t Jesus say that money is the root of all evil? How can an organization that is all about money be committed to the cause of Christ and his plan for us?

Those are very good questions. As followers of Christ, we should all be careful about how much we let money dictate and control our lives. More importantly, we should be especially careful about pursuing money above all else. In fact, Jesus does NOT say that money is the root of all evil. Instead, the Bible says, “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils.” (Timothy 6:10 ESV)

So, why does the Scripture make a careful effort to note that it is not money, but the love of money, that can lead to many evils? Because the rest of the Scriptures teach us that money, while a necessary and wonderful blessing from God, is simply a tool in the hands of its user.

Money can be used for good or bad purposes. It can be used to glorify God or to sin against Him. It can be used to help others or to selfishly indulge one’s pleasures in ungodly ways. It can be wasted, or it can be saved, or stewarded, in such a way as to increase it and its potential for good.

This word “steward” is important. We often use it exclusively in Christian spheres, so much so, that it might now have officially become a “Christian-ese” word. You know what I’m talking about. Like how when we spend time with other believers in Christian contexts we fellowship, instead of hang out (when we know it’s the same thing). Well, stewardship may be a Christian-ese word, but it’s a very important one because it helps us think biblically about our finances and what God has given us. And that’s it right there – God gives us blessings, and money is one of the biggest blessings He provides since it allows us to secure many important needs and even some wants. Since it ultimately comes from God, it means that He has entrusted it to us; therefore, we are responsible for it and what we do with it – just as we are responsible for all of our actions before God.

Jesus tells a parable in Matthew 25 about three servants who were entrusted with their master’s money while he went away. The first two servants wisely invested and traded the money for which they were responsible, and they doubled the money they had been given. But the last servant was lazy and fearful. This servant did nothing with the money to which he was entrusted and instead buried it in the ground until the master returned. Upon the masters return, he was grateful and rewarded the first two servants greatly, telling them, “Well done good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much.” But the last servant he scolded and took from him what he had given him and gave it to the first servant, casting out the lazy servant into the darkness.

This parable is meant to teach us the importance of what God has given us – the gifts or resources to which he has entrusted us. God is the good master who entrusts His people with much. And He has provided us with everything we need to turn those gifts and resources (which He has given us) into even more, so we can honor and glorify Him through everything we do with them. We may use our money to buy things we need for life and the protection of our family, or we may give it back to him through tithing or donating to widows, orphans or the most vulnerable in our society. Or even if we spend our money enjoying pleasures God, in His goodness, has allowed us to enjoy because He loves us, we do so as stewards of these good gifts He has granted us. Only if we have this biblical perspective will we be able to use money to accomplish great things that glorify God, instead of allowing it to distract us. Money comes from God as a gift, and it is best served as tool in the plan that God has for each of our lives and for this world.

This is our perspective on finances here at FDC. We believe that God has entrusted all of us with resources – some with more and some with less – but ALL with the call to be good stewards of that which God has provided. FDC exists to help you do just that. We will help you save money. We’ll also help you spend it more wisely. We’ll make a real impact as we utilize our collective spending power, together as the FDC community. But, we’ll be careful to remember that all of this is God’s money in the first place, and we are just His servants entrusted, for a short time, with these wonderful gifts to be stewarded and ultimately given back to Him. This is what we believe at FDC, and we are excited about living that out alongside each of you.

In a previous blog, we shared an overview of what is a Faith Driven Consumer. In this blog, we’ll dive a bit deeper and define the categories that make up this important group of people – over 40 million Americans spending over 2 trillion dollars every year. That’s a significant class of consumers in the marketplace. But what makes them the special class of people to which we’ve given the name Faith Driven Consumer? It’s easiest to answer this question by breaking down this important term into the three categories expressed in the term itself: faith, driven and consumer.

FAITH – At Faith Driven Consumer™, our faith is central to everything we do and believe. Faith Driven Consumers share this important commitment. It isn’t a slogan or a nicety. It’s not a fad or a trendy way of characterizing someone who is “in tune” with their spirituality. It’s a commitment to following Jesus and his commands. It’s letting the truth of scripture and its ethical and spiritual influence permeate every part of who you are. This kind of faith – a powerful, active and transforming faith – is the kind of faith referenced when we say that we are and we serve Faith Driven Consumers at FDC.

DRIVEN – The bible says faith without works is dead (James 2:17). So, for Christians, faith cannot stop at the level of intellectual belief or affirmation. True faith drives us to be transformed individuals who will transform the world around us. Faith Driven Consumers are driven by their faith and for a mission. These faith driven actions play out in many ways in the life of Christians through spiritual practices and the local church. FDC also believes faith should even affect the more practical aspects of life, like buying groceries and hygiene products, booking flights and hotels for trips, or buying life insurance. Being a Faith Driven Consumer is someone who looks to employ their faith, making decisions in line with, and driven by, their values and the desire to impact the world around them.

CONSUMER –Admittedly, this one is a bit easier. A consumer is simply someone who consumes or uses goods and services. And since it costs money to purchase things like food, hygiene products, haircuts, clothing, car and health insurance, etc., a consumer is also someone who purchases goods and services. This includes just about all of us. And although this may seem like a mundane category of people, it actually means that consumers have an enormous opportunity and wield significant leverage in the marketplace. They have the power to change the marketplace through their financial choices on how, what and where they spend.

When we talk about the FDC community and all of the individuals capable of changing the marketplace, workplace and culture, we’re talking about those that simply employ their faith in how they engage in commerce. FDCs have faith in Christ and are driven by that faith in their everyday decisions as a consumer. We are exceedingly grateful to be partnering with and representing you in the marketplace – helping you make a difference through daily decisions, one dollar at a time.

Faith Driven Consumer™ (FDC) is a nonpartisan business whose mission is to enable Christians to grow, live and support their faith in daily life.  Our vision is to be the leading Marketplace and Community for Christians.

If you have ventured onto our page, it’s likely you are a Faith Driven Consumer. And that’s precisely why FDC exists in the first place – to represent you and your faith community, allowing your participation in a powerful network of Christians making a difference in the workplace, marketplace and culture at large. FDC makes it simple for you to make this kind of impact by enabling you to use your dollars intentionally and effectively, buying the kinds of goods you’re already buying.

What does FDC actually do? And, how are we able to accomplish our goals without asking our members to do more than they are already doing? The answer is simple: FDC delivers a platform that unites and harnesses your existing collective power.  You and your faith community already possess almost everything necessary to make a huge difference in commerce and culture. You have the two most powerful weapons in the marketplace: money and choice. And while some of us may have less or more financial freedom, one thing is certain – if you make choices about what kinds of goods you purchase, you have a voice, and you can make an impact.

If you are a Faith Driven Consumer then you have almost everything you need to start changing the marketplace, workplace and culture that we inhabit. If you make purchases and choices about which goods you buy, then you have a voice and can already make an impact. So, what else do you need? You need someone to AMPLIFY your voice. You need someone to UNITE your voice with other likeminded Christians so that the businesses and brands you support with your hard-earned dollars will have to take you and your faith community seriously, and never for granted. Faith Driven Consumer is uniquely designed to accomplish this task, which is more important and relevant than it has ever been in our culture’s history.

Here at FDC, we are able to achieve these vital goals by uniting Faith Driven Consumers who are serious about how they use their wallet to become informed about brands’ faith compatibility (through our many resources like the FEI, podcasts and articles), empowered to support those that are faith compatible (through our many resources, promotions and deals), and effective in the marketplace, workplace and culture (through leveraging your dollars to make an impact).

We are thrilled to be embarking on this journey with you. We truly believe FDC can help fuel your faith in many different ways and provide you an opportunity to finally be heard and recognized. Although we live in a world that seems to celebrate every faith, identity and community except Christians, we are here to remind you and the marketplace that your faith, your identity and your community matter. FDC is here to help you demonstrate that to the world of commerce by putting your dollars to work. By mobilizing and unifying your voice with other Faith Driven Consumers, we can deliver a more welcoming and equitable place for people of faith to inhabit.

What Is a Faith Driven Consumer?

What is a Faith Driven Consumer? It’s an important question to ask, especially since we use this term so much around here at Faith Driven Consumer™ (FDC). And, yes, it can be confusing at times, but we love our name because it really is just another way of saying who we represent and the people we serve: Faith Driven Consumers (FDCs).

So, the question still remains as to what exactly we mean by this term, and more importantly, why we think it’s such a valuable community. In short, a Faith Driven Consumer is a devoted follower of Christ who participates in commerce (buying goods) and who desires to make an impact, of any degree, in the workplace, marketplace and culture they inhabit. They are ordinary people, doing normal things like buying food, clothes, hygiene products, entertainment and travel. They also spend money on services. They get haircuts. They buy home, auto and/or life insurance. They go to the doctor, get their nails done and get new tires put on their car. They are consumers like everyone else.

There is one thing that separates a Faith Driven Consumer from an average consumer. They are devoted followers of Christ. This is the faith that drives them to be a different type of consumer than those who don’t believe in Jesus. And, they employ that profound belief in all aspects of their life. They take their faith seriously and allow it to transform and impact everything about their life. Every Choice Matters™.

This applies to all of the usual suspects, like going to church, reading your bible, having an active prayer life and serving humbly in your community. But, we believe that being a devoted follower of Christ extends beyond these areas to every aspect of your life and everything that you do. This means that serving Christ is also about how you spend your money – what kinds of things you buy and from whom you buy them. A Faith Driven Consumer is concerned with these decisions as well, and not just the ones that are more overtly “spiritual.” Our faith should pervade our whole life, right down to how we shop, save and spend; and FDC is here to help you on your daily journey.

While FDCs take their finances seriously and view their spending choices as a way to serve God, Faith Driven Consumer doesn’t bully or condemn brands and businesses that don’t share our values. There are even businesses out there that have made it clear they don’t want business from, and don’t particularly like, those of us driven by our Christian faith. They aren’t afraid to pick sides in the identity group war instead of welcoming everyone. Even still, we at FDC believe that being a Faith Driven Consumer doesn’t mean responding in hate and vindictiveness. It also doesn’t mean boycotting or speaking against these businesses. A Faith Driven Consumer is grace-filled and never condemns.

A Faith Driven Consumer responds with grace when we are marginalized, and instead of lashing out, we respond by leveraging the influence of our vast community to make an impact in the marketplace. Through these kinds of actions, we are able to encourage the marketplace, workplace and culture to welcome Christians and treat us fairly. These actions also preserve the testimony and witness of the Christian community and demonstrate the power of faith-driven people to the world. A Faith Driven Consumer is on this mission whenever they walk out the door. And FDC is on a mission to help you with your mission every step of the way.