Kingdom Compounding
One couple embraces counter-cultural approach to generosity
“My finance nerdiness goes way back,” David Luttrell chuckled as he addressed the audience at a Generous Giving event. “My third grade science project was on the compounding effects of interest. If you needed an eight year old dropping wisdom of how to double your money, I was your guy.”
For as long as he could remember, David was fascinated with money and how to grow what you had, earn more of it, and invest it in order to have more in the future.
David was not new to the world of finance. David’s dad, D. Scott Luttrell, was a successful money manager who founded the LCM Group in Dallas, Texas, over 30 years ago with a mission statement emphasizing “being a good steward of our God given resources and manag[ing] them with excellence.”
“We know the pull that money can have on the human heart,” said Keelie Luttrel, David’s wife of 12 years. “We are trying to heed Jesus’ teaching in Luke 12:15 to ‘take care and be on your guard against covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of one’s possessions.’”
Keelie, who met David when they were students at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, has a legacy of giving in her family as well.
“I grew up in a middle class family and my parents provided greatly for us,” said Keelie. “But, I think the biggest thing I saw growing up was their generosity of spirit. My parents were the first ones to step in, help, and share.”
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Keelie, who graduated with a degree in marketing and economics, talked about being raised with the idea of the American dream, where the more money you had, the more freedom and opportunities you had.
After graduation Keelie started bringing in a paycheck and soon found herself living at the edge of her budget.
“I really felt like I was owed that, to be honest,” said Keelie. “I was earning money and felt I had the right to purchase whatever I wanted. Those are often the moments where God comes in and changes the story.”
For Keelie, that moment started after signing up for a class at her church on budgeting and stewardship.
“It was sobering when I found out I was already making more than an average family of four. I had an abundance even though I felt like I didn’t have enough,” stated Keelie. “God started to change my mindset. I walked away with the sense of responsibility that comes with abundance.”
When David was accepted into Stanford Business School, the couple moved to California.
Upon graduation, David immediately landed a job in Silicon Valley with a half-million dollar starting salary.
“I felt like I had made it and was very excited that our future was set,” he said. But when David shared the news with Keelie, it was met with unexpected tears. After praying, they felt led to move back to Dallas—so he declined the lucrative job offer.
At the same time, David’s father was making plans to have David step in and lead the family business and foundation.
“I looked at my entire career in light of where my faith and my finance nerdiness could intersect,” said David. “I knew I could flourish there.” Now he leads the investment-based stewardship platform of the LCM Group as chief investment officer.
Keelie was offered a six-figure job as well, but she felt God impressing her to “lay it down.”
“A lot of us struggle with our identity in our careers. So this was hard,” Keelie said. However, the couple welcomed the flexibility to start their own family and launched another revenue stream, Haven Realty Group.
David and Keelie found joy in doing what they felt was God’s plan for their family. Little did they know what was around the corner.
David’s parents had been wrestling for two decades with how to set up an estate plan to benefit the next generation. When they offered David and Keelie a trust worth $10 million dollars, David responded with “thanks, but no thanks.”
“We had already been stewarding abundance and we wanted to continue to do that well,” said David. “We decided to redeploy those resources in a way that we wouldn’t consume them.”
Keelie was on the same page in turning down the generous offer. “Our temptation would be to rely on resources and build a castle of security that is built on sand more than rely on God.”
The couple used the money as a deposit to set up a supporting organization for the family’s investment firm. David has served on several boards that focus on economic growth and is the co-founder of Dallas-based Christian giving collaboration, the Ambassadors Club.
“I am still fascinated with the compounding effects of interest,” said David. “We just want to make sure we compound it on the right side of eternity.”
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