Why This 'Secret Millionaire' Went Public
Entrepreneur Dani Johnson on the Bible, giving, and ABC's new reality show
Mark Moring |
When ABC approached Dani Johnson about starring on a new show called Secret Millionaire, she said no. When they tried a second time, she said no. Ditto the third time and the fourth.
Dani Johnson Dani JohnsonNot until ABC asked for a fifth time did Johnson, a self-made millionaire, finally say yes, and the results can be seen on Sunday's primetime premiere (8/7c). The premise is simple: Take a millionaire to "the other side of the tracks" and let them live in poverty for a whole week. Arrange for said millionaire to volunteer in local outreach organizations, places that are usually operating on a limited budget. At the end of the week, reveal the secret identity of the millionaire as he/she writes big checks to these organizations. Cue the violins, and let the tears roll.
It's that last part—writing the checks—that bothered Johnson the most. Not that she can't afford it, and not that she's stingy. Johnson—who earned her millions as a motivational speaker, author, and founder of a financial advising firm —is a devout Christian and quite generous. She and husband Hans run King's Ransom, a non-profit foundation dedicated to giving and serving people in need around the globe.
But Johnson prefers to write her checks in private, based on Matthew 6:1-4, where Jesus says not to do our "acts of righteousness before men," but to do our giving "in secret." So why'd she ultimately say yes? Because Scripture (Matthew 5:14-16) also calls us to "let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."
For Sunday's episode of Secret Millionaire, Johnson 42, traveled to Knoxville, Tenn., and lived in a scuzzy apartment for a week while doing volunteer work with several charities. We spoke with Johnson about her experience.
So, ABC contacted you, and you said no four times. Why?
We have a personal philosophy. We use our business to generate millions of dollars so we can give to those who are in need, but we give in secret. We also believe we're supposed to be the hands and feet of these organizations, so we're not just ones that cut the check. We go in as volunteers, not as successful millionaires. I've worked with the homeless and with orphans, washed their feet, trimmed their fingernails, served hot meals, spoken into their lives. We've done it in our hometown [Dallas], in Idaho, in San Francisco, in Belize, in India. Why do we need a camera following us around to show that? I told ABC, "I'm not your girl. I could care less about having my face all over television." But quickly we found out that we were fighting God and not man.
How do you figure that?
It was crazy. We said, no, no, no, no, no, and God made it obvious that he had opened up this door. Like Gideon, we laid out a fleece before the Lord—four fleeces, in fact, and asked for the impossible … and he did it.
Did what? What was the fleece?
Without compromising my relationship with ABC, I shouldn't say. I'll just say they were impossible things that had to come together; there was just no way it was going to work. But every single one of those things worked out. It was God, that's the bottom line.
So, how do you reconcile writing these big checks on camera with the Scripture about doing good deeds in private?
The Lord convicted me that it's the heart of the giver that he's after. When you give in public you've received your reward in full; you got what you were after. That's an issue of the heart. But I don't give for recognition. That's what the Lord showed me....more>>>
When ABC approached Dani Johnson about starring on a new show called Secret Millionaire, she said no. When they tried a second time, she said no. Ditto the third time and the fourth.
Dani Johnson Dani JohnsonNot until ABC asked for a fifth time did Johnson, a self-made millionaire, finally say yes, and the results can be seen on Sunday's primetime premiere (8/7c). The premise is simple: Take a millionaire to "the other side of the tracks" and let them live in poverty for a whole week. Arrange for said millionaire to volunteer in local outreach organizations, places that are usually operating on a limited budget. At the end of the week, reveal the secret identity of the millionaire as he/she writes big checks to these organizations. Cue the violins, and let the tears roll.
It's that last part—writing the checks—that bothered Johnson the most. Not that she can't afford it, and not that she's stingy. Johnson—who earned her millions as a motivational speaker, author, and founder of a financial advising firm —is a devout Christian and quite generous. She and husband Hans run King's Ransom, a non-profit foundation dedicated to giving and serving people in need around the globe.
But Johnson prefers to write her checks in private, based on Matthew 6:1-4, where Jesus says not to do our "acts of righteousness before men," but to do our giving "in secret." So why'd she ultimately say yes? Because Scripture (Matthew 5:14-16) also calls us to "let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."
For Sunday's episode of Secret Millionaire, Johnson 42, traveled to Knoxville, Tenn., and lived in a scuzzy apartment for a week while doing volunteer work with several charities. We spoke with Johnson about her experience.
So, ABC contacted you, and you said no four times. Why?
We have a personal philosophy. We use our business to generate millions of dollars so we can give to those who are in need, but we give in secret. We also believe we're supposed to be the hands and feet of these organizations, so we're not just ones that cut the check. We go in as volunteers, not as successful millionaires. I've worked with the homeless and with orphans, washed their feet, trimmed their fingernails, served hot meals, spoken into their lives. We've done it in our hometown [Dallas], in Idaho, in San Francisco, in Belize, in India. Why do we need a camera following us around to show that? I told ABC, "I'm not your girl. I could care less about having my face all over television." But quickly we found out that we were fighting God and not man.
How do you figure that?
It was crazy. We said, no, no, no, no, no, and God made it obvious that he had opened up this door. Like Gideon, we laid out a fleece before the Lord—four fleeces, in fact, and asked for the impossible … and he did it.
Did what? What was the fleece?
Without compromising my relationship with ABC, I shouldn't say. I'll just say they were impossible things that had to come together; there was just no way it was going to work. But every single one of those things worked out. It was God, that's the bottom line.
So, how do you reconcile writing these big checks on camera with the Scripture about doing good deeds in private?
The Lord convicted me that it's the heart of the giver that he's after. When you give in public you've received your reward in full; you got what you were after. That's an issue of the heart. But I don't give for recognition. That's what the Lord showed me....more>>>
