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A Towering Life
For the last several years I have met with a group of friends who also work in Christian philanthropy to talk, share experiences and support each other. Every year the conversations are different because our issues change. As well, each time we convene the trust level goes up, and the barriers to discussing uncomfortable issues go down. This year we discussed the ways both donors and ministries measure and evaluate results. While all of us have been around long enough to have seen the effect of the growing pressure on ministries to report (and sometimes inflate) their results for donors, it was a question from Peb Jackson that named the…
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Jesus Reigns
1. As Americans, we have a basic antipathy toward kings, don’t we? It’s in our bones. We resent any kind of royalty – except the ones we create – and the privileges of dynasties – except those who run for elected office. It’s been so from the beginning. “In England a King hath little more to do than to make war and give away places; which, in plain terms, is to impoverish the nation and set it together by the ears. A pretty business indeed for a man to be allowed eight hundred thousand sterling a year for, and worshipped into the bargain! Of more worth is one honest man…
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The Art of Living
I received a letter from a long-time friend this week that has me thinking about how we respond to changes in fortune — especially in our ability to give. “Over the past couple of years, my interest in, and enthusiasm for, our foundation’s giving has been waning. I have been just going through the motions — and sometimes not even that. This has occurred during the time when the size of our foundation’s giving potential has decreased considerably. As you know, I spend a good deal of time each morning in prayer through journaling. Several weeks ago, I began to really focus during that time on what the Lord had…
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Redemption
The lesson this morning is on redemption. What does it mean to be redeemed? For some it means a reputation recovered after being lost. I remember one of the Watergate figures, Jeb Magruder, going into the ministry after serving time in the Watergate break-ins. Actor Robert Downey, Jr. has struggled all his life with drug addiction and then a failing career but has recently turned that around and redeemed his career. Others have found lives of service or even anonymity after notoriety for a part of their lives. But all of these are people who have redeemed themselves or their lives. That’s not the same as the topic this morning.…
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This Is Your Brain On Giving
In 2009, the John Templeton Foundation gave Notre Dame University a $5-million grant to lead research into the relationship between the brain and generosity. The initiative is called the “Science of Generosity,” and under the direction of Christian Smith, discoveries in neuroscience are making it clear that our brains are indeed designed to be generous. I admit I was skeptical when I first heard about it, but reading some of the results of their work has been encouraging. Of course, the ever-present danger is falling into the “nothing but” trap and concluding that generosity, compassion, empathy, altruism and giving are nothing but electrical impulses and chemical reactions. Research from the…
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Reconciliation
Sometimes when I read the book of Colossians I wonder what the congregation must have been thinking as they listened to it being read. I have to stop and think practically after every verse so I can imagine people saying to the reader, “Don’t go so fast. I didn’t get that. Stop and go over that again. Can I get a copy of that to take home with me to read?” So much of what Paul writes to the churches is practical counsel for day to day living and further on in the book there are rules for daily living. But in the first two chapters we are working through…
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A Sprinkling Trust
It’s a familiar scene made even more so by movies and novels: the reading of the last will and testament. The somber family is seated quietly around the table in the law office. The attorney reaches down into his briefcase and pulls out the file. He puts on his glasses, clears his throat and starts slowly reading the wishes of the deceased. Of course, in the back of every mind is the obvious question, “How much did he leave me?” It’s not unnatural or even greedy. It’s pretty normal behavior. Everyone has some vague notion or hope, and then the attorney says, “Your father left a sprinkling trust” and closes…
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Jesus Reflects
The lesson this morning is titled Jesus Reflects: Jesus is the exact representation of God. The three passages are Colossians 1:15-20; 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 and John 5:36-44. Colossians 1:15-20: “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from…
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Goal-Free Giving
If I were to pick one word to describe my mail from nonprofits in December, it would be URGENT! Every email was intent on reminding me how little time I had left to take advantage of either matching grants, the looming end-of-the-year tax deadlines or a special opportunity that would close by December 31. I don’t blame the organizations for this. It’s hard to get our attention from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, so something has to break through the clutter. As well, end-of-the-year giving has grown so much in importance that a nonprofit would be foolish not to do everything they can to nudge donors that they only have…
