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…

  What if the Rich Fool in the parable did not physically die that night but his soul – the very thing that made him human -was repossessed? What might it mean to be soul-less; to be a dead man walking with whatever there was of real life in him gone forever? A damned soul but not yet a dead man? Thank you for joining us this morning for an interview with our special surprise guest, the Rich Fool. INT: Earlier, when we heard it was your last day we quickly put together a program to feature your life and achievements. What a shock to wake up and find you…

“Papa, how old are you?” my young grandson asked. “I’m 73.” “Whoa, and you are not dead yet?” That was pretty much the end of the conversation as he had moved on but it was one more reason to think about this stage of my life.  Some people have what screenwriters call a “story arc” where life moves from a calm beginning, a middle where narrative momentum builds to a peak, and an end where the conflict is resolved. Everything seems to progress along a plot line with one scene leading naturally to the next and at the end of their life we can say it fit together. It was…

Earlier this week Carol and I had dinner with three other couples, and the four men got around to talking about their relationships with their fathers. Last week, I wrote about an issue that occupies the minds of friends young and old. I think this is the same. For some of us it is a complicated and often unresolved issue, and for others it is a source of continuing support and encouragement. That is why I decided to post something from the past today. I hope you don’t mind. Virtually every time I mention my father in a blog people will comment about how interesting he must have been. Some…

Transitions from the founder to the next leader are notoriously difficult. Everyone is at risk in one way or another. Founders are often reluctant to leave as their whole identity is wrapped up in the organization. Successors are unsure of themselves. The people feel caught between loyalty to and affection for the founder and it takes time for them to adjust. Sometimes they don’t and there is a simmering rejection. All of these work against the success of the transition. Of course, some work better than anyone expects. For example, the transition from Moses to Joshua was remarkable. While Joshua was doubtful about himself Moses was doubtful about the people…

Twice each year the Thursday blog is a sampling of photos and quotes. It’s that time again and I hope you enjoy both. “If I can put one touch of rosy sunset into the life of any man or woman, I shall feel that I have worked with God.” ― G.K. Chesterton ‍ “Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.” – Fred Rogers ‍ “The morals of our people are much better; their manners are more polite and agreeable, they are purer English; our language is better; our taste is better; our persons are handsomer; our spirit is greater, our…

As some of you know, I enjoy taking pictures – and then finding something to say.

Listen to “Repaid by Love” by Fred Smith   Stories come in all shapes, don’t they? Today, there is an industry devoted to people anxious to understand their personal narrative and the arc of their lifelong story. What is the plot of my life? For others, it is merely a collection of anecdotes compiled as multiple stories. They have a beginning and an end. They may or may not be related to other stories in an individual life. Some lives, in fact, are anthologies of these anecdotes but not a single narrative. For a few, there are life-defining stories that are more than anecdotes but not as defined as a…

Listen to “Rest In Peace Mrs. Perkins” by Fred Smith   Mrs. Perkins stepped out from her pew and walked down the aisle of our Baptist church to rededicate her life on a regular basis – almost monthly. It was a mystery to those of us who knew her to be one of the kindest and godliest people in the congregation. Sunday School teacher, model wife and mother, and a light in our dark adolescence, we were confused. In time, we figured out the pattern. Whenever the pastor ended the service with, “If you were to die tonight, would you know for sure where you will spend eternity?” Mrs. Perkins…

Listen to “Bearing Witness” by Fred Smith   The first time I read the phrase “bearing witness” was in Elie Wiesel’s book “Night” recounting the horrors of the Holocaust and the responsibility he felt never to forget or allow others to dismiss what happened there. Over the years, the phrase has come to mean more. We bear witness by standing up for something in danger of being overlooked or discounted. We use it to defend unpopular causes and ideas. I would describe Phil Buchanan’s new book, “Giving Done Right” as bearing witness to the too often dismissed best intentions of both non-profits and philanthropy in a time when both are suspect.…