Carol and I recently had dinner with David and Mary Ann Bishop. We met them when they were a young couple. David was managing his family business and Mary Ann was teaching Bible Study Fellowship in Myrtle Beach. When David sold the various businesses ten years ago he and Mary Ann had the freedom to explore an idea that had been in their minds for years.  They never had a call to be traditional missionaries but because of their business travel in the Far East they had developed a heart for missions. While they have always been supportive of traditional missions they wanted to find something that would use David’s…

Several years ago I read an article that used research to show how the brain reacts to gain and loss. It seems the amount of pleasure we receive from a gain of say $1000 is not equal to the amount of sadness we feel about a loss of the same amount.  Our capacity for regret seems to outpace our capacity for happiness. The article went on to show the applications for investing. Some people will hang on to a losing investment out of “loss aversion” and hope it will somehow come back to the level at which they bought it. It’s easy to think the stock remembers your purchase price…

A few days ago Thom Shultz at Group Publishing posted an article on the dangers of celebrity worship – both for the celebrity and for those who follow them based on their being famous. It was not a blanket indictment of great talent or legitimate accomplishment but a warning about the temptation to be caught up in fame and pursue it for its own sake.  Reading it reminded me of a note I received from Eugene Peterson asking me to help him understand something about the participants of our upcoming Gathering conference. In my work I’ve had the opportunity to spend time with many talented speakers and communicators and have never received…

Last week I attended the Nexus: Global Youth Summit on Innovative Philanthropy and Social Entrepreneurship. Hosted by Jonah Wittkamper and Search for Common Ground it was one of the most international conferences I have attended in years.  While a good portion of the participants currently live in the States as they have settled here after attending US colleges, their homes and families are all over the world. It is an international culture but still a subculture of people who have similar values and have been socialized by their family wealth, political persuasions, educations (private schools leading to Ivy League) and decisions to “make a difference” by both funding and creating…

I’d like to say I volunteer because I am altruistic. The truth is volunteering gives me an opportunity to learn more about organizations and the people who work there. Today I volunteered to wash cars for families with loved ones at our local hospice. It only makes sense that getting your car washed while your father is in his last few days is not at the top of your “to do” list. You learn a good deal about people’s lives cleaning out their cars. While scrubbing wheels and rinsing I started thinking about how we’ve traditionally motivated volunteers. We tell them they will feel better about themselves or repeat the…

“How much is enough?” is a question we often hear asked about personal wealth. I have heard it very few times asked about foundation assets. The assumption seems to be the accumulation of assets is a good thing and that will only mean more to give.  Now and then I will hear from a friend struggling with the growth of foundation assets. That’s the case in this recent letter. “Dear Fred: My critical issue and question at this moment in time is “How to deal with excess financial capacity without building a bigger barn.” The barn to which I speak is really two barns. One ‘barn’ houses our personal assets.…

Like everyone else I’ve tossed around the words “call” and “anointing” to mean discovering the right place in life. Of course the implication is always this is the place where you will be the most fulfilled, satisfied and genuinely engaged. Campus Crusade used to call it “God’s wonderful plan for your life”. Over the years I’ve helped any number of young people find their calling and there are countless books on the subject. In my mind those people who are anointed are those who have found the perfect fit between the way they are designed and the work they have been called to do. Again the implication is usually that…

While in Portland for the latest Q conference in April I had a few minutes with one of the participants who has also been a speaker at many Christian conferences around the country. We had not seen each other in a couple of years and I wanted to catch up – and hoped he did as well. As we talked he made a funny comment about being one of the “carnies” that move around from show to show on the circuit. While they all travel separately (unlike the circus) they all seem to end up at the same conferences together. Carnies call it running a “joint” (a booth), a “grab…

I don’t make many statements or give quotes but sometimes I do when I think the issue is interesting and my perspective will help. That was the case in an article by Christine Scheller  titled “Who Gets The Money?”. The premise is Christian donors are less likely to write checks to minority-run ministries and there is possibly a race-based disparity. A minority ministry leader, Leroy Barber from Mission Year, wrote a response: “I was incredibly saddened earlier this week as I read an article by Christine A. Scheller titled “Who Gets The Money?” on urbanfaith.com. Although I have lived with this reality swirling around me for over twenty years in ministry…

I spent an hour on the phone this morning with Dave Hillis the relatively new President of Leadership Foundations. I was first introduced to LF many years ago through Reid Carpenter – a genuine cowboy and former Young Life leader.  As everyone says semi-seriously “If you were in Urban Young Life you moved to Leadership Foundations when you got older.  If you were in regular Young Life you moved to the Fellowship.” There is probably a good deal of truth in that.  Anyway, for years the Leadership Foundations were local city initiatives with a wide variety of missions that often started with hosting prayer breakfasts and working with city leadership, pastors…