Listen to “Losing Our Powers” by Fred Smith   In a recent New York Times article, “When a $1,000 Gift is Better Than $1 Million” Paul Sullivan writes about Donna and Benjamin Rosen who were once in the “big leagues” of philanthropy giving away tens of millions of dollars. But, as Ben Rosen puts it, “I gave away too much, too soon, and lived too long. Our days of philanthropy are gone. We’re not making multimillion-dollar donations anymore. But there’s still a lot of room for philanthropy.” We read about foundations deciding to voluntarily “sunset” after a defined number of years but what about those who give away too much too soon and outlive their…

Listen to “Not Fade Away” By Fred Smith   I was 38 when I realized I was a misfit in my work. Teaching in a traditional boarding school on the East Coast, I was working overtime to adapt – but unsuccessfully. It was no one’s fault. It was simply not the right place for me. During that time I discovered a book by Ralph Mattson and Art Miller, Finding a Job You Can Love. Their book changed my life because the authors (who then became friends) showed me how God had designed me in a particular way to accomplish a particular kind of work. I could try to shoehorn myself…

Listen to “Is All Truth God’s Truth” by Fred Smith   I still remember my response in 1985 when our local Christian radio station turned down my request to play the Judy Collins version of “Amazing Grace” because, while it was clearly a Christian song, they had qualms about their listeners hearing it from Judy Collins. “What narrow minds! What does it matter who sings it as long as the message is Christian or not inconsistent with Christian values? Why should we be so legalistic about the packaging if the content is the same? After all, it was our own St. Augustine who said, ‘All Truth is God’s Truth’” Now, many years later,…

Listen to “Rules for Radicals” by Fred Smith   As Sun Tzu’s “Art of War” and Machiavelli’s “The Prince” have been sources for practical action by politicians, soldiers, and corporate leaders, Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” has been the blueprint for disruptive social action. It is famous for what today we would call memes – memorable quotes and images: “In the beginning, the organizer’s first job is to create the issues or problems.” But, an even earlier blueprint for revolt is in the Old Testament conspiracy of Absalom to subvert his father, David. Revolutions take time to brew and the conditions must be right. But, his strategy to steal the…

Listen to “The Wheel of Justice” by Fred Smith   I’ve hummed along with Billy Joel’s song “Only The Good Die Young” for years. It’s an infectious tune and the lyrics soon fade into the background – unless you have girls and then every “Billy” you see becomes a threat! “They say there’s a heaven for those who will wait. Some say it’s better but I say it ain’t. I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints. The sinners are much more fun.” Another reason to look at the lyrics is teaching from stories in the Old Testament about men in power who would not wait. We…

Listen to “An Unremarkable Life” by Fred Smith   I re-publish this every few years to honor my father and grandfather. They were so different and each found it difficult to love and understand the other. Fathers and sons. I know something about that. If all I knew about my grandfather was what I read in his 1952 diary I might think he was a man whose life was a monotonous string of colorless days. My grandfather, Bunyan Smith, was a pastor in one of the poorest sections of Nashville, and I knew enough about his life as a preacher to expect that his diary would not likely be thrilling. However, I…

Listen to “The Museum of Me” by Fred Smith   Two of our best friends are moving away so we had one last dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Among so much else, we talked about the emotional difficulty of deciding what to keep and what to throw away. We all face that when we move but there is something about what feels like the last move that makes everything seem more final and serious. It’s not just tossing trash and the normal detritus we’ve accumulated.  Much of that has been dispatched in previous moves but now we are down to what really matters. These are things that define us…

Listen to “Ties that Bind” by Fred Smith   In his address to the National Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast in Westminister Hall last month, Tim Keller tells the tragic story of the shooting of ten little Amish girls in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania in 2006. It is a remarkable account of forgiveness and grace on the part of the families. In fact, over half of those in attendance at the killer’s funeral were Amish. Three scholars of Amish history and culture were prompted to write the book “Amish Grace” that exposed many for the first time to the deeply rooted practice of forgiveness in Amish spirituality that is an everyday part of…

 Listen to “The Soil of Partial Truth” by Fred Smith   A humorous article on Christian music included this quote from Joe Bob Briggs: “Christian music is bad songs written about God by white people.” My friend, Steven Garber then at the Washington Institute and now at Regent College, messaged me back with a piece he and Charlie Peacock had done at the Art House in Nashville. It began with the question “Can you sing songs shaped by the truest truths of the universe but in a language that the whole world can understand?” In the course of our back and forth Steven passed along this observation from writer Walker Percy…

Listen to “The Beginning And The End” By Fred Smith   I have worked with a number of entrepreneurs over the years and there are a few common themes and characteristics in their lives. One of them is an extreme focus and a personal identification with projects. They start things, grow them, and then look for exit strategies. In fact, the exit strategy is built into the plan from the beginning. In non-profit work, there are very few exit strategies – especially for founders. A familiar and common characteristic of entrepreneurs founding ministries is, for a variety of reasons, they sooner or later start looking for other partners. Sometimes they…