The story of Abraham’s calling begins at the end of the line. If you trace the descendants of Adam through Noah and then to Terah, the line of family was about to disappear because Abraham’s wife, the daughter of the first-born of the last of Adam’s line, was barren. While it had survived against great odds – it was about to be extinguished. For 1,000 years between Noah’s covenant and Abraham there had been no word from the Lord. “This is the sign of my covenant” – and then silence for a millennium. I’ve wondered how they were able to live on so little from God when we expect to…

It was Easter morning in Kenya and we were in a bus making our way from Kisumu to Kijabe. All along the road we saw groups of people walking and running to church. Some were singing as they went while others were almost skipping in anticipation of the service. There were congregations meeting in churches while others were simply clustered in open fields around a large cross planted in the ground as a sign of the place to worship. Every Sunday – every day – is colorful in Africa but that day was especially so. Robes, headdresses, suits and ties were brilliant everywhere and on everyone. Had we not been so…

Years ago I taught Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment to high school seniors. The central theme of the book is the alienation of the main character, Raskolnikov, from society. The isolated young man sees himself as superior to all other people and cannot relate to anyone. A loner, he considers other people only as tools to be used. Seeing himself as a Superman, a person who is extraordinary and above the moral rules that govern the rest of humanity, he is driven to an act that will clearly distinguish him from those who are bound by the law and will prove his superiority: the gruesome murder of an old woman. He describes the…

I used to ask myself why one of my favorite columnists, George Will, was not reading my blog. Maybe I should use words like “obfuscate” or “bloviating” or toss in more references to baseball? It’s pride, of course. A growing family of reading friends could not make up for my being so exiguous to George. For anyone writing a blog or a column there are a number of analytical tools available to show how many people open, click through, and forward what you write. It’s not only that the more controversial posts get the most reactions and followers but, ironically, people like to follow those they might otherwise despise just…

There is no topic more widely discussed and fretted about in family philanthropy than donor intent. Horror stories (both true and fabricated) are floated by institutions and endowments warning parents there is a high likelihood that their children will abandon their values and wishes almost as soon as both parents have been laid to rest. The classic example is the Ford Foundation whose trustees, according to the story, were so blatant about diverting from Henry Ford’s instructions that his son resigned from the Board in disgust, claiming the trustees had betrayed their responsibilities by funding causes that would have been abhorrent to his father’s intentions. In fact, while it is…

Every year (and sometimes more often) we read about the increasing speed of glacial melting, more species becoming extinct, square miles of the Sahara desert advancing and how many trees have been lost to deforestation. Along with those reports there is an annual study that records how many congregations have closed in the past years. The most recent Lifeway Research survey of 34 Protestant denominations suggests that more Protestant congregations have closed than opened. The 2019 pre-pandemic study found that 4,500 churches closed that year, while about 3,000 new congregations were started. There seems to be a climate change in church affiliation with fewer than half of Americans claiming membership…

When did men stop wearing hats? That’s a question asked by Russ Roberts in his book, “How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life.” It’s part of a larger question that concerns the dynamics of social change and how something as prevalent as men wearing hats can suddenly become a thing of the past. There is no one reason, of course. While some people have attributed the change to fashion leaders who influence our style, others think it was the growth of automobiles making hats inconvenient for getting in and out. Still others believe it was a long term invisible trend that finally became mainstream when John F. Kennedy did not…

  Is it possible to be both generous and smart about it? Most of us would like to think so but some ongoing research suggests it may be harder than we realize. And while there may be things we can do to make sure our money doesn’t end up wasted, charity appears to be one area where we have to be extra careful not to let our brains get in the way. In other words, the old adage is true. “A little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing.” That’s counterintuitive, isn’t it? We normally think about not letting our hearts and emotions overly influence our giving. But it…

You may have read recent articles about a growing group of young and affluent inheritors embracing giving that encourages their peers to disperse all of their inherited or excess income. They describe themselves as “class traitors” by turning their backs on family wealth and the unearned privileges they enjoy.  The creation of great wealth often spurs an unexpected reaction in the next generation. During the 12th and early 13th centuries there was an explosion of both wealth and the formation of informal orders within the Catholic Church. One of the reasons for the founding of these monastic communities was a generation of young people turning away from the excesses of…

Twenty years ago in our community it was considered normal that minority students would not finish high school much less go on to college. In fact, there was very little attention given to minority students expressing a desire for going beyond high school. A group of us began meeting and asking the question, “What would it take to increase the number of students who would be first in their family to attend college?” We did not focus on the dropout problem or limit our scope to minority students. We wanted to increase the number of “first in their family” students to enroll and then graduate from college. Over the following…