Browsing Category

Generosity

Giving Without Understanding

This story begins with a generous act of giving time, treasure, and talent. A friend, I will call him Larry, and several people from his church went to Mexico to build houses in a blighted community. These were simple structures with communal water and electricity, so it wasn’t hard to put up four walls and a roof. Several houses were completed. Larry and his team returned home feeling good about the work they had done.

Larry had given his time, treasure, and talent. The others on the trip did as well.

A few years later Larry returned to the same …

Generosity, Philanthropy,

The Generous Centurion

Hey friends, fun update before getting to this weeks post. I’ve added audio! So now you can click the play button at the top of each blog entry. You can listen to my amateurish voice instead of reading my amateurish thoughts. I’ve done a few past posts too, and I hope to do all the future ones.

Okay, so that announced, on to this weeks post. Which is a really good one.

So here’s an idea. Let’s do something that triggers a global revival, establishes an entirely new set of theological ideas, changes a ton of cultural and social norms, …

Belize, Generosity,

The Coin and the Generous Soul

This is a story from several years ago that has stayed with me. It was not a big deal when it happened, but for some reason the randomness of the coin combined with the confusion of the woman has stuck. There is a generosity of the soul in the story.

In two days, back to back, I found two things in a parking lot. Both were out of place, lost, and lonely.

The first thing I found was a Belizean quarter. That’s worth about 12 US cents. No idea how it got in the parking lot of a Pleasanton Home …

Generosity, Leadership,

Generous Leadership

Healthy leadership is an act of generosity. And wise generosity is an act of leadership.

Let’s run a thought experiment. Let’s say you don’t consider generosity as one of your core gifts. Oh sure, you give where you can, and you aren’t stingy. But you are not seen by yourself or others as particularly generous.

Continuing with that thought experiment, let’s say you often find yourself (by design or accident) leading people. At work, home, church, school, or a junkyard. Wherever it might be, you are one of those people that tends to end up leading.

Well, to wrap up …

Belize, Generosity, Leadership, PathLight,

Generous Teaching

I’ve got an exciting announcement buried at the end of this article. So please bear with me for a few paragraphs.

Teachers are in the news these days as the nation moves toward reopening classrooms. It got me thinking about the selflessness of people who dedicate themselves to education. Teaching, and serving the educational system in general, is a way to be generous to our future.

Years ago a PathLight colleague asked me if I thought systemic change was best done from the top down or the bottom up. The question was in the context of a decision about how …

Generosity, Philanthropy, Random Thoughts,

Generous Theology

It’s a truism that the older we get the less sure we are. But for me, at least, that’s been a blessing. Certainly there are some things I’m more sure of than ever. For many other things, well, let’s just say that with age comes wisdom, and with wisdom we begin to see how little we actually understand. Life becomes a little less clear, a little more blurry. Which, as I said, has been a blessing.

I’ve become comfortable not fully knowing something, which paradoxically has allowed me to relax. You might think just the opposite happens — that by …

Generosity, Junkyard Management, Philanthropy,

Financial Planners and Generosity

Last week I wrote about not expecting pastors to be your primary source of information about generosity.

This week it’s about financial planners. Don’t assume that because they know the difference between a charitable remainder trust and a charitable gift annuity that they know anything at all about actual generosity.

The truth is that most financial planners are trained at, well, planning your finances. Most have a financial incentive in mind — namely fees for managing your money.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. I use them regularly. In this increasingly complex world we all need their expertise.

But … …

Generosity, Philanthropy,

Pastors and Generosity

This is going to be a thread the needle kind of post that will be easily misunderstood. It will likely offend some pastors I’m not trying to offend. But here we go anyway.

Pastors should not be the primary source of information about generosity.

I can already see some pastors upset by that. But let me explain.

Pastors are, by and large, among the most generous people I know. They give of their time, their heart, and when possible their wallet. This post is most definitely not a rant about the pastor who invites you to lunch then expects you …