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PathLight

Nope, no age discrimination here!

Hey, I’m back from vacation! And did you hear the crazy news? PathLight International, an organization I co-founded and greatly admire, has hired a sixty-something snarky white guy to become their Chief Executive Officer.

Worse, he has no academic training in missions, never lived in a foreign country, only speaks English, has never been a teacher, earned no degree in theology, has no cross cultural training, and lives in what some call the spiritual wasteland of California.

I would add he’s bald and a little chubby, but that’s getting personal.

He has one advantage: he works for free. That’s

…

Belize, Generosity, PathLight, Philanthropy,

Alexandria

Lent starts on Wednesday. It’s never been a big deal to me. To be honest I was smug about it; all these people giving up chocolate seemed, well, shallow.

But a few years ago I read about the history of Lent and was impressed by the depth of the tradition. Lent could be summed up as a time to focus on three things:

Prayer to focus on our need for God’s mercy and forgiveness.
Fasting, or giving something up, to prompt reflection on God.
Giving as a way to respond to God’s love.

The last one is what …

Generosity, Jaguar Creek, PathLight, Philanthropy,

Your Kids and Wealth

Very excited to announce that I’m hosting a webinar titled, “How wealth impacts your kids and what you can do about it.” And I’d love for you to join me on Zoom for this conversation.

Parents often ask me what they can do to help their teenagers and children resist the temptations of consumerism. There is broad concern about our kids being inundated with nonstop advertising that pulls them toward materialism and away from empathy and compassion for others. What can be done to help our children break out of the bubble of wealth and privilege?

Over the years my …

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 …

Belize, PathLight,

Christmas Greetings

Merry Christmas from Junkyard Wisdom! Here’s a letter (slightly updated for today) I wrote some time ago. It still seems powerful and has always been one of my favorites. This year, more than ever, it is my hope we can gather together around the true hope, meaning, and power of Christmas.

David L. Fleming writes, “The son of God became poor by becoming incarnate. He embraced poverty in the circumstances of his earthly life. God was born in a stable manger and was given the name Jesus. His parents fled with him as refugees to escape a murderous tyrant. Later he lived …

Book Reviews, PathLight,

PathLight and Becoming Brave

I’m going to be interviewing my friend Brenda Salter McNeil in an online forum on October 30. It’s completely free, and I’d love for you to join. Here’s a bit of background about how this came about and why Brenda is my guest.

Most of the readers of this blog know that I’m a co-founder of PathLight International, and I currently serve as board chair for the organization. PathLight provides educational opportunities for at-risk youth in Belize.

Every year I organize what we call PathLight Conversations. This is typically a luncheon with a fascinating guest speaker, like Bob Goff or …

Belize, PathLight,

PathLight 2020

The year 2020 is just around the corner. No doubt we’re going to hear a lot of 20/20 jokes this week! But in a remarkable effort of restraint (for me), I’ll avoid the easy joke. Instead, I want to share the thoughts of my friend and colleague Roger Dermody.

If you read my blog you know the work of PathLight is dear to my heart. And as much as I wanted to be, I wasn’t the right guy to lead PathLight going forward. The opportunity to bring Roger onto the team has been heaven-sent. That’s why it’s an honor to …

Belize, Jaguar Creek, Junkyard Wisdom Book, Leadership, PathLight, Salvaged,

Givers, Leaders, and Drinkers

Greetings from Jaguar Creek, Belize! I’m here with a dozen or so givers, leaders, and drinkers. Not necessarily in that order. The third annual Junkyard Wisdom Belize is happening and we’re having a blast talking through the challenge of being a good donor, a wise leader, and a sober … well, never mind.

Seriously though, the conversations are amazing. Most conversations about philanthropy take place in fancy hotels. Most conversations about leadership happen in large conferences or online TED Talks.

What I love about this event is we have these conversations in the rainforest of Belize, within a few …