Andrew Carnegie once said, “The man who dies rich, dies disgraced.” His belief fueled a passion for philanthropy that spread among some of the titans of industry of the last century. Carnegie was joined by John D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, J. Paul Getty, J. Howard Pew, and many others who created massive wealth –...
Have Our Churches Become Country Clubs?
Have you ever calculated the percentage your church spends on those outside its walls? For the first time, I researched giving at several churches. What I found surprised me. Churches I examined were giving 1-2% of their budgets to benevolence, outreach, missions, and ministry partnerships. I believe individual church members are giving more, but...
Eight Levels of Charitable Giving
There are a lot of people talking about giving during this final week of the year, but my favorite “talk” on charity comes from the Jewish scholar Maimonides. He describes the “eight levels of charity” according to the Mishneh and articulates the uncomfortable truth that not all charity is equal in intent or impact....