Generosity PDF Download

Author: Gordon MacDonald
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780977117413
Category : Christian giving
Languages : en
Pages : 96

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Author: Ronald J. Sider
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 9781441201621
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
Just Generosity calls Christians to examine their priorities and their pocketbooks in the face of a scandalous tendency to overlook those among us who suffer while we live in practical opulence. This holistic approach to helping the poor goes far beyond donating clothes or money, envisioning a world in which faith-based groups work with businesses, the media, and the government to help end poverty in the world's richest nation. This updated edition includes current statistics, policy recommendations, and discussions covering everything from welfare reform, changes to Medicade, and the Social Security debate. "Sider's most important book since Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger."--Jim Wallis, author, God's Politics "Sider knows how to lift up people in need.... [An] important and challenging book."--John Ashcroft, former Attorney General of the United States

Author: Christian Smith
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199394903
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
Determining why, when, and to whom people feel compelled to be generous affords invaluable insight into many social practices. Organ donation, gift-giving, the funding of charities, and political views on taxation can all be illuminated by sociological and psychological perspectives on howAmerican adults conceive of and demonstrate generosity. Focusing not only on financial giving but on the many diverse forms philanthropy can take, Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson show the deep impact - usually good, sometimes destructive - that giving has on individuals.The Paradox of Generosity is the first study to make use of the cutting-edge empirical data collected in Smith's groundbreaking, multidisciplinary, five-year Science of Generosity Initiative. It draws on an extensive survey of 2,000 Americans, more than sixty in-depth interviews with individualsacross twelve states, and nuanced analysis of over 1,000 photographs and other visual materials. This wealth of evidence reveals a consistent link between demonstrating generosity and leading a better life: more generous people are happier, suffer fewer illnesses and injuries, live with a greatersense of purpose, and experience less depression. Smith and Davidson also show, however, that to achieve a better life a person must practice generosity regularly - random acts of kindness are not enough.Offering a wide range of vividly illustrative case studies, this volume will be a crucial resource for anyone seeking to understand the true impact and meaning of generosity.

Author: Barbara Bonner
Publisher: Wisdom Publications
ISBN: 9781614291107
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Inspiring stories and beautifully typeset quotations about generosity. WARNING: This book might change your life. The desire to act generously arrives like an uninvited guest, unexpectedly, like a lightning bolt, in a mere moment. A gesture, a news story, a quotation in a book, a passing remark can change everything. For many, that moment is enough for generosity to move into their hearts and minds and become central to their lives. This book will help readers open their hearts to the power of their own innate generosity, their desire to make a difference in the world, to help make someone's day a little brighter or their world a bit more secure. It will kindle a spark in readers' hearts that moves them into the sunshine of a more generous life. If one life is more generous, we all prosper. That is one of generosity's most wonderful qualities: it is utterly contagious. Inspiring Generosity is an invitation to savor a sampling of the very best inspirations on the subject of generosity. It includes fourteen contemporary stories of "generosity heroes" whose lives have been transformed by the power of generosity. Sprinkled throughout these stories are writings and quotes from Shakespeare, Hafiz, Emily Dickinson, George Eliot, Wendell Berry, Sharon Olds, Naomi Shibab Nye, Donald Justice, Winston Churchill, Mother Teresa, Maya Angelou, Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., John Steinbeck, James Joyce, Leo Tolstoy, Walt Whitman, Henry David Thoreau, Goethe, Seneca, Albert Schweitzer, Anne Frank, and many others.

Author: Chris Willard
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 0310893143
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
The general practices related to church funding aren’t producing the same results they have in the past. There is a general acceptance that something has changed but little talk or interest is coming from traditional church leader training sources such as denominational entities and seminaries. Pastors are largely left to their own devices to “figure this out.” They need a lifeline. While some churches are experiencing exponential growth, some churches - despite their best efforts - have been unsuccessful at moving beyond survival mode. Coupled with increased competition from other nonprofits and a decline in the commitment to give to the church first, churches risk losing the funding they need. A growing number of leaders are beginning to discover there is another way and are struggling to understand what makes one church generous and another not. There is a need in the market to offer a simple, working definition of “generosity” and reveal the “secrets” some church leaders seem to have simply stumbled upon which are resulting in unexplainable ministry growth and unprecedented church funding even in the midst of tough economic times. The content of this material was developed and refined by Jim Sheppard and Chris Willard through years of ministry leadership in the local church, consulting with church leaders across a broad spectrum of church settings, and through participation in and leadership of the Generous Church Leadership Community facilitated by Leadership Network. Of particular benefit will be the collection of observations and best practices gleaned during the Generous Church Leadership Community that originated within real-life church leadership situations and scenarios by highlighting specific challenges, methods, and successes.

Author: Mark V. Ewert
Publisher: Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
ISBN: 1558967168
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
Financial giving can be its own spiritual path. We have a deep potential for meaning-making and life satisfaction when we look to grow from being occasional, haphazard donors to deliberate, ambitious ones - the life-changing transition from donor to philanthropist. With easy-to-read guidance, The Generosity Path sheds new light on our finances - connecting money to our values, beliefs, and loves - promoting skills and strategies in charitable giving. Starting from a very personal place, it helps readers to find clarity in their own experience and then focus on their areas of passion to build a plan of action. Inspiring personal stories help demonstrate the development of financial generosity, the challenges involved, and the deeper benefits we all might expect from being more intentional with our giving. Creative tools for reflection and practice guide readers' progress. This practical yet wise volume also features information about collective giving in a community setting, family, or giving circle. Ideal for religious and civic organizations, The Generosity Path includes a discussion guide for group use.

Author: Wesley K. Willmer
Publisher: Moody Publishers
ISBN: 9781575673899
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 432

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Book Description
"Give over $100 today and get this personalized state-of-the-art fountain pen free!" "Become a gold sponsor and your name wll be featured on our exclusive Wall of Fame!" "Send in your donation by December 31st and enjoy the benefits of giving on your next tax return!" Who hasn't heard fundraising gimmicks like these? Or, who hasn't used these gimmicks on others? As Wes Willmer writes, generosity is the natural outcome of God's transforming work in individuals when they are conformed to the image of Christ. Fundraising and giving are not simply drops in the bucket. Capital campaigns and raising funds go deeper than the money. They are spiritual activities in becoming more like Christ. A Revolution in Generosity is a work by some of the best scholars and practitioners on the subject of funding Christian organizations. As Willmer writes, "The foundation for realizing a revolution in generosity is understanding the biblical view of possessions, generosity, and asking for resources." With over twenty expert contributors, this book is a must-read for organizations striving to rid themselves of secular, asking practices and gain an eternal approach.

Author: Dave Toycen
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 1443431680
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 121

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Book Description
DAVE TOYCEN, President and CEO of World Vision Canada, believes that generosity can save your life. He knows it can build community and help bring social justice and peace to our troubled world. He has seen it in the most unlikely places, witnessing the freedom individuals have gained simply through acts of giving. He tells of Deborah, a mother in Rwanda whose son was murdered, but whose faith and courage brought her to a place of reconciliation with the killer. In another anecdote, he introduces us to a boy in Kosovo whose spontaneous generosity was a moving testament to the goodness of the human spirit. Throughout his journey, Toycen provides thoughtful answers to questions such as "What is generosity?" and "What motivates us to give?" An inspirational call to action, The Power of Generosity will strike a chord with all who want to fulfill a vital part of their humanity—the need to give.

Author: Patricia Snell Herzog
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190456515
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
American charitable giving veers from the hyperbolically generous to the hyperbolically stingy. On some days, no one has a quarter to spare; in times of disaster, Americans will put their lives on hold to build houses for those displaced by hurricanes. The crucial question of who gives and why they do it lies at the heart of American Generosity. Patricia Snell Herzog and Heather E. Price, sociologists who focus on philanthropy, draw on findings from the groundbreaking Science of Generosity initiative, which combines a nationally representative survey of adult Americans with in-depth interviews and case studies. For most Americans, they find, the important forms of giving are: donating money, volunteering time, and taking political action. Focusing on these three types of activity, the authors go on to examine and analyze multiple dimensions of resources, social status, regional cultural norms, different approaches to giving, social-psychological orientation, and the relational contexts of generosity. Herzog and Price conclude that giving is supported by "circles of generosity," which ripple outward in their reach to targets of giving. The book offers not just analysis, but practical tips for readers who want to increase their own giving, for parents modeling giving to their children, spouses desiring alignment in their giving, and friends and community members seeking to support giving by others. The authors also provide explicit fundraising ideas for nonprofits, foundations, and religious leaders. Thought-provoking and accessibly written, American Generosity lays out a broad yet nuanced explanation of giving that sheds important new light on a topic that touches all of us in one way or another.

Author: Arthur W. Frank
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226260259
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 166

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Contemporary health care often lacks generosity of spirit, even when treatment is most efficient. Too many patients are left unhappy with how they are treated, and too many medical professionals feel estranged from the calling that drew them to medicine. Arthur W. Frank tells the stories of ill people, doctors, and nurses who are restoring generosity to medicine—generosity toward others and to themselves. The Renewal of Generosity evokes medicine as the face-to-face encounter that comes before and after diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, and surgeries. Frank calls upon the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, philosopher Emmanuel Levinas, and literary critic Mikhail Bakhtin to reflect on stories of ill people, doctors, and nurses who transform demoralized medicine into caring relationships. He presents their stories as a source of consolation for both ill and professional alike and as an impetus to changing medical systems. Frank shows how generosity is being renewed through dialogue that is more than the exchange of information. Dialogue is an ethic and an ideal for people on both sides of the medical encounter who want to offer more to those they meet and who want their own lives enriched in the process. The Renewal of Generosity views illness and medical work with grace and compassion, making an invaluable contribution to expanding our vision of suffering and healing.