I wanted God, my boss, and everyone else to be generous with me, but I hadn’t ever been generous . . . didn’t really even know what it meant. But I knew God wanted my heart . . . my whole heart. And that money was a big thing for me, if not an idol, at least a major distraction. I had a problem. A selfishness problem.
Category Archives: Joy Giving
06
Dec
Dec
Lee Behar of the Maclellan Foundation answers this question from Samuel in Kenya: “How do you measure what you do with your granting? Do you have a good process for that? We haven’t learned how to measure the impact of our gifts.”
22
Nov
Nov
From two continents this month, we received two very similar questions.
“How do I evaluate different giving opportunities I guess I want to know exactly where and how God wants me to give?” — Walter in South Africa
“How to distinguish between the Holy Spirit and the ideas?” — Kang in China
15
Nov
Nov
“Does giving begin after tithing ten percent to my local church? Or is that generosity as well?” – Ameke, Ethiopia
We received this question last month and asked our friend, Dr. Sung Wook Chung, to share his thoughts.
Collaboration, Foundations, Joy Giving
David Denmark on “How do you collaborate with other givers?” Part 3 of 3
08
Nov
Nov
“How do you collaborate with other funders/foundations?” – Cynthia, South Africa
In this final post, David explains what he, and the Maclellan Foundation, have learned about how Christians can give together well.
Collaboration, Foundations, Joy Giving
David Denmark on “How do you collaborate with other givers?” Part 2 of 3
01
Nov
Nov
Christians, to whom God has entrusted with resources, could gather together in their own nations to pray, fellowship and strategize together to see the Lord’s Kingdom expand throughout their country.
It’s not a new idea, in 400 BC, God gave Nehemiah a strategy to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem, as described in chapters 3 and 4 of his book.
25
Oct
Oct
Now, it was the Lord that gave you your brain, your work ethic, your guts, and the favor. God did not give you wealth. He gave you the ability to make wealth.
So here is the question that I want to propose: Why you, why me?
Why wasn’t I born blind in a village in Brazil? I still would have had a great life, but it would have been a different life. Why was I given these unique abilities in the unique place where I live in this unique time?
Church, Funding Wisely, Joy Giving
Danie Vermeulen, South Africa on “How to respond to personal requests from my pastors?”
18
Oct
Oct
Danie Vermeulen from South Africa answers this question: “I got a text from my pastor asking for money for personal support of one of our church staff. Then an email went out to parents of children in our youth program asking them to contribute to get new carpet for the youth pastor—and the sale on carpet ends tomorrow. Am I wrong to be troubled by these requests?”
04
Oct
Oct
The same question came to us from three different friends in Africa this month.
“I want you to possibly give guidance on how to set a giving goal,” wrote Waziri from Nigeria.
“I need more light on how to set a giving goal,” said Dairya, also from Nigeria.
And Gugu from South Africa asked for “guiding on how to decide to set a giving goal.”
Family, Joy Giving
China: How should I mobilize my family to participate in my dedication to be generous?
27
Sep
Sep
A brother from Shenyang, China, went through a Journey of Generosity and asks, “How should I mobilize my family to participate in my dedication?” To respond to this question, a friend from China who loves the Generosity Movement wrote these thoughts.