Overview

In his four decades of urban ministry, Robert D. Lupton has experienced firsthand how our good intentions can have unintended, dire consequences. We fly off on mission trips to poverty-stricken villages, hearts full of pity and suitcases bulging with giveaways--trips that one Nicaraguan leader describes as effective only in turning my people into beggars. In Toxic Charity, Lupton urges individuals, churches, and organizations to step away from these spontaneous, often destructive acts of compassion and toward thoughtful paths to community development. He delivers proven strategies for moving from toxic charity to transformative charity. Proposing a powerful Oath for Compassionate Service, Lupton offers all the tools and inspiration we need to develop healthy, community-driven programs that produce deep, measurable, and lasting change. Everyone who volunteers or donates to charity needs to wrestle with this book.

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Reviews

"A must-read book for those who give or help others.-- ""Booklist"" ""[Lupton's] new book, Toxic Charity, draws on his 40 years' experience as an urban activist in Atlanta, and he argues that most charitable work is ineffective or actually harmful to those it is supposed to help."" -- ""Washington Post"" ""Lupton says hard things that need to be said, and he's earned the right to say them. Believers would do well to receive his words with the mindset that 'faithful are the wounds of a friend.'"" -- ""Christianity Today"""

Author Information

Robert D. Lupton is the author of numerous books, including Theirs Is the Kingdom, Return Flight, Renewing the City, and Compassion, Justice, and the Christian Life. He is the founder of FCS Urban Ministries, and he has invested over forty years of his life in inner-city Atlanta. He is a Christian community developer, an entrepreneur who brings together communities of resource with communities of need. Through FCS Urban Ministries, Robert has developed two mixed income subdivisions, organized a multiracial congregation, started a number of businesses, created housing for hundreds of families, and initiated a wide range of human services in his community. He authors the widely circulated Urban Perspectives, monthly reflections on the Gospel and the poor. Robert has a PhD in psychology from the University of Georgia. He serves as speaker, strategist, and inspirer with those throughout the nation who seek to establish God's Shalom in the city. Patrick Lawlor, an award-winning narrator, is also an accomplished stage actor, director, and combat choreographer. He has worked extensively off Broadway and has been an actor and stuntman in both film and television. He has been an Audie Award finalist multiple times and has garnered several AudioFile Earphones Awards, a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award, and many starred audio reviews from Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews.

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