Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help (And How to Reverse It)

Description

Veteran urban activist Robert Lupton reveals the shockingly toxic effects that modern charity has upon the very people meant to benefit from it. Toxic Charity provides proven new models for charitable groups who want to help-not sabotage-those whom they desire to serve. Lupton, the founder of FCS Urban Ministries (Focused Community Strategies) in Atlanta, the voice of the Urban Perspectives newsletter, and the author of Compassion, Justice and the Christian Life, has been at the forefront of urban ministry activism for forty years. Now, in the vein of Jeffrey Sachs's The End of Poverty, Richard Stearns's The Hole in Our Gospel, and Gregory Boyle's Tattoos on the Heart, his groundbreaking Toxic Charity shows us how to start serving needy and impoverished members of our communities in a way that will lead to lasting, real-world change.

Robert D. Lupton is founder and president of FCS Urban Ministries (Focused Community Strategies) and the author of Theirs Is the Kingdom; Compassion, Justice, and the Christian Life; and the widely circulated "Urban Perspectives."

"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 "[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's work, his books and, most importantly, his life continue to guide and encourage me to live and serve in a way that honors God and my neighbor. I highly recommend Toxic Charity." -- Danny Wuerffel, Executive Director, Desire Street Ministries "Lupton's book reminds us that it is more blessed to give than to receive. He shows how the people called poor can be blessed by supporting opportunities for them to give their gifts, skills, knowledge and wisdom to creating the future." -- John McKnight, Codirector, Asset Based Community Development Institute, Northwestern University "A must-read book for those who give or help others." -- Booklist "In Toxic Charity, Lupton reminds us that being materialistically poor does not mean that there is no capacity, no voice, and no dignity within a person. If we truly love the poor, we will want to educate ourselves on how best to serve. Let our charity be transformative not toxic." -- Roger Sandberg, Executive Director of Medair International "A superb book. Toxic Charity should serve as a guide and course correction for anyone involved in charitable endeavors at home or abroad." -- Ronald W. Nikkel, President, Prison Fellowship International "Toxic Charity provides the needed counterbalance to a kind heart: a wise mind. Though I often thought, "Ouch!" while I was reading the book, Robert Lupton gave this pastor what I needed to become a more effective leader." -- Dr. Joel C. Hunter, Senior Pastor, Northland - A Church Distributed "When Bob Lupton speaks of the inner city, the rest of us ought to sit up and take notice... [His work is] deeply distrurbing-in the best sense of the word." -- Philip Yancey, author of What Good Is God? "Top 10 book of the year." -- World Magazine