Home > Author > Robert D. Lupton
1 " Helping strategies, if indeed they are to be ultimately helpful, demand careful examination of long-term implications. There is no guarantee that unexamined charity will have a redemptive outcome simply because it ‘seems right’ or feels good to the giver. "
― Robert D. Lupton , Charity Detox: What Charity Would Look Like If We Cared About Results
2 " It is beginning to dawn on the world of compassion that the root causes of poverty can be addressed effectively only through development, not through one-way giving. "
3 " Giving to those in need what they could be gaining from their own initiative may well be the kindest way to destroy people. "
― Robert D. Lupton , Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help (And How to Reverse It)
4 " I am reassured to know that the straightness of my grain is not a precondition of usefulness to God. And I am humbled to see that out of the twistedness of my wounds, he designs for me a special place of service. "
― Robert D. Lupton , Theirs Is the Kingdom: Celebrating the Gospel in Urban America
5 " Mercy combined with justice creates: • immediate care with a future plan • emergency relief and responsible development • short-term intervention and long-term involvement • heart responses and engaged minds Mercy "
6 " Community transformation is about the quality of neighbors, not the quality of programs. "
7 " I can’t stress it enough: business growth is key to moving the poverty needle. "
8 " When we do for those in need what they have the capacity to do for themselves, we disempower them. "
9 " The money spent by one campus ministry to cover the costs of their Central American mission trip to repaint an orphanage would have been sufficient to hire two local painters and two new full-time teachers and purchase new uniforms for every student in the school. "
10 " Food in our society is a chronic poverty need, not a life-threatening one. And when we respond to a chronic need as though it were a crisis, we can predict toxic results: dependency, deception, disempowerment. "
11 " the only effective charity is the kind that asks more from those being served, rather than less. Asking for more sends an affirming message to the recipient that he or she also has something of value to offer. "
12 " I have begun to publicly declare that the only thing that will enable the poor to emerge from poverty is a decent job. And the primary creators of decent jobs are businesspeople who believe deeply in the free-enterprise system. "
13 " But in spite of its bent toward self-interest, even with its excesses and inequalities, capitalism has a historic opportunity to create shared wealth that can benefit every person on the globe. I am convinced that our best hope for moving the poverty needle toward financial wellness once and for all lies with the best practices of the free market. "
― Robert D. Lupton
14 " Never do for the poor what they have (or could have) the capacity to do for themselves. "
15 " personal involvement offers the best way to determine if our charitable investments are being put to good use. "
16 " Giving to those in need what they could be gaining from their own initiative may well be the kindest way to destroy people. We mean well, our motives are good, but we have neglected to conduct care-full due diligence to determine emotional, economic, and cultural outcomes on the receiving end of our charity. Why do we miss this crucial aspect in evaluating our charitable work? Because, as compassionate people, we have been evaluating our charity by the rewards we receive through service, rather than the benefits received by the served. We have failed to adequately calculate the effects of our service on the lives of those reduced to objects of our pity and patronage. "
17 " corporation (CDC) would have to be formed. It would "
18 " Subsidizing inactivity is a bad practice. Yes, people have to survive. But they will not thrive if they are induced by charity (public or private, government or religious) to be unproductive. Purposeful work is what establishes one’s place in society. In addition to providing legitimate income, work is what gives one purpose, enables one to develop a skill, earns one a positive reputation. "
19 " Because, as compassionate people, we have been evaluating our charity by the rewards we receive through service, rather than the benefits received by the served. "
20 " developing the dependency-free zone is the real challenge. "
