Quotes from Robert D. Lupton

Giving to those in need what they could be gaining from their own initiative may well be the kindest way to destroy people.

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.

When we do for those in need what they have the capacity to do for themselves, we disempower them.

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.

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

Community transformation is about the quality of neighbors, not the quality of programs.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Never do for the poor what they have (or could have) the capacity to do for themselves.

personal involvement offers the best way to determine if our charitable investments are being put to good use.

corporation (CDC) would have to be formed. It would

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.

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.

developing the dependency-free zone is the real challenge.

R&D is vital. • Invest in success: sound business principles also are good principles for responsible charitable investing. • Focus on your passions. • Investigate the best practices of those in the field to determine what works. • Create a prototype to test new approaches. • Record the process. • Document the findings. • Tweak the methods. • Replicate successes.

Social entrepreneurs are driven to find sustainable solutions to the world's perplexing social problems.

The downward mobility of the kingdom strikes at the very heart of our earthly strivings.

Why do we persist in giving away food when we know it fosters dependency?" "Because it's easier!

parity is the higher form of charity.

American churches are at the forefront of the burgeoning compassion industry, spending billions on dependency-producing food pantries, clothes closets, service projects, and mission trips that serve mainly themselves and inadvertently turn people into beggars.