Toxic Charity, How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help

202 Pages·2011·21.624 MB·English

by  Robert D. Lupton

ON
TOXIC CHARITY
“Lupton says hard things that need to be said.... If we accept rather than
resist his critique, the poor and non-poor will both be better off.”
— Christianity Today
TOXIC CHARITY

TOXIC
CHARITY
How Churches and Charities Hurt Those
They Help (And How to Reverse It)
ROBERT D. LUPTON
©
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toxic charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help (And
How to Reverse It). Copyright © 2011 by Robert D. Lupton. All rights
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FIRST HARPERCOLLINS PAPERBACK EDITION PUBLISHED IN 2012
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available
upon request.
isbn 978-0-06-207621-2
15 16 rrd(c) 20 19 18 17 16
Contents
Chapter One : The Scandal 1
Chapter Two : The Problem with Good Intentions 11
Chapter Thr ee: The Anatomy of Giving 31
Chapter Fou r: Needs vs. Relationships 51
Chapter Fiv e: Beyond Us-Based Giving 65
Chapter Six : No Quick Fixes 85
Chapter Sev en: Wise Giving 103
Chapter Eig ht: Take the Oath 127
Chapter Nin e: Service with Dignity 147
Chapter Ten: Getting Started 165

TOXIC CHARITY

Chapter One
The Scandal
In the United States, there’s a growing scandal that
we both refuse to see and actively perpetuate. What Ameri­
cans avoid facing is that while we are very generous in chari­
table giving, much of that money is either wasted or actually
harms the people it is targeted to help.
I don’t say this casually or cavalierly. I have spent over four
decades working in inner-city Atlanta and beyond, trying to
develop models of urban renewal that are effective and truly
serve the poor. There is nothing that brings me more joy than
seeing people transitioned out of poverty, or neighborhoods
change from being described as “dangerous” and “blighted” to
being called “thriving” and even “successful.” I have worked
with churches, government agencies, entrepreneurs, and
armies of volunteers and know from firsthand experience the
1