St. Francis's Extreme Embrace of Poverty

Among his many virtues, [St. Francis of Assisi] is known for his passionate embrace of poverty. Not only did he forbid his emerging Order to own property, ...

What It Means to Excel at Giving

Paul said, "See that you also excel in this grace of giving" (2 Corinthians 8:7). Like piano playing, giving is a skill. With practice, we get ...

The Failure of "Almost"

Since the 1940s, the Ad Council has been the leading producer of public service announcements. Of the thousands of commercials they have produced, their ...

Toxic Assets

The 2009 economic crisis brought an interesting phrase into the headlines: toxic assets. Toxic assets are one of the factors contributing to the trouble ...

True Poverty

To help Americans understand poverty in its truest sense, Robert L. Heilbroner, a prominent U.S. economist, itemized the luxuries most U.S. citizens would ...

Pitifully Small Donations of the Richest Christians in History

In his Books & Culture article "A Lot of Lattés," Ron Sider reviews Passing the Plate: Why American Christians Don't Give Away ...

The Robynson Family's Christmas Tradition

We all have various Christmas traditions. Few of us probably have a tradition quite like the Robynson family's. In his book Crazy Love, Francis Chan ...

NFL Quarterback Kurt Warner's Family Tradition

Kurt Warner, the two-time NFL MVP quarterback of the Arizona Cardinals, started a family tradition he calls The Restaurant Game. The night before he heads ...

Lee Strobel Impressed by Impoverished Family's Example

While working as a journalist for the Chicago Tribune, Lee Strobel was assigned to report on the struggles of an impoverished, inner-city family during ...

Giving Extravagantly in Light of God's Extravagant Gift

Mike Erre writes in Men of Integrity:

My wife and I refinanced our house and cashed out what was (for us) a large sum of money. I spent several weeks ...