Toxic Charity

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

By: Robert D. Lupton

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor

Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

In his four decades of urban ministry, Robert D. Lupton has experienced firsthand how our good intentions can have unintended, dire consequences. We fly off on mission trips to poverty-stricken villages, hearts full of pity and suitcases bulging with giveaways - trips that one Nicaraguan leader describes as effective only in "turning my people into beggars."

In Toxic Charity, Lupton urges individuals, churches, and organizations to step away from these spontaneous, often destructive acts of compassion and toward thoughtful paths to community development. He delivers proven strategies for moving from toxic charity to transformative charity.Proposing a powerful "Oath for Compassionate Service", Lupton offers all the tools and inspiration we need to develop healthy, community-driven programs that produce deep, measurable, and lasting change. Everyone who volunteers or donates to charity needs to wrestle with this book.

©2011 Robert D. Lupton. (P)2015 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A must-read book for those who give or help others." ---Booklist

Challenged Me

It was difficult to hear some of these concepts, but understanding that there are better ways to approach outreach than the traditional way we have always done things has made this book a valuable resource.

We need to rethink our charity motives.

We seem to have things twisted around. We want to help others but be don't seem to help them in a way that makes them grow to a point of helping them take care of themselves. Toxic Charity focused on helping them to have dignity in lifting themselves up instead of always being dependent on others.

A thorough look into how we can help the poor in meaningful ways

I think we all intend to be helpful, when we help the poor. This book brings to light many ways in which our great intentions end up being damaging. It's definitely worth some thought, and possibly a re-listen or two, for the impact of this book to really sink in. I love that the author makes recommendations, instead of only pointing out weaknesses in our efforts to minister to the needy.

There was one problem I had with the book though. I imagine, since it's a reading of the paperback, that this would've been the case if I had read it instead of listening. There were several occurrences of subject-verb disagreement in this book. As a stickler for grammar, I caught myself pausing and relistening, noticing the disagreement. That kind of thing throws me off and makes it harder to focus on the message sometimes. It would just take a little tweaking to correct these occurrences. One in the final chapter was "...planned breaks, lunches, food, and discussion enhances the experience." Obviously it's a very small issue, but definitely something I noticed over the course of listening.

Anyway, I'm really thankful for the author's observations, suggestions, and heartfelt thought put into this book. It reminds me of When Helping Hurts, but hits home a little bit harder.

Human Services MUST.

If you could sum up Toxic Charity in three words, what would they be?

Informative, unapologetic, necessary.

What did you like best about this story?

Mr. Lupton says what needs to be said in regards to all that is working in a human services field. Not all of it is easy to hear but needs to be known. He has experience that only comes from the field no classroom. In a field that hates change his words are challenging and thought provoking.

Have you listened to any of Patrick Lawlor’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Unknown.

Any additional comments?

If coming from a background of social work/ministry/missionary etc. you need this book! Don't be discouraged when you realize that change is necessary and may be fast approaching.

Changed Everything

This book has changed the way I view my ministry in Peru where I have traveled four consecutive years to serve - as a "vacationary." I can't wait for others on my mission team to join me in reading Toxic Charity so we can all engage in productive discussions about where to go from here in *developing* and truly partnering with our partner church in that area. This book is excellent and thought-provoking. Highly recommend.

changing status quo past mercy ministries

Past betterment toward sustainable development is the creative initiative we need to ignite an established bureaucratic church.

Very informative and easy to listen to

The audiobook gave me great insight into what "charity" could turn into if an organization is not careful with their approach to being "helpful". Easy to listen to. I would recommend this to anyone who is starting a non-profit or who is thinking about starting one.

Offers hope

Having burned out on charity work that went nowhere, this book was a breath of fresh air. The author identifies the reason I burned out and offers a better way. It is possible to truly help the needy!

Challenging the reality of charity

This presentation gets the reader to examine the focus of "service." Is the good of serving to provide for the giver or recipient?

Well written

loved it! Well written and articulated, voice over was engaging and not snobby. it kept my attention.