Drafting a generosity bibliography is not an easy undertaking. What do you include? Which ones should you leave out because a booklist can become too long? How do you categorise the books? Especially if you are not a librarian! And which categories should you include and which should you leave out so that it would not be too broad or too detailed? What is your cut off date for inclusion? And what about books in languages you cannot read or understand? And how to make sure that there is a balance of books if most of the books are from the US?
These were some of the challenges in drafting this bibliography. However, since I believe there is a need for such a bibliography, I will give it a go – including putting the books into broad (VERY broad that is!) categories. Many of the books were mentioned in the generosity questionnaires that the Resource Mobilization Working Group asked participants at Cape Town 2010 to complete. I made sure that all of the books are available through the Internet. I decided to focus nearly exclusively on books that had been published in the 21st Century so that it represents recent reflection on generosity. Some of the books are reprinted and reworked books from earlier versions. Tithing is a very popular subject but I decided to include only a few books on this theme. I would have liked to include more books on specific mission giving or issues related to mission giving, but either I missed the books or we need more reflection on this specific area of generosity.
Unfortunately because of my limited linguistic abilities beyond English and Afrikaans, I did not include books in other languages. The various Crown Financial Ministries offices and related ministries (www.crown.org/Global/) is a good place to start looking for generosity related books in different languages. Please send me the information on books in your languages that could be included in a more comprehensive bibliography that can be distributed. It would have been of value to include a sentence on each book, but in the end that was not possible.
Finally, I deliberately decided not to include articles in this bibliography because of capacity challenges. However, this might be something that we could look into in the future. The Generous Giving Library (http://library.generousgiving.org/page.asp?sec=28&page=) includes lists of articles and is an excellent place to start looking for generosity articles.
Here is my draft list of generosity books for use in generosity thinking, teaching, training, preaching, research, awareness raising, commitment, engagement, etc:
1. Christian financial statistics
- Johnson, Todd M. and Kenneth R. Ross: ‘Atlas of Global Christianity 1910-2010’ (Edinburgh, UK: Edinburgh University Press, 2009) has a section on Christian finances (p.296-297);
2. Generous living
- Alcorn, Randy: ‘Money, Possessions and Eternity’ (Carol Stream, Illinois, USA: Tyndale House, 2003)
- Alcorn, Randy: ‘The Treasure Principle: Unlocking the secret of joyful giving’ (Colorado Springs: Multnomah Books, 2001)
- Blanchard, Ken and S. Truett Cathy: ‘The Generosity Factor: Discover the joy of giving’ (Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA: Zondervan 2009) [Also available in Spanish]
- Blomberg, Craig L.: ‘Neither Poverty Nor Riches: A Biblical Theology of Possessions’ (Downers Grove, Illinois, USA: InterVarsity Press, 1999)
- Blue, Ron: ‘Generous Living: Finding contentment through giving’, (Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA: Zondervan, 1997)
- Burkett, Larry: ‘Giving and tithing’ (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1998)
- Eskridge, Larry and Mark A. Noll (eds): ‘More Money, More Ministry: Money and Evangelicals in Recent North American History’ (Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2000)
- Haggai, John E.: ‘Paul J. Meyer and the Art of Giving’, (Sevierville, Tennessee, USA, Insight Publishing, 2002)
- Higginson, Richard: ‘Faith, Hope and the Global Economy’ (Downers Grove, Illinois, USA: InterVarsity Press, 2012)
- Hill, Craig and Pitts, Earl: ‘Wealth, riches and money’ (Littleton, Colorado, USA: Family Foundations International, 2001)
- Jabini, Frank S.: ‘How to Give Joyfully’ (Johannesburg, South Africa: South African Theological Seminary, 2009)
- Jensen, Donald: ‘Your Church Can Excel in Global Giving: The Faith Promise Way to a Dynamic International Outreach’ (Pasadena, California, USA: William Carey Library, 2004)
- Link, E.G. “Jay”: ‘To Whom Much is Given: Navigating The Ten Life Dilemmas Affluent Christians Face’ (Maitland, Florida, USA: Xulon Press, 2009)
- Link, E.G. “Jay”: ‘Spiritual Thoughts on Material Things: 30 Days of Food for Thought’ (Maitland, Florida, USA: Xulon Press, 2009)
- Link, E.G. “Jay”: ‘Family Wealth Counseling: Getting to the Heart of the Matter’ (Franklin, Indiana, USA: Professional Mentoring Program, 1999)
- Longenecker, Bruce: ‘Remember the Poor: Paul, Poverty and the Greco-Roman World’ (Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids, USA: Eerdmans, 2010)
- MacDonald, Gordon: ‘Generosity: Moving Toward Life that is Truly Life’ (Alpharetta, Georgia, USA: National Christian Foundation, 2008)
- MacDonald, Gordon: ‘Secrets of the Generous Life: Reflections to Awaken the Spirit and Enrich the Soul’ (Carol Stream, Illinois, USA: Tyndale House, 2002)
- Malphurs, Aubrey and Steve Stroope: ‘Money Matters in Church: A Practical Guide for Leaders’ (Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA: Baker Book House, 2007)
- Murray, Stuart: ‘Beyond tithing’ (Milton Keynes, UK: Paternoster Press, 2002)
- Powell, Mark Allan: ‘Giving to God: The Bible’s Good News about Living a Generous Life’ (Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA: William B. Eerdmans: 2006)
- Power, Graham and Dion Forster: ‘Transform your Work Life’ (Cape Town, South Africa: Struik Christian Books, 2010)
- Ramsey, Dave: ‘Total money makeover’ (Nashville, Tennessee, USA: Thomas Nelson, 2009)
- Sheppard, Jim and Chris Willard, ‘Contagious Generosity: Creating a Culture of Giving in Your Church’ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012)
- Sider, Ron: ‘Just Generosity’ (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2007)
- Sine, Tom and Christine: ‘Living on Purpose: Finding God’s best for your life’ (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2002)
- Stanley, Andy: ‘Fields of Gold: A Place Beyond Your Deepest Fears: A Prize Beyond Your Wildest Imagination’ (Carol Stream, Illinois, USA: Living Books, 2006)
- Stott, John: ‘The Grace of Giving: 10 Principles of Christian Giving’ (London: LPI and IFES, 2004)
- Tondeur, Keith: ‘Money: Your money and your life’, (London, UK: SPCK, 2010)
- Truett, Cathy S.: ‘Wealth: Is it worth it?’ (Decatur, Georgia, USA: Looking Glass Books, 2011)
- Vincent, Mark: ‘A Christian View of Money: Celebrating God’s Generosity’ (Eugene, Oregon, USA: Wipf and Stock, 2006)
- Willmer, Wesley K. (ed): ‘Revolution in Generosity: Transforming Stewards to Be Rich Toward God’ (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2008)
3. Stewardship
- Austin, Terry: ‘Authentic Stewardship’ (Keller, Texas, USA: Austin Brothers Publishing, 2010)
- Mohamed, Arif, Brett Elder and Stephen Grabill (editors), ‘Kingdom Stewardship: Occasional Papers prepared by the Lausanne Resource Mobilization Working Group for Cape Town 2010’ (Grand Rapids: Christian Library Press, 2010)
- Rodin, R. Scott: ‘Stewards in the Kingdom: A Theology of Life in All Its Fullness’ (Downers Grove, Illinois, USA: InterVarsity Press, 2000)
- Rodin, R. Scott: ‘The Steward Leader: Transforming People, Organizations and Communities’ (Downers Grove, Illinois, USA: InterVarsity Press, 2010)
- Roost, Charles H.: ‘Maturing Stewards: Fostering a culture of stewardship and giving within the Church’ (Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA: International Steward, 2006)
4. Financial management
- Alcorn, Randy: ‘Managing God’s Money: A Biblical Guide’ (Carol Stream, Illinois, USA: Tyndale House, 2011)
- Bentley, Chuck: ‘The S.A.L.T. Plan: How to prepare for an economic crisis of Biblical proportions’ (Atlanta, Georgia, USA: Crown Financial Ministries, 2011)
- Burkett, Larry: ‘Crisis Control in the New Millennium: Seven Key Principles for Your Financial Prosperity, (Nashville, Tennessee, USA: Thomas Nelson, 1999)
- Dayton, Howard: ‘Your Money Counts: The Biblical guide to earning, spending, saving, investing, giving, and getting out of debt’ (Atlanta, Georgia, USA: Crown Financial Ministries, 2007)
- Njeri Nginya, Hannah: ‘Financial Freedom for Vulnerable Women Across Africa’(Nairobi, Kenya: CMS-Africa, 2012)
- Tongoi, Dennis and Musyoki Muindi ‘Financial Freedom for Families’ (Nairobi, Kenya: CMS-Africa, 2012)
- Tongoi, Dennis: ‘Mixing God with Money: Strategies for living in an uncertain economy’ (Nairobi, Kenya: Bezalel Investment Ltd, 2001)
5. Resource development/fundraising/giving to ministry and mission
- Croteau, David A. (ed): ‘Perspectives on tithing: Four views’ (Nashville: B&H Publishing, 2011)
- Dillon, R. Mark: ‘Giving and Getting in the Kingdom: A Field Guide’ (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2012)
- Dillon, William P.: ‘People Raising: A practical guide to raising support’ (Chicago, Illinois, USA: Moody Publishers, 2012)
- Foley, Eric: ‘Coach your champions: The transformational giving approach to major donor fundraising’ (Colorado Springs: W Publishing, 2010)
- Grieve, Jane: ‘Fundraising for Churches’ (London, UK: SPCK, 1999)
- Jeavons, Thomas and Rebekah Burch Basinger: ‘Growing Givers’ Hearts: Treating Fundraising as Ministry’ (San Francisco, USA: Jossey-Bass, 2000)
- Kelley, Russell Earl: ‘Should the church teach tithing? A theologian’s conclusions about a taboo doctrine’ (Lincoln: Writers Club Press, 2007)
- Kolaneci, Redina: ‘Why Christians give? Understanding the hearts and minds of 21st century evangelical donors’ (London: McConkey∙Johnston international UK, 2010)
- Lederleitner, Mary: ‘Cross-Cultural Partnerships: Navigating the Complexities of Money and Mission’ (Downers Grove, Illinois, USA: InterVarsity Press, 2010)
- Morton, Scott: ‘Funding your ministry’ (Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA: NavPress, 2007)
- Nouwen, Henri J.M.: ‘A Spirituality of Fundraising’ (Nashville, Tennessee, USA: Upper Room Books, 2010)
- Parker , Joel P.: ‘Tithing in the age of grace’ (Victoria, Canada: Trafford Publishing, 2006)
- Quiggle, James D.: ‘Why Christians Should Not Tithe: A History of Tithing and a Biblical Paradigm for Christian Giving’ (Eugene, USA: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2009)
- Rodin, R. Scott: ‘The Seven Deadly Sins of Christian Fundraising’ (Colbert, Washington, USA: Kingdom Life Publishing, 2007)
- Rodin, Scott R. and Hoag, Gary G.: ‘The Sower: Redefining the Ministry of Raising Kingdom Resources’ (Winchester, Virginia, USA: ECFAPress, 2010)
- Ronsvalle, John L. and Sylvia Ronsvalle, ‘The State of Church Giving Through 2009: Jesus Christ, the Church in the U.S., & the 16 No-Progress-in-Child Deaths Nations, 10 Being 84% Christian’ (Chicago: empty tomb, 2011). [‘The State of Church Giving’ is an annual review and report on church giving in the US.]
- Roost, Charles and E. LeBron Fairbanks (eds): ‘Funding for Evangelism and Mission: Lausanne Occasional Paper No. 56’ (Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, 2005)
- Smith, Christian: ‘Passing the Plate: Why American Christians do not give away more money’ (New York, USA: Oxford University Press, 2008)
- Wilson, Myles: ‘Funding the Family Business’ (Laughton, UK: Stewardship, 2006)
6. Church and ministry self-reliance
- Corbett, Steve, Brian Fikkert and David Platt: ‘When helping hurts’ (Chicago, Illinois, USA: Moody Publishers, 2012)
- Reese, Robert: ‘Roots and Remedies of the Dependency Syndrome in World Missions’ (Pasadena, California, USA: William Carey Library, 2010)
- Schwartz, Glenn: ‘When charity destroys dignity’ (Bloomington, Indiana, USA: AuthorHouse, 2007)
I hope this bibliography had been helpful to at least some. Please send me information on other books that we can add to this list or comments on any of the books.
Dr. Sas Conradie is the Coordinator of the Global Generosity Network
Sas.conradie@cms-uk.org
Conversation Post Comment
There are not currently any comments.
You must be logged in to post a comment. If you don’t have an account, you can sign up now (it’s free and easy!).