Laura Sumner Truax - Love Let Go: Radical Generosity for the Real World

Our culture brainwashes us to think that greed is the motivation that drives us, but this book offers a powerful alternative messagethe transformative power of generosity. This message could literally change the world, beginning with your life and mine.

BRIAN D. MCLAREN
author of The Great Spiritual Migration

More and more churches understand that in order to effectively preach the gospel, we must also live the gospel. In contrast to the societal value of gaining and collecting power, privilege, and wealth, this book documents the story of a church that opted to give away their possessions. Their example reminds us that the New Testament church is alive and well and that there could be the possibility of a movement of generous churches.

SOONG-CHAN RAH
author of The Next Evangelicalism and Prophetic Lament

Along with the modern stories of LaSalle, the authors effectively interlace ancient stories from the Bible and advice from outside resources, financial and religious. They write as much about the grinding, rewarding process of discernmentpraying, meeting, listening inside and outas about dispersal of funds. Part story of LaSalles decision of how to handle their investment, part testament to the powers of generosity, this book will be of interest to anyone interested in community building or philanthropy.

Publishers Weekly

LOVE LET GO

Radical Generosity for the Real World

Laura Sumner Truax & Amalya Campbell

WILLIAM B. EERDMANS PUBLISHING COMPANY

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN

WM. B. EERDMANS PUBLISHING CO.

2140 Oak Industrial Drive N.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49505

www.eerdmans.com

Laura Sumner Truax and Amalya Campbell

All rights reserved

Published 2017

23 22 21 20 19 18 171 2 3 4 5 6 7

ISBN 978-0-8028-7447-4

eISBN 978-1-4674-4715-7

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Truax, Laura Sumner, 1961 author.

Title: Love let go : radical generosity for the real world / Laura Sumner Truax & Amalya Campbell.

Description: Grand Rapids : Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2017. | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016046689 | ISBN 9780802874474 (hardcover : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: GenerosityReligious aspectsChristianity.

Classification: LCC BV4647.G45 T78 2017 | DDC 241/.4dc23

LC record vailable at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016046689

To the people of LaSalle Street Church, past, present, and future

CONTENTS

I
OUR GENEROUS NATURE

II
STUMBLING TOWARD GENEROSITY

III
THE GENEROUS LIFE

While visiting a Syrian refugee settlement in Lebanon with Laura Truax in May 2016, I gained an appreciation for Lauras passion for generosity. This is the generosity she explores in this book with co-author Ami Campbell; the two share their insight into the kind of radical generosity that brings unexpected freedom to our lives. My own experience with this started almost thirty years ago.

In October 1987, I was working in the corporate world when Black Monday struckthe largest single-day stock market crash in history. In one fell swoop, my wife, Rene, and I lost a third of our life savings as well as the money wed put away for our childrens college education. I was horrified.

Since I had grown up in poverty, my hard-won financial health was very important to meeven more with a young family to support. I became a man obsessed with finances. The next few days were a blur of late-night agonizing over what wed lost followed by morning calls to sell off our remaining holdings (which only made things worse).

Rene saw that in my anguish I was allowing money to control me. One night she sat down beside me as I labored over my spreadsheets. She pointed out all the good things we had to be thankful for. You need to let go of this and trust God, she said gently. She suggested we pray together. Amazingly, I hadnt thought to seek God in my distress.

After we prayed, Rene shocked me by proposing that we pull out the checkbook and write some sizeable checksamounting to about one-third of what wed lostto our church and the other ministries we support. She explained, We need to show God that we know this is his money and not ours.

Once the checks were signed, sealed, and ready to send, I felt a wave of reliefthe spell that money had cast over me was broken. It was a leap of faith that felt crazy at the time, but God blessed us. Specifically, I believe God was preparing me to make the difficult but rewarding choice ten years later to join World Vision and take a significant pay cut. Id learned that I could trust God for the outcome.

My story would fit very well in this book. Laura and Ami explore the notion that practicing generosityputting money in its proper place in our life of faithfrees us. It happened for LaSalle Street Church in Chicago; it happens for you and me.

God intends giving to be an act of faith and a sign of our dependence. In Old Testament times, people were obligated to pledge the first fruits of their harvest as an offering to God, in thanks and remembrance for God delivering them from slavery in Egypt. This meant giving from the first harvest, at a time when people couldnt be sure there would be a second. In other words, it was fruit of survival, not surplus.

Today theres no such law governing our income or harvests, although diligent tithing continues to be integral to spiritual health, keeping us grounded in whats really important in our lives. As Jesus so aptly said, For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matt. 6:21).

Generosity is also revitalizing for a church, and in my experience, thats true of congregations around the world. In addition to the example of LaSalle Street Church youre about to read, Ive visited tiny churches in rural Africa that blossomed once they overcame the stigma of AIDS and started pouring themselves out for their neighbors through their time, talent, and treasure. Ive seen churches in both hemispheres, rich and poor, flourish as they spread out beyond their four walls to share Jesuss love with the most vulnerable people, locally and globally.

After all, the poverty and disparity in our world today are not what God intended. In the economics of the kingdom, all would give equally, and there would be enough for everyone. But weve fallen short. I believe God is calling us to right the balance on behalf of the suffering people he loves.

The average giving of Christians in the U.S. is 2.4 percent of our income. If we increased our giving by just 1 percenteach of us giving just 60 cents a day morethat would generate enough money year after year to accomplish amazing things. That small change alone would have the power to wipe out extreme poverty in the world in just a generation. Its a stunning realization. In twenty years, we could could tackle clean water, hunger, preventable diseases, education, and capital for small businesses. And wed still have billions left over.

As Laura and Ami share in this book, our journey of generosity is framed by Gods big story of creating us, his children, and giving us everything we need to prosper. I believe an important part of this story is that God so loved us, he sent his only Son, who then commissions us to continue his work: As the Father has sent me, I am sending you (John 20:21). This is an invitation to become Gods partners in restoring, reforming, and redeeming a broken world. In order to obey, we need to be willing to lay down all we are and all we haveall the resources he entrusted to usfor the kingdom.

I and many others who have said yes to that invitation can tell you that its a thrilling adventure. Changing the world isnt easy, and it doesnt come cheap. But what an incredible privilege it is to be chosen and equipped for this purpose by our loving God.