The PAOC Book, “Generosity Changes Everything”

The PAOC has published another booklet: Generosity Changes Everything…Even Us: Perspectives from a Benevolent Fellowship (2014).

I am encouraged to see that the PAOC recognizes that discipleship includes more than just telling people to read the Bible and pray—among other things, it also includes helping people to form proper attitudes and actions.

This small book directs people towards valuing and practicing generosity by providing ten short chapters that include stories and teachings about generosity that both motivate the reader and provide practical guidance toward creating a culture of generosity in the spheres that we find ourselves in. Despite the inspiring stories in the book, if the statistics on p. 39 are of any indication, this book is needed because we in Canadian churches could be more generous.

Here are a few quotations that I found particularly impacting:

• “God takes special note of every act of generosity” (with reference to Acts 10:2)—p. 12, David Hazzard
• “In the Old Testament, generosity is listed as differentiating the righteous from the wicked” (with reference to Psalm 37:21)—p. 35, Stephen Hertzog
• “And by witnessing hungry children share their food selflessly, I saw extreme generosity.”—p. 74, Carol Froom
• “Generosity comes from a transformed heart, one that has moved from worship of mammon to devotion to God.”—p. 88, Ron Davis
• “So Paul urges the Corinthians to express this virtue [of generosity] with the same excellence with which they pursue other gifts they value: faith, speech, knowledge, complete earnestness, and love.”—p. 108, the remarkable Rob Lindemann

And a few challenging questions to consider:

• “Is there a generosity goal for the congregation?”—p. 77, Carol Froom
• “Are we creating an atmosphere of generosity, celebrating it, and reproducing it consistently in our midst?”—p. 123, Judy Hearn
• “In what specific ways can we determine that generosity is being nurtured in our churches, in our families, and in our nation?”—p. 127, Judy Hearn

2 Corinthians 9:11~ You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

Generosity Changes Everything is available for $4 + shipping from the PAOC head office order desk at 905-542-7400, ext. 3223 or email orderdesk@paoc.org.

Stay tuned for a blog post on “What is discipleship?” (coming in a few weeks)…