Questioning the worth of wealth. According to psychology prof Barry Schwartz, “the role of material success in well-being is an unsettled matter.” Money does buy happiness, but within limits. Above $75,000 or so, the joy of more begins to taper off, and especially so when material success is a person’s ultimate goal. “Increases in material [...]
Generosity in quotes
September 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment
“In the Lowcountry of South Carolina, there is an old Gullah term for early morning: dayclean, as in “Child, you’ve got to go to bed because dayclean’s coming.” The point is that every new day is ‘clean’ — a blank slate upon which the story of new mercies yet undiscovered might be written. If we [...]
More than just a pithy phrase
May 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment
If you’ve heard me speak or have read much of what I’ve written, you know I’m a sucker for a pithy phrase. In previous posts, I’ve highlighted longtime favorites from my consulting lexicon. Now I’m pleased to introduce two additions to my collection of clever plays on words. The first is “sloppy agape.” I stumbled upon the [...]
The devil is in the bylaws
May 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I’m a self-confessed governance junky, which makes me the odd person out in most settings. There aren’t a lot of folks who share my enthusiasm for board handbooks, policy manuals, and trustee evaluation instruments. So imagine my excitement upon finding an article about by-laws nestled between heady theological material in a recent issue of Christian [...]
