Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31
“Research suggests that there are a number of demographic and geographical factors that influence generosity. These include aspects like regional levels of trust as well as aspects that might not normally be thought of as impacting generosity, such as city size and diversity… Studies have found that people in rural environments exhibit more prosocial behaviors. A meta-analysis of 65 experiments found that people who lived in rural areas engaged in more helping behaviors compared to those who lived in urban areas, and another study of people who were raised in rural or urban China found that individuals raised in rural environments were more generous to strangers and distant acquaintances.”
Summer Allen in “The Science of Generosity” White Paper produced by the Greater Good Science Center.
I arrived safely in Istanbul. I will interact with people from all over the world at the World Evangelical Alliance conference from 8-12 October 2023. Here’s the link to the event.
I’m basically giving a TED talk on “A biblical basis of governance stewardship accountability with real-life practice.” Reply to this email if you want a copy of my slide deck.
On the day before the conference began my GTP colleagues and I took time to visit Hagia Irene. Everybody talks up Hagia Sophia, which was great, but the experience is somewhat anticlimactic as it has been converted to a mosque.
Hagia Irene is a lesser known church and the site where 152 bishops gathered for the Second Council of the early church to add five article to sharpen the Nicene Creed in A.D. 381. See the sacred hall where it happened above.
As I continue digging in this goldmine of research, my exploration has come to look at demographic and geographical factors. It seems the more concentrated the people (urban versus rural) the less generous we become.
It makes sense. The more crowded things become, the more we might be prone to keep to ourselves and forget the most basic injunction of Jesus: to love God and love our neighbor.
What does this look like where you live? How does your context influence your generosity?
Jenni and I moved into a neighborhood with many young families. She’s getting to know many of them while walking our dog, Grace. Most have small children or are expecting new arrivals.
As I notice these realities, it inspires me to think how can might influence the faith of these families through our love, interaction, and generosity.
Ponder how your demographic and geographical factors setting might influence your generosity and determine what God might have you do where He has planted you.