Charity Detox

"Lupton is one of the sharpest, freshest, sassiest community developers out there. He is helping us all become wiser so that we don't settle for charity when we could have justice." -- Shane Claiborne, author of Irresistible Revolution

"When Bob Lupton speaks of the inner city, the rest of us ought to sit up and take notice... [His work is] deeply disturbing--in the best sense of the word." -- Philip Yancey, author of What Good Is God?

"Throughout reading Charity Detox the lyrics "How can it be wrong when it feels so right?" were buzzing in my head. That is the tension Lupton describes so deftly with practical illustrations of how we can change the dependency creating relationships formed by well-intentioned servers." -- Fred Smith, The Gathering

"His enthusiasm for this method is evident throughout the text and brings hope to readers that if more organizations adopted these practices, there really could be a better future ahead for all of us, not just the poor." -- Kirkus Reviews

"In Toxic Charity, Bob identified a weakness with charity as a tool for poverty reduction. In Charity Detox, Bob addresses the more complicated question of what might work better. Bob reaches the conclusion that wealth creation must replace wealth redistribution if poverty reduction is the goal." -- John Coors, Former CEO of CoorsTek

"[Charity] efforts, while necessary in a crisis, do little to improve people's socioeconomic status. Lupton uses this well-worn critique of churches' charitable activities as a springboard for positive action... all readers will find in this book a useful way to reexamine outreach programs." -- James Wetherbee, Wingate Univ. Libs., NC

"Lupton uses [his] critique of churches' charitable activities as a springboard for positive action...the author advocates that churches need to be more involved in communities by living and investing in them... all readers will find in this book a useful way to reexamine outreach programs." -- Library Journal

"Lupton continues his mission to transform the way charities operate. Most efforts to help relieve poverty are ineffective, he says...The road to charity hell has been paved with good intentions, but Lupton provides an inspiring roadmap for an alternate route." -- Spirituality and Health magazine

"Lupton weighs the future of effective efforts to reduce poverty . . . confronting popular practices and assumptions. . . . Inspiring." -- U.S. Catholic

"Lupton offers a roadmap for turning short-lived good intentions into lasting transformation [and shares] his vision for a new way of doing missions." -- Christianity Today