Eric’s top 7 (and a half) resources to inspire radical generosity

by Eric Most

“Love gives: everything we are and everything we have.” 

That’s language we use a lot around NCF, and it speaks to my mindset of radical generosity perfectly, in my opinion. Radical biblical generosity does not just refer to our finances. We are not owners of anything, but stewards of everything. God owns it all – our Labor, Influence, Finances, and Expertise (LIFE). If we truly believe He is our never ending supply, we can be extraordinarily, radically generous with our LIFE. 

I spend most of my time helping people find ways they can reorder their lives toward generosity. With this in mind, I set out to create a shareable list of five resources to help others on this journey answer God’s call for us to give (Malachi 3:10, Luke 6:38). I instantly jotted down 25 favorites (and could have made it 50 if I had skipped dinner). 

Here are my top 7 (and a half) resources to inspire radical generosity. The list includes books, podcasts, sermons, and tips. I encourage you to commit to digesting each one on a timeline that works best for you: one per day, per week, or each month. As you check them off, I’d love to chat. How did these resources and experiences encourage you, challenge you, or offer new perspectives around stewarding and giving from what God has entrusted to you?

1. Boasting Only in the Cross, sermon by Dr. John Piper
In 2000, I attended the Passion OneDay event. (Picture Woodstock, but with 40,000 college students gathered on a field in Tennessee for the name and renown of Jesus!) It was there that I first heard Piper’s sermon, Boasting Only in The Cross, based on Galatians 6. This sermon taught me about the command and meaning of 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 

2. Doing Missions When Dying is Gain, sermon by Dr. John Piper
I still have the original cassette tape from this sermon that Piper preached at Wheaton College in 1996 – that’s how important it is to me. Something changed in me as I listened to Piper plead with his audience not to buy into the lie of the American dream of retirement. In an instant, everything I thought I knew about life, success, and wealth felt wrong. Listen to the full audio of Piper’s powerful sermon, or email me and I’ll let you borrow my cassette tape (if you can find a tape deck). 

3. Let the Nations Be Glad, written by Dr. John Piper
I believe Let The Nations Be Glad is one of the single best books on the mission of the church, and it’s more than missions, it’s worshiping God through The Great Commission. (Matthew 28:16-20) Piper was one of the first people who heralded the idea that nations are not geopolitical areas but ethnolinguistic groups, meaning we are to champion the uniqueness of all peoples gathering around the throne room of grace to worship God. Piper’s book is saturated in scriptures to help readers understand a biblical perspective of missions and how God has used them to raise up an entirely new generation of God-enthralled goers and senders. 

4. The Gospel and Materialism Part One, sermon by David Platt
What I appreciate about this sermon is that Platt doesn’t just preach and run; he gives practical ideas to help us eradicate materializm in our lives. I’ve heard it said from both Alan Barnhardt and David Platt that the greatest cure for materialism is radical generosity. In his message from 1 Timothy 6:3–10, Platt encourages us to consider money and possessions in light of the gospel and in light of the urgent needs of the world. Rather than being deceived by worldly riches, we can find our treasure in God himself. 

5. The Gospel and Materialism Part Two, sermon by David Platt
For the second part of his sermon series, Platt brings in missionary and best-selling author Katie Davis. Katie joins the conversation to discuss other ways the church can respond in a world filled with spiritual and physical needs—lack of gospel access, extreme poverty, exploitation, etc. Katie’s story of relentless, radical love is one you cannot miss. What started as a short mission trip to Uganda during her winter break as a senior in high school turned into her adopting 15 Ugandan children and establishing a ministry that feeds and sends hundreds more to school while teaching them the Word of Jesus Christ. If you ask Katie about why, she says “In light of what Christ has done for me, how could I not?” Amen!

6. Radical, written by David Platt
In Radical, Platt challenges readers to consider with an open heart how American Christianity has manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences. Platt’s transformative teachings made a big impact early-on in my view and understanding of biblical generosity, and were a huge factor in helping me discover a passion to do all for God’s glory, including how I handle material “things” and financial blessing.

7. Go on a mission trip
Exposure to different perspectives and experiences of others’ ways of living broadens our ability to understand the world and feel empathy. Mission trips with your family or church can be a powerful way to build a compassionate heart that leads to generosity. If you’ve never really seen or experienced the world outside of your community, I urge you to “go.”  I’m not saying you have to move to Uganda and adopt 15 children (see Katie’s story above). But a short trip over a long weekend can help us open our eyes to truly see others.

7.5 When Helping Hurts, written by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert
Before you book that  mission trip, I recommend you first read When Helping Hurts. It will set a foundation for how your trip can effectively help the materially poor. The book gives practical examples of how some alleviation efforts, which failed to consider the complexities of poverty, have unintentionally done more harm than good. The best mission trips are planned with great intention and consider all who are impacted by the trip, including trip-goers, senders, and receivers. The Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission is also a great resource to help your church or family understand best practices for organizing short-term missions.