DAVID GREEN: THE WAY OF LIVING GENEROUSLY

What could the 234th richest multimillionaire in the world, with a fortune worth over six billion dollars, teach us about how to live generously? Maybe a 2012 article from Forbes magazine may help us understand this better when it states, “David Green insists God is the true owner of his $3 billion arts and crafts chain.”

Green carries out his life according to the biblical precepts, applying them in his entrepreneurial life, and that is the experience of almost fifty years that the wanted to share in this book with a rather long title – Giving It All Away... and Getting It All Back Again – along with a cascade of examples used here. From his start with six hundred dollar loan, making small frames in his kitchen with his kids for seven cents apiece, to the application of his “partnership” with God in his daily decision-making, turning each situation into an opportunity to give, enjoying the value of getting it all back again.
But it’s not just about the challenges related to daily business management that are addressed here, but also his social intervention, as it was in the famous case Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, that made it all the way to the US Supreme Court, when the federal government ordered businesses to supply contraceptives for their female employees, which went against the religious convictions of the Green family. The daily fine equivalent to more than $1 million USD did not intimidate them, even if losing the lawsuit meant the end of the company and the firing of 32,000 people, and they moved into a court battle that ended in 2014, with Green winning the case.
The book reflects on a number of lessons David learned, on his tangible legacy, but above all on his intangible legacy, which life has allowed him to enjoy; not by seeking earthly wealth but divine grace. The son of a pastor, David soon absorbed the generous character personified in his parents’ lives, as they always had something to share despite their lack of financial resources.
Throughout his extensive entrepreneurial and philanthropic life, David has continued to be involved in projects that have significant impact on society, even though he remains attached to his decoration empire. Green appeals, “we need a sense of urgency about God's priorities for the resources we've been given.” The Green family has not only ensured a sustainable financial legacy, as they also follow the biblical guidelines to bless others, contributing to spread the Word of God to all people.
In this spirit, several enterprises were born whose family legacy, if not expressive, bears a singular span, as their cooperative support of Every Tribe Every Nation, which seeks to accelerate and coordinate the different Bible translations, thus implementing a pattern system of digital content development, founded upon a credible digital biblical library. YouVersion’s Bible App (see the previous Biblion issue) benefits tremendously of this array of initiatives by hosting the largest digital bookshelf of Bible’s versions and translations.
Another great endeavor developed by the Green family is the groundbreaking Museum of the Bible (also in Biblion #5), which opens to the public in November, and comprise the largest collection of Bibles in the world, with the purpose of sharing the narrative, the story and the impact of the Bible.

Originaly Published at:
Biblion Online Magazine (PT): http://www.biblion.pt/o-modo-de-viver-generosamente/
Biblion Online Magazine (EN): http://www.biblion.pt/david-green-the-way-of-living-generously/
Biblion #6 Interactive Edition (Nov-Dec2017 – Portuguese): http://www.biblion.pt/biblion-6-interativa-pt/
Biblion #6 Interactive Edition (Nov-Dec2017 – English version): http://www.biblion.pt/biblion-6-interactive-edition-en/
Effective: November 1st, 2017

God owns everything and he wants us to be good stewards of everything he has put into our hands. We all have wealth, our intellectual capital, our social capital, our emotional capital, our spiritual capital, and our financial capital. Being good stewards produces responsibility and we need to be found faithful. Faithful stewardship leads to generosity and great joy.

David Green is CEO of Hobby Lobby. He tells the story of how he and his wife started in the garage in Oklahoma and with the mindset of God owning everything and kingdom building. With that mindset, they have found success in many different forms. I was impressed with the community that they had within their family. Building responsibility with their children using biblical principles found in the bible. What a great resource for families to build responsibility with the goal of generosity.

The book is found with 5 parts
**A Radical Way of Living
**It's All God's
**Giving It All Away
**The Legacy of Work and Family
**The Eternal Legacy that is Right Now.

Along in this journey, he shares the battle that Hobby Lobby fought with the government and the faith that pressed the company on. With great urgency, he encourages his readers to come along with the journey that Hobby Lobby and the Green family have taken. The journey of faith and generosity.

A Special Thank You to Zondervan and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review

Excellent read to remind us as we travel of what our priorities should be. Should pass on a few copies to selected others

The author, David Green is the founder of the largest privately owned arts and crafts retailer in the world. At one point, in the eighties when profits were good, Hobby Lobby had expanded into selling things that proved to be unsuccessful and the company was in the red. Green called together a family meeting, and after telling them what was going on, his oldest son, Mart said, “Dad, it’s okay. Our faith is not in you—it’s in God. If we lose the business, we’ll still be okay.” That was the most important thing I got from this book. It is filled with faith.

I had heard of Green before this book came out since he is well known for suing the federal government in a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court. As a Christian he would not support the idea that private companies must provide life-terminating drugs to their pregnant employees or pay severe fines, and at the time, that was the law. People who opposed Green's beliefs set up Facebook pages against his company. Of course, there were also many who supported his decision. After months and months of waiting, they won. In this day and age it’s good to see a Christian company win a battle like that. (Today I saw a number of people online remarking about an article saying many companies offer paid maternity leave and he does not. He does, however, pay over twice as much as minimum wage)

David says throughout the book that the company belongs to God. He donates 50% of his profits to organizations that share the good news in many ways. He treats his employees exceptionally well; they make a fairly decent living compared to those who take jobs like this for other companies. On the other hand, he’s quick to point out that he doesn’t plan to promote one of his very own children to a CEO position unless that child shows he is worthy. From what I can gather, his children and grandchildren aren’t to expect anything special from him; they are all expected to have jobs and earn their own way. I can’t help but feel a bit as if he doesn’t feel as if he can trust them with the company or money for that matter. His own children weren’t given cars; one child said he saved for a car from the age of 9 and couldn’t afford anything nice. While I agree that children should work for the things they want, I also don’t think it hurts to help out a child who really wants something and has worked hard; why not chip in something? It seems a little bit as if he doesn’t trust what ? their upbringing ? them ? I don’t know. This verse came to mind from the Bible:

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

I think he needs to trust that he did the best he could, and God will do the rest. He doesn’t have to set up everything so tight that he can still have it all under his control even when he’s passed on. Although that is the end he is working toward.



This is an interesting and informative book with some very thought-provoking views.

I'm sorry to have to give this only two stars. I did agree with much of what Green writes here about how to handle money and especially liked his guidelines on transferring wealth to future generations.

That said, the book is less than 200 pages, so I thought it would be a quick and easy read; yet I struggled through this. It's repetitive, dry, and a bit unfocused. I couldn't figure out if Green was trying to write a how-to manual on wealth management for Christians, or if he was writing Hobby Lobby's memoirs.

I was also turned off by the fact that every "good" decision Green shares is one made by himself or his family; any examples of poor decisions were his observations of other individuals not blessed with his same wisdom.

I think this could be edited quite a bit more (hopefully it will be, as I'm reading an ARC), to the point where it could easily be reduced to 100 pages or so.

I would also suggest that Christians interested in learning how to manage their money biblically read Randy Alcorn's Money, Possessions and Eternity or his shorter book The Treasure Principle: Unlocking the Secret of Joyful Giving.

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley.