The Finish Line Podcast Mary Clayton Crow, on Giving Generously Expecting Nothing in Return (Ep. 158)
Mary Clayton Crow’s life has been marked by radical generosity from the very beginning. After coming to faith in the Jesus Movement of the 70s, Mary Clayton’s parents freely shared all they had while living in community with other Believers, regularly opening their home to missionaries, and eventually becoming missionaries themselves behind the Iron Curtain. This model of radical generosity set a strong foundation for Mary Clayton’s adult life as she lives to “give generously, expecting nothing in return.”
Mary Clayton has a rich passion for relational, spontaneous generosity, often giving away personal items admired by others as a way to express God’s love while resisting the trap of materialism. She is also passionate about collaborative giving, and takes part in several giving communities that invest in local ministries, not only with their finances, but with their time and talents as well.
Major Topics Include:
- Making generosity your own
- Being stretched and challenged in generosity
- Wrestling the “elder brother” mentality
- What does it really mean to expect nothing in return?
- A Lenten generosity challenge
- Resisting materialism with generosity
- Modeling generosity to your family
- The power of community giving to local ministries
- Guarding against generosity burnout
- Hearing from the Holy Spirit through other people
- Creating a visual reminder to give generously
- “You can never outgive God. It’s going to come back to you 10-fold, 20-fold, 30-fold, 100-fold. And it may not be in dollars and cents, but it will be in joy.”
- “I love generosity because it makes sharing the gospel so easy.”
- “Expecting nothing in return means releasing the result and putting it in the Lord’s hand.”
- “We need to detach ourselves from things owning us so we can be stewards of the things God has given us.”
- “Generous tipping is one of the easiest ways to be an evangelist.”
- “I’m excited to chase God.”
- “I’m looking forward to God disrupting my life for new adventures.”
- Julie Wilson, President of Women Doing Well (see our past interview here)
- Young Life
- One Hundred Shares
- The Finish Line Community Facebook Group
- The Finish Line Community LinkedIn Group
Luke 21:3-4 | The Widow’s Offering
And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
John 3:16 | The Ultimate Giver
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Luke 15:11-32 | The Prodigal Son
Matthew 20:1-16 | The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
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