Lowell Starling is a retired IT executive with more than 40 years of experience, including leadership roles in infrastructure management. He has also served for many years on the client advisory board at Advent Partners, where he’s known for his wisdom and valuable perspective. A lifelong learner shaped by strong financial discipline and faith, Lowell lives out generosity through everyday actions, partnerships, and a commitment to giving back.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- [02:08] How humble beginnings shaped Lowell Starling’s lifelong work ethic
- [07:25] Expanding generosity beyond money into everyday life
- [12:39] How neighbors create joy through simple, generous acts
- [21:15] Lowell shares how organizations help structure intentional giving
- [23:43] Creating lasting impact by paying generosity forward
In this episode:
It’s easy to think generosity is about how much you give. But does the real measure really have anything at all to do with the amount?
For Lowell Starling, the key lies in the heart behind the gift. Drawing from decades of lived experience, he explains that generosity begins not with money, but with intention and willingness to act when opportunities arise. What started as disciplined financial giving grew into a broader lifestyle of offering time, hospitality, and encouragement. His perspective reframes generosity as something anyone can practice, regardless of resources.
In this episode of You Can’t Take it With You, host Jim Dunlop is joined by Lowell Starling to discuss building a legacy of generosity through everyday actions. Lowell shares how financial discipline can support giving, why generosity extends beyond money, and real-life examples of generosity in action. He also shares advice on creating a ripple effect by paying generosity forward.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Jim Dunlop on LinkedIn
- Advent Partners
- Lowell Starling on LinkedIn
- “Mission, Microfinance, and Impact: A Guide to Sustainable Generosity With Peter Greer” on You Can’t Take it With You
- “How Personal Experiences Shape Philanthropic Impact With Jim Langley” on You Can’t Take it With You
- “Not All of Me Will Die: Leaving an Impact Beyond Wealth With Phil Cubeta” on You Can’t Take it With You
- Rick Warren on LinkedIn
- Financial Peace University
Quotable Moments
- “The key is to remember that God wants your heart, not your money, time, or talent.”
- “God doesn’t care how much you give. He cares why you give.”
- “Always be open to the opportunity to give [when an] unexpected opportunity arises.”
- “It’s to get rich so you can give money away.”
- “I want you to pay it forward to somebody else who needs help, and that expands the ripples.”
Action Steps
- Start with intentional financial discipline: Building habits early creates a foundation that enables consistent and sustainable generosity over time.
- Expand giving beyond money: Offering time, talent, and attention deepens impact and allows generosity to touch more areas of people’s lives.
- Stay open to everyday opportunities to give: Being aware of small, unexpected needs helps turn generosity into a daily practice.
- Partner with others in generosity: Collaborating with people who share similar values multiplies impact and reaches more people effectively.
- Focus on the heart behind giving: Prioritizing purpose over amount ensures generosity remains meaningful and aligned with deeper values.
Sponsor for this episode:
This episode is brought to you by Advent Partners — a financial planning partner dedicated to helping you make informed decisions that simplify your financial journey.
Our seasoned team of professionals is committed to guiding you toward your financial goals. We offer tailored solutions based on your specific needs, from standalone financial planning to integrated financial management.
Whether you are planning for the future, investing for growth, or navigating financial hurdles, Advent Partners is here to provide insights, recommendations, and a clear financial roadmap.
To learn more about Advent Partners and how we can guide your financial success, visit AdventPartnersFP.com.
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Episode Transcript
Intro: 00:00
Welcome to the You Can’t Take it With You show, where we feature stories around generosity designed to inspire and encourage others to do meaningful things in their communities. Now here’s your host, Jim Dunlop.
Jim Dunlop: 00:17
Hi, Jim Dunlop here, a wealth advisor and host of this show, where I sit down with people who get it when it comes to generosity. I’m excited to have guests who can give us stories on generosity to not only inspire our listeners, but to give practical ideas on ways we can give. Today’s guest is Lowell Starling. Past guests include Peter Greer, Jim Langley, and Phil Cubeta.
But before we get to Lowell, I want to share that this episode is brought to you by Advent Partners Ready for Good. Advent is a financial planning team dedicated to helping you make informed decisions that simplify your financial journey. At Advent Partners, we’re ready for good. Our bold, ten year vision to help clients donate $100 million to transform lives through generosity and planning, united by generosity, relationship excellence, authenticity and fun, we empower meaningful lives and lasting community impact. To learn more about Advent Partners and how we can guide your financial success, visit readyforgood.com.
Now let’s talk about Lowell. Lowell is a retired IT executive with over 40 years of experience. He and his wife, Nancy, have been married for 60 years and have two children and five grandchildren. He has been a Christ follower since his teen years, and that relationship led him onto the path of generosity. I’ve gotten to know Lowell as he has served for many years on our client advisory board at Advent Partners.
He retired from that board at the end of last year. However, I always have appreciated his wisdom and perspective and was excited when he said yes to being a guest on our show. Lowell, welcome.
Lowell Starling: 01:53
Thank you Jim. Glad to be here.
Jim Dunlop: 01:55
Well, as we before we get started here. Would you mind taking a step and and and sharing a little bit about your history and your personal history and autobiography with our listeners for a minute or two?
Lowell Starling: 02:08
Yes. Well, as you indicated, I retired in 2007 from Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield as a vice president for Infrastructure management, which is running all the data centers, computers, phones, high speed mail, etc. and. That was a total of over 40 years in information management. What I find interesting is now that I’ve been retired for 17 years, if I have a technical problem, I call one of my kids or even better, one of my grandkids to get help. So you know, when you’re not doing it every day, it goes away.
So my wife and I, Nancy, have lived all over the country. We I was born in Washington, D.C., and she moved to that area in high school, and we met and then got married. I was pulled into the Navy during Vietnam and ended up in Norfolk running a computer center. And moved on from there to join Ross Perot at EDS in Dallas. And then we went to New York City and then to San Francisco, and then back to New York City.
And then they had an opening in some place called Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. And my wife said, we’ll take that one. And so we moved to Camp Hill in 1972, when a two year assignment and other than moving to Mechanicsburg, we’re still here and we’re enjoying life living in Bethany Village retirement community now. So I grew up in the in the Washington, D.C. area. My father was a car salesman on full commission, and my mother was a stay at home mom with four kids.
So when my father sold cars, we were fine and we didn’t. Things were a little bit tight. So in sixth grade, I started working. Cutting grass, shoveling snow, selling, delivering newspapers, selling greeting cards, anything to to make some extra money. And the it in the seventh grade.
I’ve got a job washing dishes in the school cafeteria to pay for lunch. So that was some of what my experience, which drove some of my. Ambition to to make sure that I got through college because my father was one semester short of getting his degree and never could afford to do it. And so that was the the kick off for, you know, financial discipline and learning how to to work and have a good work ethic. My mom long before there was a Dave Ramsey, she had because of our fluctuating finances, she had the plastic cabinets with little drawers, one labeled clothes, one food, one gas, etc. and that’s how she managed the household finances and the other major contribution she made was that she made sure that all the kids went with her to church.
My father, not so much. But she was insistent that that we grow in our knowledge of salvation through Jesus Christ, and that is the stepping stone into generosity.
Jim Dunlop: 05:17
So I, I appreciate you sharing that and and sharing that personal history part of it. I know that the next question that I like to ask our, our guests is that their generosity origin story, and I know yours has just evolved throughout your lifetime. Could you share your generosity origin story? Lowell?
Lowell Starling: 05:39
Yeah. When my wife and I got married after we graduated from college and I had a degree from, we both graduated from University of Maryland. I had a degree in physics and she was a a BSN. So we both got jobs. I was working for IBM at the magnificent sum of $600 a month.
Of course, this was 1965. And she was making like 450. But we made the decision then based on what we had learned going to Sunday school and church, that the we would bank her money and live on mine, and that we would tithe on the gross growth from both of those. So that we were being what we thought was generous. And that went on for for some number of years.
And then we got as we had children and we got became more involved in the church. Then we started to expand and understood that it wasn’t just tithing, although that was important, but it also that God loves a cheerful giver, so that we started giving to lots of other things. And again, this was all financial. We saw generosity as a as a financial issue. As we got more involved in the church and also became involved in non-church functions, my wife ended up as a president of the School Nurses School, State of Pennsylvania, and I was president of a board, members of a number of not for profit corporations.
And then the the mantra of mantra of, you know, that the we should be giving time, talent and treasure, not just the treasure. And so that expanded our horizons in terms of what we should be doing and what generosity really meant. I don’t know how many people are familiar with Rick Warren, who’s the patent or I’m not sure what he is now, but he was the founding pastor of Saddleback Church, which is a megachurch, I think, 20,000 members in Orange County, California. But he writes a a daily email called daily Hope. and I highly recommend it if you don’t get it, it’s a 2 or 3 minute read.
Plus, he’s got the recording behind it with a lot more detail, but he recently talked about generosity. And one of the things that struck me is he said it’s just not time, talent and treasure. It’s also everything you do in your life compliments, your time, your attention. And one of the things that we have actually done is it’s not just your your treasure in terms of money. Our house, we’ve had three houses or we still have one that has been used as a church.
I mean, we’ve had church services in them because they were big enough to hold it. We’ve had small group meetings there, hosted, we’ve hosted ministry retreats, etc. so the house becomes an extension of the church. And I think that was one of the the pinnacles of what we were able to accomplish, because people feel really blessed when your hospitality includes them in a worship environment.
Jim Dunlop: 09:02
You know, it strikes me, Lowell, you and Nancy have had a tremendous amount of financial discipline since day one. And first of all, that’s that’s that’s incredible. And and to think that in 1972, is that what you said? Or, you know, she’s making 450 a month. You’re making.
Lowell Starling: 09:25
Six. No. 60s, 1965 1965.
Jim Dunlop: 09:29
I’m sorry, 1965 72.
Lowell Starling: 09:31
We moved to Camp Hill.
Jim Dunlop: 09:33
But, you know, you’re making just over $1,000 a month at that time and tithing out of it. That’s pretty incredible. Let me ask this question. Do you think somebody can be financially generous without necessarily practicing good financial management?
Lowell Starling: 09:48
Well, absolutely. I mean, The good financial management gives you more access to resources, but there are lots of people that just don’t have. They don’t have the skill set or the training or the education. We both had college degrees and so forth. So but the key thing is that God doesn’t care how much you give.
He cares why you give and he wants your heart. And so that’s you. Look at the. I’m sorry examples in in Scripture, one of the classic ones is the widow’s mite. You know, all the the scribes and Pharisees were coming up and dropping money in, and there’s a lot of clanging and banging and they’re all proud and smirking, and this woman comes up and drops into two little coins.
That’s all she’s got. And Jesus commented that she’s given more than anybody else because she gave all she had. And and the other side of that is now she has nothing, and she’s depending on God to supply her needs, whereas everybody else with all the money, he says. I’m covered. So I think that’s the kind of example.
Paul also talks about the Macedonian churches in multiple scriptures, where they were being persecuted because this was during the time of Nero. So being a Christian could get you killed and they were destitute because that was the barbarian north in Greece. But they were giving particularly to people, the Christians in Jerusalem, who were really strapped. And Paul’s description, as I recall, was that they gave as much as they could and more. So here’s people that are do not have a lot.
In fact, they’re struggling themselves financially. But they’re they’re excited by their generosity to to give to those people. So I think if you do practice good financial management and you do have the skill set to earn, that’s great. But, you know, you have too many examples of the Bill gates and the Jeff Bezos of the world who give a bunch of money and, you know, big whoop. I mean, you know, so they they give 50 million and they still got 50 billion.
And it doesn’t make it it doesn’t make a difference. And they’re giving to for show, not for the I’m judging for, but they’re not doing it because that’s what interests God. Yeah. And I’m sorry. Go ahead.
Jim Dunlop: 12:13
No. You know, I well, I appreciate that you’re a keen observer of things and and I think, you know, I know you have several examples, but can you share some stories of, of generosity and action near you that, that you’ve observed but, but that you can share with our listeners?
Lowell Starling: 12:39
Yeah. One of them, we in addition to our place at the Bethany Village, we’re very fortunate to have a house in the movie called Lake Mead, which is a private lake community. We have a very nice lakefront property that God has blessed us with, and we’ve become friends with a neighbor who I would say is the antithesis. He bought the smallest, cheapest house he could. He’s retired, enlisted military, but he is generous.
He makes me look like a piker. He will deliberately go out and buy things like we’re in a rural area and he’ll go to a farm stand and during the fall and buy 50 or 75 pumpkins and stack them up in his driveway, and then post on a local website that everybody come and, you know, get get a pumpkin, you know, and I think he focuses on, you know, the kids. So, you know, families drive over and the kids are just squealing and loving it because they’re getting this stuff. And he does that with multiple things. That’s a vegetable.
I’m sorry.
Jim Dunlop: 13:54
Oh, that’s really neat.
Lowell Starling: 13:57
Yeah. He and that’s you know, I never would think of that. I mean, I if I have surplus stuff, I’ll put it. Yeah. I don’t put it up on the next door website for sale.
I just put it out to the curb and advertise it for free. But he goes out and buys stuff to give away. That that just is kind of amazing. And they have they have big vegetable garden and they give away all the vegetables. They go fishing, they catch any fish, they give those away.
And if anybody has a problem in the community, you know, health issues, cars break down, stuff like that. He’s one of the first to know. And he and I formed a partnership where I would he would be the front guy, talking to the person and arranging and finding out what they need and how they would help him fund it. Because I generally don’t try to publicize the fact that I’m giving money. And he’s he’s right out there in front making it happen.
So it’s a it’s a it was a great relationship and and a tremendous example to me of, you know, expanding the opportunities to give. I mean, you don’t just have to do with what you’ve already got. You can go get some more stuff and give that away. And I think that’s just amazing.
Jim Dunlop: 15:05
Now, I know you have another story to share with us of some stuff that’s happened in the last, you know, year or year and a half in your life of of generosity and action. Could could you share that with our listeners?
Lowell Starling: 15:20
Sure. Yeah. Our church is that we’re my wife and I attend now is a non-denominational church that started in November of 2024. And the we were renting space in a in a closed church that was hosting some other ministries, and we were expanded. We’re up to about 250 on a Sunday, and we can’t get everybody in the building.
We can’t. We don’t have parking. We don’t have enough room for Sunday school classes and so forth. So we’ve been looking since last February for new space and a building. A closed church building went on the market last summer and we bid on it.
We were outbid. But then the person who had won the bid had a heart attack and died before the deal closed. And so we went back and tried to get it, and we were told by the denomination that owned it because a number of their people had joined our church when we started, that they would not sell it to us. And that was very frustrating because we thought that and that the purpose of churches is all to be about building God’s kingdom. And they were they were thwarting somebody, a church that was doing that.
But anyhow, in October, our pastor heard from a local businessman who was unhappy with the fact that the that that denomination would not sell the church to us. And he said that God had spoken to him and told him that he should buy the building and then sell it to us. And he’s a land developer and, you know, a very prominent businessman. So he had the the track record and the finances to do it. And he so he did that.
And actually we he closed last was January and December 31st he closed and January 2nd he sold it to us and he sold it to us at a loss. Plus he covered all the closing costs and everything. So that was a significant step of generosity on his. Nobody solicited that. He just said, this is what God’s called me to do.
And that’s just an amazing thing that happened. You know, our our church is just beside itself because we’re going to have the facilities to, to run the ministries that we want to see happen.
Jim Dunlop: 17:42
Yeah. That’s Well, it’s incredible that you can take a space that was not being used and, and reuse it and, and, and, and the way it’s happened is through an act of generosity in and of itself. So I think that’s pretty cool. Yeah. Who are you know, who are some people that have been influential on your life, particularly when it comes to generosity?
Lowell Starling: 18:05
Well, I think probably the the first one was my mother because her idea, her her need to manage money and, and and also to get the kids to church created the spiritual environment that that put us on the path to generosity. Obviously, serving Jesus Christ is the I had to put him after my mother. But in terms of chronology, that was probably correct. But, you know, he using the example of generosity, giving his life for us to save us from our sins. And and he did not come to, to to be served but to serve.
And that’s, that’s our ministry also is that we’re supposed to be serving. Another one is Rick Warren. I mentioned I get a lot of really good tips and things on not just generosity, but on living the Christian life and and being part of the the family of believers. And I’ve spent a number of years facilitating Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University and and he just he’s he’s preaching good financial management get out of debt. You know, and he says, you know, this is all stuff you got from your grandmother.
Spend less than you make save for a rainy day because it’s going to rain. And and if you follow his principles, you will end up saving a lot of money through the miracle of compound interest. And. And the objective is not to get rich. So you’re rich.
It’s to get rich so you can give money away. And I think one of the, the flip side or negative example is the, the rich man who had somebody. Such large crops that he couldn’t fit them in his barn. So he said, well, turn my barns down and build new ones. And of course, his life was taken from him that night, and somebody else got all his stuff.
And that’s where we don’t want to be. We want to be giving that money away. And right now, my wife and I are blessed with far more in terms of resources than we ever thought we would have back when we first got married. And we’re, we’re we’re busy trying to give it away. And, you know, some of them go to our kids that that house will probably go to the kids because that’s going to be continued to be used as a ministry.
But a lot of the money will be going to various charities. So it’s not for you. I mean, you know, that’s not what the having money is about or resources or anything else. It’s about serving and giving.
Jim Dunlop: 20:55
So I, I really appreciate you sharing all this. And Lowell, as you and Nancy have been on this 60 year journey. Congratulations, by the way. That’s that’s quite an accomplishment. Have there been important partners who are some important partners you’ve had along the way in that?
Lowell Starling: 21:15
Well, there’s two. Two organizations that you have to point out. One is your organization, the Advent Partners. And you mentioned that the goal of 100 million. And that’s that’s exciting.
And we’re certainly part of that to to give that kind of money away. And but just the whole concept of of giving. I mean, all the different toy drives and the various things that you guys do in addition to having that goal. Continually motivates your your clients as well as your employees to to be generous and to be out there on the front lines of giving and meeting people’s needs. The other one is because we’re part of Bethany Village, which is a part of Asbury Communities, which is a a multiple multi state chain of retirement communities.
In fact, I served on the board there for nine years, but that was the. Structured giving plan, giving all of the different charitable gift annuities and all the various things that exist to give but also give systematically, structurally and in ways that reduce the tax bite. And less of it goes to the government. More of it goes to the people who need money. Whether it’s charities or whether that be charities to get tax deduction.
But those two organizations have really provided a lot of background and knowledge and also incentive and motive to to to move. After to to to to redo this one that helps us to move systematically towards being generous givers instead of just opportunistic opportunistically.
Jim Dunlop: 23:23
Understood. No problem. Well, I as we wrap up here, I want to thank you for being with us and taking some time to share. And I have one final question. And it’s this if you had the attention of the world for five minutes or less, what would you say?
What would your message be?
Lowell Starling: 23:43
The key is to remember that God wants your heart, not your money, time, or talent. Why you give is far more important than what you give. Always be open to the opportunity to give with unexpected opportunity arises. I’m 82 now and I can’t do what I used to do, but I can help financially. And when the recipients say this is just a loan and I’ll pay you back, I tell them I agree that it’s a loan, but you’re not going to pay me back.
I want you to pay it forward to somebody else who needs help. And that expands the ripples of generosity across the pond. And it’s always about what God wants, not what we want.
Jim Dunlop: 24:29
Well, you you hit the nail on the head time and again. And guest after guest. What we find and what I love is this idea of the ripple effect, the I’m going to do this today and have this impact and it hopefully gets magnified out. I don’t want anything back. I want it to broadcast more generosity.
And and I’m certainly hearing that in you and the things you’re doing. And I want to thank you so much for taking time to share some of your story, as well as some of the things that you’ve seen and observed that have been pretty special.
Lowell Starling: 25:04
Thank you. I’ve been delighted to be here, and it’s a joy to share this, because this to me is one of the most more important things in life.
Jim Dunlop: 25:12
Amen. Well, well, thank you so much for being with us. And we’re excited to have you with us today.
Lowell Starling: 25:21
Thank you.
Outro: 25:24
Thanks for joining us to hear stories of generosity that remind us that you can’t take it with you. Visit our site at canttakeitwithyou.com for more details on today’s episode and to subscribe to future shows.
Disclosure: 25:42
Neither today’s guests nor their company are affiliated with or endorsed by Thrivent Advisor Network. The views expressed in this presentation by the guest are their own and not necessarily those of Thrivent or its affiliates.
Advent Partners may utilize third-party websites, including social media websites, blogs, and other interactive content. We consider all interactions with clients, prospective clients, and the general public on these sites to be advertisements under the securities regulations. As such, we generally retain copies of information that we or third parties may contribute to such sites. This information is subject to review and inspection by Thrivent Advisor Network or the securities regulators. Advisory Persons of Thrivent provide advisory services under a “doing business as” name or may have their own legal business entities. However, advisory services are engaged exclusively through Thrivent Advisor Network, LLC, a registered investment advisor. Advent Partners and Thrivent Advisor Network, LLC are not affiliated companies.
