We were sitting around the tables in the fellowship hall at the corps having a hurried kettle Christmas dinner (but at least we were eating together!)...
A loud bang on the glass doors by the chapel entrance next to us.
A young lady stood there in tears with her large, but very nice, suitcase on the curb next to her. The effects of heavy meth use were already altering her appearance as her eyes were beginning to sink in, scabs were all over her arms, and her teeth were beginning to space out and rot. She was a beautiful woman despite all of this.
I crack open the door and ask her what she needs:
"I'm homeless and I don't know what to do!" "Okay." "Can I stay here? I've never been homeless before..." "Our shelter entrance is in the other parking lot here but we do not house single women without children--just families and single men. We can call Way of Hope women's shelter for you..."
Long story short this began a discussion that included several of our employees, people and agencies in town to try and get this woman some help (after most of them were closed for evening of course). Our shelter monitor, Bruce, handled her with love and respect even as her story changed five times and drama associated with it ensued.
In the long run a church put her up in a motel for the evening not knowing what would happen to her the next day.
My three interactions with her that night haunted me the whole evening. I felt convicted.
Why?
Because she needed help and not only could we not give her what she needed, what she needs does not exist here in our county. We do not have any extensive drug treatment facilities. We have some half way houses for men, but nothing for women. Not even the Army touches that in our rehabilitation centers that we send others to in Memphis and Atlanta.
Why?
She got a place to stay for the night from a well meaning church, but what about the next day?
Why?
What will happen to her and others just like her? Our jail is FILLED with people who have meth addictions. We lock them up rather than tackle the drug problem (FYI--she was already locked up and recently released which excludes her from staying at the homeless homeless women's shelter in town).
Why?
Because initially when I thought of her and her situation I came up with excuses of why she couldn't stay in our shelter. We don't house single women. She can't pass a drug test. We aren't equipped to handle her needs. She just got out of jail (even the police wouldn't come get her!) for a "not nice charge" and would jeopardize the safety of our shelter community--particularly those of our young babies. In other words = DRAMA.
But, she needs help. She needs love. She needs the LORD and she needs the Army. Shouldn't she come running to us in her time of need? Aren't we the place people come to when everyone else in their life walks out--whether they are deserving or not?
Some of my comrades wonder why there aren't people beating down their doors like in the early days of the Army...but then again we aren't necessarily in the streets trying to find people to bring to us either. Perhaps we are justified in our 150 years of service to our communities across the world, or have lost the sense that "ministry is messy" for the need to protect the larger organization, etc, etc. BUT people still need the LORD and we have a responsibility to be obedient to our calling and to love, serve, and tell them. For this we will be held accountable.
When does our list of excuses preclude us from proclaiming the Gospel? It doesn't and never will. We have a duty. Forgive me, O LORD!
We invest so much of ourselves into the "work of the ministry" but how much of ourselves is invested in actual ministry (discipleship, evangelism, Holy Ghost old school Army stuff)?
Please pause for a moment and pray for this beautiful woman, created in God's image, and so many more like her that they would find hope, healing, and true everlasting love.
I'm still grappling with this in my soul, but this is the passage the LORD continues to bring me to:
Luke 15:4-7:
4 “Suppose
one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave
the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he
finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I
tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven
over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who
do not need to repent.
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Friday, September 26, 2014
The Face of Homelessness
Our ministry building is located off of a busy street one block away from the oldest and largest housing projects in our county, where there are 181 kids between kindergarten and fifth grade. We are flanked on the other side by an extended stay motel where 138 rooms are mostly reserved for folks who actually live there.
Homelessness is not a new phenomena to me. I was a homeless child.
But what has been new to me is where homeless people live.
When I moved to Atlanta I had no idea that people lived in extended stay motels. I had never driven on a dirt road to pick up kids for the corps in really sad trailer parks. Coming from the north where there is plenty of blight to go around, I was sheltered from some of this and these were new experiences.
Since then the LORD has birthed in me a passion for reaching out to people specifically in extended stay motels. They seem to be largely forgotten. People think of the "old drunks" under the bridges, or in the woods, or the "poor people" in the housing projects, but other faces of homelessness are largely forgotten--folks who couch surf and rotate around to family members with no permanency. People who are transient as they hop from one relationship to the next searching for a place of true belonging. We don't think of them because we choose not to see them.
A couple of weeks ago I was leaving our shelter during dinner time and as I turned out of the parking lot a young lady was singing as she was pushing a luggage cart from the extended stay across the road from us. It was loaded with the majority, if not all, of her belongings. With her (although not seen at first) was a little boy with magnificent bouncing curls about 18-24 months old helping his mama push that cart.
I was blessed in that moment. I'm sensing the money ran out to stay at the hotel across the road and they were coming to seek shelter at The Salvation Army, just a stones throw away. The "Center of Hope," a beacon for those who need it.
This morning as I left the gym I saw a school bus at a different extended stay on Church Street picking up kids to take them to school which I have seen countless times before at the hotel across the road from our offices.
I'm not sure if it is a cultural thing, or a humanity thing, but we don't want to "deal" with what we don't see. We have the luxury of not touching it or smelling it if we don't want to. Other people live--survive--in a state of chronic homelessness. It is all they know just as you may only know comfort and having a home. We have the comfort of our structured church committees with like-minded Christian friends only-- and benevolence funds-- while they have open air and true faith that God will provide.
Please open your eyes to what is around you. Let God use you.
"Let us become more aware of your presence..." as the Jesus Culture lyrics remind us and as scripture says in Titus 3:5, "He saved us, not because of righteous acts we had done, but because of his mercy..."
Homelessness is not a new phenomena to me. I was a homeless child.
But what has been new to me is where homeless people live.
When I moved to Atlanta I had no idea that people lived in extended stay motels. I had never driven on a dirt road to pick up kids for the corps in really sad trailer parks. Coming from the north where there is plenty of blight to go around, I was sheltered from some of this and these were new experiences.
Since then the LORD has birthed in me a passion for reaching out to people specifically in extended stay motels. They seem to be largely forgotten. People think of the "old drunks" under the bridges, or in the woods, or the "poor people" in the housing projects, but other faces of homelessness are largely forgotten--folks who couch surf and rotate around to family members with no permanency. People who are transient as they hop from one relationship to the next searching for a place of true belonging. We don't think of them because we choose not to see them.
A couple of weeks ago I was leaving our shelter during dinner time and as I turned out of the parking lot a young lady was singing as she was pushing a luggage cart from the extended stay across the road from us. It was loaded with the majority, if not all, of her belongings. With her (although not seen at first) was a little boy with magnificent bouncing curls about 18-24 months old helping his mama push that cart.
I was blessed in that moment. I'm sensing the money ran out to stay at the hotel across the road and they were coming to seek shelter at The Salvation Army, just a stones throw away. The "Center of Hope," a beacon for those who need it.
This morning as I left the gym I saw a school bus at a different extended stay on Church Street picking up kids to take them to school which I have seen countless times before at the hotel across the road from our offices.
I'm not sure if it is a cultural thing, or a humanity thing, but we don't want to "deal" with what we don't see. We have the luxury of not touching it or smelling it if we don't want to. Other people live--survive--in a state of chronic homelessness. It is all they know just as you may only know comfort and having a home. We have the comfort of our structured church committees with like-minded Christian friends only-- and benevolence funds-- while they have open air and true faith that God will provide.
Please open your eyes to what is around you. Let God use you.
"Let us become more aware of your presence..." as the Jesus Culture lyrics remind us and as scripture says in Titus 3:5, "He saved us, not because of righteous acts we had done, but because of his mercy..."
Friday, August 8, 2014
We caught the Rover
For the past several months Elijah has been asking to take a ride on the green Rover, our mass transit system here in Murfreesboro. There is a hub up the street from his school and the mornings he goes to school we always see a bus sitting there.
Today--finally--was the day to make that happen. After his nap we looked up the schedule and got Andy to drop us off at the bus stop.
What began as a joy ride for us left me in tears as I became overwhelmed with the fact that we are so abundantly blessed and in need of NOTHING.
The other passengers and driver were so super friendly but the struggles of life were real on their faces. One man told me how he was trying to get on disability, another lost their job because they had no transportation to the Nissan factory (Rover doesn't go outside of the city limits--most of the entry level jobs are in other cheaper parts of our county). We met a blind man and a cook from a hotel who was absolutely exhausted. These situations and stories aren't new to me--transportation is a HUGE struggle for the working poor in our area (the bus service stops at 6:00pm and only runs Monday-Friday within the city limits, etc) but sitting on that bus reminded me of my own childhood.
We waited for the bus with a single mom of three kids--ages 7,6 and 4--who works at the McDonald's across from the bus stop.
I don't like to speak often of my childhood as we had it pretty rough but that was my mom once upon a time. Single mom of three stair stepper kids catching the bus--everywhere. No money for a car. Shoot, half the time not enough money for the bus.
We would climb onto the bus with our grocery bags, double stroller, laundry, etc and the bus driver would usually have pity on us. If we were catching the subway we would have to climb under the turn style. Other passengers would either stare at us or turn their gaze from having to look at us. We were a mess in so many ways. When we didn't have money and the driver wouldn't take whatever my mom had we would all climb down off the bus angry and would wait for the next one. I used to think that life wasn't fair. It isn't.
I remember feeling embarrassed. I remember feeling shamed. I remember making sure my younger brother and sister were quiet, seated and that all of our gear was out of the way as my mom (always exhausted) collapsed into a seat. Oftentimes she would stand with some amount of gear so that we could sit. We would arrange things under our feet and on our laps and snuggle in to the hard, cold seats to get home.
Today riding the bus was a privilege. A joy ride for my two year old son. Something that he loved. He loved the ride, the people, and the awesome Rover coloring book he was given.
Things in life have changed and I am so extremely humbled and grateful, but also mindful of those who are where I was years ago. Tonight I think and pray for them that God would provide for their needs, that they will meet kind faces, and that they will feel true love that comes only from God.
Today--finally--was the day to make that happen. After his nap we looked up the schedule and got Andy to drop us off at the bus stop.
What began as a joy ride for us left me in tears as I became overwhelmed with the fact that we are so abundantly blessed and in need of NOTHING.
The other passengers and driver were so super friendly but the struggles of life were real on their faces. One man told me how he was trying to get on disability, another lost their job because they had no transportation to the Nissan factory (Rover doesn't go outside of the city limits--most of the entry level jobs are in other cheaper parts of our county). We met a blind man and a cook from a hotel who was absolutely exhausted. These situations and stories aren't new to me--transportation is a HUGE struggle for the working poor in our area (the bus service stops at 6:00pm and only runs Monday-Friday within the city limits, etc) but sitting on that bus reminded me of my own childhood.
We waited for the bus with a single mom of three kids--ages 7,6 and 4--who works at the McDonald's across from the bus stop.
I don't like to speak often of my childhood as we had it pretty rough but that was my mom once upon a time. Single mom of three stair stepper kids catching the bus--everywhere. No money for a car. Shoot, half the time not enough money for the bus.
We would climb onto the bus with our grocery bags, double stroller, laundry, etc and the bus driver would usually have pity on us. If we were catching the subway we would have to climb under the turn style. Other passengers would either stare at us or turn their gaze from having to look at us. We were a mess in so many ways. When we didn't have money and the driver wouldn't take whatever my mom had we would all climb down off the bus angry and would wait for the next one. I used to think that life wasn't fair. It isn't.
I remember feeling embarrassed. I remember feeling shamed. I remember making sure my younger brother and sister were quiet, seated and that all of our gear was out of the way as my mom (always exhausted) collapsed into a seat. Oftentimes she would stand with some amount of gear so that we could sit. We would arrange things under our feet and on our laps and snuggle in to the hard, cold seats to get home.
Today riding the bus was a privilege. A joy ride for my two year old son. Something that he loved. He loved the ride, the people, and the awesome Rover coloring book he was given.
Things in life have changed and I am so extremely humbled and grateful, but also mindful of those who are where I was years ago. Tonight I think and pray for them that God would provide for their needs, that they will meet kind faces, and that they will feel true love that comes only from God.
Friday, July 11, 2014
Seek
Lately I've been literally trying to live out the scripture verse that says:
"Seek the Kingdom of God, above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need." (Matthew 6:33).
But what does that look like in 2014? What does that look like in my life?
I have spent time reflecting and considering this and the LORD has been revealing some fulfilling things for my heart and soul as a result.
You see, we've had an interesting few months dealing with a situation that we never thought we would have to deal with and it has hurt us. Rather than let it get to us, we are claiming the scripture verse above.
This has been a good lesson for us to focus on the main things... "keep the main thing, the main thing!"
So this verse has played itself out in my life as I intentionally invest in the relationships that matter most to me--with my LORD, Andy and Elijah, corps families, people we minister to (i.e. everyone we come into contact with!), and friends.
When we apply scripture to our lives it comes alive with power and it is beautiful. But how often do we hear the words, recite the words, or preach the words and not actually believe it to be true? Sure, we say we believe and we may think we believe it, but somehow we rob the power out of it.
Spirit-filled living is reading the word, applying it, and believing it to come true (united and believing prayer)--waiting in expectation for it to happen.
So how do you seek first the Kingdom of God in your life, and live righteously? Literally how do you do it? Not the appearance of it by vocation, but truly?
Do it and God's power will manifest through your life and into those around you.
Still seeking,
MO
"Seek the Kingdom of God, above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need." (Matthew 6:33).
But what does that look like in 2014? What does that look like in my life?
I have spent time reflecting and considering this and the LORD has been revealing some fulfilling things for my heart and soul as a result.
You see, we've had an interesting few months dealing with a situation that we never thought we would have to deal with and it has hurt us. Rather than let it get to us, we are claiming the scripture verse above.
This has been a good lesson for us to focus on the main things... "keep the main thing, the main thing!"
So this verse has played itself out in my life as I intentionally invest in the relationships that matter most to me--with my LORD, Andy and Elijah, corps families, people we minister to (i.e. everyone we come into contact with!), and friends.
When we apply scripture to our lives it comes alive with power and it is beautiful. But how often do we hear the words, recite the words, or preach the words and not actually believe it to be true? Sure, we say we believe and we may think we believe it, but somehow we rob the power out of it.
Spirit-filled living is reading the word, applying it, and believing it to come true (united and believing prayer)--waiting in expectation for it to happen.
So how do you seek first the Kingdom of God in your life, and live righteously? Literally how do you do it? Not the appearance of it by vocation, but truly?
Do it and God's power will manifest through your life and into those around you.
Still seeking,
MO
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
To Understand
Eight times in Nehemiah chapter 8 the word "understood" is used.
Americans revere the Bible, but don't read it.
Christians read the Bible, but don't apply it well. As a gross generality there is no marked difference in the way a Christian lives their life than how a pre-Christian lives theirs.
Recently while attending a seminar at Gordon-Conwell seminary the topic of Biblical illiteracy was discussed and here the same topic is again in Nehemiah. Satan uses our distractions/laziness/busyness/whateverness to keep us Biblically illiterate--EVEN CHRISTIANS.
The word of God understood has the power to transform people for good. It must be read, studied, understood before its beautiful power can be unleashed in your (our) heart(s). I could stop here and preach an entire sermon....
I believe most of us are guilty when we program the time to study the Word of God out of our lives for other noble pursuits.
Our Teaching Director, Beckie, says that the natural reaction to reading the Word is guilt due to the holiness of God. Interesting to think about.
There is no replacement for studying the scriptures. Not even a well marketed, appealing looking devotional book that has sold and printed a gazillion copies at a major league Christian bookstore.
Nehemiah and Ezra organized an outdoor Bible conference and took the Word seriously. To them, it was a real treasure and they treated it as such.
They were intentional about making sure people heard and understood it.
Our language continues to change and translations and paraphrases of the Bible can become a distraction but the beautiful thing is that God's word stays the same. The message--truth--remains the same (2 Timothy 3:16)
Let us understand the power of God in our lives.
Hebrews 4:12
"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing of soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
Americans revere the Bible, but don't read it.
Christians read the Bible, but don't apply it well. As a gross generality there is no marked difference in the way a Christian lives their life than how a pre-Christian lives theirs.
Recently while attending a seminar at Gordon-Conwell seminary the topic of Biblical illiteracy was discussed and here the same topic is again in Nehemiah. Satan uses our distractions/laziness/busyness/whateverness to keep us Biblically illiterate--EVEN CHRISTIANS.
The word of God understood has the power to transform people for good. It must be read, studied, understood before its beautiful power can be unleashed in your (our) heart(s). I could stop here and preach an entire sermon....
I believe most of us are guilty when we program the time to study the Word of God out of our lives for other noble pursuits.
Our Teaching Director, Beckie, says that the natural reaction to reading the Word is guilt due to the holiness of God. Interesting to think about.
There is no replacement for studying the scriptures. Not even a well marketed, appealing looking devotional book that has sold and printed a gazillion copies at a major league Christian bookstore.
Nehemiah and Ezra organized an outdoor Bible conference and took the Word seriously. To them, it was a real treasure and they treated it as such.
They were intentional about making sure people heard and understood it.
Our language continues to change and translations and paraphrases of the Bible can become a distraction but the beautiful thing is that God's word stays the same. The message--truth--remains the same (2 Timothy 3:16)
Let us understand the power of God in our lives.
Hebrews 4:12
"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing of soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
Monday, March 24, 2014
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
The Third Conversion
Recently I read R. Scott Rodin's "The Third Conversion," a short little novelette about fund development.
Sounds interesting, I know.
The basis of the title comes from a Luther quote, "There are three conversions necessary to every man; the head, the heart, and the purse."
The book offers great insight and reminders of what true stewardship is and who it belongs to and were great reminders for me as we are going through the strategic planning process for our command.
What we have is not ours. It all belongs to God. The glory belongs to Him and Him alone.
We need to treat our relationships with this in mind.
The book offers a summary and it lists seven things to keep in mind that translate so practically well to corps officers:
1. Be spiritually prepared for the battle
2. Trust God to be the fundraiser
3. Don't make decisions without prayerful discernment
4. Be willing to invest time in building kingdom relationships
5. Always make the ministry more important than the money
6. Seek and value accountability
7. Be sure God gets the glory
Sounds interesting, I know.
The basis of the title comes from a Luther quote, "There are three conversions necessary to every man; the head, the heart, and the purse."
The book offers great insight and reminders of what true stewardship is and who it belongs to and were great reminders for me as we are going through the strategic planning process for our command.
What we have is not ours. It all belongs to God. The glory belongs to Him and Him alone.
We need to treat our relationships with this in mind.
The book offers a summary and it lists seven things to keep in mind that translate so practically well to corps officers:
1. Be spiritually prepared for the battle
2. Trust God to be the fundraiser
3. Don't make decisions without prayerful discernment
4. Be willing to invest time in building kingdom relationships
5. Always make the ministry more important than the money
6. Seek and value accountability
7. Be sure God gets the glory
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