Urban Noise

Atlanta Real

2009-02-15T14:06:00.000-08:00

We arrived at the Atlanta Union Mission. The road in was incredible. I’m used to seeing barns as tall buildings. And even in places like Harrisburg or Greenville, the city overwhelms me, and they only have a few big towers standing around. Atlanta kept going. And going.

As we navigated the crowded streets and intersections on the way to the Mission, with Norwood at the front, my mind kept going back to the prayer room at Twelve Stone. There was a chair with a table beside it, and a red, leather-bound book lying on top. Sometimes curiosity is a good thing.

Inside were prayers—prayers of joy, prayers of pain, prayers of praise, prayers of intercession. It was something I’d yearned to see without knowing what it was I’d longed for. To see into the words and minds and hearts that had written Abba the same way I’d been doing since my high school days. A journal of confession. Of question. Of hope.

Beauty and rage, anger and tears, wars within and lies without—these feelings marked the pages of broken people. I use the word beauty first because it holds significance over the others, because it is in our brokenness that we cry to be made whole again.

There was love. There was redemption. There was grace, and thankfulness, and encouragement. Revelation. Repentance. Restoration. And grace.

Grace is what I saw this weekend.

There aren’t enough words and there may not be enough room on my hard drive to express what all went on at the Mission. All I know is that I felt more peace there than I have the last year and a half of my existence.

The Westin Building loomed in the distance. I could see it through the window of the dining hall. It looked so far away. Casey said that there was a two-story, rotating restaurant at the top, where meals at their cheapest run around thirty dollars per person. The contrast was undeniable. We were a world apart from where we’d been.

I was glad.

I washed dishes that night with Mike, Michael, and “C Po”. The latter said his name several times to me, and “C Po” was the closest discernable English I could make out. Still working out my “northernese”, I guess.

I noticed something as guys came through the line. They would all load up on salt and pepper. I’m not exaggerating when I say they loaded their plates with it. And they put it on everything.

For some reason, I don’t think I can forget that image.

Some guys threw their trash in the trash can, and a barrage of soupiness flew from their trays as they banged them against the side of the can. Then two guys came up and reached down into the rancid pit and withdrew a few scraps of half-chewed, half-saturated pieces of bread and quickly forced them down.

I don’t think I can forget that, either.

We talked some with Lebaron Brown. An addict himself for more than thirty years, he talked about the processes that went on in the mission. We heard later about his story, how he’d been through the program eight times before making it through. I began to understand why everyone looked to him for leadership, in full trust and respect. He was their Superman, their success story, their Moses. He’d seen the wasteland, the desert, and he’d come back. Now he was freeing his people. And I have no doubt in my mind that it is because of his testimony that so many of them had come to know the Lord.

He talked about the fight against homelessness as being a battle against the powers and the demons, and not against the homeless themselves. White, Black, Hispanic—they were all welcome. Straight, gay, sick, crippled, druggie, alcoholic, and mentally ill—they were all family in this place. The powers that they fought were greater things, but lesser things. The bottle. The needle. And even the city itself. “They don’t like that we put Bibles on the beds, but we refuse to take ‘em off. That’s who we are,” said Mr. Brown. Keith Lawson, a counselor on staff who’d been through hell and back himself and who had now been a source of hope in this place for the past seventeen years, put it this way: “It starts with the dialogue.” He stressed the importance of relationship. Of giving up and not just giving. Of treating others with dignity and not just therapy. Of showing Christ and not the diploma he’d worked hard to put up on his office wall. “If it’s gonna be about the Cross,” he said, “then it’s gotta be about the Cross.”

The NA (Narcotics Anonymous) meeting was incredible. Addicts were leading other addicts. Blind leading the blind? I hardly think so. More like those with poor vision being given new eyes. More like the blindness being found outside the walls of that Mission.

I never learned the names of those in the meeting that night, though I recognized a few. “C Po” was one of them.

The man up front read from “the Big Book”—a twelve step program that confronted the destructive nature of addiction and led to repentance and surrender and, ultimately, healing. Men told their stories to each other without regard. They held nothing back. This had not been the first time I’d seen such an “open forum” truly be open. When To Write Love On Her Arms came to Clemson a semester back, I was astonished at the sheer honesty of those crowded in the small coffee shop where Jesus had chosen to present Himself. Some of the words spoken at that time made up one of the most profound presentations of the gospel I’d ever heard.

The NA meeting was similar. Broken men with pasts I’d never comprehend met face to face with God and His Word. They ran to it without hesitation. Tommy told me later that a few guys he’d struck up a conversation with actually started quoting Scripture to him. I heard a few guys do it as well, and it startled me at first. Then I heard that those three men had asked to pray for Tommy.

“An atheist is someone don’t believe in nothin’ higher than himself,” the man up front said. Who taught him that? Who taught any of these how to reason? Who taught them how to believe?

Truly, the question is this: how do we believe without being taught?

We have grown up with everything we need, and most of what we want. And we have been taught, over and over again, how Christ died for us and saved us from our sin. But I think we often miss the point. What sin? What have I done that has been so terrible? Indeed, the Scripture is proven true: he who is forgiven little loves little; he who has been forgiven much, loves much. These men were not hopeless. They had more hope in their faces than I typically see on the faces of many in Sunday service. A stark contrast, a striking difference. But that’s because this was real.

These men knew of the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

These men weren’t well educated. They weren’t eloquent. They cussed and smelled and didn’t have many teeth. But they possessed something real. They understood relationship, because they had also understood abandonment. The world had forgotten them. They themselves had been lost in its deadly swath. But now they knew of grace, and of a mindset of passion. Not one of those I met who were in the program ever frowned at me. They were all very friendly, and very open. Very open. More than all of that though was a mentality of hope. They saw God in people. They never saw faults. Cracks in the pottery, definitely. But they all knew One who could repair them. They were such servants. They had such humility—the thing I often long for more than anything. And I knew why, as I listened to the man up front speak. “It’s the love of the Spirit here, and that’s a beautiful thing. I didn’t seen it before, but now I do.” Truly, the faith of these men humbled my soul.

At the end of the meeting we all stood up, joined hands, and said the Lord’s Prayer.

And we really said it.

I can’t write this without saying something about Jimmy. He was probably the favorite of the group, and that made sense, since we stayed up late in the dorm talking with him. A lot of what he said I won’t repeat; some of the city lingo is a bit out of place for writing.

Matt asked him how many years he’d been there. He laughed and replied, “Years? No. Days, man, days. None of us got years. We got days.” He spoke with such truth in his voice, but he never came across as the hopeless, angered individual I believed he once had been. “You gotta earn this bunk,” he said, slapping the mattress. “A man come in here with nothin’. He come out established. I needed those rules. I needed someone to tell my — when to get up and when to lay down.”

There are many more pages I could fill about the night at the Mission. Even more are the stories I could reflect upon concerning the conversations we had in sessions with individuals across the board. So many ministries, all working for the sake of the Cross. A piece of reality I had often only been able to dream and read about. And I suppose in the future I will. For now, this is but one word out of the story. Simplicity and complexity mix in this world of urban mission.

We departed after lunch on Sunday. A weekend in reality. A night in the shelter that I’d never forget. But they are still there. We go back to write papers, read journals, and to think about what we’ve seen and heard. But they are still there. We go back to classes, the cafeteria food, and chapel services. But they are still there. We go back to warm beds, full stomachs, and personal computers. They stay there. We go back to family and friends, classmates and professors, and a place to call home. But they stay where they are. In the real.

My prayer? That some of that real has come home with us to stay. A mindset of mission—to each other, to the world. A mission of truth, hope, and love. A truth found in Christ. A hope found in the Cross.

Love found in God’s Church.

Entertaining Angels...

2009-02-12T16:40:00.000-08:00

Hebrews 13:12 says, "2Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." I know that you folks that read my blog are tired of hearing me scream the same thing from on top of my soapbox, but I can't help but notice God constantly putting these things on my mind. I was reading in Judges earlier and God laid this on my heart. Manoah's wife was sterile, but the angel of the Lord (Jesus) came to her and said, "You are sterile and childless but you are going to conceive and have a son." (Judges 13:3) How many times has God laid something on our heart? How many times has He told us that a blessing was coming our way? The angel of the Lord (Jesus) continued to to say to Manoah's wife in Judges 13:4-5,4 "Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean, 5 because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines." Now, I know we are blessed regardless of our faithfulness or not, but are there more blessings for us or for others through us if we are obedient to God? Im pretty sure the answer is YES! The angel of the Lord was informing Manoah of a future blessing, but the news came with a demand of obedience. When Manoah heard of this he prayed and begged the Lord that the angel return with instructions of how to raise the son that was going to be born. (Judges 13:8) When God lays something on our heart, do we go to Him in prayer to figure out the specifics? We should! As the story continues, God heard Manoah's cry, just like He hears ours, and the angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah's wife again. She quickly ran to Manoah and said, "He's here! The man who appeared to me the other day!" Manoah went to talk to "the man." He got the same instructions that were given to his wife, and wanted to prepare a young goat for the angel. But in verse 16 the angel said, "Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD." (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the LORD.) Did you catch that? Manoah didn't even know that it was the angel of the Lord, JESUS, that he was offering hospitality and gratitude to, but Jesus said, "Offer it to the Lord." This is what reminded me of Hebrews 13:12. Manoah had an encounter with Jesus, God in the flesh, and didn't even realize it. How many times have we had a chance to show a stranger LOVE, through hospitality or humility? Well Manoah sacrificed the goat to Lord and the Lord did an amazing thing, while Manoah and his wife watched. (Judges 13:19-20) God will do something amazing with our lives when we are obedient to His call. God is ALWAYS faithful to His word, we have to be faithful on our end and we will be AMAZED by what God does. Jesus says in Matthew 25:40, 40"I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." God is all around us! Everywhere I look I see His face. How many times do we walk pass Jesus (the least of these) in a day? We can have a huge impact on their lives if we are obedient to God's call. We can fall on our faces before God bc of an experience like Manoah and his wife had bc of their obedience, or we can face the reality of Matthew 25:41-43. I pray that we can be intentional in our approach each and every day. The people in this world are in trouble folks. What are we going to do about it? Are we entertaining angels when we get the chance?

Thumbin; For A Ride...

2009-02-12T16:37:00.001-08:00

I was on the way to a meeting this morning and I passed a guy looking to hitch a ride. Honestly, I felt that I should turn around and pick him up. I didn’t hear a vocal voice from God, but I felt like the Holy Spirit nudged me. The Bible is clear about the Holy Spirit’s presence in a believer’s life, and I try to obey when I feel it move. Just for the record, any stories that I blog about are totally God’s doing and I want absolutely no credit. ALL the glory goes to God. Anyway, I turned around and picked the man up. This kat had a beard of Zeus goin’ on and he was rockin’ a jean jacket makin’ no apologies. (Like any of that matters) I introduced myself and asked him where he was going and he said, “Name’s Kurt, goin’ to Wal-Mart.” A lot of people would say, “What the heck are you thinking? People are crazy these days and hitch-hikers kill people.” I know as soon as my mom reads this she is going to call me and tell me not to do it again. I know that advice is because people love me and don’t want to see me hurt, BUT I love Kurt and I don’t want to see him hurt either. (Eternal Punishment) Sure, just because you are a hitch-hiker doesn’t mean you are not a believer, but regardless it is an opportunity to help someone out. Plus, you have a captive audience because they aren’t going anywhere until you take them there. My fear of being hurt by someone, has been muffled by the scripture (aka THE WORD OF GOD) that I read. (Psalm 46, 91, 125 - Acts 5:29 - Acts 5:38-39 – 2 Corinthians 1:10) There is a possibility that I could be robbed, hi-jacked, or killed. Honestly, a martyr’s death would be an honor. If someone kills me because I am trying to show him or her the love of Christ, oh well. I could think of other ways of dying that are just lame compared to dying for Christ. Besides, one of my Christian friends will get fired up and evangelize even harder because of my death. People might even accept Christ because someone tells my story. The glory of God has been shown through the death of others all throughout history, DUH. Moving on, Kurt said that he needed to deposit some money in the ATM, so I asked him what he did for a living. The ice had been broken so I asked Kurt if he knew Jesus and he said, “No not personally.” BAM!!! That was the reason that the Holy Spirit nudged me to pick Kurt up. He didn’t know Jesus Christ PERSONALLY. I gave Kurt a quick version of what Jesus did for us on the cross and told him how Jesus had worked in my personal life. (The ride lasted 4 minutes) I asked him if he would like to come to church with me sometime and he kind of changed the subject, so I didn’t push the issue. I don’t know what has happened in Kurt’s life in the past, or what is going on in it now. One thing I do know is, that Jesus wasn’t picky about who he served! Jesus WASHED THE FILTHY FEET OF JUDAS, a man that He knew would betray Him. God calls us to leave no stone unturned, so I want to try to impact EVERYBODY that I can with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Why be ashamed about it. (Romans 1:16) If you are calling me radical, then I am guilty as charged. Jesus was radical, the disciples were radical, and Paul was radical, so I am just following those that have come before me. I just can’t stand the fact of me crossing someone’s path and them not hearing the TRUTH, if I’m given the opportunity. Kurt didn’t accept Christ today, and I’m fine with that. God just used me to plant a seed in his life. I told Kurt that anytime I see him, I will give him a ride and I dropped him off at Wal-Mart’s door. I’m not sweatin’ it, because I know that if I see him again that I have another shot at sharing the Gospel with him. Sooner or later that double-edged sword is going to cut his heart. How many people do we know that are just living their lives just thumbin’ for a ride, just like Kurt? I’m not even saying physically thumbin’ for a ride; I’m talking spiritually thumbin’ for a ride. They need a ride to get to that destination, which is Jesus. We drive past people like this every day. We have the car; we have the map, yet they are still left on the side of the road with their thumb up in the air. Let’s fuel up our cars, highlight our maps, and give someone a ride. You know where they NEED to go; all you have to do is stop…

A High Calling

2009-02-09T19:03:00.001-08:00

Today is one of those days that makes it all worth it. It was a hard day, but a very good day. Weeks go by that we provide groceries to needy people and they seem unresponsive, unthankful, and remain stuck in their patterns of co-dependency. But not today. Today they flooded the altars, presenting their requests to God, and calling upon their higher power to deliver them from addictions. This job of pastor -- it is a high calling.

I went to a house a few doors down to convince an angry ex-convict not to beat her neighbor to death with a baseball bat. We talked, we prayed, I listened to a constant stream of anger. And then I presented her to God, reminded her that anger will make her a slave, and prayed for her to find the power of forgiveness. She wept and gave it to God and promised to not reach for that baseball bat any more. This job of pastor -- it is a high calling.

I traveled across town to sit for a few hours with an elderly man whose 42-year-old daughter died last night of complications related to colon surgery. I held hands with this spiritual giant as he told me that Jeshua is his fortress and his strength and that God is using this pain to make him into the man God wants him to be. I cried out to God with him in his agony and we embraced and shed tears and praised the name of God in the midst of the storm. This job of pastor -- it is a high calling.

After weeks of struggling to start a recovery group for smoking addicts, two ladies showed up tonight, smiling with their toothless smiles and saying, "Well, we're here." The chains of addiction are breaking and the gates of hell cannot withstand this onslaught. This job of pastor -- it is a high calling.

I sat in a board meeting tonight with a career military man and watched as his heart was softened to the plight of the inner city poor. I noticed the fire in his voice as he spoke about the injustice of a little church like ours being underfunded when other churches including his own have so much. I saw a mini-conversion -- a conversion from blind middle class American values to informed, heart-wrenching pain for the poor. I saw this ex-Marine look in my eyes with his tearful eyes and say, "I love what you're doing here." This job of pastor -- it is a high calling.

I rejoice today, God. Thanks for letting me be part of your team. Not every day ends this well. Not every day is filled with such holiness (or at least I don't notice it). But today you filled my cup. You reminded me why I fight the battle of the near eastside. You reminded me what a joy it is to be one of your agents for change in the world. Thank you for this high calling. Your mission and your beautiful coming kingdom make life worth living.

Inner City Case Study

2009-02-08T13:47:00.001-08:00

Feedback is MUCH appreciated!

Case Study:

Matt and Maggie have been part of First Church off and on for about 4-5 years, but have increased their level of commitment over the past year. They joined the 12 week membership class offered by Pastor Greg and attended faithfully offering substantive interaction and feedback. On the last Sunday of December 2008, Matt and Maggie joined officially as members with the understanding that they would faithfully attend a smoker's recovery group and hold to the commitments set forth in the Book of Discipline. These two are a particularly needy couple – they demand lots of special attention, financial resources, and pastoral care. It is not rare for the pastors to receive 4-5 calls per day (EACH!) from Matt about needing a ride to somewhere or payment for something or prayer for something. All was fine until the third Sunday of January. Pastor Greg was on vacation and Jim, Martha, and Brian were in charge. During our weekly time for sharing prayer requests, one girl stood to thank the church for helping her financially surrounding the birth of her firstborn daughter (although she's actually been helped by a member of the church, not the church institution itself). This evidently angered Maggie who prompted her husband to stand and say the following:

“Why does this church help our her when we have asked for money for our rent and been denied? After all, we're members and she is not! Maggie and I are very angry and we are leaving this church for good and never coming back! We give back our membership!!!” Following this, they stormed out of the sanctuary from the front pew where they were sitting. The service, which had been highly enthusiastic and filled with the Holy Spirit, seemed deflated. Pastor Jim did his best to move on with the worship time, but the congregation was somewhat shell shocked.

Not long after this, Matt and Maggie wanted to pretend that it had never happened and be welcomed back into Sunday morning worship. Pastor Greg sat down and explained to them that they had hurt the church and revoked their membership in front of everyone. He kindly asked them to refrain from coming back to Sunday morning worship for a while to let the congregation heal from the hurt that they had caused. He informed them that he would have been happy to talk with them about their grievances privately, but that they had decided to rebuke the church on Sunday morning and that the consequence of this was exclusion from membership and communal worship. This exclusion was something all four pastors had discussed and agreed was the best course of action for the present time. Although this was communicated calmly and in a loving way, Maggie stormed out of the office and told Pastor Greg that he should be fired from his job for speaking in such a way to his parishioners.

Matt and Maggie also attend our Monday food pantry and Pastor Greg gave them permission to continue coming in order to get groceries.

Since then, Maggie and Matt have not returned to Sunday morning, but have contacted a number of our members and told them “we want to come back, but the pastors won't let us.” Some of these members are concerned that we acted too harshly to exclude them – although in the pastors' defense, they feel that Matt and Maggie have decided to exclude themselves (the church is just holding them to their word).

Questions: Did the pastors make the right decision to tell Matt and Maggie to find a new church home? Should the pastors reverse their decision if Matt and Maggie show that they are genuinely sorry for what they did? Where should we go from here? Does the Scriptural passage below have any bearing on this case?

Titus 3:10-11 10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. 11 You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

city and sabbath rest

2009-02-04T12:45:00.000-08:00

Hello, this is Jude TW, just checking in after signing up. My current interests, after living the past 20 years in a barrio in LA, are questions of sustaining ourselves for the long haul, thus my articles on "Sabbath rest in a 24/7 city." So much of the spirituality literature focuses withdrawal. While I do believe in withdrawal from the city, jsut as Jesus went away from the crowds to lonely places to pray, I also want to see how God meets me on the concrete sidewalks.

Sabbath Rest in a 24/7 City

2009-02-03T05:32:00.000-08:00

A great resource for all of you doing work in the - especially with young people - Fuller Theological Seminary's Youth Institute. See the link below. The Matthew passage is from "The Message" - I know you are tired, so use these "Sabbath Rest" resources and practices - be refreshed!

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
Matthew 11: 28-30

http://fulleryouthinstitute.org/urban/urban-self-care-toolkit/

your city - your ministry

2009-02-01T14:14:00.000-08:00

What are the biggest issues facing your city at the moment? How is that impacting your ministry?

Victory One

2009-01-26T13:00:00.000-08:00

In June of 2007 I accepted the position of a small church of 30 members in inner city Cleveland, OH. The church was created in 1982 out of a bus ministry. The church has not grown or died in the last 20+ years. I followed the founding pastor who had a massive heart attack a year before I came. Pastor Smith was everything to this community. He was known as a very caring individual but did not know how to create structure or establish/work with a volunteer base. The church had two main ministries to the community: a weekly community dinner and a monthly pantry.

When I started at Cleveland Victory my first chore was cleanup. We emptied 3 - 30 yard dumpsters of garbage, old spoiled food, and mice, out of the church. Clean up has been a major chore in our 100 year old building. After we cleaned the church out completely be began to stabilize our current offerings. The weekly dinner was held in the church basement that could barely seat 40 people. Our average attendance was about 50. There was a huge issue of space and it was causing tension with the workers and our guests. What we decided to do was use our main floor for the dinner. Our main floor was a traditional sanctuary that was used for one hour a week. We tore out all the pews and replaced them with chairs donated for free from a local Holiday Inn who was updating their conference rooms. (their new wall color did not match their year old chairs!) We also decided to rid ourselves of the old, wooden, rectangular, church tables with new plastic round tables. Our reasoning was to create a family style meal and an environment that would produce healthy conversation. Each table would have a host that would connect the "family" to the pastor. We are now averaging over 75 a week and can seat 100 comfortably.

Our monthly pantry also went through some changes. Previously they created grocery bags with a predetermined amount of items. Pantry day was awful. People would come through the line, not making eye contact, sign in, and collect their bag. We changed this immediately. We decided to set up a grocery store in the basement of the church and let people determine what their family needed or did not need. Each guest also has a personal shopper who helps them and begins to know their needs. Our awful day is now a day of value where people can shop for their own groceries. Previously we prepared 40 bags for families, last month we helped 120 families shop for groceries.

Because of God's blessing not only is our community members noticing but also the local foodbank. The foodbank gave us two grants that completely funded our weekly dinners and monthly pantry for the last 18 months. We are doing ministry and it is not costing us a dime! Also the foodbank recognized us as Multi-Purpose Program of the Year 2008! That covers 8 counties and 451 member agencies. We are not the biggest but people see God's love flowing.

We are starting a new program next month called Victory Shop. Currently we distribute clothing as families are waiting to shop for their groceries. We place the clothing on tables by men, women, and children, and they get what they need. We are now changing that system with Victory Shop. Victory Shop will be held on a separate day and it will be a place where our community can purchase clothing for a minimal fee or trade clothing for credit. We have emphasized the trading aspect because one of our goals is to have the community share assets. After trading in quality clothes they receive credit to purchase "new" clothing for their family.

In March, we are creating another new program called the After Party. The After Party is in response to a survey done by USA Today in our community. Only 34% of our children will graduate from high school. The After Party is going to be a place where students 7-12 grade can come for tutoring, mentoring, dinner, and fun, three days a week from 4-8 pm.

All this is response to our community. We no longer want to just be involved one hour a week. We want to be involved in their complete lives. Here is where the proposal comes in. Over the last two years we have solidified our current program and now we are ready to go fulltime. This proposal was sent to our district leadership which includes 80 churches in North Central Ohio. We have added one member to our staff (the first staff hiring in the history of our church) and we are looking to add another in June. We are also in need of a new-er facility to continue to grow. We are seeking permission to not just "do" church in our community but "be" the church. We want to take the focus off of one sacred hour and stretch it 24/7/365.

Victory One

2009-01-26T12:54:00.000-08:00

In June of 2007 I accepted the position of a small church of 30 members in inner city Cleveland, OH. The church was created in 1982 out of a bus ministry. The church has not grown or died in the last 20+ years. I followed the founding pastor who had a massive heart attack a year before I came. Pastor Smith was everything to this community. He was known as a very caring individual but did not know how to create structure or establish/work with a volunteer base. The church had two main ministries to the community: a weekly community dinner and a monthly pantry.

When I started at Cleveland Victory my first chore was cleanup. We emptied 3 - 30 yard dumpsters of garbage, old spoiled food, and mice, out of the church. Clean up has been a major chore in our 100 year old building. After we cleaned the church out completely be began to stabilize our current offerings. The weekly dinner was held in the church basement that could barely seat 40 people. Our average attendance was about 50. There was a huge issue of space and it was causing tension with the workers and our guests. What we decided to do was use our main floor for the dinner. Our main floor was a traditional sanctuary that was used for one hour a week. We tore out all the pews and replaced them with chairs donated for free from a local Holiday Inn who was updating their conference rooms. (their new wall color did not match their year old chairs!) We also decided to rid ourselves of the old, wooden, rectangular, church tables with new plastic round tables. Our reasoning was to create a family style meal and an environment that would produce healthy conversation. Each table would have a host that would connect the "family" to the pastor. We are now averaging over 75 a week and can seat 100 comfortably.

Our monthly pantry also went through some changes. Previously they created grocery bags with a predetermined amount of items. Pantry day was awful. People would come through the line, not making eye contact, sign in, and collect their bag. We changed this immediately. We decided to set up a grocery store in the basement of the church and let people determine what their family needed or did not need. Each guest also has a personal shopper who helps them and begins to know their needs. Our awful day is now a day of value where people can shop for their own groceries. Previously we prepared 40 bags for families, last month we helped 120 families shop for groceries.

Because of God's blessing not only is our community members noticing but also the local foodbank. The foodbank gave us two grants that completely funded our weekly dinners and monthly pantry for the last 18 months. We are doing ministry and it is not costing us a dime! Also the foodbank recognized us as Multi-Purpose Program of the Year 2008! That covers 8 counties and 451 member agencies. We are not the biggest but people see God's love flowing.

We are starting a new program next month called Victory Shop. Currently we distribute clothing as families are waiting to shop for their groceries. We place the clothing on tables by men, women, and children, and they get what they need. We are now changing that system with Victory Shop. Victory Shop will be held on a separate day and it will be a place where our community can purchase clothing for a minimal fee or trade clothing for credit. We have emphasized the trading aspect because one of our goals is to have the community share assets. After trading in quality clothes they receive credit to purchase "new" clothing for their family.

In March, we are creating another new program called the After Party. The After Party is in response to a survey done by USA Today in our community. Only 34% of our children will graduate from high school. The After Party is going to be a place where students 7-12 grade can come for tutoring, mentoring, dinner, and fun, three days a week from 4-8 pm.

All this is response to our community. We no longer want to just be involved one hour a week. We want to be involved in their complete lives. Here is where the proposal comes in. Over the last two years we have solidified our current program and now we are ready to go fulltime. This proposal was sent to our district leadership which includes 80 churches in North Central Ohio. We have added one member to our staff (the first staff hiring in the history of our church) and we are looking to add another in June. We are also in need of a new-er facility to continue to grow. We are seeking permission to not just do church in our community but "be" the church. We want to take the focus off of one sacred hour and stretch it 24/7/365.

Greg's blog - WOW!

2009-01-22T13:13:00.000-08:00

Greg,
I just read your January 5 blog and all I can say is WOW - I am so proud of you and proud to have been one of those professors who got to "think" and "wonder" with you. I hope you don't mind if I quote some of what you wrote.

In response to a requirement to create a report for the district on "conversations", Greg wrote:

I have come to believe over the past 10 years of biblical and theological study that the reduction of the mystery of salvation to the pronouncement of a few magic words is an absurdity and does a grave injustice to the biblical concept of soterios or telios or sozo.

I would like to offer an alternative conference report to the one I am being forced to turn in this week. It would look something like this:

Number of prostitutes who have been told that they are made in the image of God and wept over that fact: 3

Number of addicts who have admitted their bondage, confessed their sin, and sought help through group accountability: 10

Number of sexually abused women who have thrown themselves down at the altar and asked God to heal them: 4

Number of dysfunctional or mentally ill teenagers who have been educated by patient people in the church and listened to for hours on end: 5

Number of hungry mouths fed: easily over 2,000

Number of inner city kids who have now memorized over 3 chapters of the Bible: 5

Number of pastors who have been completely and totally broken down before God and cried out for his help: at least 1

Number of men weekly attending AA in our church basement: 6

Number of people who have smiled and said, "Thank you for what you do; it has given me hope": at least a dozen.

Number of times members of the church have responded to insult or abuse with kindness and patience: thousands.

Now I know that the conference wants the "bottom line." They want me to tell them how many I "got in" so that they can do their little denominational tally. I know that if my number were high enough, my church's name would be read on a list at annual conference as a role model for others. But I don't really want to give them that. Instead, I'd rather tell them stories, show them pictures, and let them eat at our table alongside the poor.

But, alas, this is America. We want numbers -- numbers of "conversions." My suggestion is that we stop counting conversions and start counting conversations.

What are the new noises in your city as we begin 2009?

2009-01-06T09:36:00.000-08:00

I've been noticing a quietness as the new began these last few days. It seems that it is not a peaceful or restful quiet, however. It seems that it is a "waiting to exhale", fear of breathing, hoping the new year starts better than the last one ended.

What are you hearing or not in your city?

I'm in Greenville, SC, USA - how about you?