This is far different to me from the local church at home. Most churches today look to see where the people are and then try and etch their way into the community in hopes of taking root. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that there is anything wrong with this method, but I can’t help but think that there was time when the people followed the church, rather then the church following the people. We spend countless hours in meetings and reading books on what it is to be relevant in the lives of the people today. I am of the mind that being relevant isn’t enough. The church must be central in the lives of people today. Central in there education, business and yes even there politics. The church should be at the core of life and those who belong to it should build from it.

Now before you get religious on me and start talking about relationship over religion, let me remind you that church is relationship. In fact it is the common denominator that connects the followers of Christ regardless of who or where they may be. It is that relationship that drew the people of the past to build their community with the church as it’s center. And it is that very need of relationship that will continue to draw the communities of tomorrow to build their lives around the church of today. May we strive to be at the center of the lives of the people, rather than to be an accessory of life that we seem to so often be these days.

I met them today as myself and six friends decided to share our lunch time with the homeless of our community. After stopping at Wendy’s and picking up a #6 (Spicy Chicken Sandwich Combo) and a #2 ( 1/2 pound Cheese Burger Combo) we headed downtown to meet up across from the city bus station. We then walked about three blocks to the CourtHouse where we found our soon to be new friends sitting on benches in the shade of the large oak trees. Each of us approached the group of men that were sitting there (which just happened to number seven) and asked if anyone was hungry and who liked what. Our choices consisted of Wendy’s, TacoBell and Jason’s Deli. After matching person with food choice we sat down to enjoy lunch together. It’s amazing how food can open up the lines of communication quickly. We learned each others names and then where each other was from. From there we let the conversations take a natural course.
While I won’t recap the entire conversation I will tell you the thing that stuck out to me the most. The lesson that I learned that I pray I never forget. It was while I was speaking to Don that he began to talk about how grateful he was, not that we had brought food, but that we had brought fellowship. He appreciated the fact that we had stopped long enough to take the time to get to know him as an individual rather than just defining him as a homeless person. He said “Lots of groups will try and meet the need, but very few will try and meet the people”. The truth is, a face is so much more when you know the name that goes with it and a situation never looks the same when you know the story behind it. It wasn’t that Don was ungrateful for all of those who in the past had given to meet his needs, but he was truly thankful for the ones that had taken the time to get to know him.

I began to think of how so often we attack the need with out every truly connecting with the person in need. We do the same thing in the church. Many times we can become so disgusted with the sin in someones life that we fail to feel compassion for the sinner. But all of that changes when we take time to know the story. To go behind the scenes of what we think to what is truth. And the truth is “things are rarely as simple as they seem”. I could learn a lot from Don as well as Richard and Jon and I am looking forward to getting to know them better in the future.

The lunch ended with Jon asking if we could give him a ride to the place that he was staying for the night. Before leaving and everyone going their separate ways, back to their lives and totally different environments, John asked if we could all pray together. Of course we said yes and circled up right there in the parking lot together. John then loaded up and we took him to the bridge that he lives under off of I-20. I passed by there late this afternoon on my way to dinner and there was John sitting under the bridge on a makeshift bed that he had constructed. Tonight John will sleep alone outside with only the sound of passing traffic to keep him company. While it may make absolutely no sense to me or you, I think he actually likes it that way. So next time you are driving down I-20 close to downtown take a look under the bridges you might just see John there.

I can’t wait for my next opportunity to share lunch with Don, John, Richard or perhaps I will make a new friend, but I can promise you this, it will be soon. Until then I will be praying for my three new friends.

Hebrews 12 tells us that we are to “run the race set before us”. This verse not only establishes the fact that we are in a race, but also that there is a “pace” that is to be maintained. We are to run. But here is what I have learned from very little experience. Running is hard, and knowing this causes me to look for an advantage to running. I look for ways to make the run slightly less taxing. Though there is a sense of freedom in running outside, there is something to be said about hopping on the treadmill and turning out a few miles. While I am not against the treadmill by any means, it seems somewhat unnatural. It’s not the same as running down the road, or through the woods, feeling like a you are a part of the rhythm of the world around you. But in Christianity as in life many of us prefer the treadmill. There is something safe about it. On the treadmill we are able to control every aspect of the run. When to start, stop, how fast we run, what elevation we run at, how hot or cold the room is, even what television program we watch as we put in our miles. In many cases we even have control of who we run with or at least around. But in the world none of these things are certain. We have no control over the elevation, temperature and you can’t just stop in the middle of your run and quit. You still have to get back to where you started from. Perhaps the scariest part is, you can’t control who may decide to run with you or better yet who or what you may run into. And yet that is exactly what Christ would have us do. Run in the world. To run to and with the hurting, broken, lost and searching individuals that we may not find in the seats of our church. To run with a message of hope and forgiveness rooted in love to those who are waiting to hear and see the truth penetrate their environment. We must not continue to be treadmill christians, but followers of Christ that are unashamed and unafraid to run in this world that we live in. It is time that we stopped bragging about the miles that we logged this week at the church and begin learning to run in the places where God always intended for us to run. While it is true that I am able to run farther on the treadmill then on the open road, I have found the when I run outside the reward is far greater.

What about your race?
Who is setting your pace?
Where are you running?

My favorite part was walking down the streets dreaming of ways that we could better meet the needs of the people. It brought me joy to hear those that walked with me excited about the possibilities of what God could do. I have found that it is in the place of need that Dreams are born. If you never go where the needs are you may never find a need to dream big dreams. Today we Loved, we Lived, we Dreamed!

Be a part of the Dream. Join us the first Saturday of each month as we go to where the needs are.

A great time was had by all and no one was taken away by emergency response vehicles.

The Hub was birthed as a result of a deep passion and desire to see the poor and hurting of Shreveport/Bossier come to know the deep and meaningful life found only through Jesus Christ.

Our desire is to see the homeless in Shreveport taken care of. Our end is to love them , feed them and point them in the direction of Jesus Christ, all the while helping them get back on their feet and hopefully into a thriving life. Our passion for the homeless drives everything that we do. In all things, we put God’s will for our city first, and then the people. We trust God to show us open doors into the inner city and trust Him in our planning. Our prayer for our inner city is that physical needs are met, people are loved, and that God starts a movement for His glory so that many come to know Him. Inner city work is exciting, interesting always changing and always rewarding. God teaches us so much through the people we serve. The Hub asks volunteers to lay down their assumptions, fears and apprehensions to step into a place where God is moving!!

The Hub exists to connect the local body of Christ to the inner city. This is done through creating events and outreaches to meet the critical and deep needs of those in poverty. When these opportunities are created, we then place people into them to work side by side as a united front to meet needs and to love in the name of Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 58
⁶ “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

⁷ Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

“I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³²For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.” (Matt 21:31-32)

The chief priests were the religious, the church goers. These were the guys who you knew for sure would get to heaven. They had their spiritual “to do list”. However, Christ said that prostitutes would enter heaven before them.

So, why would Christ say that the prostitutes would go before them? Jesus relates in a parable about two sons, a father and his vineyard. The father asked both to go work in a vineyard for him. One told the father no but changed his mind and went and worked. The other son said he would, but never went. To the Pharisees, he asked this question: who did the will of the Father, the first or second son? It was the first son.

Now, it doesn’t say in the Bible why the son refused to initially work for his father.

Maybe the son was lazy. How many times has God asked us to do something but we refused Him just because we didn’t feel like it?

Maybe he lacked ability. Perhaps he didn’t know how to work in the vineyard.

Maybe he was rebellious.  A spirit of rebellion won’t allow you take instruction, but only seeks to justify “your” way above all others.

Maybe he was busy. He may have even been doing other chores for His father but it wasn’t what the Father asked him to do at that time. When God asks we’ll always be busy. The Father never asks us to do something when it’s convenient. Referring back to the Doors series, God’s plans always involve some level of sacrifice, faith and commitment.

Maybe he was prideful. If the father was wealthy enough to own a vineyard-(after all wine was indeed a cash crop for Israel)-then the father probably could afford servants to go work in the vineyard. Perhaps the son thought because of his position, he was better than others. After all, you never leave the vineyard clean. You leave it dirty. The same goes for ministry: it’s never pretty. Sometimes, you might find yourself cleaning toilets.

It doesn’t matter why he first said no. He still repented and went and did the will of his father.  How many of us are like the second son?  He seemed eager to go but never went.

James 1:22 calls us, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says”. Thinking about what God said to do is not the same as doing. God hasn’t called us just to memorize His word but to follow it. Without the application, it’s meaningless. After all, faith without works is dead. (James 2:26)

So, back to the Pharisee’s and the prostitutes. What separated them? The prostitutes recognized their need for a Savior. The prostitutes knew where they stood when it came to righteousness. The Pharisee’s believed that what they were doing was the will of God and pursued their self-righteousness. The prostitutes seem more like the first son. They originally rebelled against the Father but later sought repentance and did His work. The Pharisee’s represent the second son: knowing the will of God but refusing to do it.

If we don’t do the work then no one will do it. So here is a point to ponder. Who will you be?

Work It Out  / Part 2