The Homless and Me, Part VI (Mormon Edition)

Yesterday was interesting. A couple of Mormons came to the front of the mission asking to see a resident yesterday. I let them know, as I would for anyone, that I cannot release any information about who lives at the mission--even whether the person is there or not--but that I could leave a message if they were there. When I walked away from the door, the person that they were looking for was already in the lobby and recognize that they were there for her. She went out to meet with them.

I could not just let it go at that. She was about to go out alone to face three Mormon elders, and I could not in good conscience let her go out to face these cult members by herself. I did the only thing that I knew that I could do. I asked them to find a different place than right in front of the mission--on mission property to talk. They were very defensive about this and they asked me why. Since they asked, I told them something to the effect of, "This is a Christian mission, and Mormons aren't Christians." This made them bad, and they became even more combative. The three of them started ganging up on me for a theological debate. I challenged them on what I could, but I was clearly outnumbered, and they knew Mormon theology much better than I did. I did clearly get them to admit though that they do believe that men can become gods. But with all the badgering that I was getting from the three of them, two more came up and I became outnumbered 5 to 1. Finally one of my fellow managers came and said that they needed me inside and I left. They soon left as well.

I've not been left in a situation quite like this before. I found myself to be a poor debater when it came to this type of thing--not because I was deficient in my knowledge of Christianity, but because I simply cannot think quickly enough to respond to 3 to 5 questioners at a time--and because I've not studied Mormonism itself that much. I've studied the Bible enough to know what Christian theology says, and I've been informed enough about what the differences are between Mormonism and Christianity, that I could keep my bearings and understand that what they said and the terms that they used don't mean the same things as when I use the same words.

Being in a position like that is not easy. I cannot depend on my own intellectual ability to make it through. I can only trust that Jesus will give me words to say, and that through the power of the Spirit, he can work the work that he desires to do. I pray that my encounter yesterday--as unprofitable as it may have seemed--might have results that I never see.

The Homeless and Me, Part V

Last night was fun. I was promoted to a manager position starting last Wednesday, and last night I put out and banned my first resident. I had a report of some obscene behavior (the likes of which I won't even mention in this forum). I went to investigate what was going on and when I found the person in question I just asked him his name. He responded, "I'm not telling you. You have no right to question me!" I assured him that as long as he lived in the mission I could at least ask him his name. I was going to tell him that he would have to leave for the night and come back the next day and talk to a case manager--since I didn't actually see what was going on. However, he got angry and started to cuss at me. He also threatened to shoot me. I told him to leave and started to dial the police and he was gone before I finished the call. We marked his file so as not to let him back in to the facility for any reason for at least 6 months.

I love my job.

Praise God! He Gives Boldness for Evangelism

The Lord did something wonderful this morning. I had two witnessing encounters this morning where God was clearly guiding me and giving me more boldness that I usually have. First, an older man eating breakfast at the shelter started talking to me about the Seminary and saying how “they don’t believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit,” and “they tell you there that the ending of the book of Mark shouldn’t be there.” Then he said, “Yeah, preachers all say that people have to believe before Jesus would heal them, but I think he heals first and then people believe.” Of course for this Calvinist, that was like saying sick’em. I told him I agreed. I said you have to be born again before you can believe. We talked about that for just a little bit, and then I said, “Are you born again.” Immediately he said no, but then backed up and said, “well I might be, I believe that Jesus died and rose again,” to which I responded, “Is he your king? Is he your Lord?” To which again he said immediately “No.” I pressed the issue of Lordship until he eventually finished eating and left the shelter. I don’t know his name. Then another guy which I have been getting to know, named David, had been listening to the conversation, and I had already agreed to give him a ride to a place that wasn’t far out of my way. So when I left I picked him up at the curve, and I didn’t even have to get the courage to say something, he started in saying that what I had said didn’t sound right to him. In a nut shell he told me that he thought that God would forgive people because of his love and that people have to obey to earn God’s favor (not in so many words). To which I clearly told him that each of us is dead in our sins, deserving hell, and we can’t do anything to save ourselves but to cast ourselves on the mercy of God trusting in the payment that Jesus secured in the Cross. Then we obey because we have a changed heart, not in order to earn God’s favor. He told me he could see how what I was saying was different, and said that he would think about it through the day. I went home and called Amy to tell her about it and as I was telling her I began to weep for joy because I don’t thing God has ever given me that kind of boldness in witnessing before, and as far as I can tell I think that I clearly communicated the Gospel faithfully and without compromise.

The Homeless and Me, Part IV

For the last week I've been recovering from the flu. I got off work on Monday morning and by the end of the day Monday I'd come down with the worst flu I've had in recent years. I went back in to work last night (Friday), and I suffered through the night. I almost thought I was the only one going to show up. One of my coworkers was late and the other one had been scheduled off to make up for a holiday that he had worked earlier. But God smiled on me. My manager was only 20 minutes late and all was fine. Nothing major happened and I was able to sit all night without much trouble--and with the help of some over the counter medication.

This is actually one of the hazards of working this job. There is a large quantity of various diseases in the homeless population that when you work in a shelter your bound to catch some. I've had a week long flu, but there is the possibility of TB, or other things that most people don't come into contact with that much.

There but for the grace of God go I.

Be Reconciled

I led the devotional at work again yesterday morning before letting our guests come in to eat. I shared from the parable of the unjust steward:

Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. "Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, 'Pay what you owe.' So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."
(Mat 18:21-35)

As I read Olasky before beginning the job, I found that in the earlier days of American charities one of the first steps to helping someone would be to find out if they had either family members who could take them in, or a connection to a church that could bear the responsibility for them. Today that kind of investigation seems foreign. It's like meddling in someone else's life, and it will often be received as unwelcome. I have already found that some who I have spoken to have families, they just don't get along with them--too many restrictions, or relational conflicts. So that's why I chose to speak on the unjust servant. I pressed the point that if they refuse to be reconciled to family, and hold bitterness in their hearts, it says something about where they stand with Jesus. Not that forgiving can somehow earn Christ's favor, but that when we have been forgiven our hearts should be changed such that we will forgive others. Also, I understand that this is not perfect, for we still all fall in many ways, but it should be an area where believers are convicted to submit to if there is any level of resistance present.

The Homeless and Me, Part III

I've completed my first week. I have already learned a lot, and I've been faced with some challenges. Here are a few highlights of the week:

1) I did give the devotion on Thursday morning; however, I had been up all night, I had drank a pot of coffee, and I had an empty stomach. Needless to say, I was quite jittery and nervous. I've been that way when speaking before, but combine that with a little apprehension over the fact that I was speaking to people who so far I have very little understanding of their life situation, and I really felt like a rookie. I hope that someone could take something away from it. I think that next time I will speak from 1 Peter where it says:

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God. (1Pe 1:22-23)

I will again speak about the love that believers have toward one another on the basis that they have been born again by imperishable seed. Thus, there is an even stronger tie that binds believers than that of blood, or other human distinctions.

2) Friday morning we were told that a woman had locked herself out of her room and she wasn't "dressed." There was only myself and the other monitor who could respond to this lockout for the next half hour and both of us are males, so we went together. Fortunately when we arrived she was in a housecoat. I'm thankful that our first report was an exaggeration.

3) Someone came to the door at about 11 p.m. on Thursday night wanting in for a place to stay. The intake for overnight stays can only be done by the caseworkers and we really had no way to let him come in. But my manager talked with him one on one and felt that it would be best if he walked him over to the men's facility. The man wasn't given a bed, but he was given a chair to sit in and a place that he was safe. Out on the street he was a victim of being "jumped on" (in his words). Just for the night we gave him a place to stay safe and warm (it was getting down to the high 30's).

4) When doing my rounds, every night there was one person sleeping in a sleeping bag right next to the fence on the mission property, on the sidewalk. It looked like the same sleeping bag every night.

5) I'm told by one of my coworkers that every resident that he knows personally has had some kind of relapse while he's been working there.

6) I'm reminded of how gracious God has been that I'm not living in a place like that.

7) I'm moved by the faces of the children--no older than my own--living there with their mothers. I don't know what situations the women who are living there come from, but I would guess that those with children have suffered from some kind of abandonment by men. This angers me. There are anonymous men who if they would just take responsibility for their children could rescue families from destitute circumstances.

These are just a few highlights of my first week. Some of the experiences, some of the feelings I've had, and some of the realities that I will see more of as I continue the work there.

The Homeless and Me, Part II

Well, I just got home from my first shift working at Union Gospel Mission. It's 8:52 a.m. and I haven't slept since 6 a.m. yesterday so I may not be completely coherent. It was definitely a learning experience, though some of what I read to get ready generally gave me a good idea of what to expect. Some of the things that I didn't expect: 1) It seemed like more than half the people that I saw looked like regular people just like myself. They didn't look dirty, and they didn't act spaced out. They looked like normal everyday people that I would have worked with or known in other jobs that I've worked before. 2) Distinctions were made. They didn't just open the door for anyone to eat, and they did turn some away. I've learned from reading a book by Marvin Olasky that it is important to make these distinctions. Help will only be successful when those who you are helping want to help themselves. They have to prove that they will make an effort and not abuse the charity. Nothing was as radically extreme as what Olasky describes in the 18th and 19th centuries, but I was surprised just to see that there were some tests of worthiness being utilized at all. 3) I was not prepared for the directions that I received from every direction. I assumed that my trainer would explain all that I needed to do, but much was left to me just to pick up as I went along. I also got directions from some of the residents at the mission, as well as some stern suggestions from those who just came in off the street for the food. I learned this morning that one of the first things that will be essential for me to learn is who I can trust.

It was a very different kind of night than I've ever had before, and I'm looking forward to going back tonight to learn more. I'm pretty certain that people who saw me could tell I was pretty green--a rookie--gullible--and easy to take advantage of. They were probably right. This is the kind of thing that I need to help me to learn to be as Jesus commands us--wise as serpents and innocent as doves.