I have a reputation for being somewhat cynical, especially about the church.
Having friends who sleep behind the dumpster in a parking lot of a church that is spending millions on a building expansion will do that to you.
Or when you meet with the head of an international “Christian” non-profit and he tells you the reason they are focusing on international poverty rather than domestic poverty is because it is much easier to raise money for international poverty, especially if there are kids involved. It makes me even more cynical to recognize that he is right – it is easier. Much easier.
Or the wealthy Christian who can’t help you financially, but he will pray for you. As he gets ready to go on the fourth vacation of the year.
Or the Men’s group that wants a missions “project”, something they can do two times a year, like pass lunches out in the park to the homeless. You know, like Jesus did.
The problem for me is that I identify with the church people – that is where I came from. And we are hardest on the people we identify with the most. These people are in my mission field too. Just as my friends who have no homes need to know what it means to be loved, my friends who live in houses need to know what it means to love someone who does not have the ability to love you back in the same way. Loving people who cannot love you back allows us to begin to understand Grace.
Being a prophetic voice without being a jerk is something I struggle with. (I can hear the chorus of Amen’s from here…)
Jesus loves everybody, but he wants to do it through us. And as hard as it is for me sometimes, I have to understand that means arrogant wealthy church people too. Keep praying for me - and us - would you?
I have heard all sorts of answers to this, and many of them describe poverty (no money, no power, no choice) but it is hard to say exactly what poverty is, and why, for example, I can never be poor, regardless of how little money I have.
Watch this short video. The author has an answer that I completely agree with. If this is true (and I believe it is), then it further underscores just how important what I do out here really is.
As I have told you before, we have wrestled with how to set up the structure of our ministry here at Love Wins. While people who want to donate to us desire to write the donation off on their taxes, setting up a full non-profit has been financially out of our reach.
Finally, a solution has presented itself: a local church has offered to help us save money by allowing us to move our donations through them, while still allowing us to operate independently. What this means to us is that we get all of the benefits of non-profit status while not having the expense. And what it means to you is that you now get to write off your donations to the ongoing work of Love Wins.
Right now, we really need money in three main areas:
My Financial Support: I really, really hate asking for money to pay my bills, but the truth is, I do have to eat. And pay rent. And buy gas. Luckily, I am thrifty (my friends say cheap), but still, living on three figures a month requires a lot of rice and beans, not to mention forgoing such frivolities as regular check-ups and dental work. I really need regular income: I would rather have $10 a month than $100 as a one time gift.
Administrative Operations: We need postage stamps to mail things, printer cartridges to print things, money to pay the rental on the post office box. Right now, we have zero budget for all of that, so all those expenses come out of my financial support. Which, as we have already discussed, is pretty skimpy.
Benevolence Funding: When I have a huge need, I post it here and email for help, like I did recently for James and Ruby. However, for every huge scenario like that, I face many smaller ones; prescriptions that need to be paid for, photo IDs that need to be picked up, cell phone minutes that are needed and uniforms bought so people can work.
Well, there you have it. Plain and simple, I need your help. And now, you can write it all off on your taxes.
To learn more about how you can doante to our efforts to spread the love of God in the way of Jesus to the homeless and very poor of Raleigh, you can click here. And of course, if you have any questions, feel free to write me.
Many of you have written me to ask about the status of James and Ruby, whom I wrote about recently.
I am pleased to say that the response has been tremendous. Here is the current status:
We currently have rent covered for the next six weeks. That means we will still be short at least 4 weeks.
We currently have seven weeks of groceries covered. Again, we are still short about 3-4 weeks.
We have the bus passes covered.
Some new needs have appeared.
James and Ruby use a prepaid cellphone from Boost Mobile and right now, between talking to insurance companies, scheduling doctor visits and attorney appointments, they are running through the minutes. I know Boost minutes can be bought at Sprint stores and I believe at Wal-Mart. If you can pick some up (any denomination is appreciated) you can drop them in the mail to me or email me and I will arrange to pick them up.
Another problem they are facing is simple boredom and depression. They live in about 200 square feet, in which they have crammed a bed, two chairs, a dresser and a television. As James told me the other day, it is so small they have to go outside to change their mind. James is supposed to restrict his movements, so he spends most of his day in front of the TV. Of course, there is no money for cable, so three fuzzy channels ai about the best they can hope for.
However, they do have a VCR. If any of you have any VHS tapes (remember those?) you would want to give to James and Ruby so they can have some entertainment, again, just write me and we will work it out.
Over the next few weeks, several of us have decided to take turns taking Ruby and James out to dinner in order to get them out of the house and out of that neighborhood for a while, anyway. If this is something you would like to get in on, just let me know.
James and Ruby are proud people, and taking charity hurts them, even as it gives them hope. They feel very loved, and not a time I visit goes by that James does not thank me over and over for all that all of us are doing and that Ruby does not smother me in hugs and tell me that she is thanking God for all of us every day.
As we used to say back home, they still have a long row to hoe. Thanks to all of you, though, it has gotten a lot shorter.
I have known James and Ruby for about five months. I have watched them battle with recovery from alcohol addiction, watched them grow in their faith, listened as they have battled their demons, sat in their room they rent from a local slumlord, had Ruby cry on my shoulder as she battled with her inner demons. Together with my friends, we have loved them and been loved by them.
Three weeks or so ago, James was driving home from work when a police car, chasing another car, plowed into the van he was driving and broke his neck. James is a vigorous working, blue collar sort of guy who aches to work, but is now in a neck brace and sitting at home, watching Oprah on a grainy small TV and counting the weeks until he can work again. Ruby is doting on him and crying and wanting her man to be well and whole again.
James is a proud man who has never asked me for anything. He is a believer in a God who will make a way, who will clear a path, a God who provides. Today, I am asking you to be the hands and feet through which God can provide for James and Ruby.
James cannot work for at least another 10 weeks or so and they are in serious danger of losing their way too small rooming house room. Their situation has always bordered upon precarious, but it is now in a freefall…
We have their rent guaranteed for the next two weeks, thanks to existing donations. They are getting some help with clothing from the Salvation Army, but food is a serious problem. Here is what they need:
A monthly bus pass ($38)
Their rent is $90 a week… we need to cover at least 8 more weeks before we have any hope of him being able to work again.
They have about a week’s worth of groceries… We need gift cards for Food Lion (their neighborhood store). As they live in a room the size of some closets I have seen, they do not have lots of storage space, so with gift cards, we can buy as needed.
In fairness, they both have addiction histories (although they are both currently clean). Because of this, I am, at their request, handling any donations that come in, buying the groceries, paying their rent. I am not asking you to trust them with money.
If you want to help them, please email me and tell me what you want to do for them and we can work out the details. I can even fix it so it is deductible, if that is a concern.
I often end these requests with urges for you to pray, and make no mistake, James and Ruby need your prayers. But in addition to your prayers, what is really needed right now is for someone, or a bunch of someones, to write some checks.
This is a list of things we always need . The list will change over time, so we will keep it up to date. If you can help with any of these, please shoot me an email and let me know.
Men’s white tube socks
CAT Bus Day Passes (They cost $2 each at Moore Square Station)
CAT Bus 11 Ride Passes (You an get these at Harris Teeter – $9 each)
Large – 33 Gallon or bigger- black trash bags (for waterproofing)
Tracfones - the cheap ones are about $13 at Walmart. (Do not buy the more expensive ones… buy the Net-10 phones instead.) Great for getting them a phone number for the social workers and employers and so on. The Net-10 phones are a much better deal, as far as minutes go, but they cost more upfront ($30 or so).
$30 Net 10 and $20 Tracfone phone cards (available at Wal-Mart)
Toothbrushes (Dollar stores often have 2 and 3 packs of these for $1)
Razors (Disposable. Dollar stores have 5 packs for $1)
Chap Stick (Generic works fine)
Quart size ziploc-style bags (Check the dollar store)
Toiletry items:
These folks travel light. Please focus on finding travel-size items of the things below.
Toothpaste (Target and Wal-Mart are good for this. Also, dentists are a good source, and can order these in bulk, should you happen to know a dentist)
Shampoo (Encourage friends who travel to save theirs)
Soap/ Body Wash (See Shampoo notes. Body wash is preferred)
“The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; the coat hanging unused in your closet belongs to the one who needs it; the shoes rotting in your closet belong to the one who has no shoes; the money which you put in the bank belongs to the poor.” -St. Basil The Great
Earlier, I pointed out the article in the News and Observer where a downtown United Methodist Church (I won’t even give them the favor of a link) decided to spend 1.8 million dollars on a pipe organ.
Now, I want to point out a few things:
In one sense, it is their business how they spend the money. After all, one would assume the leadership of the church prayed over this, sought heavenly guidance and ran the decision through the model set up by John Wesley (founder of Methodism) of Tradition, Scripture, Reason and Experience.
In another, however, the church as a whole (not just this congregation) is hurt when nonbelievers and the world at large see how we spend our money.
I read another great blogpost on the subject; I actually almost felt sorry for the church when she was through with them. Almost.
Also worth reading (but for a different reason) are the comments left on that blogpost. It shows just how far the church has fallen from its mission. For example, this one:
I think that the organ will enhance the worship of God, which is the primary reason for believers to gather together.
You know, the Quakers worship God and use no music at all and feel no lack in their spirituality. John Wesley preached to coal miners in a field with no music, yet thousands gave their souls over and changed their life. Yes, David told us to “make a joyful noise to the Lord”, but I bet you any amount of money he was using a tambourine.
Too many church members feel that the church is a club, to which we belong and they do not. This is reflected in the amenities we choose for our clubhouses (churches), such as our gymnasiums, our light and sound systems and our anemic preaching.
Read the Gospel. The mission of the church is to change the world. Christ saves us to change the world for him. Wesley knew it; I wonder why the church he founded cannot see that.
Yesterday, I was talking to Betty, a homeless elderly lady who lives in a van. Betty is a sweetheart and cares for everyone; she has appointed herself something of a den mother for the other homeless here in Raleigh. I mentioned in passing that I was a bit worried because some funds I was anticipating had not arrived yet so I would have to cut our conversation short so I could go make some collection phone calls.
She looked left, then right, as if to make sure no one was listening. She then gestured me closer and in a stage whisper said, “I can lend you 20 if you need it”.
She lives in a van. She depends upon the generosity of others to eat. Her van has no heat and she crochets baby hats for gas money. In any American sense of the word she is poor, yet she wanted to lend me money. I turned her down, thanked her and then walked home, tears running down my face.
Things are a bit tough right now.
I have clients who have not paid me, a ton of looming deadlines, a checking account balance rapidly approaching zero and, to top it all off, the beginnings of a sinus infection.
Mother Theresa is a huge influence on me; her life inspires me and keeps me focused on the work I do. She truly knew what it was to love. In one of her many biographies, she is quoted as saying she rarely worried about money. “After all”, she said. “We are doing God’s work. If he wants it done, he will provide the money”.
I wish my faith was at that level. I pray that one day it will be.
I am at a crossroads right now. I, just like you, only have so many hours in a day. Just like you, I have to balance my money making activities with my non-money-making activities. The fact is, it costs me money to be out there, helping them. I have had to turn down projects, reschedule deadlines and delay payments in order to do what I do with the homeless. Yet, I feel that nothing I do is more important than this. In a very real, mystical, non-hip way, I feel this is what Jesus wants me to do.
The obvious answer is to go “full time“. In other words, get off the fence, start soliciting donations and get on with being an urban missionary. After all, this is God’s work; if he wants it done, he will have to pay for it… right?
I guess I am scared. What if I can’t get enough contributions and I fail very publicly? What if… (insert any number of doom and gloom prophecies here)? I guess it is fear of the unknown, fear of trusting God, fear of failure, fear of being foolish.
I am not sure what I will do yet. Right now, it takes me about $1200 a month to live, pay my bills and so on. Logic tells me that is not so very much (radical simplicity does have its benefits), that it should be easy to raise that sort of support. Logic also tells me I have zero experience in fund raising and the stuff I have seen turns my gut (like, writing everyone you know a personal letter [with the obligatory picture of a homeless person on it], asking them to “stand with you” and support you). I know people just love getting those, right up there with being asked to join my tupperware sales organization.
So: what am I going to do? I am not sure yet. I am working on a plan; a paper showing the sorts of things that someone working full time could accomplish here in Raleigh. I think it would be good for me to do anyway, but it will be crucial if I am to try to raise support. After all, everyone wants to support a mission, a vision.
As I stand at this crossroads, pray for me, would ya?
In the last post, I talked about Bart Campolo. In the blog post I linked to about the war in his neighborhood, Bart said something I thought about all day yesterday. Here, he is talking about how the residents of the neighborhood have no choice but to live there. Then he says But Marty and I, Ric and Karen, Donna and Jeff – we all could go if we chose to, which is probably the most important thing that sets us apart in this neighborhood, for better and for worse. We’re educated and connected in ways that mean we can never really be poor, no matter how little we may make or live on. Poverty, after all, is not so much the absence of money as it is the absence of choices.
Look at that last line again.
Poverty, after all, is not so much the absence of money as it is the absence of choices.
I have, many times in my life, had no or very little money, yet I have never felt poor. I have choices. When I eat in the soup kitchen to meet and talk with the homeless, it is a choice; I have food in my cupboard. When I sit on the street corner and talk with my “unhoused” friends while they wait on the mission to open so they will have a bed tonight, I am there by choice. No matter how economically trying things get, I have the near certain knowledge that because of my education, my skills and my contacts, I need never go to bed hungry, I need never sleep outside, I need never be lonely. If I wanted to, I could get a “real” job tomorrow, or at the latest, by next week. In fact, that I am where I am by choice helps with the decision to be here when things get tough.
My homeless friends have no such choices. Their choice of where to eat lunch today consists of eating in the soup kitchen or going hungry. They have the choice of sleeping outside or fighting to get in the mission. They have the choice of working today or having a bed to sleep in at the mission tonight
(The mission opens up at 3:30pm, all beds are gone by 3:45… if you work today at the day labor agency, you have no chance at a bed in the mission tonight. Would you go to work today if you knew it meant you had to sleep outside tonight?).
When people have no choice in the education they receive, in the opportunities that are available to them, poverty is the result. The exceptions are so rare that we laud them and hold them up as paragons (Colin Powell, for example). Even these examples that my conservative bretheren hold up as “proof” that you can overcome your surroundings usually can point to someone who showed faith in them, who showed them an alternative to life as normal, who gave them choices.
