For about two years, I have known Mike. He is only sporadically housed and, because of a debilitating  injury, he is awaiting a ruling on disability. If there is such a thing as a homeless cheerleader, he is it. He smiles, he makes others laugh and, strangely enough, he always has a camera in his hands. You will often find him with a disposable film camera, taking candid snaps. He loves it when church groups come out, because there is so much interaction, so many scenes.

About a month ago, Chad lent Mike his digital camera for a few weeks, to see what he would come up with. He took some awesome pics!  As a result,  we have made Mike the unofficial, official photographer for Love Wins Ministries. We are processing and editing some pics he has shot for us, but meanwhile here are some from the Fourth. In the future, we will give Mike his own author account here, so his pictures will be their own post.

More writeup on the Fourth is forthcoming (no pun intended).

This should be a normal post about July 4th, with me hanging out with other people who look just like, have the same jobs, attend the same church, and believe generally the same things. Or maybe this should be a post about the gigantic fireworks I shot off at my home state (Kansas). The 4th of July has meant a lot of things to me over my life, but this 4th, something was drastically different because I spent about three hours with a lot of friends I met through Love Wins.

Three hours with people who did  not look like me, who don’t have homes like mine, who don’t have jobs like mine, and who don’t believe the same way I do. I spent three hours with people who care about me not because of material things, but because I am their friend and the feeling is mutual.

Love Wins sponsored a community cookout and the poor spent time together. Some of us were poor in spirit, some poor in money, some poor in friends, but we all gathered to celebrate the freedom we have as citizens of our country. There weren’t any prayers prayed, there weren’t any invitations given, we just showed up to love and be loved. I guess like we like to say, Love Wins.

Note from Hugh: This is the first of several posts that will talk about what happened on the 4th of July in Moore Square. Pictures are coming soon.

Last year, Renee had a wonderful idea: What if we celebrated the Fourth of July in Moore Square with our friends?

We put out the cry for help and  we ended up feeding over 300 folks, had lives changed, had rich bankers playing football with people who sleep under bridges and had a blast in the process.Some of us were convinced we saw a foretaste of the Kingdom of God.

On the Fourth of July at 2:00PM, we are going to do it again. In Moore Square (click here for a map) in downtown, Raleigh, there will be hot dogs, baked beans, watermelon, lemonade and much more (we hope, anyway). If somebody could bring some guitars and such, that would be pretty cool too.

Why are we doing this, you ask? Because who you eat with, matters. Jesus believed that with every fiber of his being. When he ate with prostitutes and tax collectors, he was making a statement about who God is. And when we ignore the homeless and poor to eat with folks like us, we make a statement about who we think God is.

Other reasons:

• Because while no doubt you have friends and loved ones to spend the Fourth with, many of the homeless and poor do not. Bring your friends and loved ones with you.

• Because on holidays the soup kitchens are closed, so any free meals usually consist of bag lunches with peanut butter and honey sandwiches. Surely we can do better than that?

• Because when the poor go hungry, it ticks Jesus off.

• Because you need more friends who have less than you do.

• Because you will get to eat with some really cool people.

• Because things like friendship, community, dignity and happiness are important in the Kingdom of God.

• Because while everyone else is celebrating their allegiance to the American Empire (the same Empire that often says your worth is related to your net worth), we can show our ultimate allegiance to the Kingdom of God, which says these people are priceless and worth fighting for.

NOTE: The purpose of this event is not to win souls, to pass out tracts or to break out with the street preaching. Instead, we want to have fun, to meet new people and to show the love of God in the way of Jesus.

If you want in on this, go to this page, where you will find an updated list of things we need and a form to enter the things you can bring. Please alert your friends, small groups, etc.