We are only a part of the journey

When I first started in the ministry of rescue I was a bit naïve and thought a bit too highly of my part in the life of the men. At that time, if a man would attempt to leave the program prematurely, I would (literally) stand in his way and plead with him not to go. I truly believed that for him to leave us would mean that he had stepped out of the Lord’s work in his life.

Today that thinking seems obviously misguided. I realize now that the Lord has been working in a man’s life well before he ever gets to us and that He will continue to work long after the man leaves us. We only get to participate with the Lord’s work in a man’s life and then only for a season (and seasons come and seasons go).

With this wiser, more accurate sense of our part in a man’s life we work hard to sense what the Lord is already doing in him when he arrives. As we interview him for potential intake into our program (we do not use this process for Emergency Services), we are looking for signs that we are the next step in the Lord’s plan for this man’s life.

We believe the Lord has led us in the development of the program services we offer. We also believe that if we are the best next step for a man then he will fit who we are. The essential criteria to help us make that decision are these:
Brokenness: has this man come to the end of his own efforts to make life work his way?
Openness: is this man ready to receive input from others?
Desperation: does this man see the severity of his life condition and the consequences if he does not get help?

The intake interview is a two-step, two-person process. The Emergency Shelter Chaplain begins the process and I complete it. Along the way we attempt to connect deeply enough with the man to see his true condition –often by offering him alternatives— to see if he is actually ready for who we are. If we believe he is ready, he is invited in. If we are not sure he is ready, he is placed on a one week trial period. If we do not believe he is ready, he is not invited in.

Once a man enters the program we evaluate him regularly as to his continued brokenness, openness and desperation. If it becomes clear that a man no longer has these key life-change prerequisites, it may be time for him to leave. To discern this, we convene a panel of his peers (3) and staff members (3 or more). And through a lengthy conversation with him, we determine whether or not he should continue to be in our program.

If we release a man, we are not at all “giving up on him.” We are instead stepping aside for the next step in the Lord’s journey for the man. We may, down the road, be used again in that journey and we may not; we are only part of the journey.

- Aaron Eggers, Men’s Ministries