Getting my car inspected...

A friend of mine has a blog where he discusses faith, life, God, etc... yesterday he randomly asked me for a "word" to spark his thought process for a new blog. This is what immediately popped into my mind:

"Inspection - I gotta take my car in to the garage later today...

Now with the new one, it's a very different experience, but with our old cars, the day I dropped off the car for inspection was nerve racking one... how much will it cost this time? Is this the end of the road for this car?

How does (or should) inspection play a role in our walk with Christ... does self-examination make me squirm the same way that car inspection day does? How do you feel knowing that God can see "under your hood" all the time?"

Here at Water Street and Teen Haven, "self inspection" is part of our growth process - as individuals being transformed by Christ (both staff and clients) and as an organization. Honestly, some days it feels like I'm taking the old '77 Chevy Caprice Classic into the shop and I know the mechanic is going to give me a laundry list of repairs needed... other days are like yesterday (my car passed with flying colors - although I had them rotate the tires for good measure).

The good news is we have a mechanic who is more than willing to work with us... he knows our vehicle better than we ever will... he can find the beauty in in the most beat up old hoopty (or jalopy)... and he already paid the price for all the repairs we need.

Knowing the mechanic makes "inspection" day a lot less nerve-wracking.

Jack Crowley, Teen Haven

PS - my friend ended up just using my thoughts for his blog... so I thought it would be OK to steal it back - you can check out some of his other thought provoking posts at http://radaph.blogspot.com

What God is teaching our staff...

God has taught me more patience through my role as a chaplain. I have been reminded that as we ask our clients to grow in areas of life, such as patience, how much more important it is to model it.

-Jon Shacklett, Men's Ministry

Water Street has taught me that patience is not an option, and by the work of the Holy Spirit and the grace of God I'm learning this virtue.

-Bill Lewis, Operations

Changes in the lives of men become more evident with longer stays here at the Mission. This is parallel to situations in my life where the longer the "stay," the longer the relationship with someone, the deeper the lessons.

-Steve Gentino, Business Office

Waiting for Pop

What follows is a comment about my relationship with Pop, a gentleman I knew for over twenty years and one who frequented the meal and community services program here at Water Street. Pop came to mind recently as I thought about the tremendous task the homeless men and women here at the mission face as they try to find a church home. They very desperately need to be embraced and engaged to become part of the fabric of the local church. Often this transition for them and the local church is difficult.

Pop’s abuse of alcohol was lifelong beginning sometime in the Army during the Korean War and continuing for over 30 years. His yellowish skin was creased and weather-worn, the result of too many days and nights spent on the street and in makeshift lodging. One winter Pop had constructed a Styrofoam dwelling in the middle of a local junkyard; the next he lived in an abandoned school bus modified with pieces of cardboard and scrap metal. He was a man of great independence and resourcefulness yet I was very concerned about his health as his liver continued to deteriorate. So it was truly a grand and unexpected event when Pop finally agreed to allow me to transport him to the local veterans’ hospital.

And at the end of the twenty-eight day rehab he looked great the benefit of a regular diet, sleep and medication. His skin glowed again and the prognosis for his future was brighter than ever. And as I thought about his transition back into the neighborhood, I asked him a question. ‘Pop how about you and me going to church when you are done here? I’ll be with you and you’ll be able to make some new, non-drinking friends. It will be a great way of continuing the life you started here - one without alcohol.’ Pop hesitated then looked at me a bit quizzically before saying this, ‘That sounds really good, Stevie but I couldn’t do that, I couldn’t go to church, I don’t have a suit!’

It’s been several years since Pop passed away of liver disease. He never did make it to church. I miss him and he is on my mind a lot. I keep wondering what it would have been like if Pop had come to church. Would he feel welcomed in his frayed and holey jeans and shoes? Would anyone look past the disheveled beard, the unkempt hair, the clothing that reeked of sweat and alcohol? Would anyone intentionally sit by his side, look him in the eyes, listen intently to his story, and invite him home for Sunday dinner? Would Pop understand the protocol of church, the language, when to sit or stand, from which book to read or sing? Would the words of the preacher make sense to him? Would the demons that drove him to drink be addressed? Would anyone strive to engage with Pop in a way that conveyed that God loved him as he was and help him see that he could be free from the control of sin and bad choices?

Sadly, I’m not sure there is a seat for Pop in most of our nice, Bible-believing churches as it so often seems that a lot of our activity is pretty self-absorbed. Are we really expecting a guy like Pop to stop by? And realistically, why would Pop want to visit with us on a Sunday anyway – with or without a suit?

I’m not sure how to answer these questions but I do know this: I’m waiting for Pop. I’m going to be ready when he shows up. I’ll be the one next to the empty seat in jeans and sneakers.

- Steve Brubaker, Residential Ministries

Caught or taught?

What makes me excited to come to work at WSRM?

I am thrilled each day to come and share life with real people who need someone to love them as they are. It is my joy to hug others and bless them in Jesus' name.

What has God taught me lately in my role at WSRM?

I was totally humbled by a young man's testimony of how our 3 month Overcomers Class impacted him. "Dan" told me the content of the class was cool and important, but even more importantly, he caught the attitude and character of the teacher instead. God allowed me to experience His grace as I learned that much is caught, not taught by servant people.

-Jim Stanton, Men's Ministry

Ministering grace to one another...

One of the blessings of working at WSRM is the staff realizes that we are just one of the venues through which God might choose to work in the lives of those he brings here. He works just as often through fellow residents to minister to those who need to feel his touch. A slice of life at WSRM from 2007:

We had a very interesting chapel this morning. I was sharing excerpts from Philip Yancey's book "What's So Amazing About Grace?". We started out talking about what we think grace is, where it comes from, what to do with it, etc... moved into things that prevent us from either accepting grace or showing it to others. For example, we spent quite a bit of time talking about a Ben Franklin quote about pride, and then went into guilt and shame, in relation to how these effect our ability to show grace.

I read a quote in the book that talks about "the three common sources of crippling shame", which are: secular society, a graceless church, and unaccepting parents. I said that I knew I had been affected by all of these and asked if anyone else felt that they had. Many hands went up at that point, but as they went back down, Stewart's hand stayed up. I said "go ahead" and as he started to speak, he completely broke down sobbing and shaking.

Some of the guys were encouraging him and one got up and put his arm around him and brought him some kleenex. Jerry (another gentleman in our program) jumped up and asked if we could come around Stewart and pray for him, which we did for some time. As we debriefed after chapel, it came out that Stewart is dealing with some very heavy stuff from his childhood and struggling with the idea that he can be forgiven.

-Scooter, Director of Operations

Perfection - this side of heaven

I used to believe that work in a Christian organization would be a bit like heaven – no tension, problems, or disagreements. I no longer operate under this delusion. I’ve come to see that any association comprised of flawed people can never approximate the perfection of a future paradise. An organization conceived, constructed, and controlled by men is destined to be characterized by relational rifts and conflict.

And this is to be expected. Sin is alive and well and saturates everyone’s heart.

I also see something else that contributes to the persistent capacity we have to hurt and sin against each other. Everyone with whom I work is insanely passionate about what they are doing! I can think of no one who works here simply because ‘it’s a job!’ Each of my colleagues is deeply zealous about what he or she does. Each believes they are ‘called’ to minister here. And each is striving to make Jesus the Lord of every aspect of his or her life, to not compartmentalize. So when conflict happens it feels like a personal attack and it really hurts! Disagreement, though actually inevitable, feels so personal because it threatens the essence of ‘what I do, how I think, and who I am.’

Where does this leave us? Are we to walk in fear of messing up? Are we to be consumed with making sure we stay in the lines as we color? Is inoffensiveness our ultimate goal? Are we to walk on eggshells with each other and withhold what we think or who we really are in order to maintain the peace? I’m not exactly sure about all of this but am reminded of something Martin Luther wrote in a letter to his friend, Philipp Melanchthon. Luther was quoted by others after his death as saying, ‘if you sin, sin boldly.’

Here is some of the context around what he really said:

If you are a preacher of mercy, do not preach an imaginary but the true mercy. If the mercy is true, you must therefore bear the true, not an imaginary sin. God does not save those who are only imaginary sinners. Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong, but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world. We will commit sins while we are here, for this life is not a place where justice resides. We, however, are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where justice will reign (2. Peter 3:13). It suffices that through God's glory we have recognized the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. No sin can separate us from Him, even if we were to kill or commit adultery thousands of times each day. Do you think such an exalted Lamb paid merely a small price with a meager sacrifice for our sins? Pray hard for you are quite a sinner.

Another explains Luther’s comments this way:

“Luther was making the point to Philip Melancthon that God's grace calls us to live boldly. If you are going to do something do it with confidence. Know that if you screw it up, God's grace and forgiveness is mightier than your efforts to screw up. No he is not calling us to go out and sin to get grace flowing (though he has said that if you cannot find a sin in your life go and commit some small sin so you can know that you are a sinner); he is saying that we are not going to get thrown away by sinning. Go out and proclaim God with confidence... you are a sinner but God is not ever going to be outdone in His ability to forgive a sin.

Think of this analogy ... if you are in high school on the football team and the coach tells you that if you make one mistake he is yanking you out of the game for the duration, then you are not going to play good ball because you will be too worried about making a mistake. But if the coach tells you to go out and play as hard as you can, to give it all on the field, and not to worry about getting yanked, then you will play a much better ball game because you are free to go out and play without worrying about mistakes. Go and sin boldly, live boldly is the same thing.”
So when you’re in the game, play as hard as you can. As a coach always says, ‘don’t leave anything on the field!’ Press onward!

-Steve Brubaker, Residential Ministries