Tag: poor

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Straighten Up

April 4, 2012

Martin Luther King was assassinated on this day in 1968 when I was 12 years old. There was a lot I didn’t understand about racial tensions back then. But when cities burst into riots in the days that followed, I knew enough to be saddened. I knew Dr. King would have mourned that betrayal of his commitment to nonviolence. Although I was young, I clearly remember singer James Brown on the radio in Washington, DC trying to find words that might pour some cooling water on the powder keg that was igniting in the nation’s capital.

The day before he was killed, Dr. King spoke to Memphis sanitation workers who were trying to form a union. “I’ve been to the mountaintop!” he exclaimed. “Mine eyes have seen glory of the coming of the Lord!” were the last words he spoke to an audience. I heard these words and was made aware of their timing when I was searching for my own faith. I marveled at their prophetic power, and it helped me to see a God who was present with us, who could prepare our hearts, minds and souls for things we could not foresee.

Today, I heard another line from that speech that resonated with me: “Whenever men and women straighten their backs up, they’re going somewhere because a man can’t ride your back unless it’s bent.”

As I pondered these words of Dr. King, images of the downtrodden people I have known flashed in my mind’s eye. It renewed my passion and focus in ministry and helped me see one thing that the church can help poor and oppressed people accomplish better than anybody else.

We can help people “straighten their backs up.”

We can help them stand on the shoulders of Jesus. Although His back was bent beneath the weight of the cross and our sins, He is strong enough to lift us up.

We can let them know that somebody believes in them and that they are precious, not only in God’s sight, but in ours. Our acceptance of them as humans of equal value helps them stand straighter and more boldly confront the challenges set before them.

It’s not as easy to see the results of this gift as it is to see somebody eat the food we hand out, but it is far more important. Even if their situation in the world never changes, they will change. Even if they remain on the streets, they will “go somewhere” because they recapture that key element of humanity that is too often torn away from them. The food is important for the moment. Helping people “straighten their backs up” is for a lifetime and for eternity.

God’s grace to you,

Steve Jennings
Executive Director
www.TeensOpposingPoverty.org

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When It’s All You Have Left

I never cease to be amazed.

Last Sunday a group of brave people ranging in age from 9 to, well, almost as old as I am, spent an afternoon in the cold to conduct Teens Opposing Poverty’s first homeless outreach in Lynchburg, Virginia. We wanted to be a blessing to people who could carry their life’s possessions on their backs and had no family to visit on Christmas day.

We took a little Christmas tree, some Christmas music, cookies, hot soup (it was delicious), hot drinks, water, gift bags with toiletries in them, clothes and wool blankets. Throughout the afternoon a steady stream of people came by. Some lived in tents. Others lived at the Salvation Army Shelter across the street. Still others rented a room or apartment, but the rent ate up almost all of their income. They were all grateful for the gifts we shared.

A lot of the people we served stayed out in the cold with us. We had great conversations and made new friends. It was a successful “TOP Trip”.

In two different conversations that day I heard something that I have heard on many TOP Trips over these last 23 years, and each time I hear it, I am moved and amazed. We were talking to people who had experienced tragedy. The obstacles they had to overcome to get off the street were daunting. They had lost almost everything.

But their faith was strong.

It was elemental.
It was powerful.
It was simple and pure.
God drew close to them.

Their relationship with Jesus had reached a depth that far too few of us experience in this life. When they were dealt the blows that put them on the street, they could have walked away from God. But they didn’t. They ran to Him. They were stripped of everything except Jesus and found out He was all they really needed. That was their message to me.

As I heard them proclaim their faith, I thought about Christmas. Not the Christmas of cathedrals, or silver bells or shopping malls. I thought about the Christmas in Bethlehem. I thought about God in the flesh lying in a manger.

It was elemental.
It was powerful.
It was simple and pure.
God drew close to us.

This Christmas I pray that each of us may experience the closeness to Christ that these precious souls have shown to me. May we all live our lives knowing in our hearts that Jesus is all we need. For that is the greatest gift of all.

Merry Christmas.

Steve Jennings

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The Power of Friendship

The one aspect of TOP’s ministry that has the greatest impact on the poor and on our volunteers can’t be measured or quantified, but it truly changes lives. It’s friendship.

Homeless and poor people spend much of their lives dodging the boulders that the world throws at them. When this happens day after day, they feel tired and beaten.  Often they are ignored or herded like cattle in order to receive the goods and services that keep them alive. It’s dehumanizing to say the least. Just having somebody who will look them in the eye, smile, or give an affirming touch is enough to change their week or their lives.  This encouragement can happen at a first meeting.  But when young people and the poor develop deeper friendships, incredible things can happen.

The benefits of friendship with the poor and homeless go beyond being a bright spot and having warm, fuzzy feelings. For some homeless people, friendships with teens have created a positive accountability. They don’t want to let their young friends down. That sense of obligation has helped several men I know kick a drug or alcohol habit and stay clean.

Another benefit to homeless and poor people is having someone outside their peer group to cheer them on and encourage them when they are down. Here is where teens really shine in their ministry. They don’t judge. They don’t condemn. They listen, try to understand and offer hope. When a homeless man gives up after being knocked down for the fourth or fifth time in a year, that word of encouragement from a teen can be enough to get him to try again.

Through our friendships we earn the right to share the good news of Jesus.  Many nonbelieving homeless and poor people have heard the gospel or read a tract, but they haven’t seen Jesus at work in the people who serve them.  Once they see perfect agape love in action, many are more receptive to hearing about the source of that powerful love.

Never underestimate the power of friendship. It’s the key that opens the door to transformation and hope. 

God’s grace to you,

Steve Jennings, Executive Director

 Teens Opposing Poverty

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Be a Bright Spot

            Robert Massey stood in front of nearly 500 teens and adults from Virginia Methodist Churches.  He stopped in the middle of detailing homeless life and blurted out, “Homelessness sucks!”  The crowd erupted into applause.  He had their attention.

             Robert is still homeless and has been for 17 years.  He made a lot of mistakes and experienced a lot of emotional pain that, through the grace of a renewed relationship with Jesus Christ, is fading.  He shares his experience with churches and other groups through Teens Opposing Poverty’s Homelessness in the First Person program.

             After sharing the mind-numbing monotony and dehumanizing experiences of homeless life, Robert looked out over the crowd of young faces and told them they could be a bright spot for someone who is struggling in life.  He told them how much it meant for somebody to smile at him, listen to him, talk with him and just treat him like a human being.

             Be a bright spot.  It doesn’t have to be a big thing.  It can be as simple as looking somebody in the eye and saying hello, or buying a homeless person something to eat besides peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  It can be listening to a lonely elderly person share how things used to be or tossing a football around with homeless people who have taken up residence in a park.  It can be getting to know someone who is very different from you well enough to call them your friend.

             These seemingly small things are huge to someone who struggles to hold onto the shreds of human dignity that are constantly being stripped away by a cold system.  Everything that is designed to help people defeat the monsters that hold them in poverty works better when love is added to it.

             Be a bright spot for somebody today.  Do small things with large love and make a big difference.

God’s grace to you,

Steve Jennings, Executive Director

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Step Off the Curb Please

I stood in the middle of Franklin Square in Washington, DC and watched three church groups in succession pull their vans up to the curb, dish out some food, say “God bless you” to the people they were serving, get back in their vans and leave for the next park.  I also watched the same guys we had given hot-stuffed baked potatoes to less than 20 minutes earlier go to each of those vans and get another loaded plate.

 

Now before you get your dander up over this, you need to understand an important point.  During the weekdays, most homeless people get by on one meal a day (68% according to a 2007 survey we conducted).  Some days they even have to miss that one meal. Weekends are the only time they get to eat until they actually feel full.

 

The problem with the “feed and leave” approach is that we are so intent on reaching the maximum number of people, we fail miserably in inspiring real change.  How many of those folks who came by knew that Marcell was 52 years old, had been out of work for three months, and for the first time in his life, was homeless?  How many of them knew that Kevin was having a hard time finding a job because of his criminal record?

 

I have to tell you, it’s a wonderful feeling to find a pair of shoes to fit a homeless man who had to cut the toes out of the shoes he was wearing because they were too small or to hand a plate of food to someone who hasn’t eaten in a day or two.  But it’s even more rewarding to see Reggie, who had given up on life after a series of major catastrophes, work up the moxie to try again because a group of teenagers believed in him, encouraged him and prayed with him.  By the way, he was off the street in less than three months.

 

Most poor people are not going to escape their plight through programs alone.  They need somebody in their corner.  Each of us, can impact the life of a poor person simply by being a friend.

 

To my dear sisters and brothers in Christ with the “van by the curb” ministry, please know that I applaud and rejoice in your work.  Don’t stop.  I ask of you only one thing.  Try making time in your busy feeding schedule to connect with the people you serve.  You’ll never regret it.

 

Steve Jennings

Executive Director, Teens Opposing Poverty

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Fly By Evangelism

I watched the small group of young adults huddle in the corner of McPherson Square, just two blocks from the White House.  They each had a small paper bag filled with something.  After some excited discussion, they prayed and started walking toward groups of homeless people scattered throughout the park.  They reached into their bags, handed everyone something and said a couple of words.  Within 5 minutes they had completed their task and left the park.

 

One by one, most of the homeless men in the park either dropped their new treasure on the ground or tossed it into a trash can.  The “treasure” was a gospel tract.  It was the “This Was Your Life” tract.  I looked around the park to see if anybody was reading the tract they were given.  Not a single person was reading it.

 

At that moment, I was embarrassed for Jesus.  Have we learned nothing from His example?  Look at each encounters He had with people; the woman at the well, the 10 lepers, the rich, young ruler, the blind beggar, the lame man by the pool.  He invested His time in each of these people and met them at their point of need.  By meeting them at their point of need most of them believed in Him.  OK, so the rich young ruler walked away.  It just goes to show you that some peoples’ hearts are hardened to the point where they can’t change.  Accept it and move on.

 

Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) we don’t have the ability to peer into the peoples’ souls.  So it may take us a little longer than our Lord to figure out a person’s real needs.  But when we meet those needs, we earn the right to share the Gospel in power.

 

During Advent, we read with nostalgia the words from John’s Gospel: “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”  The Word of God must still become flesh to poor and hurting people before they can turn their troubles, fears, hearts and lives to the One who, better than any of us, can turn their lives around.  God’s Word becomes flesh through us.  Do you want to win the hearts of poor people for Christ?  You show them Christ first.  Then you can fill in the blanks with words.

 

God’s grace to you,

 

Steve Jennings