Today was a record day in Cass Park--our (not so) routine work of feeding and spending time with our friends (the homeless and poor) in this section of Cass Corridor. Actually, three records were set today. 1) We had the most college students ever for one activity in Cass Park 2) We had the most food ever prepared by dozens of women and men from our church and 3) It was 12 degrees outside. And . . . since we were in the city . . .it felt like -5 degrees (tall buildings block the sun and allow "wind tunnels" to swirl about).
One man said to me, "We sho' do appreciate you coming out on a day as cold as today." That made ever minute of preparation, every moment in the city worth it.
Since we're on the eve of honoring one of the great leaders of American history (Dr. King), it's appropriate to remember one of his prophetic lines:"A religion which cares about men's souls but not men's bodies might be a religion but it is not the Christian religion," (paraphrase).
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6 comments:
I was praying for your safety and warmth today. I was VERY impressed by the team going on such a brutally cold day. Can you give us estimates of numbers? How many people were helped and how many people went down? That would be cool to know.
Patrick,
We probably fed 250 people (not a record). We probably had 25 college students plus 15 young adults/RCC members.
The day started off slow, but we moved to a different spot, and were able to spend some meaningful time with some new friends.
Josh,
I would encourage you and your readers to check out a similar Detroit homeless ministry report from this weekend posted by my little sister. If you have ears to hear, please note the difference in your man centered emergent gospel (humanism) verses the God centered Gospel of Christ crucified. (I define humanism in the professing church as removing the offense of the cross, the demands of the cross, and salvation from the sin nature through faith in Christ alone coupled with placing the needs of man above the precepts and glory of God.) What a dangerous thing to reverse the order of the two great commandements.
http://awallatjericho.blogspot.com/2008/01/could-you-turn-up-heat-in-your.html
-Jim
Jim,
While I disagree with your interpretation of what we do in Cass Park, I'll happily read the blog you've suggested.
I welcome you to come to Cass Park with us sometime. We follow-up regularly with conversations, prayer, and pro-active solutions to help them with addictions, job placement, i.d., etc. Let me know if you'd like to come to get a "first hand" view of what we are all about.
BTW--I believe strongly, for the record, that the Christian community is called to care for the souls of the homeless community.
I just think we have to fill their stomach, give them a coat, and visit them in prison before we have the relational credibility to speak to them about a God who had an amazing habit of meeting people where they were . . .physically.
We can't offer them a Gospel that is only about the "world to come" if were not serious about showing them the kingdom of God ((tables, joy, friendship, community, forgiveness, opportunity) as it is being played out today.
Jim,
"What a dangerous thing to reverse the order of the two great commandements."
What a dangerous thing to exalt your own supposed righteousness based on your good works, seeking to draw attention to your own piety. I would likely disagree on many things with Josh, but I would much rather fellowship with someone who loves people above himself.
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