Lending a hand in Franklin

Ministry is sometime one of the most overwhelming things to be involved with. Just turn on the TV and watch MTV for a few minutes and you will see just how overwhelming the lostness in our culture is. Or maybe watch the news and see just how many murders, drug busts, and rapes there are. If that does overwhelm you maybe you should come with me the next time I go out with Willie Otey from Feed Franklin First.

I went out with Willie today for about three hours. Feed Franklin First is a ministry that Willie started about 8 years ago. Almost everyday he goes to grocery stores in the community of Franklin, TN (where I am interning at Ridgeview Community Church) and picks up the out-of-date bread to bag up and give out to needy folks. In addition, Willie works with churches and organizations to provide food, clothes, and other essentials.

Now I have witnessed poverty before, I spend 7 weeks in India and Nepal just over a year ago and have done some ministry in impoverished areas, but there was something different about today. We were going around to houses that are barely standing, with little or no furniture, and hardly any light. And we are in the middle of one of the wealthiest counties in the United States (check this out). I couldn't help but think, how can there be so much need when I drive by multi-million dollar homes everyday?

Don't get me wrong, money is not the answer to this problem, it is much bigger than that. Poverty is a result of many different things, mindset, culture, injustice, economic issues... As our government welfare system has shown, money does not solve the problem, it rather causes many people to continue in their poverty (this is not the case in every situation, but is overwhelmingly true). In addition, food banks and shelters are not the answer for the same reason as welfare, and my wife works for the largest of food bank in Nashville, Second Harvest of Middle Tennessee. Both of these are means to the end, but they are insufficient at best.

So what's the answer? Well that is what is so overwhelming about ministry, finding the answer. In every context there is a different answer. In Darfur the answer maybe foreign government intervention; in India poverty is ingrained in culture and religion. As I rode around Franklin today I thought of some possibly ideas for attacking poverty:

1) As I rode around today I noticed several younger adults walking the streets. It is clear that if a change is going to happen, it must come from the up-and-coming generation. I go to a church of innovative, talented, and motivated people. There are former presidents of companies, musicians, and technically savvy folks, great moms, great fathers, and great neighbors. What if we got into the neighborhoods in such away that we could start classes and mentorships with some of these young folks. A successful business man could mentor a young kid who is running the street, show him how to do something productive and meaningful; or a mom could teach a group of young mothers classes about parenting.

2) Pam and I went to a mini-conference a while back that talked about creating small, low-tech busniesses that people without jobs can work at. The basic concept is to provide a source of pride in work for people. Poverty has a defeating effect on people, causing them to have a low self-worth. Thus, creating jobs they can earn money at would hopefully lead to a better view of self.

3) Obviously one of the biggest issues in needy areas is drugs and alcohol. In order to attack poverty we must develop some kind of help for drug and alcohol abuse. There are all kinds of programs out there, but there needs to be someway of connecting the people to the programs. This maybe an opportunity for us as the church to step in.

These are only my initial thoughts. I hope to write more on the subject of poverty and the church's responsibility to fight it. For now I want to challenge you to think about your context. For many of you, you probably live in nicer areas of your town and maybe totally unaware of the needs around you. I encourage you to go driving, drive down a street you don't usually take; call up a local food bank or shelter and ask questions about the needs in your community. It is our responsibility as God's people to help the needy, so seek out how you can help.

This is a big passion of both Pam and I and the Fishers and we intend to make mercy and justice and big part of our ministry in Fargo. We will be sharing more about that later on so keep reading. If you have any ideas or insights please comment on this entry, I look forward to your feedback.