Helping the Helpless

A while back, I was working as a court reporter for the “Unlocking Doors” Seminar for the department of Housing and Urban Development. This is a federal organization that focuses on housing options for lower income families. The senior project manager was there. She came to Greenville, all because of one man, the preacher of a Mega Church in my community. She gets up in front of 75 people and lauds the work he is doing for the homeless and single mothers of our community. Now, I start to look the room over, there are businessmen and women from all areas of life. Three or four churches are represented, several banks, contractors, and government sponsored groups, all there to think of creative ways to help the homeless and poor in my community. There could have been a fundamental business man or woman there, and I was unaware. While there were clearly Christians present, there was not one Fundamental church represented. I started to feel embarrassment and shame.

I have always had the impression that a Mega Church is just large because of its massive production, rambunctious preaching, singing, dancing, and etc. I think all of those aspects play into that large of a membership, but I am convinced having sat through a 5 hour meeting and having eaten lunch with the honored preacher, that the excitement of their services is not their only appeal. Eighty percent of their 10,000 members are low income. Single mothers. Minorities. There is significance in that demographic. They have buses that go out into the inner city, they pick up people and give them practical training. They have partnered with Greenville Tech and were able to give out 200 scholarships last year to people who would not have otherwise been able to get any type of training. They have started a housing program where they work with people to fix their credit scores, save money, and create home ownership opportunities. I was shocked. I also became aware of why that church has 10,000 members. They are quite clearly known for the charitable work they do for our community.

Where are we?

I just feel shame when I see no evidence of our fundamentalism in the truly needy parts of town. Am I really that self involved and ignorant to the needs of others? The simple answer is yes. I currently know one single mother, and to be honest, I have not been that good of a friend to her. James 1:27 will not leave my mind “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” I feel as fundamentalists we have singular focus on the second half of this verse. A hallmark of our brand of religion is remaining separated from the world; in contrast, we have a long way to go before we can say we have pure religion that is undefiled before God.

What can be done?

We can pray for opportunities to present themselves. We can pray specifically that the Lord would put people and circumstances in our lives that would allow us to minister. I would also like to see Christians united in their love of Christ and for that love outpoured on the people around them. With the wealth of knowledge and abilities within our churches we have no excuse for ignoring the people around us. It is not enough to simply throw money at these issues; time and commitment are necessary as well. Practically speaking, what about GED classes, financial and budgeting advice for single mothers, delivery of food to local people who really need it. The possibilities are endless.

To truly love all people we must do more than just say the words. We must follow Christ’s example and meet these souls with the truth of the Gospel. Christ repeatedly met physical needs during His earthly ministry. People should know without question that we are Christian’s because of our “good works” they should be part of our identity.

I applaud those around me who are looking to serve those outside their usual sphere of comfort, and I encourage those of us (me) who are not actively serving the needy around us to get out there and serve, befriend, and love.

“Blessed is he that considereth the poor”