Musings on our trip to Dallas

Thanks, dear bloggers, for your prayers and encouragement about yesterday's visit with Central Dallas Ministries. It is an amazing place. Larry James, the CEO and Gerald Britt, the Executive Director, graciously gave us more an hour of their time in Larry's office -- sharing the history of the ministry, their philosophy and all the different ministries to the poor in Dallas. Then Gerald took us around to various sites to show us their expansive ministries. Very impressive!

One of the coolest stories Larry told was about Josephina. When Larry first started running that ministry, he spent five days a week interviewing folks coming to their food pantry. The place was staffed mainly by volunteers from large, suburban churches. The day he met Josephina changed his focus radically.

While interviewing a woman whom he quickly found out spoke only Spanish, he asked one of the others there for food if she would translate for him. Her name was Josephina. She did a great job and proved to be invaluable to Larry in that particular interview. After getting her food, Josephina asked if she could come back and help that next day. Larry said, "Sure!"

Late in the afternoon, when Larry retreated to his office, he sensed God clearly speaking to him, saying basically, "You dummy, you see these poor people as folks just having needs. Look at them as ASSETS!" That was a huge turning point for Larry's ministry. And so he began involving in the ministry the neighbors who came for food, etc. (He calls them neighbors, not clients. I like that...and we've adopted the same term here at the Service Center). After they come for food the second time, they're invited to come back and work in the food pantry.

This story made me think of the different folks in our community who come here to volunteer -- to do community service hours, to do service work for classes, etc. If we felt this was OUR ministry and that THEY would disrupt our work, then we'd likely keep "these people" from working side by side with us. However, if we're going to be incarnational -- get along side the "sinners and publicans," as our Lord Jesus did, then we must let them come work with us. After all, we can learn from them as much as they can learn from us.

When I first started working here, Albert Acosta, who has been an outreach minister for the University Church for years, taught me this principle of incarnational ministry. It's messy. We don't feel in control. I may get criticized by those who don't like changes here in this ministry. But I believe this is the way to go, if we're going to be like Jesus.

God bless our long-term volunteers! When I've tried to do some of this inclusion of our neighbors by inviting them to work with us as a volunteer, most of our regular volunteers welcome them. They are being Jesus to them, and I praise God for their Christ-honoring spirit.

Please keep praying for me and this ministry. I'm not quite sure what to do with the things I learned yesterday at Central Dallas Ministries. I can't see me leading a huge ministry where we get houses built for low-income housing, or start new medical clinics or build community centers. However, I do see how the Lord can use me and the Christian Service Center to partner with other ministries here in town to more effectively serve the poor in Jesus' name. To give them a "hand up and not just a hand out," as Joe Almanza says.

One exciting development since I came back is what Randy Perkins is doing. He's the minister of missions at Pioneer Drive Baptist Church. He e-mailed me this morning, in response to my e-mail to him yesterday whereI asked him for prayers regarding my visit to Central Dallas Ministries. He has visited that ministry himself and is in the process of establishing a new 501 (c) (3) -- the Christian Community Development Corporation. And he wants me to help partner with him in making this happen. Amazing how the Lord works, even when I don't even know what I'm doing!

God is great. God is good. God is love. Praise the Name of Jesus.

Jim