A Willingness to Share

Some of you are aware that between my work hours for a non-profit in the Dallas, TX area I’ve been spending time developing opportunities to serve the poor and homeless with Mosaic Arlington, my community of faith.

It’s been an interesting two months as I’ve walked the streets of Arlington, Ft. Worth and Dallas with people who really do want to make a lasting difference. It’s often different than my expectations, but it’s always encouraging. Many well-off people want to make a lasting difference and many of the poor are very aware God loves them and wants them to serve others.

As I look forward, some thoughts are taking shape:

1. Relationships are key to lasting work. One-shot projects are appreciated, but the value of a gift goes up dramatically when you spend time with a person on a regular (weekly often) basis.
2. There is a desire among many of the poor to improve their condition with the proper tools. What hinders many is bureaucratic miscommunication and the lack of a social network that helps them in a pinch. (We rely on our friends and family more than we think.)
3. There are many needs in our ow neighborhoods that we’re either blind to or lack the resolve to truly make a difference. Our temptation will be to go to the “glamorous” needs we can leave behind. Movement to a new need is not bad, but we have to do it with the right motivations and intentionality. (Followers of Christ in evangelical circles are particularly tempted ini this regard.)
4. A community of faith is heavily dependent on hearing the stories of people who have seen the need first hand and who can passionately share personal stories. We assume that we’re rational people. Most times we’re really not. We often need a story of success or failure to get in motion.

There’s much more I could say and hope to say, but that’s my Sunday AM brain dump. One question I welcome more thoughts on is: “How do we get people who aren’t writers or creators to share what God is doing (see 4) as part of their normal routine?”