Things don't always go according to our expectations - sometimes they go far better!
Last week I left home telling Marianne that I was hoping that we didn't get less than the previous week, she had told me to expect at least 4 guests, later telling me she thought we would get 8. On the way to the building I found myself very aware of God's presence, and praying that this would be the beginning of revival in Winchester. So I arrived expecting perhaps 6.
At 7.40pm, 20 minutes before we were due to open about 15 guests arrived.
Tony from the Salvation Army said he brought about 6, although I suspect he brought more. They were nearly all guys I had spoken to before, but many who I hadn't seen for several months.
The rest of the evening was a real blend of experiences.
Firstly I was slightly taken aback by the love I felt for each of these guys as I spoke with them. I cannot fully appreciate what they have been through, and how difficult this time might be for them, but I know that God loves them so deeply that he gave his son up on the cross for them. I have been listening to Stuart Townend's excellent album 'Creation Sings' this week, I found the following lyric:
How beautiful the feet that carry this Gospel of peace
To the fields of injustice and the valleys of need.
To be a voice of hope and healing, to answer the cries
Of the hungry and helpless, with the mercy of Christ.
from 'Everlasting Kindness (Compassion Hymn)
This is the irreverent truth of the gospel - these are those he died to claim as his own - he came to seek and save the lost. This is the foolishness to the world, but the boast of every believer, that the King of Glory reaches down to claim that which not only rejected him, but has so often in turn been rejected by this world.
He calls them. He loves them. This is the gospel.
It was also a week in which I felt my own inadequacies and limitations. But thank God that he puts us in relationship and teams with others which bring the necessary blend and balance of skills and gifting!
I was ill-prepared:
> without enough bread
> having forgotten the ladle to serve the soup
> not even having knife to cut the wonderful cake given by Helen Athill
> feeling slightly overwhelmed in the kitchen area
Retrieving my pen knife from my bag for Linda who then made a perfect job of cutting the cake with a 2 inch blade, I couldn't even pass this across without slicing my thumb! I spent the rest of the evening trying to stop my thumb from bleeding onto the bread as I served our guests.
Yet so many of the team seemed to become serene and calm as the chaos of serving 15 became our responsibility, and the women in particular seemed to move to a higher-plane of calm and effective action:
> going to Sainsbury's and returning with bags of extra rolls
> producing keys for the main building and returning with flasks full hot water and coffee allowing us to make hot drinks available in a fraction of the time
> suddenly appearing with with bags of hot Cheeseburgers from MacDonalds
> making, cutting (with a pen knife), and distributing the lovely fruit cake to our guests
The guests began to groan as they were offered more food :-)
Bob, Tim, Dave, Rob, and Andy sat around and over the course of the evening seemed gradually to be engaged in conversation by those joining us. Many others, like Hazel and Jan did other jobs (including fetching me a plaster) and talked with guests around the edge, and Laura and Keren having arrived early were able to get us started quickly with hot drinks.
These early weeks are a critical time for us to listen, learn and pray for people - to get beyond any simple stereotypical views of what people need, and understand the size of their own challenges at the same time as asking God to give us a deeply biblical vision of his plans for this work ...
"The gospel is at the heart of all that we do, and successful ministry embracing the the Poor should have the clear an conscious expectation that lives will not just be 'patched-up' with people being lifted out of poverty to a better lifestyle, important as it is. There should be a eternal dimension which they are exposed to, for only the gospel can bring about the heart transformation that will truly lift people into a place of hope and fruitfulness. (Nigel Ring, 'The Poor Deserve the Best' in New Frontiers magazine, January - March 2010).
On week 4, we have the perfect opportunity to show what Nigel Ring described in his very helpful article 'The Poor Deserve the Best' as 'progressive vision' - as Titta and Linda will take a lead in the organising, and no doubt many things will run more smoothly.
But let us not forget, whilst smooth organisation is definitely needed, we need God more - we need him to bless and prepare us as we seek to serve people, the leading of the Holy Spirit as we talk with guests, and the courage to seek and lay hold of opportunities to both show and share the gospel.
