Matthew 10:7-10

And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. Acquire no gold nor silver nor copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, nor two tunics nor sandals nor a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. As you enter the house, greet it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

Tonight I learned. Tonight I was ministered to, completely by surprise. And I thank God for it. You see, Chad and Marjorie love Evelyn. It's a long story but a beautiful one. And because of her, they're on the Love and Destroy road trip. It's "crazy." it's "radical." Matthew 16:24 "Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."" Luke 12:33 "Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys."

Chad talked over dinner about meeting some people and seeing the face of Christ in them, not sure if they are even real. And after sharing dinner with them, I come away with a clear understanding of what he means. I'm going to love Detroit to death. It's what I'm supposed to do, God has been making that clear over the last year. Marjorie asked me tonight what that would look like. I laughed. You see, I dream big dreams, the kind that "they" say are "unrealistic" and "foolish." Which to me is just encouragement that I'm on the right track. I see 20 churches all made up of Detroiters living, working, worshipping and loving-thy-neighbor in the same place, everyday. I don't care what my role is, I truly, honestly only care what Christ's Love's Role is in the thing. Love is more than we give it credit these days. But believe me, it makes a difference. Actually, don't believe me. Believe the billboards:

As we were parting, Chad said to me "Consider us your servants." And that, my friends, is what love is. Love is the Movement. And Chad, Marjorie and Chili (yes Chris, I'm calling you chili in honor of the chili cheese fries) are three examples of what Christ's Love looks like in person. So pray for them. Pray for their safety in travel, and that they would have no shortage of love for those they meet. And may we all be servants to one another. Matthew 40:35-36 "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me." Amen.

You don't know Chad. He's a friend of mine who is traveling the country, meeting homeless people and loving them. And trying to learn from them, and how best to help them. He blogged this today:

But when I was walking the streets of Chicago today, I was overwhelmed by the amount of people who are completely neglected and in total need. There’s thousands upon thousands of humans who are living in the streets and begging for a way out. We walked by one man who was on his knees begging for someone to help him. His face was in complete horror. Tears were surely falling down his face. I had no more food because I had just given my whole bag of food to another man I met earlier. I had no money because I had given it all away. What do I do? What am I supposed to do in a situation like that?

Then there is yesterday for me. I spent the last two days working in a community in Southwest Detroit. Yesterday while leaving a restaurant with three others, we were approached by a woman. She told a long story about needing to get to Arkansas and several other things that, according to those who have worked with homeless people for lifetimes, would seem to suggest a bit of falsities to earn money. But then again, how do you know? I do know this. The whole deal made me feel awful. Awful that there are thousands in my city who need help, that I haven't helped, that I don't even know where they are. And awful that this woman needs a help that I can't provide. Pray that God will speak through the addictions.

It has recently been brought to my attention that my blog is the first thing that comes up in a Google search of "Detroit homelessness" (same with Yahoo). As a website owner, it's always cool to discover keywords that bring readers to your blog, but I would much prefer that the search terms had less of an ethical, moral, and personal relevance. Simply put, my post that was little more than a rehashing of resarch done by the Detroit Rescue Mission hasn't changed a single life (at least not to my knowledge). The reality is that there are thousands of kids, adults, seniors, disabled, military veterans, single mothers, and orphans on the streets of Detroit. It's horrifying. They are real people, and yet we almost always step over them or walk across the street because we are afraid of them. Or more realistically, we're afraid of having to love them.

Which brings me to Chad and Marjorie. Their story is told on thier website here. It is a story filled with intrigue, sadness, dozens of characters and takes place in many of the worlds largest cities. But the sad part is, it's all true. They visit cities and live with the homeless to show them love. Just recentlty, Chad wrote:

As we sat with him (Pops, a homeless man in New Orleans), hundreds upon hundreds of people walked by, unashamedly starring at Pop, almost looking offended that a dirty man would set up shop right near a sidewalk that tourist frequent often. On more than one occasion, I made eye contact with people as they were walking by, and though no verbal communication happened, their eyes were asking me, “what in the world are you doing there? are you in danger?!”

When Chad shared this with me a few days ago, it crushed me. I personally am not familiar with New Orleans, never having been there, but I know Detroit and its people. And I know that there are tens of thousands of Christians in the greater Detroit area who stand up every Sunday and profess the Creeds. But what about Matthew 25:40:

And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'

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