Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Reaching the Hard to Reach

Last Sunday, my friend Tom Vinegar brought us a truckload of resources to get us set for ministry to people in downtown Greenville.  Tom should know how, he's been a member of a downtown church for over 20 years and recently retired from Greenville County Mental Health.  He has such a gentle, compassionate approach that his pastor's heart is obvious as you watch him interact with others.

I took a few pages of notes as Tom talked to us and have barely had time to skim over the material he gave us.  But, here are a few nuggets that I think are worth rehearsing regularly:
  • Regardless of what need a person thinks they have, there is usually an underlying spiritual need that will also have to be dealt with eventually.
  • We are no one's savior.  That buck does not stop with us.  We simply point them to THE Savior.
  • Many times, people aren't looking for a solution, they just want to be heard.
Also, something that Tom said caused me to come up with this thought:

It's okay to talk about your past as an encyclopedia; your past is a fact of your history.  It is not okay to talk about your past as a dictionary; your past is not a definition of who you are.

Transformation House offers grace, encouragement, peace, and hope to people in downtown Greenville.  We pray daily that the Lord will show us how to help the people we meet and that He will give us the wisdom to do it effectively.  He is answering our prayers through people like Tom.

1 comment:

  1. What a great way to put it! Encyclopedia, not dictionary! God bless you all!

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