Sunday, March 16th, 2008 2:00 pm by
Brian Bowen 
I often have people tell me how we “should” be doing Thursday nights
downtown. Or offering suggestions like…
“You know you should trap them in the room and preach a message to
them before you give them food… Ummm I don’t mean trap… But you
know what I mean. Make sure they get the word first.”
Or people will say something along the lines of… “Seems to me all
you are doing is treating a symptom. You should do something to help
the root problem. Poverty” (that’s the one I hear the most)
Or how we are enabling the homeless…
Or they will tell me ways to improve our feeding ministry.
Actually I do like input about better ways to do what we do. I think
God talks to all of us. Not just me simply because I have a paper
hanging on my wall that says I’m ordained. But he shows us all what
he wants us to do. In fact that’s how Thursday nights got started.
All of us seeking Gods direction, then actually talking about what he
said to us as individuals and a group.
“So what do you do on Thursday nights?” You might ask.
Well let me tell you!
First let me say we are not a homeless feeding ministry. Nothing wrong
with those, but that’s not what we do.
So here’s the initial view that people see. Every Thursday our group
brings a couple grills, some tables and chairs, hotdogs, chips and
something to drink to downtown Macon. We set up in the middle of the
street. You know like in a park sort of place in the middle. Then we
sing, hang out, talk and give away a hotdog meal to anyone that walks
by.
What you might not see is… Its not about giving out hotdogs. I mean
sure, this is a real physical need that the people have. Sometimes
its the only meal they have had in a couple days. But really, this is
just a way to create an environment where we can engage people.
We have developed a relationship with the downtown community. They
know us and trust us. If you could just look beyond the natural and
into the spiritual you would see more of what is going on. Because
they know us they open up in conversation. They begin to tell you
what they struggle with, what they are going through, you can then
begin to offer a spiritual solution to what on the surface appears to
be a physical problem.
You see the root problem isnt poverty. It isn’t homelessness. The
root problem is so many people have yet to discover the life altering
power of Jesus Christ.
We are engaging in a spiritual battle to reclaim this part of our city
for God. Stepping into an area run by drugs, prostitution, crime…
And bringing with us a light of hope. A light of safety. A light of
truth.
We are there not just to hand out hot dogs, not just to speak life
into peoples lives, not just to offer hope to hopeless people, but also
to stand up and say to the enemy… You can no longer oppress,
dominate and control this corner. This corner now belongs to God.
If you don’t like it, tough. You can no longer have this place.
We are simply choosing to live out all the stuff the bible talks about.
Simply living out the things we believe. Simply being the light.
10 Responses to “ Thursday nights in Macon Georgia ”
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wow.
and on "treating the symptom:"
sometimes you HAVE to treat the symptom before you get to the problem. I mean when someone is drowning, that’s not when you teach them to swim.
Or
imagine someone is having a heart attack, and before you do CPR you systematically explain how they should change their diet and start excersizing. Because not doing those things is what got them their in the first place, you tell them as they gasp for air, their eyes squinting you through desperate tears as they try to reach the fading whisper of life that exists in you only because you were made in the IMAGE of Life, but not necessarily because you still have His breath.
Hey this post reminded me that I wanted to send you something that I wrote back in August while praying for Macon. It just flowed out of me and seemed kind of prophetic (I think I may have read it to you at the time but don’t remember).
Anyways, a little over a month ago, I was going back thru my Journal. So, I had read a few entries and began another, when I paused and started praying for P. Steve, the church, Macon, etc. I prayed in tongues, then thought, "What the heck, I shouldn’t be afraid of asking God the interpretation of my prayer" (like Oral Roberts did when he would pray in tongues). So I did, and paused again in silence for a moment… silence… so I figured I’d carry on and just let God interrupt me with the interpretation if he wanted.
I resumed my reading right here:
"I see Macon now beginning to change; Love that is unstoppable spreading thru the city streets. An epidemic of Love ushering in the Kingdom. The King will have dominion again in Macon… His servants are beginning to understand, to wake up; to fight with indigence at the powers of darkness. God’s children are beginning to overthrow the darkness that has reigned for so long, that has imprisoned the King’s children. So shall your light break forth as the dawn and your obscurity as the noon day…you shall be called restorers of the streets, repairers of the breech. The rule of darkness is coming to an end. When the Righteous One rules, the people will rejoice. Tremble Satan, shake in fear you evil spirits, for the King is coming. The One who is greater than you is alive within His servants!”
wow Brandie, thanks for sharing that.
Grew up in Macon, still have family all around. Except for the visible manifestation of God’s mercy under the weiner sign on Cotton Ave, Macon needs every bit of Jesus’ love it can get, and it especially needs it in the hard places.
Praying for you brother.
Hey David,
Thanks for stopping by. I agree, Macon needs some unconditional love. And, I admit it, Im a Cotton Ave. convert…
I mean the first time I went I think my taste buds where in shock but then, over time, slowly, they have become the best dogs around.
Are you still in Florida? Valliprosomething or other? Its been a while since I was actually active over at P.com I just stop in every 6 to 9 months or so and post a few comments.
oooooh I just followed your link to your blog… Yes… it seems you ARE still in Florida.
Yep, it’s a tough gig… but someone… Don’t go to P.com anymore. I got too crabby for them. Got shown the door. selah
ramble follows -
Funny, my family here just got back from Macon Saturday. They said they “hate it” now. Too big, too cold. One of these days I’m going to write a book about how so many churches in a Bible belt town changed (or changed for the worse) so little.
From Tabernacle turning away a black Mercer student, to white flight, white segregation academies, to the black churches winking at corruption in government if those involved are their own, it’s hard to find where the Church (big C) has truly lived out its salt and light there. So many class distinctions. Race always a factor. The Junior League. The NAACP. sigh…
There’s so much baggage.
Anyone, anywhere, doing anything to change that is my hero. And maybe my son will find a group like that and return to worship the God he used to. Out of love. Not duty.
Pray for him. His name is Adam
and every now and then I remember Macon
http://www.newhopevalp.org/2008/01/buzzards-roost-26-31take-good-look.html
You are doing a great ministry.
If you look at Jesus’ ministry…He always met the physical need first and then offered salvation, forgiveness, a new life. He healed the lame, blind, lepers, fed the 3,000 and 5,000 and then taught, offered forgivness and hope. You are doing wonderful brother. Keep it up. Real evangelism starts with our concern for them where they are in life and meeting the needs physically and then spiritually. God bless you brother!
In Him,
Kinney Mabry
Thanks Kinney. And I agree, we actually used Jesus as a model for this ministry.
What a novel concept eh