Gene angry. But getting better. I'm not green and buff anymore. It's just that it's all really...really...frustrating. Deep breaths.
Here's the poop: By temporarily opening the doors of the Annex to the homeless during this cold snap, and mobilizing people to bring food, blankets and pillows, we were responding to what we viewed as a legitimate emergency on the part of people with no shelter.
This morning, the City of Enterprise, through the Mayor's office informed us that if we didn't cease shelter operations at the Annex we would be in violation the city's code with regard to lodging. The Annex is zoned for 'Assembly'...not 'Lodging'. They agreed to come and inspect our location anytime we desired. It's not necessary. We don't meet the proper code. They know it, and so do we. We're dismantling our setup and transporting the donated materials to LIA Ministries homeless shelter in Dothan.
The first thing I want to say is THANK YOU to everyone who responded to my ill-prepared, ill-informed, but well-intentioned plan to help people. You guys are AWESOME and I promise to plan better in the future.
The second thing want to say it even though I had steam coming out my ears an hour ago, it isn't really the City's fault at all. Oh, of a certainty, if they really WANTED us to do this, no one would have said anything. But the long-view of this brings home this reality: It's actually the church's fault, and it goes back a looooong way. Long before you or I had any say in the matter, the church as a whole abdicated it's responsibility to do the things that Jesus said we were supposed to do, and handed the responsibility over to the Government. So now we have to live with it.
It is what it is. We can whine and moan about it, turn green and become grotesquely muscular, or we can fix it and do it right, so know one can tell us not to do it. Back up, re-tool and re-launch. Tell you this, though boy: Before I'm dead, Crossroads will have the most effective mechanism for meeting the needs of the under-resourced that the the City of Enterprise has ever seen. It'll be a model for how to do this stuff right.
Word.
In that case make sure your building is up to health code. They also had to shut down another shelter a week or two ago because it was unfit to hold people. I think Lanny's gym is a perfect example of why they are tight on the matter.
ReplyDeleteAnd if you are serious about getting things right what many have been doing wrong. I pray that Christ is at the very center of it. Not just tacked on the end.
If you want people to live a better Christian life they have to point everything to Christ. Nothing else. Not motivation, not desire nothing, because everything comes from God. We mst live our lives in fear of the Lord. Fear that he is angry with us, and most important fear our actions do not show our love of the Gospel.
I pray you continue your crusade but that you make Christ the priority over every teaching and every action.
God Bless.
Thank you for your comments. While I do not agree with your assertion that God is angry with me, I stand ready to defend your right to believe that He is. And I do agree completely that anything we do must have Christ at its center. I covet your prayers in this. May the peace of God be with you in everything you do.
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