I'm sharing a client success story today

Our JobNet Manager recently shared this client story:

"John" was laid off from a construction company that saw its business decline with the decrease in oil prices. His lack of computer skills left him frustrated because he couldn't complete the on-line employment applications required of most companies. So he came regularly to JobNet's Self-Paced Computer Training to develop those skills. He also met with a coach to put a resume together and work on his job search. He told us this was the first time in 20 years he has been unemployed.

As we talked, I learned he had been a safety coordinator and worked several years ago for a notable company here in Houston. We forwarded his resume to the HR Director there, just to see what might happen. The next morning, John received a call from the company and began employment that afternoon.

This client needed just a little: computer skills, coaching, and someone to push him to send his resume to the right person.  Many of our clients need just a few targeted things like this to propel them forward, and this is how JobNet is effective.

This morning I spoke to another client who was laid off due to the oil industry. She has utilized JobNet, but this morning was receiving food from our pantry. She was upbeat and optimistic that she would find work soon. In the meantime, CCSC is here to help, both for her family's immediate needs as well as for the longer process of conducting her job search.

These two stories are about Houston's economy and it's ties to the energy sector, but we help people from a variety of backgrounds through the ups and downs of the economy. Many of our clients face enormous challenges and obstacles, so it's rewarding for me to hear (and share) the stories with a happy ending, like John's.

Maybe we need to stop talking?

If you haven’t read the prior blog (posted on August 13), please read it before reading this one.

 

Okay. So after posting that blog, a CCSC friend called to say how much she appreciated reading about the Jeters and seeing people like them lifted up. We spoke about the ordinary people we both know who live their faith out in daily life, providing a strong example of what it means to be a Christian.

 

Then she mused, “I wonder what it would be like if all Christians stopped talking for 40 days (40 days being a biblical timeframe) and had to witness to their faith only by their actions?” 

 

Now, I know some of you are having a heart attack right now, thinking this would be fundamentally wrong. And I agree that we are called to use our words to explain why our faith matters. In fact, I think some of us are too passive in not verbalizing how our faith changes who we are and how we see the world. 

 

But I also think a 40 day fast from talking, replaced by 40 days of action, could be transformative. And powerful. There is a quote attributed to St. Francis of Assisi that says, “Preach the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.” 

 

Perhaps a healthy balance of words and action is what’s needed.

 

 

 

Being a Christian is about doing

There are many stories I could share of faith in action, so this is just one coming out of our 41 covenant churches.

A few months ago I spoke at Sharpstown Baptist Church, giving a “moment for mission” on CCSC.

While at the church, I learned that Mike & Alaine Jeter (the pastor and his wife) had become aware of a small community of people living near the church who had needs. Instead of forming a committee to study the problem, they announced one Sunday that their congregation had an opportunity to help these families, and they were going to begin with tutoring the children to help them in school.

The first volunteers were Mike and Alaine. Each week, they and others go to this apartment complex to help the mostly elementary school-aged children with their homework.

On the Sunday I spoke, these children all sat with Alaine until children’s church began. It was obvious that a genuine affection had grown between them, and when I asked about it later, Mike said he and Alaine considered these children to be their grandchildren. Alaine has since begun a woman’s program to deepen relations between the children’s mothers and the women of the church.

Mike and Alaine are also active volunteers with CCSC as well as with other organizations connected to their church. While I know they use their voices to talk about their beliefs, it appears to me that a lot of their energy goes into “doing” and “being” Christians.

And it reminds me of the famous adage, actions speak louder than words.

  

A story from the neighborhood

Recently CCSC's Office Manager and I were visiting with a neighbor whose business is near our offices. His building is a pedestal building: the parking lot is on the ground floor with office space on the second and higher floors.

He had a story for us. A few years ago, CCSC was helping a homeless woman with food as well as other services. For a period of time she slept in our neighbor's parking area, since it protected her from the weather. Our neighbor said it was not ideal for his business, but he wasn't comfortable asking her to leave. He felt compassion for her.

One evening as he left his office, he saw her reading a pamphlet about how to become a commercial bus driver. She told him this was her goal, and over time, she achieved this goal. CCSC never knew this part of her story - she simply stopped coming to us - so it was good to know she didn't disappear into the streets.

Between our services and his kindness, she had shelter and food during a rough time in her life.

Somewhere in Houston she now drives a bus, carrying passengers to their destinations. I imagine she's grateful for the job and pleased that our neighborhood is no longer her home, but maybe just an area of town she passes during the workday.

I should have posted this on Father's Day...

Our food pantries help all kinds of families, including single parents raising children. Most of those single parents are women, but a small percentage are men. This summer we've helped two of these men, and both families were abandoned by the mothers.

The first was a father of four, with children ranging in age from eight to twelve. They were living in their car, and the father did odd jobs to earn money for gas and food. At the time they walked into our facility, the Dad had found a permanent job, and a church was providing six months of housing so he could save his money. We helped with food, clothing, and personal hygiene items. This father has a college degree, but his wife walking out was the tipping point in the family's overall well-being.

The other father was also deserted by his wife, leaving him as the sole provider and nurturer of six children. His wife had stayed home to care for the children, which meant when she left, his modest income had to be stretched to provide for child care expenses. This father also came for food and clothes, and we enrolled the children in our Back To School program.

The women and men who are single parents have it tough enough just parenting alone. Tossing in financial insecurity and spousal abandonment (as well as helping your children cope with the abandonment), seems like a heavy burden to bear.

I did not meet these men, so their stories were shared with me. When I take in all the volunteers told me, I imagine both men as quietly sad but resolute in doing right by their children. I imagine their children as adults, reflecting back, and seeing their fathers as men of steel: men who could keep the family marching forward until the road of life softened a bit. I'm glad CCSC was there for them.

This is a long one, and it ends with a Baptist and a Catholic

I was speaking to a group earlier this year, and a woman came over, introduced herself, and let me know that she regularly reads my blog and wondered why I haven’t addressed “the judgmental tendencies some Christians have with the poor”. Ouch. “Probably because I don’t want to touch that,” I thought.

But her question has stayed with me, and I understand what she’s saying. There is a view out there that says the poor have done something wrong and kind of deserve the situation they’re in.  

I’m not a researcher so I have no intention of writing a blog noting the latest research and statistics on the poor. Instead, I’d like to share what I’ve seen firsthand in 20+ years of running this ministry as well as what the Christian faith says to us about the poor.

I believe the poor are like any other group of people in that some are Type A while others are laid back; some are optimistic while others are pessimistic; some have an exceptional work ethic, often holding two or more jobs, while others will do the bare minimum to get by. Get any group of people together and there will be different traits, behaviors, and outlooks; we are all unique. So I don’t believe the poor are any more likely to take advantage of others or any less likely to work hard.

In sitting across from hundreds of clients over the years, I’ve seen everything one can imagine. I’ve seen clients cry at their life circumstances while others had a more stoic view. I’ve seen people accepting of their situation because they’re working to make things better for their children, and I’ve seen people who can’t think beyond tomorrow because the crises they’ve endured have shut down their long-term planning abilities. I’ve seen great faith in God’s love and care as well as anger at God. I’ve seen hunger, despair, gratitude and hope.

Over time, I’ve learned to resist the natural human instinct to judge, even those who are unpleasant, because I don’t know how I would react to the situations others experience. None of us know exactly what it’s like to live another person’s experience, whether that experience is positive or negative.

But more than that, I try really hard to apply the lessons of the gospel: forgiving others, giving generously without expectation of reciprocity, and not judging others, even people who are unfair to me. Let me be clear: these teachings of Jesus are difficult, and I fail much more often than I succeed, but it’s a rudder for who to be and how to be in this world. So the Gospel holds me accountable for my own behavior.

Regarding the Christian scriptures, I’m not a biblical scholar, so I reached out to some local clergy to hear their perspectives on the poor.

Reverend Clint Reiff, Senior Pastor of Rice Temple Baptist Church, says to ignore or deal unjustly with the poor is a sin. Reverend Reiff states, “It is not an option or an addition to our faith, but a command from God: it is part of His nature to love and defend the poor. When Jesus fed the five thousand, he did not question them to see if they would be his disciples, donate to the cause, or even ask the cause for their hunger. He simple extended grace in the form of food. I don’t think we should search for a reason not to help the poor, but should simply err on the side of grace.”

Reverend Reiff refers us to the following verses of scripture:

“There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.” – Deuteronomy 15:11

“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? "- 1 John 3:17

"The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.” - Proverbs 29:7

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” - Proverbs 31:8-9  

Catholic social teaching is clear that followers of Jesus are to care for the needy and those forgotten by the world. Father Phil Lloyd from St. Theresa Catholic Church also reminds us of how important it is to care for the poor. He lifted up this verse of scripture for reflection:”Your abundance at the present time should supply their needs. So that their abundance may also supply your needs, that there may be equality.”  2 Corinthians 8:14.

Are you rich in what matters?

If he were alive, today would be my father's 76th birthday. I miss him a lot, and as the years have passed, my gratitude for having him in my life has grown. He not only took care of my basic needs (food, clothing, shelter), but also encouraged me, modeled an authentic life of faith, and taught me many lessons including how to budget and save money, how to persevere when life is hard, and why good friends - and being a good friend - matter.  

I share this because most poverty experts know that escaping poverty is not solely about financial resources. It's also about having emotional and spiritual resources as well as people in your life who model good behavior, teach you life lessons, and support you unconditionally.

Conversely, there are people with lots of money, who may be poor in spirit or in friendship. Money can make life run smoothly, but it doesn't absolve you of loneliness, give you internal fortitude when times are tough, or enrich your life with faith, joy or love.

A client we helped several times over a period of years lived with fragile financial resources, but had a happy spirit and the tenacity to keep going and push her children to achieve academically. She also had a firm faith in God's daily presence in her life. She was poor in one thing - money - but wealthy in so many other ways.

Sometimes I think it's healthy to pause and account for all the non-monetary blessings in our lives and to set goals for accumulating more of these riches: patience, compassion, joy, friendship and love.