$5 Compassion

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
--Matthew 9:36

There was this guy. He was always coming up to people in the parking lot outside my office asking for money. On a couple of occasions, I had some cash and let him have it, thinking I was doing a bit of a good deed. The problem was, this guy kept getting more aggressive with people. He would follow them to their car, or be waiting for them to get out of their car. If he did get money, he would bolt the parking lot and head north, to who knows where. Later, the sheriff's department alerted us that this gentleman was in fact taking the money and feeding his drug habit- and the more aggressive he got, the deeper into the addiction he was. I felt bad that my 'donation' had gone not to feed him, but rather to feed his addiction.

I remembered, around this time, a story I had heard from several different Christian circles of people who stocked up on $5 gift cards to McDonalds or Subway, so that when approached for money, they would give a card that guarranteed the person wouldn't get drugs- unless you count caffeine and those addictive fries. But the moment faded, and I never stocked up on gift cards.

All this time, our church, the Gate, was praying and seeking a way to serve our community. We'd volunteered at food banks and helped with A&M's Big Event service project, but they didn't come around too often, and both were services that the Bryan/College Station community actively- and in large quantities- supported. And, while Big Event allowed us to meet the person we were helping, the food pantry stuff mostly did not. We wanted- no, we needed- an opportunity to do something new and something that allowed us to share our faith with someone- but being a small church with a smaller bank account, we couldn't find it.

Through all these events, all this prayer, and all this frustration at not finding that 'big thing,' God spoke.

"Why does it have to be 'big'?"

Times are tough. People don't have as much to give. College students have less, and they made up our church. But everyone can give a little. Five bucks a month. It wouldn't take a much more than skipping one latte at Sweet Eugene's (for the Aggies out there) or Starbucks (for the rest of the world). Suddenly, God reminded me of the gift card idea. Spend $5 to get a gift card to some fast food place or even a coffee shop with the intent of giving it away.

Originally, the idea was to just give it to those folks on the side of the road or the homeless. But with our church being so full of the students, we realized they wouldn't run into as many of those folks as the rest of us.

But that didn't mean they wouldn't encounter the "harassed and helpless" that Jesus had compassion on.

Bad breakups. Failed tests. Financial shortfalls. Work stress. Nutty roommates. Any of these things and more could lead to a person needing compassion. So, this past Sunday, we launched a vision for our church to serve the communtity. The Gate bought twenty four $5 gift cards to McDonald's and gave them out amongst our church. This was the seed for them to begin thinking of and looking out for people who could use a little encouragement. The recipient could be someone they knew going through a tough time, or just someone they meet who seems to be having a bad day. Once a month, they give $5 Compassion to someone who needs a little encouragement and a kind, hopeful word. And if they feel so led, then they can give more than one card a month.

Each card contained a verse of Scripture, the church name and website, and a note to check our the $5 Compassion group on facebook and share their story. See, the vision is that $5 Compassion would not just be a ministry of the Gate, but of anyone who wants to make life a little brighter for everyone else. The idea is that those who recieve the gift can post on the site and share what it meant to them. And the one who gave the card can share what it was like to be able to help someone out. It is as much about sharing our stories and how God moves- even with just $5 of Compassion- in our lives as it is about the actual gift.

We added our church info to the card so that if someone does want to connect with God, they can find us- but you don't have to add the Gate to your card if you don't want to. Yeah, that's right- I'm issuing the challenge to you. Steal the idea. Run with it. Tell your friends. Because $5 Compassion is not about our church, our ideas, or your money. It is about showing, in a tangible way, that our God is in love with us. It's why we chose this verse for the cards:

The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.

The LORD is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
--Psalm 145: 8-9

So, go out, drop $5 on a gift card, and ask Jesus to give you His eyes to see people as He sees them. Allow your heart to be broken for a friend or a stranger who needs to love of God- whether that person knows of that love already or not.

And if $5 Compassion is something you can support, check us out on facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/5-Compassion/140630949332317?ref=ts (We're not eligible for a fancy username yet.)

Can Bars and Churches Be Friends?

I've mentioned before that my church, the Gate, meets at a local bar/dancehall called Hurricane Harry's. We have developed a pretty good relationship with Lance and Craig, two of the managers who open for us on Sunday nights, so a couple weeks back, Lance approached me with a proposition. On the 12th of December, the bar was hosting a Toys for Tots drive- a 30 band concert- which meant we couldn't meet there that night, but he wondered if we would be interested in helping out.

We agreed to do that, since we were looking for more ways to serve the community, and loved the idea of serving others instead of having just a worship service. We later got asked if we would grill burgers and links for the workers, and charge a little money, some of which could go to the toy drive. We agreed, but decided to make all the money we made go to the drive. Wally, my co-pastor, and I headed it up, with a few of the folks from the church dropping in to help out a bit: Kristin and the kids, Yako, Evan, Nate, Jess, Jon, and Daniel. The attendance was lighter than we'd hoped, and what we didn't realize was that it was going to be cold.

The two of us were literally huddled as close to the grill as possible without burning ourselves. Thankfully, we had some half walls to block at least some of the 10-15 mph winds that were pushing forty-ish degree temps around our heads. Eventually, someone would come out and we'd have to spring into grilling action on a hamburger or a sausage link, we'd chat with the person and collect their money, thanking them for helping out. In the end, we raised just over $168 for Toys for Tots. Not bad for our first attempt.

But there was something else more important going on for us. See, I've seen throughout my life a certain, I guess I'd say animosity, between churches and bars. At best they tolerate each other, but more often than not a church can be heard decrying the evils of the bar. That's not to say that bad thing don't happen at bars, sin is definitely present. Not unlike how sin can be present at a church, you know, when we lie, or connive, or shun the different. I've heard local pastors literally seethe with anger at the bar patrons who leave trash on their lawn- and at times I've been one of those pastors- and lament the very existence of the bars.

Sunday for the Gate was about helping out kids, but it was also about stating to the bars and bar patrons in town that we still care enough about them as people to actually hang out with them. We had really good conversations with the people who came to our grill (supplied by local radio station KORA), and some of them even expressed amazement that we were a church helping a bar. To me, it shouldn't be shocking that a church is trying to help people, regardless of the venue. Christ came to care for people, whether they were poor or rich, virtuous or sleazy, sober or drunk. We let these people who may have had little or no contact with churches see that we Christians are normal people, too. And we got to see that these artists and their fans are normal people, too. There is no need for us to fear them, nor them to fear us. It was a beginning of what we hope to be a continuing dialogue with this section of the culture of Bryan/College Station and A&M. The fact is, I really genuinely liked the people we met, and would like to spend more time with them. And not just if they come to our church.

Because the people of Northgate and the bars that populate it are one big reason why we came here. To love them. To show them Jesus in our compassion, our love, and yes, in our attention to them. And not just if they come to church.

And we are very thankful to have had this opportunity.