What is wrong with this picture?

I wish I had taken a picture.

My walk to church takes me across the Lake Avenue bridge, which is regularly populated with homeless people.   During my 2+ years of crossing that bridge, the faces have changed.  Some stay for a few weeks, some for months, some I see once and never again.   It is a convenient location for people to panhandle with lots of motor traffic and foot traffic.  Holly said she can have days on that corner making up to $200.  (She has moved to another part of town where it is safer for her, so I don’t see her anymore.) 

Today as I was walking towards the bridge I noticed a lot more people with signs. 

“Church Mission Trip!”

“Help Missions!”

“Help our Mission Trip!”

“HELP SAVE LIVES!!”

Three feet behind “Help Save lives” was a homeless regular... his sign said “Anything Helps.”

…………………

By the time I got to church I was too angry to ignore it, so I called a friend and we went talk to the people together.

We started with “Anything Helps,” whose name is Richie.  We asked him if it was bothering him that the people were there, and he said “yeah, I mean it is hard enough being out here and everyone is paying attention to them and all…”

Then we talked to “Help Missions!” a perky girl who was happy to tell us about how their church is doing missions trips, “In third world countries like Philippines, and South Africa and ___ and ____!!” and handed us a flier for their church service. 

We figured out who their pastor/leader was and had a conversation expressing how we were concerned that they were imposing on the homeless by panhandling where these people usually do.  He said they gave out a few sandwiches, and made sure to not be on corners where the homeless were, and was happy to tell us about their churches “huge benevolence ministry.”  He prayed for us. We parted ways.

Then we talked to Amanda, who told us her story of living outside for 27 years.

……………………

I want to be really angry at this church group.  And I want to pick apart their website and criticize them for their ministry model which is 90% evangelism.  And I want to send them angry emails. 

But I cant.

Because they are me.

They are us.

I wish I had taken a picture because it would have been the perfect illustration of what so many of our churches do, just not always in such an explicit way.  

What do our churches communicate about the love of Jesus if we are eagerly funding overseas missions projects but ignoring our own neighbors? 

What do we communicate about “saving lives” if we do it with words and not deeds? 

Yes, I know homelessness is very complex.  But I also know we can do and be better.  

Lord help your Church learn how to be your hands and feet and to know what it means to both "make disciples of many nations" and "to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, freedom for the oppressed..."