30 Days Homeless

Since I haven't been blogging consistently for 1.5+ years, I miss opportunities to highlight some really cool things that cross my path, make me think, challenge my living, etc. I really should have highlighted this earlier in the month, but just wasn't thinking that way. Shame on me. Better late than never?

Anywho, the church we attend has been highlighting this month a pastors pledge and passion to bring awareness to the plight of the homeless here in Dayton. Ryan Riddell is bringing light to a very dark place and giving names to those men and women who live on the streets of the city I live in. He is doing this by living homeless himself for 30 days in the month of January. Some really powerful stuff as he brings the homeless statistics to life by interacting with the very people these numbers represent.

You can follow Ryan and his buddy's journey at www.30dayshomeless.tv by watching video journals, interviews, and sketch work art. It's pretty radical and powerful stuff. I'm not sure what to do with it yet. We are tapped in regards to where/how much we give. Is there a time element that God wants me to give away? Is there a relational component that he's asking me to invest in? Is there a prayer piece that he's calling me to partake in? Something else?

I wonder what is going on in your city to bring to light a very dark, depressing, and desperate world. Is your church doing something? Is your small group reaching out? Are you engaging the issue spiritually and practically and financially?

I know for me this is an issue/these are a people that sometimes I'd like to wish did not exist. It's a scary place to enter into with the violence, drug use, and mental health issues. Plus sometimes it doesn't fit my "pull yourself up by your boot straps or self-reliant" cultural/political ideologies.

It wrecks me. Jesus wrecks me.