The Lord's Rain, The Mission and The Family

If you're old enough to remember the 1979 World Series, you'll remember that Willie "Pops" Stargell dubbed his Pittsburgh Pirates "The Family". They wore ghastly yellow uniforms and pillbox-style caps, which someone apparently thought were evocative of old-time baseball (some turn-of-the-century teams did wear them, but let's be honest: there's a reason why they're styled the way they are today), and Wilver (as broadcaster Vin Scully would call him -- note the autograph on the old Topps baseball card) would hand out gold "Stargell Stars" for his teammates to put on their caps when they did something great.

As I recall, there were a lot of gold stars on the Pirates' caps; they were a great team.

A group really has to grow into a "family" -- common experiences, common goals, love-led tolerance of one another's faults, are all important conditions, and it's not something imposed from on-high. When a union made noises about organizing a TV station I worked at some years ago, management called an "emergency general meeting" to remind us that we were really a "family". The pep talk was greeted with mild skepticism by some and serious skepticism by the rest. On the other hand, the place where I work now has simply developed into a family. People truly care about one another, both professionally and personally: when my dad had a heart attack 3 weeks ago, pretty much everyone right up to the CEO would look in at my office and see how dad was doing and if I was OK. It's not something you can impose through some consultant's report or a mission statement from a corner office: it either happens, or it doesn't.

It happens at Gospel Mission and The Lord's Rain. People who come in are not "clients" or "the homeless" -- they're "the guys" (even if they're female): they're friends ... they're family.

When Richard Johnson's "ol' lady" died suddenly this summer, he knew he was welcome just to hang out and the others would just sit with him -- even if they didn't actually say anything. Others know that The Lord's Rain is a friendly light in the morning where they can go; little by little, we get to know them and they start to open up. It takes time, patience, love ... and absolutely no expectations.

On Saturday, Amelia stepped up and asked the guys to pray for me -- relating to dad's heart attack -- saying "you guys rely on Drew -- and he relies on you, too". Which was very true. And then, wondrously, Richard Cunningham (who told me earlier this year that his dad used to play in the Negro Leagues and that he remembers his mom making biscuits for Hank Aaron) spoke up and asked for prayer for himself, too, as his mother has Alzheimer's and is in the last stages of her life -- and he's having a tough time of it. (Richard testifies often about his faith and feeling of being welcomed back to the Lord when he slips -- he's battling a crack addiction -- and talks a lot about his mother. "My mama said, 'I didn't raise no fool', and I want to make sure she's right.")

The fact that Richard felt comfortable enough to speak up at that time is another indication of the "family" we've become. It also reminded me I'm not alone.

It's become hard to separate The Lord's Rain from Gospel Mission -- the soft evangelism downstairs from the overt preaching upstairs: one way or another, people are hearing the word, seeing the light and being reminded that they are God's workmanship, fearfully and wonderfully made.

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Photo album: Another chapter in Extreme Makeover: Mission Edition. A paint job in the back of The Lord's Rain -- next to the shower stalls.

With bare drywall and splotches of filler, it wasn't exactly the nicest thing to look at. Functional, yes -- the wall holds up the ceiling very well and we've NEVER been able to look through it into Wing's Cafe next door -- but a little style would be nice.

Late last week, John -- husband of Teresa Mancia, who leads the services on Monday nights and runs The Lord's Rain during middays on Mondays and Fridays -- took brush in hand and went to work. Looks much nicer, dontcha think?

We've been praying for people to come forward to get The Lord's Rain open in the early mornings six days a week. One of our goals has been to give people a place to go once the shelters show them the door, and so far, we're only doing that twice a week. We still need to be open in the early AM on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

One of our guys, Randall, has stepped forward, saying he'd be willing to make sure the doors are open -- but now we need teams to run the place: so again, please pray that the Lord of the Harvest will send the workers we need to run The Lord's Rain on those days from 6:30 or 7am until about 9.

Actually, as you can see by the picture, Randall didn't exactly step forward so much as he hobbled. He wrenched his knee over a year ago, and has been getting around with his knee in a brace -- or sometimes not. Last week, he was helping in the kitchen (he's a cook by trade), despite doctor's orders to STAY OFF THE LEG.

Come the end of the service, he was getting ready to mop the floor, when Barry (standing) told him to sit down, put his leg up, and he'd mop the floor. So Randall did. Barry mopped. Randall got up to leave. And slipped on the wet floor. Now, doctors are talking about surgery. This means Randall will definitely need help with The Lord's Rain!

Earlier this month, I sent out a plea for financial support. I don't normally do that, but every year or so, it seems, I just need to send that gentle reminder to people. So far, there's been a good response and we're grateful for that. This Mission has been built on the many-members-one-body approach, where people bring what they can into the storehouse -- large or small -- and it all fits together. Remember: we are set up to take credit card donations now through www.gospelmission.net and you can support me in the Ride For Refuge coming up on Oct. 16.