Pregnant and homeless on the doorsteps of a Christian megachurch

lsn ^ | 10/6/2012 | Abby Johnson

[Albion Wilde]

Sentimentality can get one in so much trouble.

Which reminds me of that great old quote from Oscar Wilde, "Sentimentality is loving people more than God would."

[Morgana]

You’d almost think so. Some church here are composed of mostly family and in-laws. Kinda like Westboro baptist is. No joke! It is hard being in a church like that because you make someone angry and the whole place is P!ssed at you. It is incestuous and you come up with retards.

[Irenic]

Sentimentality can get one in so much trouble.
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Indeed. It can also be harmful at times just handing out money. Some people are in shelters or programs and they are getting help. When given cash they may abandon the help they were receiving for drugs and the street.

I think it is always handy to have a few printed cards of places to get help, shelters, food, and such. Share the good news, offer to arrange for them to get to or contact a source of help. Donate to the places that specialize in this help.

[cuban leaf]

Could be ~ maybe it isn’t. There is insufficient evidence in this piece to condemn that particular megachurch...

---

Or, put another way, “judge not, lest ye be judged”.

[Morgana]

Look me up if you are ever in my area. I will take you to one such place.

[GeronL]

lol

[Vermont Lt]

She prayed. And God sent her you.

[jettester]

Painting with a pretty broad brush aren’t you?

[virgil283]

My church has 3 or 4 requests per week from people who say they are stranded or in some emergency but when they are asked for some reference say from their home church they are unable to provide one name or number. The truth is there are many, many scam artists who go from church to church asking for money....We are not hard hearted but have grown wise....

[taterjay]

For some, I think they want to be lost in a crowd and not have to bugged or asked to serve.

[tiki]

We have a lot of small churches like that, we call them Hayes churches. They had 22 children and they started a church and then some disagreed and started their own church and it still goes on and on. There are probably 15 or 16 churches and most of them have about 15 members and most of them are related.

[ansel12]

Wow, you really are quite amazing.

[tiki]

I work in a church and while we use our own judgement sometimes we mostly send them to a clearing house type charity that we donate to.

[Salvation]

These women who are pregnant and homeless need to come to a Catholic Church. Most cities have shelters for pregnant women so they can keep their babies.

Depending on the age of the mother, the mother and baby may stay there until she gets her feet back on the ground. My church often donates food to the three shelters in our city.

[DaveMSmith]

Luke 10:29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" 30 Then Jesus answered and said: "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.' 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?" 37 And he said, "He who showed mercy on him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

We understand the salvation formula as:
DEEDS => LOVE => FAITH => SALVATION

Salvation is at the end of the path, not at Baptism.

[texas booster]

Wonder if Heather ever talks to local churches offering the knowledge that she has so carefully acquired as director?

Been there, done that regarding local missions, at small and big churches.

As others have noted, scam artists appear quite often. Some of my friends caught TB from street missions. We offered to help with several pregnancies, and a local doctor offered rooms in a private clinic, not the county hospital.

Very few took us up on our help. Our strings - no drug use, no alcohol and take vitamins every day. Meals provided if they would show up.

We also tried family intervention ministries - with cops who attended our church. Turned out that one of our detectives recognized several of the people we were trying to help as gang bangers, professional thieves and serious druggies.

Heather, before you criticize the church, talk to them. Perhaps no one thought to talk to the “lady” as you did, or maybe they did not see her - it took you several single minded attempts to discover her story.

[American Constitutionalist]

I have heard all the excuses from churches for not helping people from:

" Your not a member of this church ? no ? then we can't help you "

to

" we got people who are more of a priority " i.e. single women, or women with children are top priority: single men ? need not apply.

to

" you got to learn to live within your means " in other words, tuff crappy. .....



This sounds like a case of: let someone else help YOUitous.

I don't know, but, doesn't the bible tell us that ? if you don't help a christian brother in need, where is the love of God in you ?

No wonder non-christians, and christians have been turned off by the so called church.

Phonies.... it's more like us 4 and no more social club... no different than the worldly people other than the title on the sign outside the church.

Jesus said that when you have done it unto the least of these, you have also done it unto me.

[American Constitutionalist]

" several of the people we were trying to help as gang bangers, professional thieves and serious druggies "

Was that the church members ? or those who came to the church for help ? OPPS !

Jesus Christ healed everyone who came to him, he feed the 5,000 regardless of what they have done, where they came from or the sins they maybe in bondage to.

[American Constitutionalist]

There are scam artists, lairs, cheaters, hustlers inside the church, and outside the church, what's the difference ?

Many of Pastors are money grubbing scam artist.