It's much more than a warehouse

While we were driving back from Memphis, TN, a couple of weeks ago, we were talking about the awesome things God has done this year at the Love In Action warehouse in Dothan, Ala. That's when LIA board member Justin Swasey said it was much more than a warehouse and suggested that we call it the Love In Action Ministry Center.

Justin is absolutely right, it is much more than a warehouse. Yes, we do store a large amount of supplies there to help the homeless and needy in Dothan and throughout the nation. It has made that phase of our ministry extremely effective and efficient.

But God has transformed it into so much more than a warehouse. A year ago we started having Bible study on Wednesday nights. At first there were three of us - Martha, me and a homeless man. It has grown to where we average 30-40 people every Wednesday night.

On Oct. 3, we started having Celebrate Recovery at the warehouse every Tuesday night thanks to Tabernacle United Methodist Church. There were 63 at the first meeting. Now we average around 80, in just over two months.

Through Celebrate Recovery and Bible studies, we have seen souls saved and lives transformed. We have become a ministry that has embraced the entire Great Commission Jesus gave all of us in Matthew 28:19-20, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

For the first eight years of LIA we did a great job of "going" and reaching the lost and hurting and leading them to Jesus. Since we didn't have a true headquarters or home base like we do now with the warehouse, we always referred the homeless to churches who will help them and teach them the word of God (discipleship). Now that we have the warehouse, we are providing discipleship. However, we are not a church, so we make sure to encourage everyone to be in church on Sundays. Many of them go to our home church at Harvest.

For the past two months. we have taught Discipleship Phase 1 on Wednesday nights. Last week, 15 people completed all the requirements to move on to Phase 2. It's an awesome course written by our pastor Ralph Sigler of Harvest Church. It's life-changing, and we witnessed some of the men from the Houston County Community Corrections work release program putting what they learned into practice last Tuesday night during Celebrate Recovery.

As the band led worship, a homeless man walked through the front door. I greeted him and he said his name was Jessie and he had just gotten off a train. He had been "riding the rail" from Austin, TX. There are train tracks directly behind our warehouse and the trains are often stopping and hooking up and unhooking box cars.

Jessie said he heard the music and came in. He stayed for the entire Celebrate Recovery service. After Russell Ham preached God's word I gave an altar call. I saw three of the men who never miss a Wednesday night walk over to Jessie and start ministering to him. They listened, talked to him and prayed for him. It was awesome to see. They learned how to share their faith and were putting it into action.

We were able to help Jessie with supplies that we have at the warehouse, like new boots, duffel bags, clothes, food, hygiene items, and an inflatable mattress that rolls up to make it easy to travel with. But Jessie left with so much more. He left with the love of Jesus. After we all prayed for him, he had tears rolling down his face when he gave each of us a hug. You have to understand, the homeless, especially those who have been homeless for years, don't trust people. So, a homeless person hugging others is unusual. We hugged him back, and he left with great encouragement.

That's just one example of what God has done in the lives of people at the LIA warehouse. That's why we will start referring to it as the LIA Ministry Center from now on. It is still a warehouse, but it is really a ministry center.

Thank you for praying for Love In Action and thank you to those who give financially and donate supplies like food, clothes and furniture. We couldn't do it without you.

Thank you and have a very blessed Christmas.

300 boots delivered

Have you ever met someone and just knew God brought you together? That's how Martha and I felt when we traveled to Memphis on Dec. 11-12, for a homeless outreach with Joe and Kelli Carson. They are outreach ministers for the Life Church of Memphis and they minister to the homeless in the inner city of Memphis.

We met Joe and Kelli during a homeless outreach in Baton Rouge, La., back in October. Martha and I told them we would bring a trailer load of new boots to Memphis, and that's what we did last weekend. LIA board member Justin Swasey traveled with us.

It was a great weekend. On Friday night, we joined Joe, Kelli and other volunteers to serve chili to the homeless. It was the perfect dinner on a cold Memphis night.

It rained Saturday afternoon, but that didn't stop us from helping the homeless. With the use of a tent and our cargo trailer, we handed out about 300 pairs of boots, 120 pairs of socks, 120 cold weather hoods, 120 cold weather overalls, and more than 150 pairs of wool mittens.

We had eight chairs set up under the tent and the homeless tried on the boots to make sure they fit. They were very appreciative of the boots and other items they waited in the rain to receive.

We not only handed out a lot of boots, but we also planted a lot of seeds of God's love. Being out there in the rain on a Saturday showed the homeless that we care about them. This outreach will go a long ways in the homeless being even more receptive to Joe and Kelli. The more they trust Joe and Kelli, the more the homeless will be receptive to the Gospel of Jesus Christ that Joe and Kelli presents to them.

It was an honor and a privilege to serve with the Carsons. They have a wonderful family, and they all have hearts for the homeless. The Life Church of Memphis is a dynamic place to worship. We attended their Saturday night service and it was fantastic. The praise and worship was very energetic. Great job Johnny and the praise team.

Joe and Kelli's work with the homeless is in its beginning stages, and they are off to a great start. We look forward to continuing to work with them to reach the homeless in Memphis. This is only the beginning.

Please keep Joe and Kelli, the Life Church of Memphis, and the homeless in Memphis in your prayers.

15 accept Jesus; 30 rededicate their lives

Just when we think Celebrate Recovery couldn't get any better, God does the miraculous.

Tuesday night, Dec. 8, 2009, will go down as one of the most incredible nights at the Love In Action warehouse. On that night, 68 people attended CR and 45 of them made decisions for Jesus Christ - 15 first-time commitments and 30 rededications. Praise God! There was also a lot of prayer time for other needs.

CR is for anyone with hurts, habits or hangups. That pretty much covers all of us. You don't have to be homeless or in jail to have one or all three of those issues in your life. And, the first step to recovery is turning your life completely over to Jesus Christ. A lot of people took that first step on Dec. 8.

Diane prepared another delicious meal. This time it was red beans and rice with spicy crackers (one of my favorite nights). Then Emily and Diane surprised me with a birthday cake (red velvet, yum!). Dinner is always a fun time with plenty of fellowship. It's great hearing all of the laughter.

Sean Morgan led worship. Our CR band, Root of Jesse, couldn't make it, so Sean filled in. The worship was great, and the Spirit of God filled that warehouse. It was great hearing Sean lead worship. He was the praise and worship leader at the church Martha and I attended when we lived in Enterprise, Ala.

It was my night to share God's word. For the past two or three weeks one message had been on my heart to share with CR. It was titled, "I'm tired." Not physically tired, but tired of seeing people not living the victorious life God plans for all of us to live. Tired of seeing people play with God and not take Him seriously. Tired of seeing people return to the sin God delivered them from.

The scripture I preached from was Exodus 20:1-17, Matthew 22:36-40, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, and Isaiah 9:2, 6-7. The Ten Commandments (Exodus) are still very relevant today. Jesus summed up the Ten Commandments in Matthew. The first four Commandments are wrapped up when Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." Jesus wrapped up the last six Commandments when He said, "Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul tells use who will not inherit the Kingdom of God, and in Isaiah 9, the prophet Isaiah prophesies about Jesus.

Following the message, people responded in droves. It was awesome! God is awesome! I can't wait to see what God does next.

Follow You

This is a great video and song. The words of this song really sum up what we do at Love In Action.

NEW! Leeland - Follow You [Official Video] - posted by Leeland (leeland) - tangle.com

www.tangle.com

NEW! Leeland - Follow You [Official Video] - Brand new music video "Follow You" by Leeland featuring Brandon Heath. NEW ALBUM LOVE IS ON THE MOVE IN STORES NOW!

Thankful for Thanksgiving outreach

The view inside the Love In Action warehouse Wednesday night made tears well up in mine and Martha's eyes. It was a beautiful sight as 200 people filled the warehouse for Love In Action's Thanksgiving service/dinner.

They came from tents in the woods, from a homeless shelter for veterans, from impoverished neighborhoods, and from the Houston County Community Corrections work release program. People who otherwise wouldn't be enjoying a traditional Thanksgiving dinner that most of us take for granted.

The volunteers came from at least five different churches in three cities - Tabernacle United Methodist, Harvest Church, Covenant United Methodist Church (all three churches are in Dothan), Christ-Life Church in Enterprise, and Southside Baptist Church in Ozark. If I left any out, please forgive me. There was an army of volunteers there. It was the Body of Christ doing what we are supposed to be doing ... lifting up the name of Jesus Christ and not individual church buildings. The church is not a building, it is those of us who believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

Wednesday night, the Body of Christ was reaching out to the hurting. Providing food and clothing to the poor. Visiting those in jail by bringing them to the service. That's what Jesus did when He walked on this earth. That's what Jesus is talking about in Matthew 25: 35-40 when He said, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." (v40). Jesus promises in Matthew 25: 34 that when we live a life like that, we will hear these awesome words: "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world."

The team of volunteers was awesome. We had so many, at first it looked like we would have more volunteers than people to serve. But then people started pouring into the warehouse. It blessed me to see homeless veterans come from the House of Benjamin. Another Vietnam veteran we recently helped come off the streets was there and he was a great help during the clean up phase of the night. He wanted to help. He asked to help. I love it when he tells me and Martha, "You never get too tired to serve the Lord, do you."

We got the word out through word of mouth and through fliers in a popular soup kitchen and the library. Many homeless people enjoy going to the library. Many of them enjoy reading, plus it provides a warm place on cold days. It worked as there were people there Martha and I had never met before.

Then we cleared out the work release facility. Thanks to Emanuel Christian School giving us the use of their bus and bus driver, we were able to bring 37 men to the warehouse in one trip. And, thanks to Harvest Church for the use of their van, we were able to bring nine women in one trip. There were only three men left at work release on Wednesday night. They chose not to come. All the rest of the men and all of the women were either at the warehouse or working.

We have never had 200 people in the warehouse before. To accommodate them, we had to borrow a lot of tables and chairs. Thanks to Tabernacle and Harvest, everyone had a seat at the table. We also thank Calvary Baptist in New Brockton for donating chairs to LIA. Chairs and tables are a huge need now at the warehouse since our ministry has seen tremendous growth this year.

The night started off with Alan Watson and his brother Phillip leading praise and worship. Alan is on the praise and worship team at Harvest and is a very talented and anointed worship leader. Everyone stood up and worshiped God together. It was awesome! I loved it when Alan and Phillip stopped playing at one point and just let the people sing. I know all of those voices reached Heaven. It was beautiful.

Then Brian Turner preached an awesome message about sharing life together, sharing a spot at the dinner table with others. Brian is on the LIA board of directors and assistant to the senior pastor at Harvest. He is an incredible speaker. He digs deep in the Word of God and explains it in a way everyone can understand. He has a great gift of teaching God's Word. He is very anointed. He is one of the best I've heard teaching and preaching God's word.

When he finished, we invited people up for prayer. Our prayer team members prayed with a lot of people as they responded to God's word. There were many needs and many tears shed. One need that really touched my heart came from a child. He walked up front with his cousin, who is in work release, and simply said, "Pray for my family." Wow! There he was, a child, holding his cousin's hand and wanting prayer for his family. So many children are hurting because they either don't have a family or the one they have is dysfunctional. Do you think God heard that little guy's prayer? I have no doubt God did. We see throughout the ministry of Jesus how He loved children, and in Matthew 18, He tells us that we need to have childlike faith.

After the great time of prayer, it was time to eat. Our army of volunteers served our guests. They remained seated at the tables while our volunteers brought their plates stacked high with food and drinks to them. Jesus calls us to serve, so this was another way to serve others.

Everyone enjoyed their dinner and walked out stuffed and talking about how great everything was, from the music to the preaching to the food to the fellowship. It was simply an incredibly awesome night. Thank you God for Wednesday night and for everything you are doing.

Martha and I want to say a very special thank you to all of the wonderful people at Tabernacle. They sponsored the entire event. They bought the food. They cooked it all. And, many of their members were there serving the people. The event wouldn't have happened without them. We are totally blown away by how they have come alongside LIA. They are investing a good amount of money and time to reach the lost and hurting. Celebrate Recovery happens every Tuesday night because of Tabernacle. Lives are being changed by the power of God, and He is using Tabernacle in a great way.

We also want to thank our home church, Harvest. Some of the best people in the world attend Harvest. They support us in so many great ways too. Their financial support has helped us get close to 40 homeless people off the streets this year. They give us the use of a bunch of chairs. They have donated many different items that have made our ministry at the warehouse much more efficient and effective. People come out an invest their time through volunteer work.

There are other churches like Christ-Life in Enterprise, Southside in Ozark, and Crossroads in Enterpise that have come alongside us and are helping us reach the lost and hurting.

There are so many individuals from our hometown of Dothan, Ala., and throughout the nation who financially support LIA. We couldn't do everything we do without each of you. It takes money to do ministry. We have rent each month on our warehouse, which God uses to reach the homeless throughout the nation. We have utilities to pay each month at the warehouse. We have insurance each month on the warehouse and van. Soon we'll have insurance and a monthly payment for the bus. We purchase and ship hygiene items. We transport items like boots, blankets, hygiene items, coats and other clothing to places like Atlanta, Baton Rouge, and in a couple of weeks, Memphis.

Every dollar, quarter, penny given to LIA goes into the ministry. God has blessed Martha and me with good jobs, so our needs are taken care of through our jobs. Nobody receives any money or perks. Everything is done entirely on a volunteer basis. We like it that way. It means more people can be helped, and for those involved it means more when you do something for others not expecting anything in return except for the wonderful blessings of God.

Martha and I have so much to be thankful for. We thank God for His son Jesus, His Holy Spirit, our marriage, our family, LIA and everyone who supports LIA, and for all of the homeless, lost and hurting God has allowed us to meet and minister to.

Thank you and we pray everyone enjoys a beautiful Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday.

Digging through a dumpster; pray for mercy

After church this morning, Martha and I went to the LIA warehouse to get a homeless man some camping gear (cot, air mattresses, blankets, food, etc.). As we pulled up to the warehouse we noticed two men digging through our dumpster. We knew this was a good opportunity help them.

They had found some old worn out clothes we had thrown away (our philosophy is if we wouldn't wear them, we won't give them away. You would be surprised at some of the clothes that are donated.) I asked them if they would like to come inside and get some good clothes. They were delighted at the offer.

We showed them the clothes and told them whatever they needed they could have. People are usually surprised when we tell them the clothes are free. Many ministries sell clothes to help support their ministries. That's fine, but we have always believed that God wants us to give everything away as a hand up to people who are struggling.

They picked out some pants and shirts and we gave them each a pair of boots, blankets, pillows and pillow cases, hygiene kits, socks, and food. Then I told them about our Tuesday nights Celebrate Recovery and Wednesday nights Bible study. They were very thankful and hopefully we will see them on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. What was cool was seeing them leave behind the junk they found in the dumpster and leaving with good items that will really be of help to them.

Because people donate items such as good clothing, we can help the homeless and the poor. Because people donate food, we can provide them food. Because people donate financially, we can purchase items that they need, such as hygiene items.

It takes all of us working together to help the homeless and poor and show them the love of Jesus Christ. Thanks to everyone who helps.

The opportunity to help those two men came immediately after an awesome sermon that guest speaker Bill Dorminey delivered at Harvest. It was a powerful one. He talked about how only 4 percent of Americans are actively involved in church. More say they are Christians, but only 4 percent are actively engaged in church. That's a sobering and unsettling statistic.

We, as Christians, must pray and ask God for forgiveness and for his mercy for us and our nation. We must be engaged with our churches. We must reach out to the lost and hurting. Jesus tells us,"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19). We, as the Body of Christ must heed what Jesus tells us.

Let's be sure to pray for this nation and ask God for mercy and to send a real revival. With your help, we are reaching the homeless, the poor ... those who are on the fringe of society. God is doing a great work. Please continue to support Love In Action with your prayers, volunteering your time, donating needed items and finances.

God is dealing with us on what we need to accomplish in 2010. We are continuing to pray and seek God's direction. I will be sharing that with you before this year is over.

Thank you for your support. Martha and I love and appreciate each of you.

Powerful prayer tonight

It was great being back at the warehouse tonight. Martha and I were on vacation last week, and it felt weird not being at the warehouse last Wednesday. We did our Bible study together in the mountains as Brian Turner led the meeting at the warehouse. Thanks Brian for teaching. You are a great teacher of God's word.

I picked up where Brian left off in lesson 6 of Discipleship Phase 1 - Prayer. I thought I would quickly finish lesson 6 and move on to Lesson 7. However, God had other plans. For the first 30 minutes I thought we could still finish lesson 6, but I felt God leading us to stay with prayer. So, that's what we did, and it was powerful.

A lot of people shared and asked questions. It was great. Just like God's word in Proverbs 27:17, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." We were all learning from each other.

Then I asked for prayer requests. Many were given. Most of them were requests for other people. Family members and co-workers who have cancer, a father who needs delivering from alcohol, people needing jobs, prayer for salvation of family members, prayer for veterans and active military, and the list went on. It was humbling hearing people ask for prayer for Love In Action and Martha and me.

Then all 26 of us formed a circle, held hands, and prayed -- one at a time out loud. Wow! It was a very powerful time. The presence of God in the warehouse was so strong. I know God heard our prayers, and in His own time and according to His will those prayers will be answered.

It definitely won't be the last time we end Wednesday nights that way. It is so awesome seeing God at work in everyone's lives. All 26 people there tonight are truly seeking God. Everyone is so hungry and thirsty for more of God.

I thank God for everyone there tonight. I thank God for moving on all of our hearts like He did tonight. I thank God most of all for His son Jesus Christ. And, I thank God for everyone who prays, volunteers and financially supports Love In Action. Lives are being changed for the glory of God. It's so cool to see Him at work.

All praise, honor and glory to God.