It is amazing what can happen in four days. On Saturday my Friend Al read the morning newspaper. That is a pretty harmless and mundane practice. On Saturday, he read an article that ran in both the Dallas Morning News and the Denton Record Chronicle about the motorcycle group the Sons of Thunder.
Six months ago Al was looking for the Sons of Thunder, a Christian Motorcycle group. Al could not find out anything about them. They were not in the yellow book and even the owners of Christian bookstores in Denton did not know their location. But this article contained a story that had little to do with Christian motorcycle hobbyists. These men had opened up their "club house" to allow a church in refuge from the hurricanes Rita and Katrina. One hundred and fifty people stayed in the "club house" turned makeshift hotel.
After the need for refuge disappeared and the church had left, there were twenty or thirty people standing around the club house, who had no where to go. For the last two years, the Sons of Thunder has allowed them to stay.
Al read the DRC article by a reporter who actually instigated the problem with the city. It seems their "club house" was out of code with the city as a "homeless shelter." What was intended as a run down club could not technically be used as a home for the homeless because it was not up to code.
Al came to the Rosemont Bible Study on Sunday morning across from the Singing Oaks Church of Christ on McKinney Street. He shared his sadness about the situation. Michelle's heart was touched by the thought of people in sub freezing conditions, who would within seven days be locked outside by the city (and a reporters reporting and code violation filling).
The sermon at Singing Oaks Church was about Jesus. I told the story of when Jesus broke the Sabbath in order to feed his hungry disciples and to heal a man with a hand (Mark 2:23-3:6). The law club known as the Pharisees did not appreciate Jesus' violations of Sabbath. So, they planned to destroy Jesus with the local politicians called the Herodians.
I expressed my sadness that a homeless shelter is not up to "code" with the city but that it is "code" to put people out on the street in the freezing weather. That does not seem "code" to me. Al could not get the Sons of Thunder out of his mind. Michelle could not get the sons out of her mind. She called Al and said that something must be done.
Al got in his truck and drove around Sunday afternoon, looking and looking for this building. It took finding a police officer who knew the building (because the police regularly drop people at this shelter). Al met with the leaders of sons of Thunder, Ben and Keith. Ben and Keith probably are close to the original Sons of Thunder, with the exception of a strong Christian humility that James and John lacked. Ben and Keith are the modern day representation of the two brothers whom Jesus gave the nickname "sons of thunder" (Mk 3:17)
James and John were fishermen. When they heard the preaching of Jesus and Jesus' invitation to "Come Follow Behind Me," these two brothers dropped their nets, left their father behind in the boat, abandoned the family fishing business and followed Jesus. James and John were men of action. James and John were also confused at times, requesting to be Jesus #1 and #2 men in the hierarchy of Jesus' new kingdom (Mark 10). The other apostles were not all that pleased with James and John's pursuit of greatness (probably because they wish they'd thought to ask Jesus first). Arguing over greatness would disappear from James and John, when they saw their king Jesus perform the lowest servant duty of washing their feet. Greatness was redefined.
James and John had the front row seat on the mountain of meeting with God, Jesus, and the great men of Judiasm. At another time, James and John were prepared to pray for fire from heaven to fall down on those who rejected Jesus as a king who must die (Luke 9:54). James and John were men of action.
The end of this story is that four days later the "Sons of Thunder" homeless shelter is saved. In the middle of prayer time on Monday morning, Bob and Don had an idea. The money was raised in its entirety. The committee said, "yes." People are ready to volunteer to make things "code." The metroplex now knows where the Sons of Thunder open their doors. They now know that action started in the heart of Al and in the willingness of a little church called Singing Oaks.
I am sure Jesus would be proud of this new installment of the Sons of Thunder, Ben and Keith, and their new thunderous brother Al.
1 comment:
So, How many, having read Brady's story about the Sons of Thunder, have bothered to venture into the "hotel?" Have you met Linda and her Granddaughter? Have you met them as they have attended the services at Singing Oaks? Have you benefitted from the wonder of her beautiful smile and the sparkle of love in her eyes? Have you met Ben or Keith or Carla, Ben's wife?
So what if they don't look like us, speak with an educated voice and vocabulary as we often have!
These are our Brothers and Sisters who have ventured into the lives of those for whom many of us would find their company uncomfortable to say the least.
Venture out of the little box with which you have found yourselves surrounded. Take the challenge of the History Channel advertisement from a few months back: Do something different and as the ad said in the latter part of the commercial:
Spread the Gospel.
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