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Brad Melton
Bella Vista, AR
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Brad signed the petition | -
Brad signed the petition | -
Brad commented on the article |Great post! For the past few years I've led a small all-volunteer groundskeeping crew at our school, ambassadorsforchristacademy.org, and have had the opportunity to coordinate several school beautification work days. After working hard to encourage and inspire people to show up, there are few feelings worse than having a bunch of volunteers standing around with nothing to do. You think about all the times when you had too few to get the job done and now you know that the abundant help you were just blessed with probably won't be so inclined to come back. So I learned the hard way to ALWAYS have more work available than what I expect to get done that day.
Many days we've had too few volunteers. However, once-in-awhile our cup has spilled over -big time! Being ready with extra tasks in my back pocket keeps everyone engaged and feeling useful. It also gets a lot more much needed work done!
And that brings up another point. PLANNING these extra tasks, while maybe not part of the primary goals of the day, ensures that necessary work gets done and prevents me from inventing busy work on-the-fly. Maybe worse than having a valuable volunteer stand around is assigning them a task that you both know is just filling their time -goodbye volunteer!
These experiences are helping me as I've transitioned more of my volunteerism into loving on the "least of these" this past year. As always, love ya, Bro! Your unwavering dedication to our brothers and sisters on the street has been one of the inspirations for my transformation.
-Brad Melton, Gathering & Distribution Team Coordinator, Cobblestoneproject.org -
Brad commented on the article |Well said, Amanda. Well said.
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Brad commented on the article |I liked your "Evangelizing to the Homeless" article. However, it seems to be commenting on some kind of "abuse of power" by certain religious organizations in how they attempt to help people. Not sure what that had to do with my post but I appreciate the info. Any organization that does what you said is definitiely in the wrong. I'll take your reply as a warning for me to be careful to never do that. In the meantime, I'll do my best to keep engaging and loving on others in the way I understand my God wants me to love them.
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Brad commented on the article |
(Feel free to remove my prior comment. My formatting got interpretted as html code and trashed it up a bit.)
You raise some great points, some of which I struggled with as we neared the Cobblestone Project's 1,287 event (www.cobblestoneproject.org/Initiatives/1287.aspx) a couple short months ago down in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
I thought to myself, "If we really want to do something that helps the estimated 1,287 houseless folk in Northwest Arkansas then why don't us ‘with houses' give them a meal, shower, and bed for one night rather than hundreds of us camping out on a University lawn?" Then I thought maybe that would be a good idea for another time. Maybe this time I just needed to learn. I knew some of the guys organizing this thing and I knew their hearts were pure. They are not "some timers" but true "people lovers" who daily give their time, talent, and resources to loving on God's children who need to be loved on. So maybe this time was about introducing and engaging people like me who've been unaware or ignoring the invisible persons that are all around us -if we only care to notice and notice to care.
Ironically, I didn't get to physically attend 1,287. My daughter had an important event that night and, after much prayer and reflection, God made it clear to me that this night needed to be about her. (I know I made the right decision.) The amazing thing is that I actually got to "attend" the event. Albeit it was later that night and many hours and days afterward. 1,287 and some other ministries I'm involved with prompted me to finally succumb to the online social networking craze and signup for twitter and facebook. Later that evening, after my girls went to bed, I engaged with what my buddies were experiencing on the University of Arkansas lawn. For many days after, through tweets and posts, blogs and videos, I've been learning more and more how to engage and love. To love on persons that don't get all the loving that God expects us to be giving to our forgotten and unnoticed brothers and sisters.
So while I understand and agree with many of your concerns I also now have a clear understanding of how much a well thought out and well purposed event like 1,287 can affect change. God used an event like 1,287, good caring people at www.cobblestoneproject.org and www.worldgardensalads.com, a guy I've never met named Mark Horvath (http://invisiblepeople.tv/blog/), and former invisible-to-me persons like Paul, Robert, Daniel, Tommy, Ben, Larry, Eric, and Deena to wake me up and change me forever.
I hope you don't mind such a long post, but I wanted to attach my new friend Paul's story below. All my new friends are special to me but Paul is particularly special because Paul was my first new friend I learned how to notice and engage with after a little "Worst Fundraiser Ever" event down in Fayetteville.
From: Brad E. Melton
Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2009 3:54 AM
To: Scott Page; Michael Rush
Subject: Meet my friend PaulScott & Mike,
I guess you could say 1287 lit me up! Hope I don't burn out.
Paul: A short story about Paul -my new friend. Written by me -Paul's new friend.
Note: Please forgive my generous use of Paul's name in this short story. I'm gonna use it a lot. I figured Paul had been a "he" and a "him" more than enough in his life. I want to always remember my new friend as the person he is -Paul.
*The Dilemma*
I saw him on the east side of the road as I was travelling north on 540. In the left lane, 70 mph in heavy traffic, I started talking to myself, "Too late. I can't pull over in this mess. I don't always have to stop for strangers. Even if I stopped, by the time it takes me to get in the right lane and pull over I'll be a quarter mile down the road."
I kept driving. Thinking about him. Thinking about what I was doing before I saw him. Ironically, I was going over my "Give ‘em Five" idea I believe God gave me a year or so ago. It kept coming back to me ever since 1287 and reading and watching all the blogs, YouTube, USTREAM and vimeo videos, twitter tweets, and facebook chatter. Watching and reading, reading and watching. It's about all I've been doing each night since the big event.
I didn't get to go to 1287. I wanted to. But I had a more important event to attend that night. More important to me and my family, that is. Sarah had been in Fellowship Bible's Kids Kamp all week and this night was the night of their big production. As much as I wanted to be in Fayetteville with my friends, hearing Mark Horvath speak, and "camping out" on the UofA Mall, I knew this night needed to be about my little Sarah. I know I made the right choice.
*Give ‘em Five!*
"Give ‘em Five" is still an unfulfilled concept. I still have my notes in the truck -faded and stained. It is an idea that hasn't yet made it to action. You see, a year or so ago I thought God gave me the idea to do something a little more for the street beggar. You know the ones. You see them at busy intersections and off ramps during daily rush hours from time to time. One day, after handing someone a few bucks and stating the token, "God bless", this idea got into my head. It has remained there ever since but jumps out once in awhile to remind me I should do something about it. The idea is this:
"What if I kept a stash of five-dollar bills in my truck? And, what if, instead of just giving out the ‘fivers' when I see a need, the five bucks would be just one of five things I gave away? What if I printed a card with these five things to remind me what to do and say? What if I made envelopes that would contain these five things?" I pulled over and began taking notes:
GIVE ‘EM FIVE
1. GIVE THEM RESPECT. Stop what I'm doing. Greet them. Look them in the eye, smile, and shake their hand. Give them my attention. Ask them their name, their story. Adjust my thinking. Don't give them a title -poor, beggar, vagrant, homeless, underprivileged, unfortunate. Know them by name! Remember they are just like me -but for the grace of God go I.
2. GIVE THEM IMMEDIACY. Give them a five-dollar bill. Not too big. Not too small. Enough to get them lunch. Enough to get them some gas. Enough to show them I care. Don't worry about what they're gonna do with it. That's between them and God. I am to do my part. They are to do theirs.
3. GIVE THEM AN OPPORTUNITY. Direct them to local places for help -Food banks, councilors, shelters, etc.
4. GIVE THEM HOPE. Stop hoarding and hiding Jesus. Tell them about Jesus. Show them Jesus. Be their Jesus.
5. GIVE THEM A PRAYER. On the spot with them or on my own afterward. Better yet, do both. Ask God to protect them, guide them, love them, provide for them, and bless them as He has just blessed me through them.
Well, it's been over a year since I took those notes. In my truck I have no printed cards, no printed envelopes, and no stash of five-dollar bills. Just the notes. What happened to me? Got busy I guess.
*His Name is Paul*
His name is Paul. How do I know? I know because I knew this was my time. My time to act. My time to put up or shut up. If not now, then when? If not me, then who? I know because when I drove another mile to the nearest exit I took it. I turned around, drove a mile back and saw Paul walking down the road, passed Paul, drove another mile to that exit, turned around, drove a mile back, hit my flashers, and pulled over.
The whole time driving back to meet Paul I kept thinking about what I was going to say, what I was going to do, what I was going to offer him. I thought about what was in my truck that I might give him. No food, just a bag of sunflower seeds. No water or other drink. Some old boots, tennis shoes, shirts, shorts, and tools. "There's that old ‘Promise Keepers' windbreaker that I never wear. Maybe someone could finally put it to good use!"
Then it hit me, "Cash! How much cash do I have?" I dug in my pocket, pulled out my money clip, and gazed upon two one-dollar bills. "Damn! I don't even have a fiver!"
Paul is tall and skinny, scraggly looking, with a dark tan. The stereotypical old-dude hitch-hiker, except with a big friendly smile. Paul carries a big backpack with various stuff tied and hanging from it. Old jeans, a black t-shirt, ball cap, and hiking boots are Paul's ensemble. When Paul got to my window, I told him to throw his pack in the back and come on in.
I said, "Hello, my name is Brad." Paul said, "Hello, my name is Paul." We shook hands. We smiled. We drove on down the road.
I asked, "Where are ya going?" Paul said, "South Dakota."
"What's in South Dakota?" "Family." Paul went on to explain that he had a sister, brothers, and mother in South Dakota.
I asked Paul where he came from and what he was doing on the road.
"Seeing the sites." With some more prompting, Paul told me he had been travelling from Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico.
We talked about some of the places we had both visited. I mentioned Colorado. We both agreed it was a very beautiful state.
I asked Paul if he was hungry. Paul said, "Yes." I said, "I'm buying you dinner tonight." After I listed some options, Paul decided on Walmart. I'm glad he did, for I had other plans.
*I Like Ramen Noodles*
Driving toward Walmart, I looked up at the sky and said, "Looks like rain may be coming our way. You got a rain jacket?" Paul said, "No."
"How about we pick you up a rain jacket when we get to Walmart?" Paul said, "Ok."
"How about a tent? You got a tent?" "Yes," Paul said. "But it's got some holes in it."
As we pulled into Walmart I asked Paul if he could use some groceries for the road. Paul said, "I like Ramen Noodles." I said, "I like them sometimes too but I get sick of them if I eat them too much." Paul said, "That's true of a lot of things."
After fetching a cart, I met Paul back in groceries where, sure enough, he had picked up a handful of Ramen Noodle bags. I said, "Surely you could use something more than that." I understood that Paul didn't want to carry a lot of weight but I also sensed his purchasing decisions were based on him not feeling comfortable to ask. So, I kept prompting Paul for things he might need.
"How about that big bottle of Gatorade? Wow, it's just a buck!" Paul said, "Yeah, that is a good price!" Paul put one in the cart.
Then Paul went for the strawberry Pop-Tarts. I proceeded to tell Paul what I thought was an interesting story about during times of natural disasters (hurricanes, floods, etc.) that strawberry Pop-Tarts become Walmart's most requested item. Paul didn't seem too impressed with my story. Although, Paul did suggest that Pop-Tarts are a good choice for "camping" because the foil wrapping keeps them fresh.
Some beef sausage was the only other grocery item Paul would pick up so I stopped prompting on the groceries and switched our attention to another merchandise area. "How are you doing on clothes? Need some shorts or shirts?" "Nope," Paul said.
"I see you got some good hiking boots. How about some lighter shoes to wear around camp?" "Naw, I don't like them," said Paul.
Then it hit me. Something I heard Mark Horvath say in more than one of his video dialogs about particular items that every homeless person needs.
"How about socks? Could you use some socks?" "Yeah, I could use some more socks!" (I noted the smile on his face when he said this - Thanks Mark!) We picked out a bag of seven tube socks. I wanted to buy Paul more but these were all Paul thought he could carry.
We proceeded over to sporting goods where Paul picked out his replacement tent. "This one's a little bigger than mine," said Paul. (Yeah, and no holes.) Then we went looking for a rain jacket. We found some nice ones but Paul settled on a cheaper and more compact rain suit.
I kept trying to put myself in Paul's shoes. Think about stuff I would need if I were living on the road, out of a tent.
"Me and the wife keep wet wipes in the car," I said. "They're good for cleaning up and they sure make you feel refreshed when you wipe your face." We got the wet wipes, and batteries, and hand sanitizer, BC Powder, body wash, and insect repellant.
Somewhere throughout our shopping adventure I decided, rather than buy Paul dinner and head home, I was gonna have dinner with Paul. I asked Paul, "You hungry yet?" Paul said, "Let's get our chicken!"
We proceeded to the deli section where Paul picked out a half pound of BBQ chicken and potato salad. I chose the sweet & spicy General Tso's chicken and talked Paul into getting some fried okra.
Just like when we first entered the store, Paul seemed to start getting a little timid about asking for too much food. However, after I talked Paul into the okra, I heard Paul ask, "When did y'all start selling that fish?" We picked up a half pound of catfish, a couple of drinks, and headed for the checkout.
After checking out, I stopped off at the ATM. (Remember the two bucks in my pocket?) I gave Paul a $20 and told him I hoped this would help him down the road.
*Spending Other People's Money*
Have you ever had the pleasure of helping someone spend their money? For example, I've been in a technology career for almost 20 years and I was a computer and electronics geek long before I started my career. Some of my friends and family aren't so technology or electronics savvy. So, sometimes I get asked questions and sometimes I get asked to make purchases for them.
I have to confess there is a certain "fun" aspect to buying stuff for other people. I get the joy of browsing and buying cool stuff without spending a dime of my own money! Even though I may not get to enjoy the item there is still something strangely fun about going through the process.
Over the past few years, I believe God has been teaching me that one of the blessings received from cheerful giving is the fun I get to experience while spending someone else's money. You see, once I get in the mindset that everything I have is God's and I'm not the owner, but simply a steward of His stuff, then giving it away feels like I'm spending someone else's money for them. I get to "help" in the decisions about where His stuff goes. A new tool or piece of lawn equipment for the school? Cool! I get to go research and pick out the best fit! Some cash for a family struggling through hard times? Sweet! I get to be the guy who delivers some relief! When I'm in this proper mindset of who is the owner and who is the steward of all this stuff then giving it away becomes one of the most enjoyable things I can do with it.
*Dinner and Conversation*
Paul and I parked the truck facing some magnificent storm clouds rolling in. After I asked our Lord to bless the food, we dug in to the feast.
I asked Paul if he attended church anywhere. He said he attended, St. Paul's back home. I asked him if he had a bible and he said, "Yup, it's one of the books I carry with me." We had some good conversation over dinner about family, churches, and which bible translations we like best. Paul is partial to the New King James Bible. I mentioned I like the NIV. Paul said, "Oh, that's a good one. Easy to read." We both agreed that the original King James translation was a challenging read.
After my first bite of spicy chicken, I reached to open the cap on my bottle of water. Then I stopped and put the bottle down. This time, this simple, straightforward mealtime act didn't seem so simple and straightforward. I decided Paul needed my bottle of water more than I did and gave it to him after dinner. I sure wish the thought of doing this had entered my mind back before I decided to purchase the spicy chicken for my dinner!
*Goodbye and a Prayer*
After dinner it began to rain. I asked Paul if he still was going to travel north tonight. Paul said, "No, it's getting late. I think my map showed a river not far from here. I think I'll pitch my new tent there."
I drove Paul a short distance north and pulled off near an overpass. Paul jumped out to survey the spot. "This looks great! I can pitch camp right under that bridge."
I told Paul he could leave his old tent with me and I'd throw it away for him. As Paul gathered up his new belongings, I wrote down my name and cell phone number. "Here," I said, "Give me a call if you're ever passing through and have a need."
We shook hands, said our goodbyes, and I watched Paul walk away in the rain, through the brush, toward his new home for the night under the highway.
I drove a short distance down the road. Before pulling onto the highway I stopped the truck. "Dear Father, please take care of Paul tonight and every night. Please place your hedge of protection around him. And, if I don't get to see Paul again in this world, please let me see his smiling face in heaven. Amen."
*The Tally*
I figured up what this evening with Paul cost me. $95 at Walmart and $20 cash. Maybe a buck or two in gas from all the extra driving. Two hours of my time.
116 bucks and my time. What else could I have done better with these particular resources I've been entrusted to manage? Tonight, I can't think of a thing.
116 bucks and my time. Was it worth it? For Paul, I think he would say, "yes." For me, I'd say, "definitely!"
116 bucks and my time. The reality is that this night cost me something much more valuable than these. It cost me my "self".
*Where is Paul?*
Where is Paul now? Paul is sleeping under a bridge tonight, alone, in the rain, not far from the headquarters of world's largest peddler of stuff -stuff that most of us have too much of and stuff that people like Paul have much too little of. I'll be sleeping in my bed, in my house, with my family, and driving to work for Walmart in the morning.
God bless you Paul. Stay warm. Stay cool. Stay dry. Stay safe. And always, stay in my mind so I never forget.
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