Not Us and Them—Just Us: Lessons from the Well Café | Steve Griffin
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Description
In this conversation, Shannon and Steve Griffin discuss the intersection of community development and church outreach, emphasizing the importance of building relationships with vulnerable populations. Steve shares his journey from traditional pastoral roles to working directly with those in poverty, highlighting the significance of dignity, belonging, and the power of storytelling in ministry. They explore how volunteers can engage meaningfully with their communities and the transformative impact of connection and service.
Takeaways
- Community development is about building relationships, not just providing services.
- Isolation is the biggest issue for vulnerable populations, not lack of resources.
- Dignity and belonging are essential in outreach ministries.
- Listening to people's stories is crucial for understanding their needs.
- Volunteering should be seen as a calling, not just an obligation.
- Transformative stories often come from deep personal struggles.
- The church should be a place of belonging for everyone.
- Rescue can lead to reconciliation and restoration in communities.
- Everyone has a role to play in serving those in need.
- Awareness of our surroundings can lead to meaningful connections.
Time Stamps
05:09 "Relational Outreach Through Ministry"
10:31 Listening Without Assumptions
13:58 "Mobilizing Love on the Margins"
15:36 "Volunteering with Purpose and Calling"
20:09 "Seeking God in Brokenness"
23:31 "Rescue, Reconciliation, Restoration"
25:55 "Awareness and Compassion in Action"
30:04 "Embracing God's Call to Serve"
Guest Links
Ministry: Centre Street Church
Book: Come to the Table: Mobilizing the Church to Love on the Margins
Other Links
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Reach out to us! https://neighbourlypodcast.ca
Email: podcast@careimpact.ca
About the CarePortal: careimpact.ca/careportal
DONATE! Help connect and equip more churches across Canada to effectively journey well in community with the most vulnerable: careimpact.ca/donate
Transcript
Tell me your story. And that's what people are looking for. Is there someone out
Speaker:there who actually cares about
Speaker:my story? Every one of us has a story about
Speaker:someone who showed up when it mattered most. I'm Johan,
Speaker:and this is Neighbourly, a podcast about the ordinary ways
Speaker:people show extraordinary care. Every other week,
Speaker:Shannon Steeves s sits down with someone who's lived that out.
Speaker:Real stories of faith, kindness, and community in action.
Speaker:So grab your coffee and let's join Shannon at the table.
Speaker:I'm Shannon Steeves, and this is Neighborly. Today we're
Speaker:talking about isolation, one of the quiet realities shaping
Speaker:so much pain in our communities. My guest is Steve
Speaker:Griffin, a pastor in Calgary who leads center for the City at
Speaker:Center Street Church, where he spent years walking alongside people
Speaker:on the margins and creating spaces where isolation gives
Speaker:way to belonging. In this conversation, Steve invites us
Speaker:to rethink what it looks like to love our neighbor. Not by
Speaker:fixing, but by showing up. Okay, Steve. Well, thank you so
Speaker:much for coming on this podcast. Can't wait to chat with you
Speaker:today. Every episode, we start with a little icebreaker question
Speaker:just to kind of level things. So I'd love to hear who was a
Speaker:neighbor for you growing up that you will never forget?
Speaker:Yeah, it's probably a little bit of a different story,
Speaker:Shannon. I. I grew up in a neighborhood. I grew up in Ontario,
Speaker:originally from Ontario. There was a. A
Speaker:single mom, actually an older woman, that had one son and lived in a
Speaker:house in our neighborhood. And the house, you know, it looked like
Speaker:almost like it was a haunted house. It was boarded up and so on. And
Speaker:so. So I think she and her son, you know, there was just a lot
Speaker:of teasing and that kind of thing. And then one day, her son was actually
Speaker:beat up at school fairly badly. And one of
Speaker:the parents in the neighborhood said, you know, we're gonna do something about this, and
Speaker:reached out to that woman and then began a relationship, and that really
Speaker:changed things. And then the woman began to get quite involved in the neighborhood
Speaker:with other people. And we began to find that, you know, this really was
Speaker:a sweet person who'd had some very difficult circumstances.
Speaker:And to me, I tell that story because to me, that's a
Speaker:picture of what neighborhood can be moving us
Speaker:beyond, you know, sort of preconceived notions or judgments or
Speaker:prejudices or whatever the case may be. So that. Yeah, I'll never forget that kind
Speaker:of circumstance. That's beautiful. And I love that.
Speaker:Not just neighborhood's not just a physical place. It's also kind of this I
Speaker:guess concept, right. And this place of being
Speaker:and belonging, that's a really, I think,
Speaker:thought provoking example that so many of us can, can just think
Speaker:on. So I, and I think that's a great segue. Can you share a little
Speaker:bit more of your story and just how you got first
Speaker:connected to kind of the work that you do now?
Speaker:Yeah, it's a bit of a long, winding story. I would say
Speaker:that the place that I, that I came to
Speaker:was an understanding just through the various
Speaker:circumstances in life that I just was just very much
Speaker:called to a work with those in poverty. And so I for
Speaker:a long time was a pastor sort of in suburbia
Speaker:in the west, in Alberta, and really had nothing at all
Speaker:to do with vulnerable people and just went
Speaker:through some personal circumstances where, where I took on
Speaker:a different role at Mustard Seed Ministry here
Speaker:in Calgary and in Alberta, working with those who were homeless
Speaker:and then eventually just really felt God lead me to bring that
Speaker:world into the local church. And so I work church
Speaker:called Center Street Church, Calgary, one of Canada's largest churches.
Speaker:And we've built there over the last number of years a ministry center that
Speaker:ministers to new immigrants and refugees and ministers to
Speaker:those in poverty. And so we work with, we connect with about
Speaker:1800 people a month. And one of the
Speaker:pieces that I think just really connects with your question
Speaker:is, and this podcast, quite frankly, is
Speaker:that the work that we do is within a cafe setting
Speaker:with those in poverty. And we call those that come their neighbors.
Speaker:And so that is kind of how we refer to them. And it really is
Speaker:about building. And so that's kind of
Speaker:impacts all that we do, including the work with new immigrants and
Speaker:refugees. But I really do feel that that is my primary call to
Speaker:really build a place of belonging
Speaker:and gathering for those in
Speaker:poverty so that they truly live out
Speaker:that reality that we are all neighbors, that we're tearing those walls down. And
Speaker:so I work in lead a ministry center called center for the City
Speaker:and lots of people come, as I mentioned. But. But it just really, that
Speaker:is what in ministry and mission, this is where I want to be. This is.
Speaker:These are the things I want to be doing. Wow. Well, there's so many, so
Speaker:many more questions I want to ask, but I think the first thing that really
Speaker:sticks out to me is when it comes to
Speaker:outreach ministries and especially in the church, I think
Speaker:we've seen a lot of variation throughout decades
Speaker:and in different contexts of what that can look like, at least
Speaker:that's been my experience that in some spaces
Speaker:it's you know, a food hamper. In some spaces, it's,
Speaker:you know, maybe a foster care ministry or whatever. But I think
Speaker:the way you have brought a vision into
Speaker:your church and to do that in such a relational,
Speaker:dignifying way, like you said, through a cafe setting, I think
Speaker:is really, really impactful and really
Speaker:the direction that I believe personally, we,
Speaker:as. As believers should be, should be going, that it's
Speaker:not just about providing the physical and the tangible things. It's
Speaker:also about the relational connection. And I don't think those really should be
Speaker:separated. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So I guess I want to hear
Speaker:more about that in your heart of bringing that into the
Speaker:church and helping, you know, the big C church kind of understand
Speaker:that maybe different way of. Of ministry. Can you speak to that a little
Speaker:bit? Yeah, yeah. I think the reality. We're in a
Speaker:large city and we're in a very large church, and I think the. The
Speaker:church has had, by intention, has
Speaker:had an investment or has desired an investment that, that
Speaker:everyone who. Who calls himself a citizen or
Speaker:is a part of the city, you know, that there is a place
Speaker:for them. And I think to me that just connects
Speaker:perfectly with my own calling and my own sense
Speaker:of the fact that this is what church should be.
Speaker:And we don't enter this in terms of, well, these are
Speaker:the many people that need to come in faith in Christ. And these are the
Speaker:things that we want to see in terms of what people are doing and how
Speaker:they're engaging in the church generally, but rather that there is
Speaker:place and that there is space
Speaker:for people to come to know that they can be fully who they
Speaker:are. And you mentioned the word dignity, so that there's
Speaker:dignity there. And there's an opportunity to say that
Speaker:no matter where you have come from, this is
Speaker:a place where you can connect in. And so what we hear from people
Speaker:all the time, and as I mentioned, we worked with hundreds of people, is
Speaker:this is my family. This is like family. This is my family.
Speaker:This is my home. Not this is like a home, but this is my home.
Speaker:And so people begin to connect in that way. And I
Speaker:think that, you know, psychologists say the number
Speaker:one problem in our society for those who are vulnerable is not.
Speaker:It's not housing, it's not food, it's not clothing, it's
Speaker:isolation. That's the number one issue that people have.
Speaker:And so. So I think there really is a call here in our. In our
Speaker:community, which we call the well Cafe, and drawing that from the idea
Speaker:of living water in the well. And that's that's where that's. That's drawn from,
Speaker:that truly, we want a place where people feel,
Speaker:well, maybe I can walk out of isolation and maybe I can walk out of
Speaker:some pain in my life. And as I sit around
Speaker:tables and as I connect with other people, which includes
Speaker:people, you know, from the community and people that might be volunteers here and that
Speaker:kind of thing, then that starts to make a difference. And I think
Speaker:that that is representative of what Jesus
Speaker:is calling the church to be. There is a place for everyone. And
Speaker:one of the examples I use often,
Speaker:as I've taught, especially in the last year in this is Zacchaeus and
Speaker:Jesus. Jesus looks at Zacchaeus up in the tree, the story,
Speaker:and says, I am eating at your house today. Come down. We're going to your
Speaker:house. So we don't hear more of this story, but to project
Speaker:that he's sitting at a table with Zacchaeus in his house, looking
Speaker:face to face, eye to eye, and beginning to tell
Speaker:me your story. And that's what people are looking for. Is there someone out there
Speaker:who actually cares about my story?
Speaker:You know, I was so moved at one point by a
Speaker:conversation I had with someone who is homeless. And I
Speaker:said, you know, what do you need? Like, what's the number one thing you would
Speaker:need in your life? And he said, that someone would want to have a conversation
Speaker:with me. I love that. That's my dream. And, like,
Speaker:that's heartbreaking beyond all comprehension,
Speaker:but that, you know, that kind of idea. So I think that
Speaker:that is what we. Jesus intends us to be,
Speaker:you know, the church to be. I love those stories and those specific
Speaker:examples that you've shared that really kind of made me think about this
Speaker:next question of. Has over time, have there been
Speaker:certain instances or conversations you've had with people that have
Speaker:confronted or challenged maybe some of your own
Speaker:comfortability or your own assumptions about what
Speaker:people need? Oh, yeah, I think. Yeah. You
Speaker:know, I think often, and I think the mistake that I made,
Speaker:even going in, even. Even having worked at the Mustard Seed, and it's. It's
Speaker:a. It's a ministry of the homeless and pretty well known
Speaker:out here. You know, you kind of think, oh, well, I
Speaker:know it. You know, I kind of know what it's like to work with, yeah.
Speaker:Homeless people and vulnerable people and so on. And I think
Speaker:what we learn and what I've learned at center street
Speaker:in terms of what we built over the last nine years is just really to
Speaker:not make assumptions about who someone is who's
Speaker:vulnerable or in poverty or what they're going through. And
Speaker:I'm very careful to never say, you know, I. That I can
Speaker:identify with someone because I can't. I can try and understand.
Speaker:And we can only minister to people that we are at least trying to understand
Speaker:where they're coming from, but I can't identify. And, you know, I think the
Speaker:reality is, is that some of the stories are
Speaker:so outside my own context
Speaker:that the number one thing I've had to learn to do is to put aside
Speaker:any kind of preconceived sort of notions, right? And, and just
Speaker:listen, right? And. And that's, that's the number one thing we can do rather than
Speaker:saying sitting down with somebody going, okay, well, you know, what do you need? And
Speaker:let me try, you know, and I think the thing is, is just, you know,
Speaker:again, it's. It's. I just need to listen to someone's story and,
Speaker:and I'll listen to it. And, you know, I guess it's active listening right now.
Speaker:Listen to it in the sense. Well, okay, I'm. I'm calculating what, you know, I
Speaker:need to say next or. But to just really realize
Speaker:that, you know, tell me kind of what that
Speaker:journey's been like for you. And I want to just let you know that
Speaker:we're here for you. And I think the picture, the picture
Speaker:I'm really trying to present, most of all, it's not about sitting
Speaker:down with someone. And I've got all the answers for your life that's going to
Speaker:change your life in some incredible ways. Because I'm not your hero. There's
Speaker:only one hero, and that's, of course, Jesus. You know, I might
Speaker:be a guide in some ways, but really what we're trying to present to people
Speaker:is Jesus is sitting here at this table with us. And so
Speaker:Jesus is the one that will really minister to what you
Speaker:need and to who you are and so on. And I think we
Speaker:have to approach it in that way because as I said, so many
Speaker:stories are outside of context and so many stories are
Speaker:so deeply heartbreaking that
Speaker:some of them, even when you first hear certain stories, you kind of. I don't
Speaker:even know if I can even believe this. And then you realize,
Speaker:of course, that. That because of the pain you're seeing,
Speaker:that it is something that's true. But
Speaker:I think that's the focus. It really is just that focus of being there
Speaker:in those ways. It's so simple,
Speaker:right? And yet sometimes we
Speaker:just want to share what we think is best. And time and time
Speaker:again, thankfully with the Holy Spirit and remind us that
Speaker:that's not the point. It's just like you said, just being.
Speaker:And just being a safe, listening ear
Speaker:for somebody. Absolutely. Yeah. You mentioned a little bit ago you talked about
Speaker:volunteers, and I'd love to hear more about
Speaker:what that, I guess it looks like at the center
Speaker:because, you know, we're really, as a podcast,
Speaker:but as an organization, we really want to help, you know, average, ordinary
Speaker:people see their. Their call to
Speaker:love their neighbor. And I guess not just see that, but step
Speaker:into that in practical ways. And can you share what
Speaker:does. I guess what does volunteering look like at the center? But also, how
Speaker:have you helped coach and develop people as you've been
Speaker:learning and growing yourself with serving those that are
Speaker:in poverty? Well, I wrote a
Speaker:book that was one thing I did. It's called Come to
Speaker:the Mobilizing the Church to Love on the Margins.
Speaker:And the book was written. It's the second book I've written in
Speaker:this kind of context, but it really was written
Speaker:to help people understand what it
Speaker:is to sit down at tables with people in poverty and
Speaker:to just get to know them and to enter in and recognize that we
Speaker:receive as much, if not far more, than they ever receive from us,
Speaker:that kind of idea. And so I think the volunteer piece is
Speaker:the first thing for us, and it takes time to do
Speaker:that, but it's to really build
Speaker:a unified team element. So people move away
Speaker:from this idea, which we have heard so much at
Speaker:different times. Hey, you know, here's something that I'm going to
Speaker:offer to someone in poverty, and it's just going to. It's going to
Speaker:change their life. They need me, and I can offer this and so on. And
Speaker:really trying to steer people away from that as we mentor them
Speaker:and saying, you know, we are. The Bible says that God is
Speaker:no respecter of persons. That means we are all equal in God's sight. And this
Speaker:idea that when we're coming into this setting in this.
Speaker:In this example, you know, the well Cafe is that we are
Speaker:just one people and we're together. You know, we're a missional community
Speaker:together, and we're just learning from each other and we're trying to grow
Speaker:along with each other, and we need to be here with each other for the
Speaker:long haul. And so I think that's the most important thing because I think that
Speaker:people want to. We're a large church, and there's kind of two really
Speaker:big areas in which you can volunteer in this church, and that's with children's ministries
Speaker:and not everybody has children, so on, so they want to be involved in that.
Speaker:And the other is this area center for the city. And I
Speaker:think we're trying to get people's minds away from. Oh, well, you
Speaker:know, I feel like I should volunteer someplace because, you know, the
Speaker:preaching pastor said I should, or whatever the case may be, move
Speaker:people away from this to the reality of call. You
Speaker:either have a call or you'd like to explore a call of what it is
Speaker:to walk with the poor. And again, walking with the poor is there for the.
Speaker:You're there for the long haul, and you're there to invest
Speaker:and build relationship and have them do the same with you. Right.
Speaker:And so I think we've really. We started very, very
Speaker:small, the cafe kind of setting. We started in 2018. We had 20
Speaker:people and three volunteers attending. Now we do a hot meal twice a
Speaker:week. We see 700 people come. And I have 190 volunteers
Speaker:involved in that. And it really has just been that slow building
Speaker:of. This is the work. This is what it means. It's
Speaker:not about doing something. It's about being called into
Speaker:something. Right. And so I think that that's, you know, and so the book that
Speaker:I wrote is really just anybody who's not involved in that and wonders if
Speaker:that's for them. You know, it's an encouragement in that way.
Speaker:The first thing that I make mention of in the book is the fact that,
Speaker:well, we're actually all called to minister to the poor. It's very clear in the
Speaker:gospel. So there's that. Right. But how we do that is. Is,
Speaker:you know, different for each person. But. But yeah, so I think that's what we're
Speaker:really trying to, you know, and I think that I mentioned a little bit before,
Speaker:too, but us versus them want to tear
Speaker:down that wall completely. This is us. This is us
Speaker:together. This is. This is. We're just journeying together in something,
Speaker:and Jesus is there in the midst of it. Mm,
Speaker:that's so good. I. I love what you said that it's really
Speaker:not a question of if we're called. It's more so just
Speaker:how. How God is asking us to step into
Speaker:walking with the vulnerable people in our lives
Speaker:or maybe just starting by being around people, stepping
Speaker:outside of our. Our bubbles and our. Our comfort zones and
Speaker:all those things. Absolutely. I wanted to just
Speaker:ask. You mentioned a few stories. Is there any. Any other
Speaker:stories that you feel like you want to share that really capture the
Speaker:heart of. Of why the center exists or
Speaker:just how You've seen that growth and development over
Speaker:time. Anything that comes to mind. I. Well, I think there's,
Speaker:like there, there are many, you know, and I think we, we. And
Speaker:I'll mention, you know, one or two specific. But I think
Speaker:one of the line. One of the kind of taglines we've used from time
Speaker:to time is everything we do rises and falls on
Speaker:story, right? You know, on people's story, we got numbers, we got
Speaker:larger numbers and so on, but the numbers really don't matter. It
Speaker:doesn't matter if there's 20 or there's 200 or whatever that
Speaker:number is. It really is a ministry that
Speaker:focuses on people kind of one at a time, right? And that's
Speaker:kind of where we want to be. What, you know, where are you at? And
Speaker:so I mentioned story. And so we, we kind of use these three elements
Speaker:where we say, you know, tell us your story, and we'd love to have an
Speaker:opportunity to share our story, you know, why we're here, as well as. As a
Speaker:volunteer, whatever the case may be, and then join his story. Join the fact
Speaker:that God has a story for you, you know, that, that. And God is
Speaker:leading you into that story. And, you know, I think it's. If people
Speaker:find a place even when they're in the midst
Speaker:of a very, very broken story, and yet they know
Speaker:I need to keep coming here because there's enough
Speaker:here that connects with me. And so I think one of the most
Speaker:dramatic stories in the last few
Speaker:years as being I was dealing with
Speaker:someone. We had an ongoing kind of connection and
Speaker:relationship. And he kept coming. He'd come for meals and so on. And one
Speaker:day I just sat down, had a deeper conversation with
Speaker:him, and he told me a story
Speaker:of child sexual abuse that was
Speaker:beyond. Was heartbreaking. It was, you know, he went into.
Speaker:He went into some. Some graphic kind of detail and,
Speaker:and didn't even tell me the whole thing. And. And then he said to me,
Speaker:I don't know where God was when that happened. And I feel like
Speaker:God has let me down, and I don't know if I can ever
Speaker:forgive God for that. And I just felt by the Holy Spirit to ask
Speaker:him a question. I said, well, then why are you here? Like, why do
Speaker:you come here? Right? Because he came to the cafe and he was also actually
Speaker:attending worship services at our church. And
Speaker:he said, because I believe that if I have the
Speaker:opportunity to find God, if there's a place where he is, it has
Speaker:to be here. And just in terms of what he experienced out
Speaker:of community. And so he's searching for
Speaker:God there, you know, and so I think
Speaker:stories like that, which are difficult stories,
Speaker:and a lot of the stories which are the really important stories are
Speaker:difficult stories. It just is, you know, and we hear stories
Speaker:where people are not, you know, having as deep a level
Speaker:of kind of brokenness or difficulty, and they're coming and they're being a part of
Speaker:things, and they may be low income and so on, but I think what those
Speaker:stories do is they really show us that
Speaker:God is present and God exists in this place. And.
Speaker:And, you know, I. I was dealing with, or just
Speaker:ministering to and walking with an indigenous gentleman
Speaker:and. And had committed his life to Christ, but
Speaker:was. Was still in. In alcohol addiction
Speaker:and was struggling. And so he'd show up every once in a while and come
Speaker:to sometimes not so much at the cafe, but at the
Speaker:church, and we'd have conversations and we'd connect and so on. And
Speaker:then he said, you know, I really need some food. And I said, well, I'll
Speaker:get an emergency hamper together for you and meet me at the church. And
Speaker:he didn't show up. And then about 10 days later,
Speaker:a gentleman came to me and he said,
Speaker:I need to see Pastor Steve. And I said, well, that's me. How can I
Speaker:help you? And he said, can we sit down and talk? And I said,
Speaker:yeah. And so we sat down and he said,
Speaker:I'm this gentleman whose name was Blair. I'm this gentleman's.
Speaker:He's my brother. And we lived together. And I went home the other night and
Speaker:found him passed away. And he said, I need to come and find you.
Speaker:I need to talk to you right away, because I just want to let you
Speaker:know that Blair struggled his whole life not finding.
Speaker:Not finding belonging anywhere, not finding that he's a part of things anywhere
Speaker:and struggled in this brokenness, struggled in this addiction
Speaker:until he came to the well and he said, I want to let you know
Speaker:that that was his family, that that was the only place he found where he
Speaker:had meaning. And, you know, like, stories like that, they're hard to
Speaker:hear. And what I mean by that is it's hard to
Speaker:even take in that what we are doing has
Speaker:that kind of impact until you stand back and go, well, this isn't us.
Speaker:Yeah, this isn't us. This is Jesus. This is the Holy Spirit
Speaker:at work. And this is what God does. That God does
Speaker:every single day with hundreds of
Speaker:people here, hundreds of people in Winnipeg, hundreds of people right across
Speaker:our country. Right? You know, and I think those are the kinds of stories that
Speaker:we want to continue to hear. And there's just. There's. There's more
Speaker:and more and more of those kinds of stories where. Where either
Speaker:there's those very hard things or people just simply say, as I
Speaker:mentioned earlier, you know what, this is a place of belonging for me.
Speaker:And one of the things that we really have focused on, I think, in
Speaker:the last year, is that we were a place of rescue.
Speaker:So that when people come out of wherever they've been in brokenness,
Speaker:that as they sit at a table with other people or they get clothing in
Speaker:a line or whatever the case may be, what they.
Speaker:They come to understand is that rescue, which can then lead
Speaker:to reconciliation, which can then lead to restoration.
Speaker:That. That is a possibility. And it's a possibility
Speaker:because of community. Right. And we use this,
Speaker:you know, and we call people that we serve
Speaker:neighbors because we really care about the fact that
Speaker:we're not just focused on what happens within a cafe,
Speaker:within a church building, but we're really concerned about a church
Speaker:without walls, where we're looking into the community and saying, this
Speaker:happens in neighborhoods. That's where it starts.
Speaker:My dream is that people that we minister to will leave
Speaker:the cafe, still continue to attend there, but when they leave,
Speaker:they go into their own places where they live and most are housed,
Speaker:and they, you know, they. They minister and connect
Speaker:with other people in those ways in neighborhoods. Right. So,
Speaker:wow. So profound and this
Speaker:deeply, deeply relational. Our director, Wendy, she
Speaker:always says she even finds that it's not a lack of
Speaker:resources that are out there, but a lack of connection. The
Speaker:resources get found one way or another. People give or whatever it
Speaker:might be. But when there's connection,
Speaker:that transforms so much.
Speaker:Another episode of a podcast I talked about with somebody, they talked about
Speaker:just saying yes to, you know, when God asks us to move our
Speaker:feet or to. To take a step. And so I think
Speaker:my last question really is. Is about that, that
Speaker:for people who are listening to this and are stirred by what
Speaker:these stories you've been. You've been sharing, but maybe aren't in a, you
Speaker:know, a pastoral position like you or in an organization like myself,
Speaker:in doing this kind of work full time, what does it look
Speaker:like for them, for the average family or
Speaker:young adults or older adults or whoever, I guess, who don't
Speaker:know where to start, what would you encourage them to do?
Speaker:You know, I think the very beginning point
Speaker:is to just be aware to. To just open our eyes as
Speaker:believers, as Christ followers, and see what's around us. And
Speaker:so really, when I talk about neighborhoods, that's where it is as neighbors
Speaker:in neighborhoods. What's happening? Who am I seeing
Speaker:on the street? Who am I seeing in the grocery store? What kind of
Speaker:stories am I picking up on? All of those kinds of things. And I
Speaker:think that this idea of walking with the poor or walking with those
Speaker:and vulnerable is just paying attention and saying, is there some way that,
Speaker:yeah, I can pray for someone, I can have a, a kind word
Speaker:for someone. You know, so many people that, that, you know, if
Speaker:you situation, you see someone panhandling on the street or, or something
Speaker:like that, that's the, you know, in traffic, doing that or, or whatever. I
Speaker:mean, often there's just so much fear in even saying hello to
Speaker:someone, you know, and, and, and talking to them and maybe getting a bit of
Speaker:their story and so on. So, so I think that that's the place that,
Speaker:that we start where we just, we're aware of that and we're looking around this.
Speaker:What does that mean within neighborhoods? Because we don't live in a
Speaker:society as much as we once did, where we are
Speaker:aware of, even on our street, right? Who are our neighbors on our street and
Speaker:who are we connecting with? And so we don't. We tend to retreat into our
Speaker:homes and that kind of thing. So I think that's the first thing, and I
Speaker:think the next thing is it doesn't matter where you do it. I
Speaker:think the, the reality is that when we're talking about those who
Speaker:are vulnerable, whatever that vulnerability looks like,
Speaker:that we simply want to befriend those people and find
Speaker:ways. And so sometimes that's a case of going to where they are. And
Speaker:so, yeah, volunteering is very locally, and we can do
Speaker:that kind of in a number of different contexts and so on.
Speaker:But again, it's this idea where Jesus says, the
Speaker:poor you will always have with you. So what does that mean? Is Jesus
Speaker:saying, well, okay, so ignore them? No, he's definitely not saying that.
Speaker:Is he saying, be aware of them? Yes, he's saying that. And he's
Speaker:saying, is there some way in which you can connect
Speaker:with them and make a difference with them? Because guess what?
Speaker:And this is the other kind of piece of that is that you also are
Speaker:poor. We're all poor. We're all broken. We're all in
Speaker:need of things. We all have these things that we've struggled with and that we
Speaker:need to work through. And there have been times for all of
Speaker:us in our lives where someone has been there, right? And so it just really
Speaker:is that. It's being there. And so being aware, being there. Finding ways
Speaker:in which we can just go and just make a difference. You
Speaker:know, again, it's that moving out of isolation and out of pain and into
Speaker:connection. So. And it doesn't take being a pastor. It doesn't even take being part
Speaker:of a formal ministry. It really takes just, where is Jesus going to
Speaker:use me today? Right. And. And I get up. I. I don't really.
Speaker:I don't focus, to be honest. We have a fair, large ministry and
Speaker:so on. I don't really focus on leadership, and I don't really focus
Speaker:on that piece. What I really focus on is service. I get up every
Speaker:morning and. And my prayer to God every morning is, show me how
Speaker:you want me to serve, where you're having me serve today. Right. What does
Speaker:that look like? You know, as opposed to, hey, I'm the boss and I'm,
Speaker:you know, whatever, you know, nobody calls me
Speaker:boss, by the way. So, you know, just go in and let's
Speaker:just serve together. And I think there is nothing more critical
Speaker:that we all grab ahold of from the Gospels than
Speaker:that Jesus came as one to serve,
Speaker:and we are called to serve, and we need to find where that service
Speaker:is for each of us. Yeah. Amen. Thank you. Thank
Speaker:you so much for that. If people want to learn more about
Speaker:the center, how can they do that? So you can go to
Speaker:cschurch ca, which is our general
Speaker:website, and you'll find a button there that says center for the
Speaker:City. And so just click on that button and it'll bring out
Speaker:all the information and contact all the things that
Speaker:we do. It's all going to be there. Yeah. Is there anything else you want
Speaker:to share, Steve? Anything that you feel like is on your heart? I
Speaker:think just. And, Shannon, thank you for some of those questions. And I
Speaker:think that is my heartbeat coming out of those questions that
Speaker:people would be leaning into Jesus and
Speaker:praying about. What does it look like for me? Because
Speaker:God has called us all to walk with those who are in
Speaker:poverty, walk with those who are vulnerable, walk with those in need. What
Speaker:does that look like for me, right where I live, right where I
Speaker:am, and God, would you show me that? And so I think that that's.
Speaker:I think that that's really just my encouragement to people to really lean into
Speaker:that and know that God, you know, God has something there for you.
Speaker:There's a biblical principle that people sometimes
Speaker:get wrong, and they say, well, if God calls me
Speaker:to something and I don't do it, then someone else will do it. And actually
Speaker:that's unbiblical. If God calls you to something and you don't do it, you
Speaker:it won't get done because it was for you and God had
Speaker:a specific purpose for you. And then there's judgment for the
Speaker:fact that we didn't do that. Right, that we were disobedient. And so I think
Speaker:that's the great place for
Speaker:us to be, to really think, yes, God has something for
Speaker:me, Father God, show me what that is so I can lean
Speaker:into it. Amazing. Thank you so much, Pastor
Speaker:Steve. I have been so blessed this conversation and I know so
Speaker:many others will be as well. Thanks Shannon. I love being with
Speaker:you. The stories we share here remind us that CARE
Speaker:doesn't have to be perfect to be powerful, it just has
Speaker:to be present. Neighborly is an initiative of Care Impact,
Speaker:a Canadian charity equipping churches, agencies and communities
Speaker:with tech and training to care better together. Visit
Speaker:Care Impact, careamp ca or to find out more about the podcast
Speaker:sponsorships, being a guest or just dropping us a line, visit
Speaker:NeighborlyPodcast CA. We'd love to hear from you. Check
Speaker:the show notes for the link or hop on our Care Impact Podcast group
Speaker:on Facebook to join our podcast community. I'm Johan.
Speaker:Thanks for listening and keep being the kind of neighbor someone will never
Speaker:forget in a good way.
Speaker:Turning over tables Tearing down
Speaker:walls Building up the
Speaker:bridges between the stones
Speaker:of these Turning over tables
Speaker:Breaking off chains When I see you
Speaker:in a stranger I'm no longer a
Speaker:slave.
Speaker:Between us all.
