“Oh, you’re a student from Dallas Seminary.”
The intake officer at Dallas Rescue Mission wasn’t fooled.
Al Nucciarone and I were dutifully fulfilling a requirement in the Pastoral Ministries program at DTS: spend two nights in downtown Dallas on “$5 and a toothbrush,” which meant we had to spend two nights in homeless shelters. It also meant we would have clean teeth but bad breath while we were doing it.
Dallas Rescue Mission was our first mission of choice. Al and I chose what was forecast to be a warm weekend, drove to downtown on Friday afternoon, found a free parking space, and took our place in line with dozens of haggard men in front of the dingy building that was the home of DRM. To fit in, we didn’t shave for a week and wore old, grungy clothes. When it was our turn to be interviewed for the night, I went first.
It was my answer to the question, “Has anyone ever explained to you how to become a Christian?” that gave me away.
“Yes, I trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as my savior when I was ten years old at the Church of the Open Door in Los Angeles.”
The intake guy rolled his eyes. I was obviously not the first Pastoral Ministries student to fulfill his “$5 and a toothbrush” requirement. He cut short the interview and sent me into what looked like a large living room. I waited for Al, whose interview also went lightening fast.
Gradually the lounge filled up with fellow ne’er-do-wells. When everyone had been finally interviewed, we were ushered into a chapel where we were treated to a brief service with a gospel message. At the end of the service we filed out into a dining hall, where we were given a nondescript dinner and then escorted back to the lounge area where we spent the rest of the evening.
The sleeping quarters was a large dorm room with scores of cots. I didn’t get much sleep that night. It didn’t feel safe. It was also thunderously loud with snoring men. It was as if they were competing with each other to see who could be the loudest. I felt like I had landed in the Olympics of Snoring.
What surprised me was how early they roused us-5 AM. We took a group shower and got dressed. Afterwards they gave us a breakfast of bean soup and bread and had us out the front door by 6 am.
Then came the biggest surprise of all. It was still dark as we walked out the door. Greeting us on the sidewalk were men from Labor Pool and other day laborer businesses begging us to go to work!
“Our work vans are right here. We’ll pay you cash and give you a free lunch,” they kept saying.
I watched as man after man filed out the door. There were over 100 men in that rescue mission. But out of that group of men, only one got on a van to go to work. The rest disappeared into the morning darkness.
And our second night in downtown Dallas? That night we spent in a Salvation Army rescue mission and it was the same routine with the exact same result: men walking out the front door of the rescue mission, greeted with invitations to go to work, and almost all of the men refusing to do so.
So what did I learn from spending two nights in rescue missions?
I learned that rescue missions, at least the two that I was in, do a wonderful job of presenting the gospel and providing the basics for the homeless. But I also learned that some homeless-and perhaps many homeless-are homeless by choice and that able bodied men should not be fed when they refuse to work.
This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.
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2 thoughts on “What I Learned from Spending Two Nights in Rescue Missions”
It is an eye opener. We feed the hungry through Hope for the Hungry, a ministry in Georgia. Those who do not know the Lord hear the gospel. Some are unable to work because of age and physical limitations. Some work but need help in feeding their families. There are others who are young, physical fit, and appear to be able to work.
I believe protocol may have changed since your stay at the Salvation Army in Dallas, Texas. I have taken people to the Salvation Army in Fayetteville, NC and, at the time (approximately 2005 – 2012), they required a fee of $ 7 a night and a background check.
Good points, John. Yes, I think things are different at rescue missions than they were 40 years ago. They have to achieve a fine balance. I have a good friend who heads up a rescue mission. They do great work.