TIME
3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. – Philippians 2:3-5 (NLT)
Good Samaritans Needed
![]() Let me point you to an experiment by Princeton University psychologists John Darley and Daniel Baston inspired by the “Good Samaritan” idea. They took a group of seminarians from Princeton Theological Seminary and told them they would have to prepare a sermon and then walk to the building next door and present it. They introduced three variables into the experiment: 1.) Before the experiment started, they asked the students why they were in seminary, whether it was for personal fulfillment or to help others, 2.) Some of them were told to develop a sermon on the relevance of the professional clergy to the religious vocation and the others were told to do it on the parable of the Good Samaritan, 3.) Half of them were told they were a few minutes early and could take their time getting to the building where they were supposed to give their talk. The other half were told they were a few minutes late and should hurry over. On the path the students would take to deliver their sermons, Darley and Baston planted a man “slumped in an alley, head down, eyes closed, coughing and groaning.” The expected result was that those who had responded that they were in seminary to help others, and those who had to prepare their sermon on the Good Samaritan (thereby having just spent time on the command to help those in need) would be the two groups most likely to stop and help the man. But the results shocked both Darley and Baston. Neither of those two variables made any difference. The only thing that mattered was whether the seminarian was told he was late or not. Of those told they had some time to spare, 63% stopped to help the man. Of those told they were late, only 10% stopped to help. Darley and Baston said of the experiment, “A person not in a hurry may stop and offer help to a person in distress. A person in a hurry is likely to keep going. Ironically, he is likely to keep going even if he is hurrying to speak on the parable of the Good Samaritan, thus inadvertently confirming the point of the parable. (Indeed, on several occasions, a seminary student going to give his talk on the parable of the Good Samaritan literally stepped over the victim as he hurried on his way!) In a typical week, only 1 out of every 4 believers will allocate some time to serving other people. Most of that time is dedicated to volunteering in church programs that serve the congregants, while little effort is invested in serving the needy people outside the congregation. While it’s much easier to be a hand-out of cash or resources it’s much more rewarding to be a hand-up by investing your time into another person’s life. So the real question for the Church congregants is “will you simplify your life and slow down to take the time to truly “Be the Church”, to connect with God and help the least of these? Or are you just there on Sunday mornings because it’s another “to do” item on your busy schedule even though 8 out of every 10 believers don’t feel they’ve had a connection with God during worship service? If your answer is to “Be the Church” let us know and we can match you up with someone in need every week. If you have the time, I would invite you to “Come and See”.
16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion-how can God’s love be in that person? 18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. – 1 John 3:16-19 (NLT)
|
When Bryan started talking about starting a “discussion group” at one of the motels we deliver food to, my initial thoughts were that most likely nobody would show up – shame on me. It just seemed to me that the folks we come across seem pretty church damaged and that they would not trust outsiders to come in and talk to them about God. Well, one thing I have learned recently is not to limit God (seriously, who would have ever imagined that assembling 48 meals in our living room and passing them out to those is need would eventually grow into 390 meals weekly and monthly BBQ’s) so I kept my negative thoughts to myself and 1 month ago we started our Life Support out-reach at Motel 9 in Branson. Having not allowed myself enough time, running into van problems and the food not being ready when I went to pick it up I arrived 30 minutes late, not really expecting to see anyone there except my husband and step-son, but to my amazement there were 5 residents sitting in an incredibly hot breezeway (with no breeze) listening to Bryan asking them questions about how they view Christians and Christianity. We have now had 4 discussion groups and can barely fit everyone into the hotel room that we are now meeting in. I see people coming to explore God in a non-threatening “come as you are” environment and I have to admit that it is awesome! It’s one more time that God has shown me how he can reach anyone, in any situation, if we are willing to go and be his hands and feet. What an honor and privilege to be able to go to those who might never step foot into a church building and talk with them about how magnificent our God is. – Amy
AUGUST "LOVE YOUR NEIGHBORS" BBQ at AUNT MOLLIE'S EXTENDED STAY MOTEL and GARDEN
Please join us for our next “Love Your Neighbors” (as yourself) BBQ Event – at Aunt Mollie’s Extended Stay Motel, 251 Expressway Lane, next to the Sight & Sound Theatre, Sunday, August 22nd from 4-6 PM. Bring a dessert item if you would like and share in this free and fun event celebrating the true spirit of “community”. Break down the walls that society has built and experience life with someone that lives on the margins. There will be food and games for the kids as we cook-out. This will be a great opportunity to build relationships with someone new. The garden at Aunt Mollie’s Extended Stay Motel continues to thrive and we will get to benefit from the fruits of our labors as we have fresh veggie’s with our BBQ.
WISH LIST
DONATIONS DO HELP

THANK YOU - THANK YOU - THANK YOU - THANK YOU
![]() Rich, the General Manager at Golden Corral, presenting Amy & I a check for $1000. Truly God’s timing as Amy & I were contemplating having to cut back on the number served. Rich, KD and Golden Corral are great supporters of Jesus Was Homeless and thanks to their continued help people in need will be served.
|
PRAISE - PRAISE - PRAISE - PRAISE - PRAISE - PRAISE
![]() Our friends over at Sight & Sound Theatres have pledged $1.00 from every ticket sold to their show for one week in November. This will be a HUGE blessing for us!!! More details to follow but this is a great idea for a way to help support us.
As you know, Amy & I both work full-time jobs so any type of fundraising has to be a commitment that others can help share the load on.
|
BOOK REVIEWS




















WAYS YOU CAN SUPPORT US:
CONTACT INFO:
Amy Stallings – 417.335.0266
[email protected]