Yesterday I went down to the United Methodist Church on Tryon and 8th St in Charlotte. That is where Mat Rogers and a crew of people were setting up to serve dinner to a bunch of hungry people in Uptown Charlotte. The lines were long, and the spaghetti was good and held out till everyone was fed. It was nothing fancy. After folks went through the line many of them sat on the steps of the church to eat.
Mat prayed before we got started. One of the things he asked was that we would gain the trust of the folks we were serving over time and they would "let us in". This petition struck me as he prayed. It embodied a desire to do more than a good deed, but to develop a level of friendship between me and another that would change both our lives. To me this is what living missionally is. Living "in such a way" that through our serving, our listening, our friendship and love we participate with God in drawing people to Jesus.
It seems that Mat has been doing this for around 7 years. When I met his mom she told me how he and a buddy began going down the streets of uptown looking for hungry hidden homeless people to serve. It seems that now he has more friends to feed and more to help him feed them.
Mat is an art teacher at Independence High school. I look forward to his coming to spend some time with us on Friday night at Outside the gate. Can wait hear his story and be inspired and motivated to find ways to live our lives more connected to God's mission.
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