By Eddie Vines
The Mission e-newsletter
Since I have been writing The Mission newsletter, I have had the opportunity to meet and interview numerous inspiring Christ-followers who are reaching the lost in unique and innovative ways.
I have been richly blessed by them, but there are two types of ministries that touch my heart in a special way; those that are conducted by volunteer laypersons and those that arise simply and organically as the Spirit points up a need.
In this installment, we have both of these elements.
Along with a focus on ministry efforts, I am involved in mediation as part of my profession.
A while back, during a lull in a court mediation, I began telling one of the other lawyers about the small ministry I lead that operates an orphanage in India.
After listening intently, he told me he also started a ministry to serve the homeless population of nearby Birmingham.
This lawyer’s name is Steve Shaw, and he has been practicing law in downtown Birmingham for many years.
Steve shared with me that he has long encountered homeless people as he walked from his car to his office and that one particular winter, as it became bitterly cold, he felt himself becoming disturbed by the thought of these unfortunate people sleeping outdoors with little means of keeping warm.
As he pondered, it occurred to him to check into the possibility of providing them with hand warmers.
After looking around a local sporting goods store, he bought a few that looked like oversized tea bags but became comfortably warm after a vigorous shake.
He decided to start his new missions adventure at one of Birmingham’s urban parks. In almost no time at all, he had given them all out.
After doing this a few times, there was an occasion when he got in his car to leave and heard what he described as an “inner voice,” telling him very clearly to get back out and have prayer with those poor souls.
He tells with a bit of emotion how he began to pray and suddenly felt someone on his left gently take his hand, and then someone on his right did the same.
While Steve has enjoyed serving in various roles in his local church over the years, he relates that he has received a special blessing from this ministry that involves such personal interaction.
He has also enjoyed getting family members and church friends involved and seeing the joy they experience as they serve “the least of these.”
Due to the number of homeless people in the area, Steve began steadily increasing the number of warmers he was distributing.
Inspired by Steve’s efforts, a local hardware store has begun selling him the warmers at a discount, and the store owner has also experienced the joy of making a real difference in the name of the Lord.
Others joining in
Over just a few years, Steve has increased the number he gives out each winter to 1,500, and in addition to the small hand warmers he began with, he now also provides larger ones that have the capability of heating the inside of a sleeping bag for 18 hours.
He and his friends sometimes also take coffee and biscuits to distribute along with the warmers.
Steve hasn’t incorporated the ministry he calls Warming Hands, Warming Hearts and raises no funds.
Likewise, Warming Hands, Warming Hearts involves no meetings, committees or red tape.
Many sincere believers sit on the sidelines as the Great Commission goes forth because they don’t have specialized training or an organization to operate under.
Steve’s ministry is a poignant reminder that needs are all around us and that they can often be met in simple and uncomplicated ways.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This article first appeared in the The Mission e-newsletter and is reprinted with permission. Learn more about the newsletter and it’s author Eddie Vines at eddievines.com.
Letters to the Editor
Our voting on candidates is an issue that is very important for America, and we will be voting for primary, national and local elections again soon.
Herein lies multitudes of problems and difficulties:
- Should The Alabama Baptist publish information about the candidates and the issues?
- Are there tax laws that will adversely affect TAB and the Church?
- Will articles about voting offend our readers?
- How can people come to know how to vote?
- Where can we find reliable information on the offices and issues that will be on the ballots?
- Can we as individuals put aside our differences and let the wisdom of God help us make good choices?
- How much time and effort will be needed to encourage the population to put time and effort into becoming informed?
Jack Collier
Birmingham
EDITOR’S NOTE — Thank you, Jack, for asking these questions. We invite additional responses.
In case you missed these nuggets
Excerpts from the Jan. 18 edition of The Baptist Paper:
Sanctity of Human Life Sunday will forever hold a different meaning in our household. It is a reminder that every life has value, even an autistic child’s. Mason — who was born as a micropremie weighing 1 lb. 14 oz. at 24 weeks and survived — is a living, walking testimony of God’s faithfulness and goodness. Those who have walked this journey with us still call him “Miraculous Mason” or our miracle baby, and he truly is.
Lauren Grim, designer
The Alabama Baptist
Personal goals for 2024: Speak a good word about God to somebody every day and worry less, trust God more.
Chuck Lawless
chucklawless.com
Former Alabama lineman Rich Wingo recently shared about football and his faith journey at a Man Up event at First Baptist Church Anderson, a small town in the Muscle Shoals area.
He challenged the men present to give their all to getting to know Christ — that’s the only place hope can be found, he said.
Pastor Heath Harrelson said, “This is bigger than FBC Anderson — it’s about reaching men for Christ in an area that feels hopeless. We’re just trying to be obedient to what God has called us to do.”
Harrelson has known the significance of holding men’s events, but when six men in his area under the age of 30 committed suicide within four months last year, he felt a heightened sense of urgency and is already planning a follow-up event.
Read more at tbponline.org.
My challenge to you is that we demonstrate joy in all that we do in this coming year. … What joy it is to know God is in control. … God did not make our joy dependent on our circumstances or out of our reach. … It is a result of our relationship with Him. … We must choose joy and we must choose joy daily.
Connie Dixon
National WMU president
“We lost a lot of possessions, but we have the most important things. Each other and our faith,” said Erik Naylor, newly installed pastor of Lahaina Baptist Church, who had moved his family to Maui from Arizona only a few months prior to the devastating fire. He lost his home and had to flee with his wife and five children.
“Ministry offers us daily opportunities to choose the wrong refuge. If we want to stay in it, brothers, we need to continually resituate our refuge. That’s what Psalm 2 does,” said Matt Mason, pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham.
“We speak into our culture through our vote, and Christians must engage in this civic responsibility. The phrase, ‘vote your values,’ may be trite, but it is, nonetheless, true,” said Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen.
“Many myths exist regarding aging. Some of these include thoughts like the elderly cannot learn new things, all elderly get dementia, the elderly should take it easy or the elderly should not drive. These ideas as general statements and assumptions across the board could not be further from the truth,” said Kelly Arant, a registered play therapist and clinical director for Pathways Professional Counseling, a nonprofit ministry of the Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries.
“[God’s] ways are mysterious. We cannot figure Him out. We can’t base our faith on a satisfactory answer to the ‘Why?’ When you base your faith on getting a good answer for your ‘Why did this happen?’ your faith is going to be shipwrecked,” said actress Nan Gurley, who starred as Corrie ten Boom in the play-turned-film, “The Hiding Place,” based on the gut-wrenching 1971 book by Corrie ten Boom about her family’s experience hiding Jews during World War II.
With her finger wagging, an African villager asked an International Mission Board missionary who visited her community years ago, “What took you so long to come tell us about this man you call Jesus? Why haven’t you come before now to tell us about this God who really loves us? We are very angry that you were slow to come!”
“Jesus taught us that He is the Light of the World in John 8, but [in the Sermon on the Mount] He also said we are lights in the world,” Tim Dowdy, vice president of evangelism for the North American Mission Board, told pastors during a recent workshop in Birmingham. “God gives us family and friends and connections so that we can share His love and plan for them. Evangelism is not something we do for a season or a day. … It must always be in process. We have programs, and these are good, but it doesn’t matter which program we use. We select what works for us, and then we must do it intentionally.”
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