Below is the account of how “Homeless Church” developed from nothing and morphed into “Burgers & Jesus.” Burgers & Jesus encompasses the two-part vision of The Truth Project of Salisbury Md., a “Congregational Aspect” worship experience and a “Feeding Ministry.” I am excited to share with you, the journal entries of how Burgers & Jesus came together and continues to progress. The entries ascend from bottom to top, earliest to most current.
November 2020
This year has been impossible to do Homeless Church: Covid-19 happened (although, I haven’t heard of any homeless people diagnosed with Covid), I am having a hard time finding anyone, the groups are scattered, and now most are trying to find a place to settle for the winter. Anyway, I was driving the Church Street Neighborhood and I noticed “Bunky” (a homeless acquaintance of mine) walking the street. I stopped, got out and approached him. Bunky is usually excited to see me and greets me with a hug or handshake. This time he looked happy but he stayed his distance, looking over his shoulder at a group of six young black drug dealers; okay, alleged drug dealers. I know at least two of them who sell on the corner close by. The others I don’t know, but they sure keep bad company. We began speaking and the group called his name, but he didn’t answer. I believe they were checking on Bunky because of me, which is totally cool. One who I recognize (who has been aggressive with me in the past) came over and stood a couple yards from us. We fixed glares, checked each other out, and I recognized he wasn’t going to cause any trouble; he was just curious. I told Bunky I wanted to give him something. I opened my trunk and allowed him to pick-out a care package (full of personal hygiene products) and a cloth face mask. I offered him some Vienna Sausages and a pack of crackers, but he shunned away saying “I don’t eat that stuff,” Lol. I asked him for a hug, he accepted and then the young drug kid left. Bunky then asked me, “When are you going to start having church again pastor? I really need it.” Wow. When he said this, Jesus really used it to hit me in the heart. I know the time is getting near, when Jesus is going to bring this all together.
January 2020
Every year the churches in the area come together to offer the homeless a place to sleep at night. This happens until the middle of February. Unfortunately, during this colder weather, I am not having any success finding anyone on the street. A couple I have run into agreed that it will be hard to get everyone together, so Burgers & Jesus will be continued in late February or early March. Stay tuned. Read below for the accounts of the entire year of 2019.
December 2019
Burgers & Jesus didn’t work out this month unfortunately. I had some family things happen, I couldn’t communicate with any of the homeless people (getting cold) so, unfortunately, I couldn’t pull it off.
November 2019
“Bird” is one of the homeless men the others told me to stay away from months ago. “He is a trouble maker” they said. Of course, that puts a target on his back for me. Bird has a spirit of murmur, a spirit of religion (not Christian), and is “slightly” schizophrenic (I am aware that “slightly” is not a medical term, but he’s not totally straight-jacket crazy is all I’m saying). He is a disrupter, but we’ll get back to that in a little bit. Homeless church was cold this month. It was in the mid-thirties today and, for the first time, they were waiting for me! Usually I have to hunt them down. Do you know what did it? If you say “Jesus,” you’re wrong. It was hot coco! I told a few of them I intended to make it and they were all excited. Bird tried to hijack our gathering with empty arguments from a “Coexist,” all-inclusive position. I think the argument benefited everyone, so I’m glad he attacked. I asked Bird where he had been sleeping – most of these people are out during the day but have managed to find a shelter or someone to take them in during these extremely cold nights. He and Bunky (who I really care for and he for me) both told me they were sleeping on the concrete. Can you imagine sleeping on the concrete in freezing weather? I passed out a care packet (personal hygiene items) to everyone. One of you just helped me with blankets. I told them I would be back at the spot at a certain time to pass out blankets that evening after I picked them up. The ones who really needed them showed. As I passed out ten to fifteen blankets, Bird stood looking at me with a hard glare. We fixed our hard gazes at one another for a moment and I couldn’t help it any longer. I cracked and started smiling. He busted out in laughter! He never said it, but I knew his laughter meant “Thank you” and was a gesture of acceptance of me (and ultimately you). So, I have a new friend, the one the others told me to stay away from.
October 2019
What was referred to as “Homeless Church” has been re-named to “Burgers & Jesus.” My homeless friends have told me they like our cheeseburgers so much they don’t want anything else. I’ve asked them for suggestions, something new, but they told me “No, we love those cheeseburgers!” They also like the bratwurst and they say they never get food like this. They always get hotdogs (I am assuming because they are cheap and easy to make) or what they refer to as “sweaty meat sandwiches.” Lol. These are soggy ham sandwiches they always get at one of the help centers in town. I’m human and have struggled with the idea “They’re homeless. They should appreciate what they get.” But they are also human and have likes and dislikes. None of us would like to eat the same things all the time regardless of some of them having an entitlement attitude. It is not my job to condemn their line of thinking, but to be like Jesus, become the hands and feet of Jesus, access their hearts through their mouths with Love and their ears through the Gospel. So, now, there’s no discussion on what we’re going to cook when we do homeless church. These Burgers have become renowned among the homeless group. I grill the burgers and the bratwurst myself at my home (my grill, my gas), my family wraps them up so they are fresh, and I deliver them immediately the morning right before we are doing “Burgers and Jesus.”
October 2019
Again, today, nothing happened like I expected, but I was subjected to a new group of homeless people to minister to. Everyone knew Homeless Church was today, but NOBODY showed except Stick Man. He played the harmonica, we spoke about the Bible and he confirmed that Jesus delivered him from smoking last month when we prayed. Amen! After two hours we both left and I had a car full of food. I decided to go down to the “spot.” I ran into Bunk-Bunk, prayed against alcoholism, gave him food and asked “Where’s everybody at?” We got into my truck and drove to where many more were hanging-out. I fed more people and one guy stood out to me because of the way he spoke. He spoke with understanding of the Bible, but no authority and it was confusing. He was Biblically literate, but he flew scripture and scenarios – not all Biblically sound – in a barrage so one couldn’t respond before another point was coming. Jesus nudged me in the back of my brain that this was his spirit’s defense mechanism. We got alone and he admitted he wasn’t saved and continued to blast for and opposing points about the Bible…very confusing. I finally got control of the conversation, had his attention, and Jesus told me to ask him, “When are you going to trade in knowledge for wisdom?” He stopped dead in his tracks and said, “You got me there.” I then went into the Gospel of Jesus and drove up to “decision time.” To which, he responded, “I am a Christian.” Wow. He is not a Christian BTW, and I am telling you all this to make a point. Most of these people are so demonized it’s like fighting/debating four or five different people at the same time. I told my wife, talking with many of these people is like wrestling with a combination lock, or a Rubik’s Cube. There is never one set way to get to where you are trying to go; there are road blocks, flash-floods, smoke screens, and sometimes multiple-personality shifts. This is the ministry Jesus has called me to. I long for deliverance for these people. I want to see some people get free!
October 2019
This month’s effort has been difficult to put together. This is the middle of the month and today I went to the “spot” and spoke with 4 to 8 (off and on) people about Jesus stuff. We discussed the Bible. I answered questions about the Bible. We addressed theological approaches to the Bible head on. I individually prayed (1) against the bondage of addiction for one man, and (2) for the aspirations of a homeless married couple. Yes there are homeless couples out here). I also prayed (3) against the spirit who causes desolation and loneliness in the heart of a crippled homeless woman. Today was totally unscripted, the way I’m becoming accustomed to liking it.
September 2019
This month was the third month of “Homeless Church.” The last two months went smoothly, but yesterday was a fragmented mess. I am a bit of an organizational freak and I like for things to go as planned. Funny, as soon as I write this my current lifestyle came into mind. Jesus has taken the planning from me in the past and I do not have control over everything that happens anymore. My ministry is somewhat “On Call” or subject to change based on Him, or others I work with. Anyway, the previous two gatherings had a semblance of a church service in the way they flowed (only). They were organized in a sense. Yesterday was not. There were people in and out, many new faces, some just interested in the food aspect of it, some in the social aspect. When I asked Jesus what He wanted me to talk about the week leading up to the event He told me “Just tell them about Me.” These same words were confirmed to me twice later in the week. So, I just told them about Him. I was disappointed because things didn’t go as I thought they would and I remember sitting there just talking to those who would talk to me, about random stuff; the whole day was so random. Then, at the end, I was left with just a couple men and one (Stick Man) brought up that he couldn’t stop smoking. I felt the urge to pray for him. I shared how Jesus had delivered me from smoking cigarettes thirteen years ago. He was encouraged by that story and wanted me to pray for him. I did and there were no outward signs of anything, but I am eager to see him again to confirm the deliverance. Other noteworthy occurrences are (and need prayer): “Magdalene” had a heart attack and a stroke since the last gathering – she’s the one who was drunk and argued with me last time. J (is the heroin addict from many inserts in the past) broke probation, skipped court and is in jail now. Jazzy and his girl (both homeless) are expecting a baby – they are young and he is not adapting well to the hormonal changes a pregnant woman goes through. After all is said and done, I believe Jesus is showing me that this particular environment is not going to be consistent. I need to be willing to allow things to happen…let Him direct the traffic. It’s Him who does the work anyway.
September 2019
Today wasn’t a planned Homeless Church day, but the Lord told me to go down to speak to whoever was at the “spot.” I showed-up and there were only two people there. We had a casual conversation about nothing really and I shared my pretzels with them. In about thirty minutes a larger group showed and we were all talking. I wasn’t trying to force anything. Rather I was listening to see what Jesus wanted me to do there more than anything. We talked about trouble with the cops, fighting, chicken at Royal Farms, and many other things. Then the door opened. Because of a comment made by one of the men who knows me. Because of this statement another – who had never met me before – asked me who I was and what I did. My answer entered into a discussion which transitioned into a message (of sorts). I was amazed. What started out as raw conversation about nothing, turned into a message about life, testimony, purpose and Jesus Christ. Also, V (see Aug. Truth News, “Homeless”) found a home for her and her sons (praise); which you prayed for BTW. Now she is looking for a job. Pray that she would find one quickly please. “Jazzy” and his homeless girlfriend lost their baby. Very sad. They are both very young. She seems like a nice young girl and he could be nice if he would allow himself to be. I think Jazzy is very smart, but he thinks he’s more of a thug than he really is. I was leaving and the Holy Spirit reminded me that I still had a few “Homeless Care Packages” in my trunk. I turned around and was able to go and bless around ten of them with the resources a few of you provided me.
August 2019
The arrival was like last month’s, nobody was there AGAIN! Shortly, J (from many other entries) arrived and said “Everyone’s been talking about this. I can’t believe no one’s here.” He expected more people – that was a good sign and they must view our previous meeting as favorable. Anyway, I reminded him of how I found everybody last time and he agreed we should get on the road and get them. So we did. When everyone got to the spot, we prayed, I gave them free reign to the food my family prepared for them all morning, and I told them “a story” about who Jesus really is. We had so much food we began feeding others who were randomly walking by (I think that’s so awesome! Homeless people were feeding “regular people” in the park). We played spades, got caught in the rain, I had an “argument” with one of the females (LOL, she had been drinking and argued while I defended the Bible; which made my argument stronger cause she was irrational), and ended sharing phone numbers as a few of them want to continue conversations about Jesus.
July 2019
Today was the first “Church Service” by The Project to the homeless people of Salisbury Md. We planned on meeting at a certain time in a certain place and they weren’t there! Thirty minutes later I drove over to where I met them originally and there they were. They told me that they were getting ready to come over, but I’m not sure they thought I was really going to show. Who knows? Who cares? Anyway, things kept changing from a couple of days before, right up until the 30 minutes after the event was supposed to start. I will not go into how impossible and expensive it really is to do this thing correctly – the way local government wants it to happen. It’s certainly NOT as easy as it reads to be when Jesus told everyone to sit down in a “solitary place” and fed them. Anyway, we overcame, got together, and began our gathering. We prayed before they ate and as they ate I began telling them why I was there with them. I explained that I am not affiliated with any church or denomination, not a charitable organization, etc. I explained that I was there because Jesus cares about them, so do I, and that I want to get to know them better and serve them as I am led to by Jesus. I shared my testimony with them and asked if they had any questions about Jesus; to which, there were none. But, they opened up to me about how other churches and charitable organizations treat them like unimportant, or inferior citizens. They kind of are in society’s eyes, but it’s amazing that they trust me enough to tell me this. I was given an example that goes something like this:
“The old ladies pulled up, opened their trunk, and the food sat in the sun for two hours before they gave it to us. It was like they were making us wait. The food wasn’t even fresh, it was old food. I don’t know why we had to wait, but when we got the food they left right away.”
Who knows what the reasons really were, but this was their interpretation of that particular event. We ate, talked, laughed and played (spades and dominoes) for three hours. In the end they all thanked me. I think this is a big deal because of how they portray themselves as being treated in the past and seeing how they act about this kind of thing. I have spent a lot of time with some of them leading to this event. Look, they might be playing me and I don’t know how they really feel, but I do know what I saw in their eyes as our time ended. I don’t know how many “Old Ladies” have spent three quality hours with these guys and girls in one sitting and shared life. This was a breakthrough event for The Project in my opinion. Two Weeks Later. I was told by one of the homeless people that some were complaining because “That guy” (me) said he was going to have a cookout and didn’t do it. Those who were present quickly corrected them.
June 2019
I had a good meeting and discussion with “Bam” today – the Muslim homeless guy from an earlier entry. Bam opened up about most of the homeless people that hang out by the river in Salisbury. How most have been homeless from five to seven years. He told me most of them don’t know how to interact with real people because of where they’ve been for so long. Some are drunks, some drug addicts, some have psychotic issues, but all are hurting in some way and are societal rejects (The Least of These). Bam confirmed that there will be 25 to 30 people attending our church service/cookout next month. Jesus met people in “remote places,” outside of the churches walls of His day, fed them with minimal resources, had compassion on them and healed them. Pray that some will respond to the message of Salvation and that Jesus will have compassion on these people, and heal and deliver some of them as well. BTW, this is the first “Church Service” for the Truth Project of Salisbury Maryland and I wouldn’t have it any other way, Amen. Pray these things.
June 2019
Today, I fed several homeless people and prayed for them. I told them who I was, where I come from (in life) and who I represent (Jesus). They openly gave me the opportunity to share the gospel message of Jesus Christ with them. Others came as they were finished eating and wanted food. I didn’t have anything left to give them, but an idea fell into my head and I suggested a large cook-out. “I could bring my grill and cook for everyone,” I suggested, and “I will give a good message about Jesus when I am done” I added “[…] because you guys know who I am and who I represent.” They were more than happy to both of these suggestions. A man who was fishing on the dock (who was sharing his bate with one of the homeless men) came over and said he would get all the supplies and chicken from Perdue. Wow!!! The Truth Project is going to have its first church experience…with a LARGE group of homeless people, feeding and preaching the message of Jesus Christ. This sounds just like the sermons of Jesus, meeting needs and teaching the people.
June 2019
Jesus told me to go to one of the places He previously had me walk and pray over to reclaim territory (If you are interested I can share with you how Jesus trained me in Baltimore; how to bring down “spiritual walls,” thrones established by rulers, principalities, authorities, the powers of this world, and spiritual forces in high places while opening up ministry and healing). As I was praying over the place I made contact with five people (black, all male and one female) sitting on a bench smoking dope, drinking beer, and doing something weird with water, a straw, and little round circle things. I passed them, greeted them, and a conversation resulted. When asked what I was doing, I told them Jesus sent me to pray over the area. That statement ended in silence, so I asked if anyone of them needed me to pray for them. They all responded no, but one told me there were many demons and djinn in the area. That same one then told me “That must be while they’re not here right now. Jesus sent you to pray.” His statement is significant to me because later he revealed that he is a follower of Islam (his name is Bam). The third time I passed these people (I circled the place in prayer three times…as instructed by the Boss) one of them asked me to pray for him. He had three issues he was concerned about and shared with me his daughter just had a child. I prayed for him “Roman” and I could see his heart. He had a good heart but was not saved. He said that I needed to come back and another one told me that he was going to tell “the rest of the fellas” about me. I believe Jesus will open up this place for them and others like them too be saved, delivered from oppression/possession, to administer healing and for good words from Jesus.
The Truth Project of Salisbury Md. 