I’m okay. I can work, but I just can’t find any.” “Maybe you’re too fussy and want only a white-collar job.” Usually the man says again that he’d take any job. He may add that he hates to be asking for help. The church worker says, “Let’s see, you say you would work if you could find work. You say you .are physically able, if only you Tcould find work. You would take almost any kind of job, if only you could find one. Well, come back in about an hour. Meanwhile I’ll see if I can find a job for you, to help you through the day. We can usually find cleaning jobs, some floors to scrub or wax. I want to help you. So come back in an hour and maybe I’ll have some work for you.” Before the man leaves, the worker mentions the love o f God and has a brief prayer, in case his visitor does not return. Observe: the worker has not turned the man down; he has offered help. He has given him a way of escape, thus making it un necessary for him to lie to get away. He has also stopped the common argument—“not able to work.” And, what is most impor tant, he has given the man a chance to prove whether he is sin cere about needing help. You might ask, “What if the man does come back, and the church worker doesn’t have a job for him?” . The worker should have sin cerely inquired into a job possi bility. And if the man comes back, the vital question of his sincerity has been established. Then it is time for the worker to offer a meal, help meet the other needs of the moment, and also, if possi ble, provide a job or other aid. Through this method o f elimi nation, if the “handout” seeker does return, a very wholesome re lation is set up. It is conducive to more permanent help than “bread and butter.” — N e l s S t j e r n s t r o m , LeToumeau College,Long view, Texas. Q bj © Christianity Today 1968. Reprinted by permission.
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Jp* by Mels Stjernstrom M a n y m in is t e r s and church workers, especially in down town churches, have experi enced the difficulty of turning down a person asking for money. Always there lurks the fear that the asker might really deserve help. One church has found a way of solving this problem. When an obviously poor man comes into the church and asks to talk to a min ister, he is introudced to a staff member. The man says: “ I won der if you could help me out with some money for something to eat. I haven’t had any food today and I’m in pretty bad shape.” The staff member sincerely desires to help a worthy person. But he is unwill ing to be taken in by a profes sional panhandler, and so he pro ceeds in this way: “ Are you looking for work or for a handout?” (The w ord “handout” is used deliberately. It has a bad connotation and will probably draw out a reaction.) The man answers: “Oh, I’d like to work, but there just aren’t any jobs. I’ve looked all over.” (Ob serve: he has admitted willing ness to work, but another step must be taken.) “Maybe you aren’t physically up to working, so it wouldn’t do much good to get a job.” The man usually answers: “Oh,
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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