How to Hug a Smelly Guy

When was the last time you hugged a smelly guy? You know who I mean you can tell he's coming before he arrives. Maybe the guy's been homeless for a while, living outside, hasn't had a shower in weeks. You smile at him, talk to him politely, ask how he's been, and then he holds up his arms for a hug. What are you going to do? Will you embrace him as a brother, so hard that some of his stink rubs off on you? God is at work through people like you. He is still doing the things that He...
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When was the last time you hugged a smelly guy? You know who I mean you can tell he's coming before he arrives. Maybe the guy's been homeless for a while, living outside, hasn't had a shower in weeks. You smile at him, talk to him politely, ask how he's been, and then he holds up his arms for a hug. What are you going to do? Will you embrace him as a brother, so hard that some of his stink rubs off on you? God is at work through people like you. He is still doing the things that He always did. He hasn't left; He hasn't forgotten. I want to encourage you by showing you some failures, as well as some successes; by telling you some stories about God working in the lives of ordinary people, in an ordinary city, in ordinary churches. Nothing special, nothing amazing from a human perspective, but when God was done, there was something new going on. Something good. Even something very good. This is a book of stories about people just like you who have heard God's call to minister among the least of these. These stories are full of God's grace and hope that our ministry with those in poverty and despair is bringing God joy and saving lives. If you're an urban church planter, a missionary to the poor, someone with a heart for the homeless, or just a person who wants to see our cities strong and alive, open the cover and read.