Focusing on the Unemployed

Yesterday at lunch I had the privilege of chatting with several people that experienced unemployment at some time over the past two years. They were all humble and very concerned. Their mutual concern was not for themselves, but for the members of our church. Not too long ago our church raised some $90K for Haiti during a time when our own people were going without food, clothing and shelter.

Before I go on, I need to clarify that our church has a food pantry, clothes closet and helps find people places to stay when needed. However, the programs are not visible to most of the church, nor do most of those attending have any clue that we have desperate and hurting people sitting next to them on a Sunday morning.

The conversation was more about our church's approach. We have always been a mission's minded church, which is a good thing, but we've fallen short many times in helping each person understand how he or she can minister directly to each other. Again, our church has no problem bringing in their nice clothes, computers, and food to share as a group, but few understand how to minister one-on-one.

I listened to a man the other day share how he couldn't make ends meet and the well meaning listener responded, "Yeah, you along with everyone else." The man was cut to the quick. He was labeled as one of many carrying the stigma of unemployment written across his forehead. He felt insignificant and disrespected.

I know what it's like to be a nobody; always the last person picked for a team. I grew up in the school system that allowed kids to point out how fat I was on a daily basis. I was ridiculed and the recipient of many jokes. Even the clothing industry took shots at me with large labels on my slacks that read "Husky" while the other kid's labels read "Slim".

Being invisible to those most important to me was even more devastating, until I learned how God viewed me. Several months later, after basking in God's perspective of me, I found myself fitting into "Slim" slacks. It was a remarkable time for me. I found someone who cared enough to help me understand I was not a label, but a unique individual.

Everything in life started to turn around. I became successful at the many things that I put my hands to do. My focus shifted to others and I saw my life improve all the more. I started to understand people and why the hurting hurt others. I realized that no matter how much I love big churches and all of their wonderful programs for the masses, it is a waste if the church doesn't focus on each individual.

No unemployed person deserves to be treated with disrespect. They are a child of the king or kings. And everyone in church deserves to learn how to minister directly to the unemployed in a way that encourages and blesses them. Unfortunately, I don't see anyone teaching others how to do it.

One woman at our table summarized the discussion and suggested that she knows the hearts of our pastors and thinks they would do everything in their power to help the unemployed, but she felt they just don't have the tools to do it. She reiterated that they were doing everything they knew how to do.

My suggestion, although a little unorthodox, is to invite an unemployed person to preach about tithing. Make sure the person can hear from God and is a great speaker, but then open the podium for a time of deep heartfelt truth about tithing and what God can do with it.

The person ministering to the congregation could also share true-life accounts of what works and doesn't work when a person finds him or herself speaking one-on-one with an unemployed person. Can you imagine the startling revelation that would come upon the congregation?

Think about it. Most of the time we hear a well-dressed professional and successful person share about tithing. We feel that they are a little out of touch with reality, so we don't take their message to heart. Combined with the state of the economy, we find less people tithing than ever before.

Now, place a dynamic person who has intrinsic value from God onto the platform and let them talk about their recent financial demise, and you'll have people hanging onto his every word. Hearts will be stirred and giving will be up. The key is to funnel some of the extra monies into training church members on how to minister and help the unemployed on a one-on-one basis.

Everyone wants to see directly related results from their giving in this day and age. They want to know that their donation made a difference. They want to hear the pastor read a thank you note from a few unemployed who got back on their feet as a result of one-on-one generosity. They want to know they made a difference.

If you're interested in having an unemployed person speak on tithing at your church, I have just the person in mind. Otherwise, pray that your church focuses on some specific individuals to help them get back on their feet. And who knows, maybe the next person helped will find a six-figure salary and choose to tithe regularly, facilitating more one-on-one ministry to the hurting.