Taking It to the Streets
Taking It to the Streets
by Susan Smith
My life is ministry, and I am blessed to serve full time in a great work that is bringing broken,
homeless people from the darkness of addiction and incarceration into the light of new life in
Christ.
I have always been a Universalist in my heart, but the journey for my mind began two years ago
when I discovered a credible theology that agreed with my soul. Since then, my spiritual
awareness has been expanded by interaction with brilliant scholarly people and eclectic study
materials.
My journey has taken me back in time to the beginning of the Christian Church, and propelled me
into the future with mystical quantum descriptions that support a unifying, reconciling theory for all
creation. I have been enlightened regarding original languages of the Bible and key
mistranslation's about eternal punishment for non-believers. When studying the Bible through the
lens of universal reconciliation, the scriptural support is amazing and clear.
The continuum of theology from ultra universalism to restorative universalism remains a challenge
for me. My mind remains open as I prepare for ordination through the Christian Universalist
Association where I have served on the board for the past year.
As a minister in a progressive multi-ethnic non-denominational church with a faith-based
supportive housing program and strong prison outreach component, Universalist theology
comforts me in knowing that God’s will is to be reconciled with all creation.
No one left behind forever. No one is too far gone for God. Nothing is too hard for God. This is
good the news that I proclaim in my work.
I am blessed that hard-core Jesus ministry is mine every day. In Matthew 9:9-12, we find Jesus
spending time with tax collectors, and “sinners”, which was his usual practice. When the Pharisees
questioned this, he said “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn
what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice”. For I have not come to call the righteous, but
sinners.”
My work is with sick, broken people who can be made whole with God’s help. Homeless recovering
addicts and alcoholics returning to our community from substance abuse treatment centers and
prison are bound by criminal and addictive thinking that often comes from years of abuse and
neglect in their childhood. Prostitutes, drug dealers, addicted nurses, strung out construction
workers, hustlers who have never had a real job, and college graduates; they have wandered into
the street like lost children.
These are the “sinners” we serve. Being fishers of these men and women requires faith in the
miracle working resurrection power of God, and taking it to the street where the people who need
a physician are standing.
One of the toughest challenges we face is healing the damage done by the Christian doctrine of
eternal damnation for those who are not “saved”. Some are unchurched, but more often our
people are survivors of conservative Bible Belt upbringings where the God of hell¬fire and
brimstone threatened eternal torment for sin.
It’s hard to love and serve a God who demands infinite punishment for finite sin!
Rejecting that God, with no spiritual resources to deal with their issues, they turn to drugs and
alcohol for relief. Their respite from pain becomes a nightmare as addiction turns on them,
robbing them of their life and freedom.
Many of our people think God hates them, God has let them down, God has given up on them,
and that they are already condemned to eternal hell for the things they have done. The good
news of universal reconciliation is what they need, but how can we share it effectively? In the
urgency of their situation, there is no time for theological discussion that may complicate issues.
Universal reconciliation is often rejected by the very ones who need to hear it most because “That
isn’t what the Bible says.” All they really want to know is “Can you get my abscessed tooth
pulled?”, “How can I get my medication?”, “Will my children be adopted out of foster care before I
have time to get them back?”, or “How can I pay my child support if I can’t get a job?”.
We have to meet them in the street, spend time with them, and help pull them to safety. Saving
people is hard work. No matter why they are in the street, we greet them with open arms and the
unconditional love of God. We live a sermon before them titled “God loves you, forgives you, and
wants a relation¬ship with you.” St. Francis of Assisi said “Preach the gospel, and if necessary,
use words.”
We don’t talk about God as much as we show them what God can do. Meeting their concrete
needs is the first part of taking the gospel of universal reconciliation to the streets. This is what
Jesus did. He healed, he fed, he comforted.
We spend time with people who need to be made whole. Fellowship is very important, so in the
midst of serious issues, we find time to play cards, chess, dominoes, dance, eat together, and
share stories. The best tool we have for sharing the gospel of universal reconciliation is our own
testimony because we all have stories about what God has done for us. We can’t see God
directly, but it’s easy to see where God has been.
We call this friendship evangelism. Jesus spent time with his followers, he taught them with
parables, telling stories that reflect the transforming power, the character, and the nature of God
in a simple way that can be easily applied to heal open wounds in the soul.
Taking it to the streets is being fully present in the present, and our Biblical emphasis is on
“preaching the middle”. We do not focus on creation issues, life after death, or hell because how
we got here is not relevant, our people have already been to hell, and they are being resurrected
from walking death. When people are reconciled to God in the present, eternity takes care of
itself.
This is the personal, social gospel of universal reconciliation. God desires a relationship with all
his children, and we embrace all people equally regardless of their faith or lack of it. We are
patient with them because we are not afraid of a “get saved before it’s too late” God.
The relaxed, allowing approach gives many who say they have rejected God time to process the
unconditional love, the grace, the mercy, and inspirational testimonies of their peers so that
sooner or later they cry out – “I want what you have with God! Tell me how to get it!”
The process of reconciliation with God begins anew, another life is trans¬formed, another
testimony is created, and the effects of salvation ripple out glorifying God.
Universal reconciliation preaches its own message through us when we “take it to the streets!”
Susan Smith is a Lay Minister and Assistant Executive Director of Exodus Homes in Hickory, North
Carolina. She has been with Exodus Homes for about nine years, after a successful career in
local government. Exodus Homes is a faith-based United Way agency, offering transitional and
permanent supportive housing for homeless recovering addicts, alcoholics, and formerly
incarcerated people returning to our community from treatment programs and prison.
by Susan Smith
My life is ministry, and I am blessed to serve full time in a great work that is bringing broken,
homeless people from the darkness of addiction and incarceration into the light of new life in
Christ.
I have always been a Universalist in my heart, but the journey for my mind began two years ago
when I discovered a credible theology that agreed with my soul. Since then, my spiritual
awareness has been expanded by interaction with brilliant scholarly people and eclectic study
materials.
My journey has taken me back in time to the beginning of the Christian Church, and propelled me
into the future with mystical quantum descriptions that support a unifying, reconciling theory for all
creation. I have been enlightened regarding original languages of the Bible and key
mistranslation's about eternal punishment for non-believers. When studying the Bible through the
lens of universal reconciliation, the scriptural support is amazing and clear.
The continuum of theology from ultra universalism to restorative universalism remains a challenge
for me. My mind remains open as I prepare for ordination through the Christian Universalist
Association where I have served on the board for the past year.
As a minister in a progressive multi-ethnic non-denominational church with a faith-based
supportive housing program and strong prison outreach component, Universalist theology
comforts me in knowing that God’s will is to be reconciled with all creation.
No one left behind forever. No one is too far gone for God. Nothing is too hard for God. This is
good the news that I proclaim in my work.
I am blessed that hard-core Jesus ministry is mine every day. In Matthew 9:9-12, we find Jesus
spending time with tax collectors, and “sinners”, which was his usual practice. When the Pharisees
questioned this, he said “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn
what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice”. For I have not come to call the righteous, but
sinners.”
My work is with sick, broken people who can be made whole with God’s help. Homeless recovering
addicts and alcoholics returning to our community from substance abuse treatment centers and
prison are bound by criminal and addictive thinking that often comes from years of abuse and
neglect in their childhood. Prostitutes, drug dealers, addicted nurses, strung out construction
workers, hustlers who have never had a real job, and college graduates; they have wandered into
the street like lost children.
These are the “sinners” we serve. Being fishers of these men and women requires faith in the
miracle working resurrection power of God, and taking it to the street where the people who need
a physician are standing.
One of the toughest challenges we face is healing the damage done by the Christian doctrine of
eternal damnation for those who are not “saved”. Some are unchurched, but more often our
people are survivors of conservative Bible Belt upbringings where the God of hell¬fire and
brimstone threatened eternal torment for sin.
It’s hard to love and serve a God who demands infinite punishment for finite sin!
Rejecting that God, with no spiritual resources to deal with their issues, they turn to drugs and
alcohol for relief. Their respite from pain becomes a nightmare as addiction turns on them,
robbing them of their life and freedom.
Many of our people think God hates them, God has let them down, God has given up on them,
and that they are already condemned to eternal hell for the things they have done. The good
news of universal reconciliation is what they need, but how can we share it effectively? In the
urgency of their situation, there is no time for theological discussion that may complicate issues.
Universal reconciliation is often rejected by the very ones who need to hear it most because “That
isn’t what the Bible says.” All they really want to know is “Can you get my abscessed tooth
pulled?”, “How can I get my medication?”, “Will my children be adopted out of foster care before I
have time to get them back?”, or “How can I pay my child support if I can’t get a job?”.
We have to meet them in the street, spend time with them, and help pull them to safety. Saving
people is hard work. No matter why they are in the street, we greet them with open arms and the
unconditional love of God. We live a sermon before them titled “God loves you, forgives you, and
wants a relation¬ship with you.” St. Francis of Assisi said “Preach the gospel, and if necessary,
use words.”
We don’t talk about God as much as we show them what God can do. Meeting their concrete
needs is the first part of taking the gospel of universal reconciliation to the streets. This is what
Jesus did. He healed, he fed, he comforted.
We spend time with people who need to be made whole. Fellowship is very important, so in the
midst of serious issues, we find time to play cards, chess, dominoes, dance, eat together, and
share stories. The best tool we have for sharing the gospel of universal reconciliation is our own
testimony because we all have stories about what God has done for us. We can’t see God
directly, but it’s easy to see where God has been.
We call this friendship evangelism. Jesus spent time with his followers, he taught them with
parables, telling stories that reflect the transforming power, the character, and the nature of God
in a simple way that can be easily applied to heal open wounds in the soul.
Taking it to the streets is being fully present in the present, and our Biblical emphasis is on
“preaching the middle”. We do not focus on creation issues, life after death, or hell because how
we got here is not relevant, our people have already been to hell, and they are being resurrected
from walking death. When people are reconciled to God in the present, eternity takes care of
itself.
This is the personal, social gospel of universal reconciliation. God desires a relationship with all
his children, and we embrace all people equally regardless of their faith or lack of it. We are
patient with them because we are not afraid of a “get saved before it’s too late” God.
The relaxed, allowing approach gives many who say they have rejected God time to process the
unconditional love, the grace, the mercy, and inspirational testimonies of their peers so that
sooner or later they cry out – “I want what you have with God! Tell me how to get it!”
The process of reconciliation with God begins anew, another life is trans¬formed, another
testimony is created, and the effects of salvation ripple out glorifying God.
Universal reconciliation preaches its own message through us when we “take it to the streets!”
Susan Smith is a Lay Minister and Assistant Executive Director of Exodus Homes in Hickory, North
Carolina. She has been with Exodus Homes for about nine years, after a successful career in
local government. Exodus Homes is a faith-based United Way agency, offering transitional and
permanent supportive housing for homeless recovering addicts, alcoholics, and formerly
incarcerated people returning to our community from treatment programs and prison.
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