Randall Brown,48, has been in Layman Lessons Christian Men’s Training Center in Nashville, TN for a few weeks now, each day growing more desperate to find a job as a laborer, painter, or unskilled labor job…anything
full time with a chance to prove himself worthy of his wages. He loves to work.
Randall is a good hearted, respectful man, good worker, physically strong, not the strongest reader since he dropped out of school young to work the farms in Logan County, KY. Randall has had 2 felonies he served 2 sentences of
4 years each that prevent him from getting a job. His first felony was bouncing a few of his own personal checks while he was binge drinking in the late 1980’s, and his second felony was “stealing a car” while binge drinking…a
car he had permission from the owners to drive, but the State of Tennessee put him away for 4 years in 2007…Robert just got out of prison this May and has been on the streets and in the Rescue Mission, until coming to our Saturday Church for the Homeless, and asked for an opportunity to be in our Christian Men’s Training Center.
Randall knows his only hope is Jesus Christ being his Lord, not just his Savior. He also knows he cannot “hang around” the streets, where alcohol is the “poor man’s medicine” for depression/anxiety, in plentiful supply. Will
YOU “Rescue the Perishing…care for the dying?” Here is an opportunity to act.
Randall has no history of violence of any kind, no sex offense, just made stupid decisions on two occasions when he drank too much alcohol. He served 4 years for making 2 admittedly stupid mistakes…I have made many more stupid mistakes than just two, and would hope some Christian would rescue me as God intends and contends for all Christians to do, in His word.
Layman Lessons Ministries has taken him off the streets, given him purpose, good food, clothing, a beautiful quiet apartment, Christian Disciple and Life Skills Training, but we cannot operate this Training Center unless Randall finds work and pays his own way through our Training Center program.
We have two Felons in the Training Center presently, both non violent, not sex offenders, both unemployed, both good workers, Andrew is an excellent computer graphic/sign maker working full time until recently laid off for lack of work in this economy…both are at the Mercy of our supporters to help them find jobs and grow in God.
We are thousands “in the hole” invested in these Homeless men, expecting God to raise up someone to employ them and someone to help donate their $110 weekly fees that covers our Training Center expenses for keeping them off the
streets and with hope for tomorrow. That $110 comes from their paychecks when employed, and if they cannot find work to pay their way in our Training Center, they must return to the streets…
Christians, we love to dress up don’t we? We love our Church facilities and friends.
We really don’t do as well outside the Church walls, where the rubber meets the road.
We talk about God, learn about God, sing about God in our best clothes and air conditioned Church buildings, but when God gets our whole heart, we learn in His word that we somehow previously just ignored totally (Mt 25:31-46; Luke 14:12-14; Isaiah 58:6-10; James 2,3) that God expects us to go outside the Church walls, in our grubby clothes, to meet the grubby on the streets to show we love them because God loves them, to Feed the Hungry, Clothe the Naked, Shelter the Homeless (like Robert and Andrew), Preach the Gospel (good news) and Train Disciples (like Robert & Andrew)…we Christians need to be trained to do these things because God commands each one of us to do each one of these 5 basic things…no exceptions. I speak Truth in Love here… Layman Lessons Ministries is simply an All Volunteer, NO PAID STAFF, Christian Army of Compassion that is organized in such a way as to provide consistent, every week of every year, for 10 years now, of opportunity for Christians in Churches to actually obey God’s commands to do these 5 things in a safe, secure, “catch no cooties” environment where parents can train themselves first, then their “trainable aged” kids one on one to make God smile…we cannot continue this without NEW human and financial support.
We collect and distribute food and clothing to Feed 2,000 Homeless meals weekly, not just on Saturday mornings, but also through the Rescue Mission and Belmont Church.
We need many thousands of new dollars to repair and maintain our 400,000 mile vehicles, or someone to upgrade us to new(er) vehicles and equipment. I have stated these needs for many years now, suffering a broken heart every week when we do not have the resources and have to turn down a Hungry, Homeless, Hopeless, person that Jesus loves.
We need many dozens of new volunteers for Saturday Homeless Church services, and during the week to recruit and handle donations of food and supplies…drivers, mechanics, sack lunch decorators, prayer warriors, Public Relations/Advertising, whatever your gifts, they can help us to help others.
Louie E. Johnston Jr.
Minister, Christian Patriot Historian, Author, Speaker
