Front Porch Ministry

Can you make a flower grow? Yesterday Michele was in our back yard planting seeds. These seeds were for the same flowers that grew so incredibly and beautifully last year. If all goes well I suspect she will have a similar happy dance and once again say, “I can grow amazing flowers!” It had me thinking about the question ‘Can we make a flower grow?’ There are many ways to help a plant grow but it does not explain who or what causes the growth. None of our work explains the invisible force that creates life. Recognizing this power is the first step to becoming one with what the scriptures call our Creator. Knowing and being known by this Holy Spirit transforms our life from being merely of the physical world where we view life as some sort of competition. This material world … [Read more...]

→ Giving today is easy and secure.         … [Read more...]

When people are misjudged they often do not get a second chance. The first time I heard Jajuan’s name was five years ago when he was in a little trouble along with two other boys that I knew very well. Without knowing him I told the boys to "Stay away from this Jajuan character.” More than a year later we were teaching Jajuan at Sunday school but I had no idea this was the same kid I had judged earlier. In fact, Steve Lange and I raved about Jajuan, the student. Nobody made him come to church. He always went to an earlier service with his Grandmother each week but wanted to come even though he was the oldest kid. Jajuan was a delight. He helped the younger kids, was always perfectly respectful and cleaned up after others without having to be asked. I was most surprised by this kid who … [Read more...]

This holiday season was, by far, our busiest yet.  Our Family-To-Family outreach (adopting families for Christmas) successfully connected about 40 suburban families/groups of friends with 40 inner city families who otherwise would not have had Christmas.  Many actually met with the family, taking the mother shopping and providing a meal as well. Last year the Free Family Portraits and Happy Birthday Jesus Party served 26 families and around 30 kids, respectively.  This year both of those outreaches tripled in numbers.  The Women’s Christmas Gathering also grew both in size and program and our year-end mailing grew from 500 in 2008 to nearly 1,400 this year. However, those are just numbers.  Numbers do not reflect much of anything beyond being uncomfortably crowded or very … [Read more...]

Remember when you were young and your birthday was the most special day of the year?  I remember being in 3rd grade and Sonya Zorn, the most popular girl in school, was having a birthday.  Other boys bragged about what they were going to get her.  Knowing she liked a music group called The Carpenters I took my sister’s album, cut out their cardboard pictures and taped them to a white t-shirt then made a card out of construction paper.  She acted like she liked it very much and Al Crosby shot me the stink eye. The other day Zach, an 11yr old boy and one of my Band of Brothers (a group of 6 middle school boys I mentor that have given their lives to Christ), had a birthday.  Knowing his home situation and finding out no one had given him a party I asked him to come to my house … [Read more...]

After an eventful day we were hoping Sunday night would be a time to relax.  My day started early. At 6 AM I was assembling a big grill that would cook hundreds of hotdogs at the 2nd annual outdoor church service in our neighborhood.  It was a great day but by late afternoon when we got home we were so tired I hoped no one would knock at our door so we could just rest.  When Michele told me one girl was going to hang out with us for a while it was for a very good reason.  Her older sister had run away, again, a few days earlier but they found her and she agreed to go to a center for troubled teens.  Our friend had now found out her sister was suicidal.  This girl is usually jubilant and a strong leader but at our home she went hours without speaking a word.  We didn’t … [Read more...]

I feel speechless and have for some time but I pushed through it tonight....I have wondered if it is the lack of sleep.... the lack of "overflow" that I have felt in these past 3 months after adding our sweet fourth child into our family. The Front Porch certainly has been anything but quiet and the opportunites have been plentiful - there was no "maternity leave" from the Front Porch so to speak.... only stronger boundaries for a time. There have been some amazing times and lots of kids to love on and relationships to maintain - a lot can happen in a week around here. One thing I wrestle with is how to articulate what goes on in my heart when I sit with some of these women and children. I am always blown away and humbled when these moms come over.... and keep coming.... and come when they … [Read more...]

It’s now 11:16 pm on Tuesday March 24th and my wife is at the jail in downtown Nashville.   Here is the story: Dear Friends, Right now Michele is at the Domestic Violence Division of the Metro Nashville Jail.  She has taken one of our dear neighborhood friends there to file for a restraining order for her.  They also know the lady she is taking will be arrested as well when they find out who she is.  I need prayer and advise from an expert in this area so I’m writing to all of you.  Here’s the part of the story I can share: Dee (not her real name) has been having ongoing issues with a man who is the father of her child (I’ll call him “Bob”).  The issues are violent.  After one of the attacks she kicked his car and busted  out a tail light.  Although he had just … [Read more...]

Our Home is Threatened. About seven months ago one of Nashville’s most dangerous criminals moved into the abandoned house across the street from us.  His criminal arrest sheet is very long.  His crimes are violent – including home invasions – and yet he lives a very loud lifestyle that makes no apologies.  My wife, Michele, confessed to me about a month ago that for the first time since we moved here she dealing with a lot of fear. I can’t give you his name nor can I relay what I know of his crimes.  I can only tell you that I believe him to be a high-level criminal whose presence changed the attitude of our neighborhood, kids and adults who also lived in fear to walk down the sidewalks on our block.  Many of our neighbors and friends grew up in the projects and have … [Read more...]

Today we set out to see a college but by the end of the day we saw a miracle. I need to back up a bit though to tell the story. Reginald Johnson is one of the best guys you will ever meet. I met him about four years ago at the Salvation Army where he hangs out, plays basketball, refs ballgames and does just about anything Carlos Lowe, the teen director, asks him and never complains. He is a quiet leader around the Magness Potter Community Center. Everybody likes him and he’s just shy enough to barely offer a smile when someone tells him “Thank you” or complements something he’s done. But if you ask him to lead a prayer you will know something about his passion. It’s hard to get Reginald to talk about much but he comes alive when he prays to his Lord and savior Jesus … [Read more...]