Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Destination Home "testimony"

Want a lift?

Need a shot of hope?

Want some encouragement about what is actually possible in the lives of the poorest urban Americans?

Take a look at a short video clip we put together to tell the stories of "Destination Home," our initiative aimed at providing permanent supportive housing for our homeless brothers and sisters.

To view click here or visit CDM's YouTube channel below:





As always, I'd appreciate your feedback, conversation and questions!

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very encouraging!

When I watched the video of the feeling people have when they close their own door or open their own refrigerator, it made me realize how grateful I am to have a home, and how much I've taken it for granted.

God bless,

Ken Hines

Larry James said...

Ken, thanks for taking the time to watch and respond.

Anonymous said...

"There but for the grace of God go I . . ."

I'm worried that more and more will find themselves in this situation. Thank you for sharing.

Chris said...

I think more and more people will be looking to government for help. What most do not understand is that government is the problem. The man-made global warming hoax is already causing food prices to rise and this is just the beginning. We are dependent on foreign oil thanks to environmental wackos. We should have been drilling for oil in our own country. All three presidential candidates have global warming plans that will raise taxes, increase the price of food and the cost of doing business. I'm amazed at the increased price of food in just a year. Can't anyone in government see through this hoax? Well, at least Al Gore is getting rich.

Daniel Gray said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Daniel Gray said...

Chris, food prices have nothing to do with global warming. They have everything to do with fighting frivolous wars to protect our "freedom". This is creating more instability, and with the added demand of growing economies like China, energy costs are skyrocketing. We're paying more for food because it costs more to get it here and corn (which is used in a majority of food products) is largely being directed towards ethanol production, which is leading to higher costs for corn and less of it.

The hoax being played out on us American people is the one from the current administration trying to tell us that "everything is fine" when in reality, we're making our viability as a country even more unstable.

Anonymous said...

Chris:

This spot was about compassion for our fellow human beings who have nothing and you rant about your bizarre flat-Earth-Society nonsense? I can't imagine why you read this blog.

Get lost ... no, really. Take your political s*%# and peddle it somewhere else. You're not convincing anyone here.

Anonymous said...

Chris, I just got it, finally! YOU'RE A COMEDIAN!!!!!

Thank you for making us all lighten up with your hilarious jokes about global climate change being a hoax and all. It's good to see that what you've been doing all along here is just to paint such a ridiculous picture of a certain extreme viewpoint that we could all have a good laugh.

And here some of us have been actually taking you seriously and getting bugged by the silly stuff you write, as though you believed it yourself.

Good work, Chris! You are amazing.

Eric Livingston said...

Back on point, great video Larry! Not only does this inspire hope for all who are embattled by poverty, but it provides some good motivation for people like me as well. I'm going to share this with the folks at my church who are involved in our Crossover Ministry in which we provide transitional housing and support services for homeless people in Jackson, MS. We do it on a much smaller scale than what CDM is doing, so sometimes it's hard for us to successes.

We change a few lives (which is obviously better than none), but our ministry almost carries more wait in the symbolism of how we can participate in the inbreaking of God's Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

Chris said...

Daniel Gray:

One reason corn is being directed to ethanol production is because is is supposedly a cleaner fuel than fossil fuel which, it is claimed, contributes to global warming. So the increase in food prices can be attributed to the fear of global warming.

Larry James said...

Eric, thanks for the report from Jackson! One thing comes to mind here. We have found that if we make it clear that the housing can be permanent and that there are very few requirements forced on tenants, but all services are optional, people respond in amazing ways. Since beginning this effort, we've had no problems with residents. People are just so glad to have a place to call home--some for the first time in years.

Daniel Gray said...

First off, to everyone: I apologize for allowing chris to bait me into his off-topic propaganda.

Second, that was a great video.

Anonymous said...

You're right, Daniel, and I add my apology for taking the bait. The best way to get rid of Chris is to ignore him when he is totally off-base and off-point, like you would when your 2 year old is throwing a tantrum.

Eric Livingston said...

Thanks for the encouragement Larry. Unfortunately, our mid-sized church doesn't yet have the resources to develop permanent housing so our effort is more transitional in nature. I hear what you're saying about freedoms and choice making though. That definitely is valuable.

Anon,
Maybe the best way to show Chris how to have compassion for people who are different than him (though I'm sure he expresses compassion in ways outside of the political realm), is to accept his dialogue even when you disagree.

Chris said...

Check out the latest issue of Time magazine. The cover says, "Politicians and Big Business are pushing biofuels like corn-based ethanol as alternatives to oil. All they're really doing is DRIVING UP FOOD PRICES and making global warming worse--and you're paying for it."

So we see that others think that food prices go up as a reaction to so called global warming.

Eric, what did I say that made you think that I don't have compassion?

Eric Livingston said...

Nothing. I'm sure you do have compassion, and I tried to bend over backwards to state that. I don't doubt that you're compassionate, but the general argument among Christians for being more liberal politically, is because it is compassionate. I suspect the aggression you received from the other posters was because they think your politics are uncompassionate. My point is that it's a bit ironic to beat someone up over their politics if you disagree with their politics on the basis that those politics are uncompassionate. I was just trying to infuse some compassion in the conversation, even when we disagree. I try to live under an old motto: "Unity in matters of faith (Christ), Liberty in matters of opinion, and in all things: love."