From the Pulpit to the Pole pit

I have preached at large churches from all over, and I have hugged the necks of weeping strippers on the "bad" side of town.

I assure you, the presence of God was stronger at the strip club. Please don't presume I am saying anything I am not.

I am not saying God isn't in our church services or that His presence can’t ever be felt within corporate worship. There are few things that awaken and make me come more alive than sharing the living Word of God with the family of God. I one hundred percent love the church and am grateful to be a part of her.

What I am saying is I have found when the desperate, hopeless and fearful come face to face with hope in Jesus, He shows up in ways I have never experienced within church walls in 22 years of ministry. There is something about those who realize they have nothing to offer but want all He has for them in return, verses a sleepy church goer who feels as though “even if God doesn’t show up in this situation, it’s ok, I can probably handle it on my own anyway”. There is something tangible in the air when a woman weeps because her kids are being taken from her because she doesn’t have the skill, bravery or the know how to leave an abusive relationship, and you grab her hands and cry out to God on her behalf. Or when you encounter a woman who gave birth a few days before, (yet is being made to work by her husband in order to pay bills) YES… A FEW DAYS BEFORE, something in us as believers awakens in a “Hell is going to BACK UP at the name of Jesus today!” way.

So, until you choose to sit among the most broken, you truly can’t understand the depth of pain, joy, disappointment, and fulfillment that happens with Jesus in these moments.

My journey from the “pulpit” to the “pole pit”, (see what I did there), began with a journey to understand and KNOW the Jesus that spoke the red letters in my Bible. It seemed that my “ministry” life really looked nothing like His, nor did I place value on the things He did. I had zero non-believing friends, yet Jesus ate dinner with them. I knew something in me had to change. This is when I began No Strings Attached Outreach. SInce then, lives have been turned upside down in the most beautiful sense of the words. Sure, some strippers are no longer stripping and have found their way to Jesus and a whole new life. However, I would say it is my team and my lives who have been turned upside down the most.

So if you are interested in the messy work of being a dealer of hope in a hopeless world, feel free to follow our journey.

Jamie