Emmaus Visit, Part 2

I've got only 9 minutes before I leave for the airport, but I thought I'd post a quick update. I went to about 4 interviews yesterday with different staff members, each charged with asking me a different set of questions (about coping with stress, community living, etc.) They all went pretty well for the most part. It seems to all be coming down to whether I am willing to sign a statement saying a "believe, agree with, and fully support" their position paper on homosexuality. It's a topic that I've been wrestling with, so I explained to them that I'm reluctant to sign my theological convictions away (not that I agree or disagree with their position yet, but I'm in process). I'm more than willing to submit to their theological position during my time here so that I can serve the guys.

In a way I feel caught between wanting to be only halfway honest on the application, and between letting my "integrity" get in the way of me showing the redeeming love of Jesus to the most broken and hurting group of people I've encountered...

Emmaus Visit, Part 1

So, I just got back from my first official interview with Emmaus in Chicago, and it was with the director of Outreach Ministries. The interview consisted of, well, outreach. We went to all the local hangouts, and I met two male prostitutes and three transvestites, and heard all kinds of horror stories, most likely them testing my boundaries and trying to elicit a shock response from me. Despite the fact that it was entirely different from anything I've ever been comfortable doing, and the fact that I was out several hours past my West-Coast bedtime, I had a great time. The lives these people have led are diametrically opposed to the life I've lived, and both of us know that, so there's no pressure to find common ground. Honesty, transparency, and authenticity are valued among this ostracized community, and that's greatly comforting to me, knowing that there's very little I could probably find in common with them.

I found this quote extremely relevant tonight.

"Some wish to live within the sound of a chapel bell; I wish to run a rescue mission within a yard of hell." -- C.T. Studd

More updates tomorrow...