Description
A humorous and touching examination of what it means to live out Christ's command to welcome the strangerMinistry can be messy, complicated, and bewildering. Whether responding to the church alarm mysteriously and repeatedly going off in the middle of the night, firing a kitchen assistant with a habit of buying drugs from parishioners, or interacting with the Chicken-Eatin' Preacher from West Greenville, pastor Deb Richardson-Moore quickly admits that there is a great deal they do not teach you in seminary.In this frank and engaging account of answering a call later in life, Richardson-Moore brings the reader into the world of her work at the Triune Mercy Center in Greenville, South Carolina. The result is an honest look at the complications and difficulties surrounding her first years of ministry to homeless men and women suffering from mental illness, crack addictions, and alcoholism. At the same time, it is a humorous and deeply touching account of God’s grace manifested in the most remarkable of ways, whether in the inadvertent befriending of a mugger or in the unexpected witnessing of an addict tenderly washing another's wounded foot.In The Weight of Mercy, Richardson-Moore weaves a story that is difficult to forget, due both to its engaging characters and also its radical vision of what the Christian church could look like if it truly lived out Christ's command to welcome the stranger.
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What kind of church nails its doors shut? 'That would be the Triune Mercy Center. 'And I am its pastor.' For 27 years Deb was a journalist in the Deep South. Then she retrained as a Baptist pastor, and accepted a post at the Triune Mercy Center, a run-down inner-city church where the homeless gathered. It was a shock. Gradually she learned whom she could trust - and whom she couldn't. Sometimes the best person to handle a situation was a drug addict. Sometimes Jesus had the face of a prostitute. All were fiercely welcomed into this bewildering church family. Full of color and incident, Deb's story is a testament to messy grace and the presence of the Spirit in the hard places of the world. "Deb Richardson-Moore is one of my 'most admired' people. I love her heart, her experience-learned wisdom, her honesty and her passion. You will praise God for the work He is doing at the Triune Mercy Center." - Ruth Graham, author of In Every Pew Sits a Broken Heart 'At the Triune Center, Deb not only found Christ among 'the least of these', but she also experienced Christ drawing her into His grand drama of redemption. Here is a loving, realistic account of a life commandeered for the work of God's Kingdom.' - Will Willimon, Bishop, The United Methodist Church and Professor of Christian Ministry, Duke University Divinity School 'Immensely moving and inspiring, reminding us of the power of grace.' - Patrick Regan OBE, Founder and CEO of XLP 'Causes you to see people in a way you never would have realised. Real, authentic and recommended reading.' - Roy Crowne, Executive Director, Hope
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