So much of what I write about seems to focus on Otter Creek reaching out to people in our community that are not tied to our church family. And that’s good and how it should be. However, to think that the Otter Creek family doesn’t have people in need would be to be blind to all that’s going on right under our noses.
Our furniture ministry gets much of its inventory from the generous donations from Otter Creek members. This weekend we got the chance to help an Otter Creeker who was relocating due to a job loss and was in need of some furniture. I had gotten an request from another Otter Creeker to call him when I needed help so he met me at the Otter Creek furniture house and we started loading up items to deliver. We grabbed a couple of beds, a table and chairs and a book case and headed to the apartment.
It didn’t take long in conversation to find common ties between all of us. That’s one of the beautiful things about community. We’re not intended to try and get thru life by ourselves. Even though after disappointments and betrayals the temptation is to shut our door and tell ourselves it’s better if we just stay to ourself, that’s not the case. It was a great time together as we set up beds and put legs on the table.
We did get started a little later than we had planned and the set up took a little longer than we had planned so by the time we left we were behind for the next stops. There was a woman living in one of Nashville’s housing projects that had called earlier in the week to ask for help with a pair of shoes. She had injured her foot and leg and the doctor had prescribed a specialty shoe along with a brace that he was ordering for her. Once again the Otter Creek community stepped up. We’re blessed to have a member who offered to help through their business connections and provided that pair of shoes. The member who was working with me volunteered to go pick up the woman and take her to get fitted for her shoes. That’s what it’s all about. People using their gifts to help and bless others. I got a call the next day from the woman telling me how appreciative she was for the shoes and for the opportunity to meet other Otter Creekers and see how Jesus was living through them.
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About Me
- Doug Sanders
- After 27 years in the business world I was blessed to be “called” into ministry and even more blessed to be able to serve at Otter Creek church. I spend part of my days working in roles that support the “institution” and our congregation. I spend the other part of my time working as a “street” minister – reaching out to those in poverty, single moms, people struggling with addictions, homelessness, in jail, etc (see Matt. 25). My calling is to blend these 2 areas of work so that I can lead and walk with others who want to experience serving Christ in a real and tangible way. I believe I must walk the walk before I can talk the talk. The path I’m trying to blaze for our church looks a little different than most. It seeks to connect the desire to serve Jesus with real life ways to be His hands and feet that make a difference in people’s lives. I’m convinced that those of us serving are more significantly affected than those we serve.
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