Where is your Ninevah?
by Kelly Dockery
Jonah 3:1-2 The word of the Eternal came to the prophet Jonah a second time. Get up, and go to that powerful and notorious city of Nineveh, and pass on to them the message I’m giving you.
We have to admit that just as God summoned Jonah to share his message to the Ninevites, we are equally called to love and share the Gospel of hope to some less than reputable people. Like Jonah our instinct is to flee, make excuses, and justify our inaction.
Back in May, Kevin preached a sermon entitled, Jonah and the Where, and asked the question, “Where is your Nineveh?”, challenging StoneBridge to recognize those in our path, like the Ninevites, who need the Gospel but we choose to avoid or ignore.
John Davis took this message seriously and felt the Spirit speak to him directly. He knew exactly who his Ninevites were, and a bold way to love them began to take form.
John owns McGee Lumber, an old family business, in the heart of downtown Charlotte on Graham Street. For many years, the homeless, drug addicted, and poverty stricken have loitered at his business and other surrounding operations, asking for handouts of money and food. They are a fixture in this corridor of town. These were his Ninevites, he realized, and he saw them with a new, more compassionate perspective and a new desire to show them Christ’s love.
They needed to hear God’s word, but they also needed some basic needs met. One morning at 6:45, he opened the McGee Lumber door, and invited the small loitering group of disheveled men and women into a work room. To their surprise, he told them he was going to read the Bible to them, then give them each five dollars. He had their rapt attention, prayed, and began that first day reading Genesis chapter 1. He then gave them each a five dollar bill as they departed, prioritizing the women first. This was about eight months ago.
I had the joy of witnessing this gathering myself, which is now held every weekday at 6:40am, lasting about ten minutes. John greeted the line of about twenty with a spirit of joy, love and genuine enthusiasm. They filed in, smiled so warmly, and introduced themselves to me, almost one by one. It was clear that they knew the drill and showed such humble respect for John.
He began reading the first chapter of Exodus and recited with gusto the verses regarding the midwives and their preservation of the Jewish male babies. One gentleman commented, “This is all about Moses”, to which John replied, “Actually it’s all about God loving his people, so much so that He sent his son to die for us”. Everyone in the room murmured an Amen to that.
When the devotional reading concluded, John asked if anyone wanted to pray. A number of hands were raised and he called on a dear lady who shared that she had probably read the Bible fifteen times. Despite her worn and weathered appearance, her blue eyes were radiant. In her prayer, she thanked God for using John to feed them all the Word of God. Tears sprung to my eyes, thinking of the hardships that all of these “notorious” people had faced, but that in their greatest poverty, John was speaking truth and love over them because of this burden for them to know Christ.
He thanked them for coming, and as they filed out for their day on the streets, he pressed a five dollar bill in their hands. This amount can give them a meal or a basic necessity for the day, making their long hours of street survival a bit more bearable. John has $120 worth of five dollar bills at hand each day. They are doled out quickly, so the crowd is always prompt, and he still gives priority to the women.
Who are your Ninevites? Maybe it’s one or twenty. Their notoriousness may be they are cantankerous, frustrating, or extreme in their opposing beliefs. Ask God to reveal a way to reach them, get creative, go against the cultural norms, then step out in boldness and faith and meet their needs. You can be God’s light in their darkness. He has placed you for a holy purpose right where you are.
