This is one of the top stories picked up recently by my Paper.li newletter Street Stories, thanks to a tweet by @sherridamoore. While this pastor pulled a “trick” on people, there is an underlying truth in what happened. How many deserving, talented and kind individuals are we turning a blind eye to when we refuse to treat people without homes with human decency?
Pastor Jeremiah Steepek transformed himself into a homeless person and went to the 10,000 member church that he was to be introduced as the head pastor at that morning.
He walked around his soon to be church for 30 minutes while it was filling with people for service, only 3 people out of the 7-10,000 people said hello to him. He asked people for change to buy food – no one in the church gave him change. He went into the sanctuary to sit down in the front of the church and was asked by the ushers if he would please sit in the back. He greeted people to be greeted back with stares and dirty looks, with people looking down on him and judging him.