Picture this: a lone figure on the side of the road, armed with nothing but a grabber and a real estate A-frame sign declaring “Kindness In Progress” with no logo or church name listed.
That’s our hero, Doug, embarking on a trashy adventure that would change lives – including mine.
Now, Doug wasn’t your average litter picker. He was starting a new church from utter scratch — with empty pockets and a heart full of hope. By day, he stocked shelves at the local grocery store. On Friday afternoons, he transformed into the Trash Collecting Messiah of Dayton, Ohio.
The things Doug found could fill a trashy novel:
The things Doug found could fill a trashy novel: cans (lots of cans), condoms (oh my!), and a surprising number of syringes (yikes!). Once, he even stumbled upon someone’s paycheck – talk about finding treasure in unexpected places!
Doug’s trashy exploits took an international turn when I was invited to speak in New Zealand. The local government was apparently not thrilled about Christian outreach at a larger international festival that was in the global news. To give a negative impression would hurt the larger event. Their response to us was, “Thanks, but no thanks.”
That surprise response put the kibosh on our plans.
But we had an ace up our sleeve – or should I say, a trash bag in our hand? Several of us donned bright green safety vests emblazoned with “Kindness in Progress” and hit the streets.
Before long, we had an audience, including a photojournalist from a regional paper captured the outreach in picture and article. She coined the phrase “Blessed are the Rubbish Collectors.” Move over, Beatitudes – there’s a new blessing in town!
At the same conference, one of my heroes who happened to catch my talk – a guy who didn’t know me from a hole in the ground – approached me and said, “What you’re talking about is what I had in mind for our approach to evangelism (Youth With A Mission).” It was like trash-picking royalty giving me a high-five!
But let’s circle back to Doug, the OG of this whole trash-to-treasure ministry. He was living out Matthew 25 in real-time, separating the sheep from the goats through action, not just words. While others were busy being theoretical goats, Doug was out there being a practical sheep.
Fast Forward
Fast forward, and Doug’s little roadside church grew, in just a few years, to several thousand members. I can’t help but wonder how many of those folks realize their spiritual home started with a guy, a sign, and a trash grabber. It’s like the ultimate “started from the bottom, now we’re here” story – holy edition.
In the end, Doug’s tale reminds us that sometimes, the path to building a community starts with cleaning up your own backyard – literally. It’s a testament to the power of simple acts of God’s kindness and the unexpected places where we might find an invitation, even when we don’t promote ourselves.
