TheCommon.org and Common Heart

One of the most exciting things to me about Common Heart is how we connect people who would probably never meet. Rich & poor, black & white, Latino & Anglo, church folks and folks that have given up on church, meet and develop relationships that benefit each other spiritually. It’s all about living in God’s love and being a part of his grand mission. For years, through Common Cupboard, we have used groceries to open doors and hearts.

Late last year we discovered a web based tool, TheCommon.org. (No, I did not name it. Hard to believe, I know.) This is a cool program that would enhance any community of people. Churches use it. Community organizations, YMCA’s and non-profits all use it throughout the country. What it does is connect needs with the abilities to meet those needs.

So let’s say that you know a elderly couple on a fixed income that has some plumbing issues. You can post it on the site and people with the ability to help will see the need, and can respond. Or, let’s say you have an unused exercise bike, you can post that in the marketplace and give it to someone who will use it. Or, maybe your church has a workday around the building with many projects You could start an initiative on TheCommon.org and keep in contact with those who will be coming out to help with the specific projects,

Well, Common Heart is in the process of launching this tool for our volunteers from 20 local churches. It will give us the opportunity to use many different ways to open doors to God’s love as it connect more people in very practical ways.

A cool benefit of TheCommon.org is that communities can blend, share their needs and abilities with other communities. So if your church had a community on the site, it could blend with Common Heart. Now the needs of folks from both communities will be shared with people in either community with the abilities to help. I think this is so cool. So let’s imagine just 6 communities of 50 -75 members each in our area that all blend with Common Heart. Now the needs of the folks we serve will be sent out to a possible 350 or so people who may be able to help and connect in a way that will demonstrate God’s love. Our ability to activate and equip people to serve just increased amazingly.

To sign up for Common Heart’s community go to Sign up for TheCommon.org. Or, if you would like discuss how your church or community could be using this cool resource, contact Keith at CommonHeartMC@gmail.com.

Here is are links to a couple video about TheCommon.org.

TheCommon.org - In Book Form

TheCommon.org - Coffee Shop

Contemplation and Missional Activism

"Through the years I have notice that among the people most dedicated to missional activism, you find either (a) people burned out because of the difficulty of the task, or (b) people who have learned to undedrgrid their activism with contemplation, with quiet resting, finding God in the center of normalcy -- including the normalcy of struggle and hard work. "  (Brian McLaren, a Generous Orthodoxy, pg 197)

I ran into this observation while re-reading Brian's book.  It kind of sums up my experience and longings in relation to my own missional activism through Common Heart / Common Cupboard.  The only difference is I am both of the people he describes.  I guess kind of a schizophrenic amalgamation, a burn out / contemplative.   Maybe I am a slightly chard wanna be monk struggling to find that place of Shalom in the busyness of 21st century America.

Too often I am losing it.  I feel the flames flaring out.  And as I do I find comfort in prayer, scripture meditation, my daily rhythm, listening to the Bible,  and reading spiritually supportive books.  One area I lack, that I think would certainly help me, is to connect more with folks who are traveling a similar journey.

With all that in mind I have begun to set aside Sunday 6pm - 8pm for Vespers (Evening Prayer) and Scripture Meditation at The Commonplace.  It is not really something that Common Heart is doing.  It is really just me and anyone who wants to join me.  I want to take this time to focus, lifting up my heart to the Lord allowing him to restore, form, and fill.  

Virtual Food Drive

Common Cupboard is running a "virtual food drive" on Common Cupboard Journal.  The first Saturday of the month is the busiest one for the cupboard.  Usually 45-40 families receive food on that weekend.  At the end of last weekend the cupboard looked pretty bare.  A food drive was called for ... but how to get it all in the cupboard in 4 days.  Thus the "'virtual food drive" was born.  You can chose to help out by donating 1, 2, 3 bags of groceries, a whole shopping cart, or a variety of cases of cans we often use.  Pop on over there and check it out and pitch in for the food drive.  Click here --->  Virtual Food Drive.

An Amazing Connection: A Common Cupboard Story by Robin Black

It wasn't planed but Deb Adams called one day and asked if I wanted to do brunch and we went and we talked so long she realized she was late getting the van back for Frank to take to Second Harvest. She asked if I had time to go there with her and pick up food for the pantry. I said, "sure, I've never been there and I could see what its all about."

After getting the food while the guys were packing the van I was standing by the parking lot. A car pulled up and I saw a woman smiling at me. She got out of the car and came right up to me telling me how she saw me on TV yesterday and how I said I would be here at Second Harvest today. I stopped her and explained that she must be mistaken me for someone else; I wasn't on TV. She took my hand in her hands and said, "Yes, I saw you on TV yesterday and you said you would be here at Second Harvest and you would help me".

So I asked her what she needed, and she told me she needed help getting food to her mother. I looked over at her car to see a sweet, elderly woman sitting in the passenger seat. I went over to meet her. I asked Phyllis, the woman who approached me, where her mother lived and she told me Matthews and she lives in Charlotte, raising her grandbaby who was in the back seat, and that they could also use some help if possible. She told me how her mother, Sara, had such bad arthritis and how she had taken her for a shot of cortisone the week before but, now the pain was back and she didn't want her giving into the pain. This was something I was so familiar with. I told her I could get her some help and she gave me the contact information I needed. I explained that I may not be the person to deliver the food since I already had some disabled woman I delivered to. Phyllis once again took my hand in hers and said, "I hope it will be you then maybe some time I could have you over for a cook out."

Well, at that moment I knew It was meant for me. When my son and I went to Sara's house to bring the food, I saw how hard it was for her to get around with just the use of a cane. My heart just broke for her thinking of her living there all alone and struggling, and her daughter going back and forth trying to help while raising her granddaughter. I helped her unpack the food and showed her I had brought some hot/cold packs and cream for her arthritis, she said she needed it now and put it into her robe pocket. I told her next month when I come I may have some different things for her depending on what we got in.

Tears started pouring down her face and she asked, "You're coming back?" I explained that I would come once a month and bring her some groceries. With tears streaming down her face we simply hugged there in her kitchen, the only words spoken were "God bless you". I knew I was the one that was truly blessed that day. That God would let me see how he works; I knew I was where I was supposed to be.

What Phyllis saw or heard on TV, how she knew I would be at Second Harvest that day when I didn't know I was going to 15 minutes before I went well......Only God knows. I was so glad that my heart was open to the message I was sent that day.

Common Cupboard - A Jesus Moment

Last month I got an email from Kathleen McDonald. Kathleen and her family are one of the teams of people from about 15 local churches that use Common Cupboard to touch people with God's love. As Kathleen's story indicates those who serve are also touched with God's love and transformed in the process. Would you be available to be an agent of Christ's Gospel and share his love through delivering groceries? We can easily use 5 more teams this month!

I just had to share my experience this morning when I was delivering meals for Common Cupboard! The first Sat of each month we deliver food to 5 families in the Monroe area. Kevin and Kiely are out of town on a YMCA Father/Daughter camping trip. I didn't want our folks to go without their groceries so I decided to deliver "solo".

I am so grateful that I did! The first stop is a family of 5+ kids in a tiny, dirty, and dilapidated house. The kids must have been waiting by the door because they came running out when they saw my car.

Since we had the food drive at church a few weeks ago they received considerably more than usual and were very grateful.

The 9 year old little girl looked up at me and said "You are so nice to be giving us this food." I replied "The food isn't from me sweet girl. It is from a bunch of churches around this area and we want you to know that Jesus loves you."

She replied "Jesus loves the little children, doesn't he?" and I replied "Yes He does love all the children and He even loves grown ups too. Is that so cool?"

The little girl agreed and we proceeded to unload their stuff. As we were finishing up the children thanked me again for coming and the 9 year old girl called out to me "I love you!"

I don't even know this child's name but I replied "I love you too angel" and then her sisters and 2 year old brother started saying "I love you" to me.

Oh my gosh. I am wrecked! I drove away bawling like a baby and 3 hours later I am crying as I write this.

I feel like I have been given the precious gift of experiencing a real "Jesus" moment. During the exchange with those children my heart was overflowing with a warmth that I cannot put into words. All I could think was...these innocent and sweet children have hearts that are open to love unconditionally...just like the heart of the Lord loves each one of us .. unconditionally.


I then committed to learn the names of the people in that household and pray for them. My "rescuer" tendencies wants to take over and find them a better place to live, better jobs for the parents etc., but I realize I cannot save them from their economic situation. What I can do, is consistently pray that the Lord will meet them where they are. I do not know if they are believers, but I will pray they will all come to know Jesus as their Savior. The needs are great especially right now.

I noticed in a recent bulletin that there are still a few openings with Common Cupboard to deliver meals. In doing this each month, Kevin and I have realized how fortunate we are to be living as we do. In serving others, we are the ones who are "fed". Folks at our church need to get out of their comfort zone and commit to helping once a month and let the Holy Spirit do the rest. I have a strong inclination that they will not be disappointed!

A Common Cupboard Foundational Principle - "Invisibility"

The second foundational principle of the Common Cupboard is "invisibility". It is our desire that the cupboard would be so in the background that those we serve never see it. What they see instead is the love of God displayed to them in the person who is serving.

In our orientation I usually say "the cupboard is merely a place we store the food that we have gathered together". It is not really a food ministry to the poor. It is a "common cupboard", a pooled resource available to followers of Jesus and the local church to serve people in need. As such we equip churches and individual lovers of Jesus to reach out and so we facilitate the expansion of God's purpose and mission in this community.

I don't remember where I read it, but recently I read a quote that went something like this. "It is amazing what God can do through a person who does not care who gets credit for it!" Not only does Common Cupboard not care who gets the credit, we do not want the credit. All we want is for local churches, ministries, and other lovers of Jesus to use the cupboard to serve those in need. We want God to get the credit as his cherished children follows the example of Jesus and serves the poor whom Jesus loves.

When I say that the cupboard is to be invisible, I mean it. Last month a new couple started delivering food to several homes. They had not yet been through the orientation. They asked me what organization were they delivering for. I am sure they were asking me if they should say Common Heart or Common Cupboard, or whatever. I said the name of their local church in response to their question. They seemed a little shocked. I imagine that they were thinking, "I didn't know that our church ran this." But if anyone should get the exposure for good deeds done in the name of Jesus, it is the local church.

This principle of invisibility flows from my strong belief in the body of Christ displayed in gatherings of Jesus followers known as a local church. As individual members of his body, the church, reach out and meets a need, serves a person, displays patient listening, gives an encouraging word, the world will see Jesus. It is this body, the church, that brings today what the Bible teaches. Again, there is a saying, "we are the only Bible this world will read.."

Recently I heard a song from the worship album, Songs for a Revolution of Hope that echos a prayer of St. Teresa of Avilla, which expresses this outworking of the mystery of the Body of Christ very well.

Christ has no body here but ours,
No hands or feet here on earth but ours,
Ours are the eyes here through which he looks,
On this world, With Kindness.

Ours are the hands through which he works,
Ours are the feet on which he moves,
Our are the voices through which he speaks,
To this world, With Kindness.

Through our touch, our smile, our listening ear,
Embodied in us, Jesus is living here
Let us go now, filled with his Spirit,
Into the world with kindness.

In addition this principle of invisibility stems from another of my strongly held convictions. God’s love is best displayed through people serving people, not through church programs, or para-church ministries, or charitable institutions, or non-profit organizations, or government bureaucracies. It is people helping people that allows God's love to have a transformative effect on both the one being served and the one serving. The Cupboard's invisibility helps remind us that it is not the Cupboard, but us who are serving, giving, reaching out to those in need!

Keep serving. It is the kindness of God that leads people to repentance! Next month I will share more on my thoughts on the third foundational principle of Common Cupboard, "Demonstrating God’s Love."

You can read the first of the three pricniples by clicking on "Common Cupboard: A Pooled Resource."

Common Cupboard - " A Pooled Resource"

There are three foundational principles that were adopted when my wife Deb and I and our two friends Barbara Chandler and Harry Walden started Common Cupboard. During the next month or so I hope to share them with you and expand on them. They are serving people in such a way as to "demonstrate God's love", the "cupboard's "invisibility" to those we serve, and being a "pooled resource" or - to coin a phrase - a "common cupboard".

For those of you who are not familiar with Common Cupboard, it is a food pantry with a twist. The cupboard is a place from which followers of Jesus and local congregations draw to reach out to someone with a need. Typically we provide about a week's worth of groceries to be given away free, without cost, and with "no strings attached" as a way to demonstrate God's love. The groceries are typically picked up and delivered to people's homes. Some people receive groceries for one or two months due to a crisis situation, others may have an ongoing need.

Common Cupboard came about because we occasionally came into contact with people who could use a little help. For whatever reason – possibly a family crisis, unemployment, or illness – they had difficulty meeting their needs. Often they were single parents or people who due to illness or a fixed income just needed a little help. You know people like that too. We helped out the best we could by grabbing an extra bag of groceries at the store, or going to our own pantries or cupboards and giving what we could to help.

After a while it dawned on us that if we "pooled our resources" of money and groceries, along with donations from community businesses and organizations, that we could create a "common cupboard". In so doing we could help out a lot more folks while equipping others to reach out as well. We figured that individually we might spend $100 to help a family with some groceries. However, if we could create this "pooled resource", this "common cupboard" by having partnerships with food banks, community organizations, local businesses, churches and common hearted individuals then the same $100 could help 6 or 7 or more families.

Being a "pooled resource" is a key principle of the cupboard. When we all give in some way it is amazing what can be done. There are many ways to do this . One way is by organizing a food drive in your church, school, or neighborhood and bring the non-perishable foods to the cupboard . Another way is to give time to work at the cupboard. And of course, there is pooling our money together by donating financially. Actually pooling our money is the key way we finance the cupboard. Currently these finances provide about a week's groceries to 80 - 90 families. If we include our grocery outreaches we often touch over400 individuals a month.

We stock the cupboard through several means in addition to our local food drives. We have partnerships with Food Lion & Panera Bread in Indian Trail that donate food directly to the cupboard. We also obtain items from Second Harvest for a small maintenance fee per pound. And we are always looking for other means to get free or low cost food with which to stock the cupboard. Our costs to obtain food is relatively small, but we also have to maintain a facility complete with shelves, refrigerators and freezers enough to store the nearly one and a half ton of food we currently receive and distribute in an average week.

We are non-profit, and since we have no paid staff we have only the operating expenses and food costs. So we are able to serve all these people monthly for about $16 or $17 per family. And the "magic" of it is that as we serve more, it will take less and less per family to provide the roughly week's worth of groceries we give.

Currently there are faithful followers of Jesus serving through the cupboard from about 15 congregations. We are not supported by a denomination or corporate grants. We receive the vast majority of our funding from people like you and me. Although there are a few common hearted people who give on occasion, 90% of our funding comes from a small number of regular givers and one local congregation.

For me there is an additional value of pooling our resources. It lies in the power of giving away groceries that I helped purchase. Because this is true I can say "I am giving this food to you freely, because God loves you!" Or, "Let me and my church help you with that need!" I'll share more about this in later posts but this ties the first two principles - "demonstrating God's love" and the cupboard's "invisibility" - together with being a "pooled resource" creating a powerful impact on the people we serve.

I strongly believe in these 3 foundational principles - "demonstrating God's love", the "cupboard's invisibility", and being a "pooled resource". They each play a key part in the cupboard fulfilling the larger mission of "Equipping Saints to Serve". This is what the cupboard and Common Heart is all about. I will share more about these principles as I continue this series.

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Common Cupboard is supported by your tax deductible donations. If you want to contribute, there are three ways to donate. You can drop your gift in the donation box at the cupboard, mail a check to Common Heart / Common Cupboard, 507 Galesburg Dr., Monroe, NC 28110, or donate online through Pay Pal by clicking the donate button on the side bar of this site.

Equipping Saints to Serve

"Equipping Saints to Serve" is the mission of Common Heart Missional Community. Acts of kindness whether giving groceries to someone in need or buying a cup of coffee for a stranger, or just taking a moment to speak a kind word to a cashier can all be ways God can use you as an agent of his kingdom to draw people to himself.

Jesus in the sermon on the mount called each of his followers "the light of the world". He says that on no one lights a lamp and puts it under covers, but instead it is lifted up high so that it can give light all around. He continues to say that a city on a hill can not be hidden, but is seen by all. To me what he is telling us is that no one is going to see what God is really like unless they see him through us and in our daily lives. Jesus didn't intend for us to hide out in our churches, or to hide behind our fears, instead he has called us to engage our world, our culture, the people we come into contact with daily with his love. The truth is people will learn about God from us it is inevitable, but what are they going to learn?

Jesus goes on to say in that sermon that we should serve people in such a way that they see or experience the good things we do and give God the praise for it. In other words, there are ways to interact with people that will point them to God, and there are ways that might leave a bad taste in their mouth. We strive to demonstrate God's love to an unbelieving world in such a way that, one by one, hearts are softened and drawn along in their journey to God. Our serving, our loving, our good works are like bread crumbs along the path that leads people to the Father's house.

This is the common heart beat we share. We are followers of Jesus who love God and love people. We seek to serve as Jesus served, and to be about our Father's mission on earth today. Ultimately we seek to see people drawn into the arms of God.

As we encourage a “common heart”, we seek to equip by outfitting the follower of Jesus with what he needs to serve. Our first missional endeavor, Common Cupboard, is a place where followers of Jesus can “equipped” with groceries to give away freely to those in need. Along with some simple training, mentoring, and prayer, a follower of Jesus can be equipped to demonstrate God's love in such a way that people's hearts are softened to God and led gently along their way to Jesus.

Neighborhood Christmas Party

I am amazed daily at how God opens doors and provides in simple ways. One of these doors is at Castle Rd & Riverside Apartments and the surrounding area. This area off Walkup Ave in Monroe is ethnically diverse. Many of the folks living in these apartments and the trailer park next door are in need. We have been reaching out in this area for over a year and currently help 15 or so families each month. My wife Deb and I have been wondering what God would have us do in this area.

Through a series of events I met the owner of one of the apartment complexes and expressed to her the idea of what Deb and I have been calling a festival. She was excited because she is a Christian who just purchased the complex and had been asking God for direction on touching people's spiritual needs in her apartments. She asked if we could pull something together for December. We decided to do a neighborhood Christmas Party on December 8th.

About 25 people came out to help including a youth group from El Shadai, a Latino congregation in Monroe. We gave away educational items, toys, and bags of groceries . We ate some cake and drank hot chocolate (in 70 degree weather). We also had a shepherdess, a wise man, and an angel helping us out with singing some carols as I shared a little about how we can experience Jesus today. It was a great time.

Click on the picture below to view pictures ...

Neighborhood Christmas Party - Dec 8

Just 30 Minutes Away

Not to long ago I put out an email to some of my friends about what was going on at the Common Cupboard, a missional food pantry that my wife and I and some friends started about 17 months ago. We use it as a way to demonstrate God's Love in a practical way by visiting people and delivering free groceries to those in need on a monthly basis. One of the additional ways we reach out is to go door to door in targeted low income areas and give away free groceries.

Recently my pastor, Jeff Gardner, took me up on on the invitation to go out on one of our "grocery outreaches". Jeff is the lead pastor of Threshold in Matthews NC. He took an opportunity last Sunday to share a little about his experience just 30 minutes away from his home.


This clip is part of his talk entitled Serve. You can listen to the rest of his message at Threshold Media.