My friend Mark is a leader in the Street Pastors ministry in Scotland. He tells the story of meeting a group of Afghanistan war veterans coming out of a pub late one night. Mark approached them as they stood on the sidewalk. When they saw his jacket, identifying him as a Street Pastor, they launched into verbal attacks.
“Are you going to tell us we’re wrong to be drinking?”
“Do you think you’re better than us?”
“You Christians think you know everything!”
“You can’t imagine the things we’ve seen!”
For several minutes, Mark stood there, just listening, as these combat veterans lashed out at him with verbal accusations and complaints. Mark did not answer back. He did not take their accusations personally. He did not respond in anger. He just listened.
Finally, one of the veterans stopped, looked intently at Mark, and asked, “Why are you still standing here? Why haven’t you left already?”
“Because it sounds like you have been through a lot,” Mark responded, “and I care and Jesus cares about what you’ve gone through.”
After a pause, one of the men asked Mark, “Will you pray for us?”
These battle-hardened combat veterans bowed their heads and willingly accepted Mark’s prayers and words of encouragement for them—some with tears in their eyes.
That encounter would never have resulted in any ministry taking place if Mark had not “gone the second mile” and taken the time to just listen.
Just taking the time to listen is an act of love that helps to satisfy a need that people feel deeply. People have a need to be heard—to be listened to without interruption, without comment, and without judgment.
This realization changed Helena Dea Bala’s life forever.
Helena was dissatisfied with her life. She felt unfulfilled working as a lobbyist in Washington D.C. One day she took the time to stop and talk with a homeless man. She listened to his story with interest and shared some details of her own life. That encounter convinced her that her life could have more meaningful impact by simply listening to people intentionally.
She put an ad on Craigslist, offering to meet people for coffee and listen to anything they might want to share with her. She was overwhelmed with the response! Hundreds of people have come to share things with her that they have never told anyone else.
Craigslist Confessional seems to have taken on a life of its own. Helena’s project has its own website now. It has been featured in articles, blogs, podcasts, and on network television. The first Craigslist Confessional book is available for pre-order now from the major American booksellers.
Helena had not received any special training for this. She was not unusually gifted. She didn’t have all the details worked out. She just made herself available to listen—and people came.
This is just one woman. Can you imagine the impact if entire ministries—or entire churches—made the commitment to demonstrate God’s love to people by really listening to them without judgment?
