Learning To Live Love

Behind the Black Doors - Rick's Story

noreply@blogger.com (drewbenton) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:17:00 +0000

As soon as we stepped inside and the doors slam behind us it was complete darkness. Rick told us to get out our cell phones and use them as flashlights. He led us to the stairs and we climbed up. Light began to creep in the higher we went. We followed the light to a door. We crossed the threshold and what we saw next changed our perspective in a unique way.

Rick is a good friend of mine that is living homeless in downtown Atlanta. Last week Jared and I had some time before a Project Live Love meeting and decided to visit with some friends. As soon as we parked and started up the street we bumped into Rick. I knew from previous conversations that Rick was living in an abandoned hotel. I asked if he would be willing to take Jared and I on a tour of the building. Once we finished recording the tour, I asked Rick to share some of his story on camera.

I invite you to watch this seven and a half minute video of what Rick had to say. Go behind the doors and see what it is like living homeless in downtown Atlanta.

Charles and Marcus

noreply@blogger.com (drewbenton) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:26:00 +0000

Yesterday I had some time between meetings downtown. I began driving around trying to visit with some of my homeless friends. I drove to a side of town I had not been to before. It was there that I bumped into two guys I had never met.

Charles and Marcus lived under an overpass off I-20. They were huddled by a bucket campfire when I drove up. I pulled over and got out to go meet them. After talking for a few minutes, I asked if they would be willing to share some of their story on camera.

Filming this world and these people is all very new to me. I have shot only a few short videos in the past. Let me know what you think??? The rain and traffic made a few parts hard to hear… sorry. So… here are their stories.

What A Beautiful Sight? - Atlanta Homeless Connect

noreply@blogger.com (drewbenton) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:22:00 +0000

That is the sight of several hundred homeless men and women getting connected to resources in Atlanta.

Some time ago a few people from the United Way and the Living Room got together and began talking about bringing a national initiative called Project Homeless Connect to Atlanta. I had the pleasure of attending the initial meeting where this concept was pitched to a group of Atlanta leaders. During the meeting it was decided that we would go forward with bringing this event to Atlanta and thus Atlanta Homeless Connect (AHC) was born.

After several months of hard work from so many, yesterday was the event. It was awesome. Over forty-five different organizations that serve the homeless and poor came together to offer their services on one day. There were housing options, work programs, drug rehab programs, legal aid, HIV/ AIDS testing, mobile medical units, haircuts, phone home stations, and so much more. People came from all over the city to connect with these resources.

Before the event started I was called outside to help keep the line under control because people kept cutting the line. My job then morphed into being in charge of the door and keeping the line calm. I loved this assignment because I got to greet everyone as they came in the event. I got to just hang out and love on these beautiful people.

As people entered through the door, I would ask them why they attended today. Some would say they came to try and get a job or find housing. Others just came for the free lunch and to see what was going on. No matter why the 700+ people came each person was impacted in some why by attending. The overall impact of this day will only be measured in time.

More than 300 volunteers came together to help make the event possible. Thank you to everyone who put their love in action and helped make AHC a reality.

Helping Atlanta Flood Families Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (drewbenton) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 21:02:00 +0000

Here are some videos of the great work that is being done to help Atlanta families rebuild and some of their stories.

Day 2 was cut at 2:00 as the rains were causing the water to rise again. We will be putting together some projects over the next few weeks. Please let me know if you would like to join in.

Helping Atlanta Flood Families Cleanup

noreply@blogger.com (drewbenton) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:03:00 +0000

Today I had the pleasure of serving some families who were in need of some help. They were all victims of the floods that Atlanta experienced earlier this week. A friend of mine, Eric Jones, lives in a neighborhood where many homes were affected by the floods. On Thursday we put the word out on Facebook and some awesome students from Atlanta Bible College answered the call. Here are some of the families’ stories and the work we were able to accomplish.

Last night I took an old white t-shirt of mine and wrote with Sharpie the words LIVE LOVE in big letters across the chest. The question I heard the most today was, “Why are you here helping?” It was awesome to explain to people that I was there because I wanted to show others love in a real way.

We worked for several hours today and only made a dent in the amount of work that needs to be done. Please join us tomorrow as we head back to these families to continue the work we started.

It looks like it is going to rain tomorrow so please come prepared. The details and directions can be found here.

Ways to Live Love to Atlanta Flood Victims

noreply@blogger.com (drewbenton) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:44:00 +0000

I must admit that as the images came in on my TV screen on Monday and Tuesday I was in a state of shock at what I saw. I could not process that these images were coming from my hometown. In fact, for the first few days I thought that other people would take care of this tragedy and that it would soon pass.

As time went by the reality of what had happened to my friends, family, and neighbors became overwhelming. I could no longer just sit and watch the TV and do nothing to help my community heal. As of yesterday I set out to try and find ways that I could donate my time, talents, and treasures to help the thousands of people who were affected by the Atlanta Floods. I found one small way to help that I shared yesterday, but that was not enough.

Earlier this week I had spoken with my friend Eric Jones who had personally experienced flooding is his house. When he told me of his neighbors whose houses had been flooded so much worse than his own my heart sank.

Now that the reality of what was going on had set in, I picked up the phone and called Eric back to see if I could help. He shared with me that he and his neighbors would be working through the weekend to try and clean up their houses. I told Eric that I would love to come and help. As a result, I am leading a team of people Friday and Saturday to help Eric and his neighborhood clean up from this storm. I would be delighted if you could join me on one of those days. The details are at the bottom of this post.

I am not the only one who had the reaction to help their fellow man. So many others have organized efforts to help their community. Below is a list of every way I know of so far to help. Please find some way to live love in the face of this tragedy.

Project Live Love – We are doing cleanup starting at 10:00 Friday and Saturday. We are meeting at 1160 Windbrooke Dr. Powder Springs, GA 30127. Please wear closed toe shoes, jeans, work gloves and bring a long sleeve t-shirt. Google directions will not work for this one because there are still roads that are closed. Please use the directions below to get there. Send an e-mail to drew@projectlivelove.com if you want to help or if have additional questions.

From 285 - Take South Cobb Dr towards the East West Connector (outside of the perimeter)

L on the East West Connector

L on Powdersprings Rd.

L on CH James Parkway

R on Brownsville Rd.

L on Hiram Lithiasprings Rd.

L on Meadows Rd.

R on Windbrooke Dr. – 1160 Windbrooke Dr.

Reflections of Trinity – Volunteer projects are coming very soon. You can make donations of diapers, clothes, food, gas cards, bottles of water, etc… and they will make sure it gets to those in need. They are located at 4037 Austell Powder Springs Rd. Powder Springs, GA 30127. You can call them at 770-222-6511. They are there from 9:00-6:00pm daily and 1:00-6:00 on Sunday.

Reflections of Trinity will also serve as home base for volunteers in the community. The Salvation Army will be there with hot meals from 1:00-4:00. They will also have clean up kits for volunteers to use on projects.

Additionally, anyone in need can report to Reflections of Trinity for help.

HopeATL.com – This site is amazing!!! It has been put together in only days and has the pulse of how to help people in Atlanta. From here you can find ways to be involved in the relief efforts through four different avenues. Please visit the site.

Kroger/ Salvation Army - Kroger is doing a round up campaign to help those in need. In other words… If your groceries are $25.13 you can choose to round that up to $26.00 and the balance will go to the Atlanta Flood victim’s fund through the Salvation Army. Here are the details.

United Way – For those who are in need they can use the 211 service. Anywhere in Atlanta you can simply dial 211 from your phone and be connected to someone who can direct you to resources.

Red Cross – Find ways to volunteer, donate or give blood through their website.

As I hear of more ways to live love I will try to share them with you.

Atlanta Flood – A Small Way To Help

noreply@blogger.com (drewbenton) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:27:00 +0000

Words cannot begin to describe the horror that we have been looking at for the past two days on our TV screens. I still cannot believe what I’ve been seeing is real. My family and I were extremely fortunate that our house did not flood. My dad’s basement flooded only a little, but he caught the leak early and was able to save almost everything.

I spoke with one good friend of mine whose entire basement was under water. His house was in the best condition of all his neighbors. At one house in his neighborhood the water was up to the second floor.

As I begin to hear these stories and watch all of the destruction on TV I am moved to do something. My heart is broken for all the people who have lost everything. With all of the widespread destruction where do we begin?

Last night just before I went to bed I saw a story on the news about Clarkdale Elementary School. Of all the coverage I had seen I had not heard about this school. They showed how the water had been up to the roofline. Everything inside was totally lost. All the computers, school supplies, books and more.

This story gripped my heart. So, this morning I went online to see if anyone was helping this school regain all that was lost. I found out that there is an effort at work. 11Alive and School Box are collecting school supplies to help replace all that was lost. From now until Sunday they will be collecting K – 5^th grade items at the five locations listed below. It’s something small, but it is something we can all do to live love today.

Most of all, find a way to live love in this crisis. There are so many in need. Find a family to serve, help a neighbor, volunteer your time, or make a donation. When crisis hits so many ways to live love emerge. Together let’s put love in action and heal Atlanta.

School Box Locations

Austell
3999 Austell Rd.
Austell, GA 30106
(770) 739-2244

Conyers
1486 Dogwood Dr. SE
Conyers, GA 30013
(770) 602-3151

Douglasville
9559 Highway 5
Douglasville, GA 30135
(770) 577-6503

East Cobb
1205 Johnson Ferry Rd.
Marietta, GA 30068
(770) 578-4445

Gwinnett
3865 Venture Dr.
Duluth, GA 30096
(770) 497-1005

City Walk Photos

noreply@blogger.com (drewbenton) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:46:00 +0000

Last week I had the pleasure of leading a small group of photographers on a short city walk. It was raining that night so we did not get to visit with as many people as we would have liked. However, we did get to visit with some amazing people and they allowed us to capture their lives on film. These are only a few of the photos that Lauren Ward Hammonds shot while on our walk. To see more of her photos click here.

The top photo of this post is my favorite. If you look closely you will see a toothbrush in the middle of the cardboard bed. We did not stage that. In fact, none of these photos were staged. That photo speaks to the humanity of the issue of homelessness. From now on when I brush my teeth before going to bed I will think of this photo and people it represents. I hope you enjoy these photos as much as me.

Shelia - Love Changes Things

noreply@blogger.com (drewbenton) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:06:00 +0000

From the hundreds of people that met Shelia over my last two summers at Safehouse Outreach to those who have only learned her name through a facebook or twitter post, so many of you have been on this ride with us. Before I begin this blog I would first like to say thank you to all of you from the bottom of my heart. Words will never describe my gratefulness…. Now to the blog. (sorry for the length)

Two years ago I was leading a team of students on a project called Homeless for a Day when I bumped into a middle aged, frail, homeless lady who asked me and my group for money. I do not make it my practice to just hand out money on the street so I tried to quickly dismiss the lady and told her we didn’t have any money.

She began to share with us a little of her story. She told us that she was living in the abandoned building across the way and that she needed money for her medication. She then explained that she had several medical issues. It was then that someone from the group asked Shelia if we could pray for her.

Once Shelia realized we were people of faith, she began to share about her faith and her testimony of how she had survived near death experiences. She explained that three times she woke up in the abandoned building with different medical conditions that she could have died from and all three times she survived with a best-case scenario.

I then asked her why she lived in the abandon building. She responded with, “You mean the abandominum?” She continued by explaining to us that she ended up in the building because of her choices. Not that she chose to live there, but as a result of her choices she lived there. She then explained that she had an addiction to drugs and that she had allowed her choice for drugs to lead her so far down that she now lived in the abandominum.

Shelia’s story was so strong and the way she spoke had such an affect on me that it changed my life forever.

Several weeks later I was walking by the abandominum with a group and bumped into Shelia again. I asked if she would share what she had shared the last time we met. She agreed and began to share with my group her story, her discourse on choices, and the conditions of the abandoned building.

This continued for the next two years. Every time I would go near the building I would look for Sheila. If she was not there I would ask around for her. When we connected she would share with my groups. Hundreds of people got to hear her story and embrace her with hugs and prayers.

Each time she finished sharing I would spend a few extra minutes with Shelia away from the group to make sure she was doing ok. She would always reassure me and say she was fine.

It was near the end of my second summer with Safehouse Outreach when a photographer friend asked if we could go in the abandoned building. I told him I would check with Shelia to see what she thought about that becoming a possibility. I had been in the building once before and did not want to go back without an invite. Shelia agreed to take us in and show us around. She then asked for something she had never asked for before… Help.

She said, “I will do this for you Drew, if you do something for me.” I said, “What?” She continued, “I want your help getting into a recovery program.”

Wow! I could not believe that Shelia was asking me for help.

I then reassured Shelia that I would figure out something. I told her that when we came to take the pictures that I would have a plan to help her.

Nathan, who was interning with me at the time, made several calls and found a rehab in Tennessee that would take Shelia with no income. The only problem was there was a waiting list of four to six weeks to get in. As a result, we had to find somewhere for Shelia to go until her bed opened up in TN. Additionally, Shelia had to complete a week of detox before she would be able to attend the rehab.

I shared this with Shelia and we made arrangements to go to the hospital the next day at 12:00 to check her in to detox. Unfortunately I had an appointment that ran late that day and did not make it to Shelia until about 1:00. Pastor Errol from Safehouse and Nathan went with me to get her. When we got there I began to call out for Shelia. Finally she came to the window of the abandoned building and shouted, “Drew, I’m here… I didn’t think you were coming.”

Because we were running later than expected Shelia had given up hope and had gone back into the building and was using aggressively. Shelia then climbed down and got in the car with me and the guys. We started driving around the block talking about what was going to happen. Shelia did not want to go to detox. She did not want to give up her addiction. She gave us every excuse in the book as to why she couldn’t go right then.

Finally, I looked Shelia in the eyes and said, “What is stopping you from going to rehab with us right now?” Shelia froze and said, “I hear you. Let’s go get my stuff.”

We drove back to the building and Sheila went inside to get her things. It was pretty funny seeing her throw down her clothes in stuffed trash bags out the window of this abandominum. One bag landed and splattered all over the place. Once we were loaded up we took off for the hospital.

When we go to the hospital, Shelia was crashing hard from all the drugs she had taken. The triage nurse took Shelia’s blood pressure measurement and realized that her BP was 70/40. Shelia was on the verge of death and in immediate need of fluids.

The next day I heard from Shelia and she told me the severity of her condition. She said, “I had one foot on a banana peel the other on the grave. One more slip and I would have been out of this world.” She told me that the doctor believed she was going to be fine after a few days of fluids and monitoring.

In the meantime I was trying to figure out where Shelia could go once she came out of the hospital. We still had three weeks before her bed would be open. I shared the need with my father Marty Benton. He and his Sunday school class at First Baptist Church Woodstock stepped up to help with an unbelievable gesture of love. They paid for Shelia to stay in Woodstock at an Extended Stay motel until her bed opened up at the rehab. Additionally, they provided a new wardrobe and a cell phone.

For the next two weeks Shelia hung out in Woodstock. People from FBCW, my father, and myself went to check on her regularly. She attended AA or NA meetings each night and helped out at the clothes closet at FBCW from time to time.

Finally, we got the call from the rehab that her bed had come available. Thanks to John Chapman at Love Thy Neighbor, we had her bus ticket and everything was in order.

The morning of Shelia’s departure came and we drove downtown together to the Greyhound station. I had several meetings this day and decided to get Shelia checked in and then go to my meetings. I left Shelia around 3:00 with her bus leaving at 6:30.

That whole evening and well into the next day I did not hear from Shelia. I tried her on her cell several times and heard nothing. Late in the afternoon my cell rang. It was Shelia. She was acting weird on the phone and would not answer a direct question about where she had been. Of course in my heart I knew the answer.

I immediately got in my car and drove to Atlanta to meet up with her. By the time I got there she was back at the Greyhound station. She had gotten her ticket changed so she could leave later that night. We called the rehab to make sure she could still come in a day later and they agreed. Shelia still refused to answer a direct question to the point that we both got upset with each other and I left the station.

A short time later I got a call from Shelia. She said, “I don’t want to talk. I just need you to listen.” She then explained how she went to Five Points after I left her and bought drugs. She went on to share how she took her drugs to the abandoned building and used all night. Then she hung up.

The next day when I woke I checked my voicemail. I had several messages from Shelia from her overnight travel. She had arrived in Memphis and was being admitted into rehab. I tried calling her back that day, but could not speak to her because she had to go through detox all over again and was not allowed to have phone calls during that time.

On Monday of this week Shelia gave me a call. We talked for several minutes and I found out she is doing great. She is attending meetings regularly and in her words, “learning how to live again.” She told me she has gained twenty pounds since she has been there. She is on her road to recovery.

This process has been one the most difficult things I have ever been apart of. There have been more lessons I have learned from this experience than I can put into words. Here are just a few short takeaways I wanted to share:

1. Never give up on someone – Shelia has been addicted for 25 years. She has been living homeless for the last 3. Nobody is outside the reach of love.

2. Addiction is one of the most powerful forces man knows – Shelia had all the arrangements made and all she had to do is get on the bus. Her addiction took her back into the building. However, love is stronger.

3. I have so many people in my life that love me – Through this process I learned that there are so many people that love me and have my back in life. From all my facebook and twitter love to the very tangible things people did to help Shelia and myself.

4. The power of living love can change things – By me showing up and loving Shelia unconditionally, her life is forever changed. Even if it is one life at a time… Love changes things.

So, where does the Shelia story go from here? Stay tuned… It is guaranteed to be a wild ride. I love you all and hope these words will inspire you to continue to live love.

Steve

noreply@blogger.com (drewbenton) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:40:00 +0000

This is a video I filmed with my friend Steve some months ago. He was kind enough to show Alicia and I where he used to live. I hope you find it interesting.

A Day In The Life

noreply@blogger.com (drewbenton) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 19:31:00 +0000

As many of you already know I am transitioning away from Safehouse Outreach. Saturday will actually be my last day on full time staff with SHO. I am leaving to start an organization called Project Live Love. I look forward to sharing more on this in the near future.

About a month ago a friend of mine asked if he could follow me around with his camera to see what we might come up with. Hassan hopes to one day pursue a career in photo journalism and thought following me around would be a great way to learn. When he got done with the photos he recorded an interview with me and then spliced it all together to create a really cool piece of work.

The best part of this project for me is I will forever have these memories to look back on as I make this transition. Hassan did an amazing job capturing a day in the life of Drew Benton at Safehouse Outreach. Take a look and let me know what you think.

Here are just a few photos. To view the entire project click here.

My Confession – Anger The Opposite of Love

noreply@blogger.com (drewbenton) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:09:00 +0000

This is perhaps one of the most vulnerable blogs I will ever write, but I feel like it is necessary. Let me begin with two stories…

The other day I was driving through downtown Atlanta with my wife to meet a friend for lunch. As we were cruising down Piedmont road a guy turned out in front of me from a side road and nearly caused me to hit him. I then honked my horn in protest to the fact that I had just been cut off.

About that time this guy slammed on his breaks, came up along side my car and started yelling at me. I thought to myself, This guy had already cut me off and now he was going to try and yell at me for honking???

I was not about to take what this guy was dishing out so I started to yell back. I went crazy. Cuss words were flying everywhere. It told the guy to pull over and we would see how big and bad he was then. The confrontation ended shortly after that by him turning down a side road.

This one is harder to share…

Some friends, my wife, and I went out to eat the other day at the Mexican restaurant. We were all having a great time until I decided to bring up politics. Something about this subject just puts people on edge. While dinner was concluding some of us had gotten into a pretty heated discussion.

Alicia and I then went home where we were going to meet our friends and play some cards. On the way home Alicia and I began to argue with each other. I think the tension of the conversation at dinner had carried over to our conversation and we were arguing like crazy.

Eventually I got so mad that I began yelling. I made the entire situation so uncomfortable that all of my friends went home. That made me even more mad because I had ruined the night. Alicia and I continued to fight and I continued to yell until eventually I yelled the words, “I hate you” to my wife.

+ + + + +

Anger is a nasty beast. It has a way of creeping in to one’s heart little by little until one day they explode. Once anger fills the heart one’s ability to love ceases. Anger blinds love.

Unfortunately anger has become a reaction for me when I feel overwhelmed or challenged. I have been under so much stress lately that I am not allowing love to have it’s way and I am allowing anger to override. My anger led me to say words that I will forever regret. My anger led me to act in ways that are the total opposite of love.

The truth is there is nobody in this world that I love more than my wife, but yet I allowed my anger to say to her, “I hate you.” The truth is I love people like crazy and would do anything to help someone, but I allowed my anger to nearly get me in a physical altercation.

I was sharing my road rage story with a friend the other day when she said to me, “you should love the people in those cars the same way you do the homeless in downtown.” This truth was extremely difficult to hear. It challenged me at my core. I spend all day loving the people of downtown, but I can’t love the people in traffic? What does that say about my love? What does that say about me?

+ + + + +

The purpose of this blog is to confess to you that I have reacted with anger and that I am walking away from that emotion. I am learning to transcend my anger with love. I have been forgiven by my wife for my words and we are continuing to learn how to love each other more and more. If I knew who the man in the car was I would apologize to him as well.

I want love to be at the forefront of all that I do. I don’t want to just be someone who loves at work, but not at home. I want to be a lover all the time in all circumstances and I want to live love to everyone who crosses my path.

Two More Examples of Biz Love

noreply@blogger.com (drewbenton) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:10:00 +0000

What does it mean to be great?

Martin Luther King Jr. was perhaps one of the greatest people who ever lived. There is an amazing speech that MLK once gave on the idea greatness. In this speech he shared that in order to be great, one must be a servant.

I think this idea of greatness or significance is starting to seep into the American fabric on a deeper level than ever before. Now we are starting to see company after company find ways to share love with others through their brand. I believe that much of this behavior is brought about by a deep rooted desire to matter in the world. A desire to be great.

What Snickers and Hamburger Helper are doing matters. They have leveraged their mighty brands to team up with Feeding America to get food to people who are in need. They are leaving a footprint of greatness.

The greatness of any individual, company, church, or organization will not be wrapped up in how much money they make, how many widgets they sold, or how many people they got to attend. Their greatness will be determined by what they did for others.

Please take a few minutes to check out what these two brands are doing by visiting their websites. I hope we will all take this as an opportunity to consider ourselves what we are doing to live love towards others.

Lessons I Learned

noreply@blogger.com (drewbenton) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:13:00 +0000

As part of the summer experiences that we host here at SHO we include an educational project called “Homeless for a day.” Earlier this month we hosted a team from the suburbs of Atlanta. They brought a different group of about 40 students to SHO each day to do this homeless experience with us. So for four days in a row I lead a team of about 20 students on an 6-8 mile trek visiting shelters, meal locations, churches, abandon buildings and more.

After day one, I thought it might be interesting to broaden my own understanding of homelessness so I decided I would sleep on the street over night. After clearing it with my family I set out to extend my homelessness for 48 hours straight.

I remember that morning thinking what is this going to be like? Where will I sleep? How will I sleep? What are the streets like at night? Will I be safe? These questions and more began to fill my mind.

Once we got back to SHO from visiting all of the locations the team I was leading went home. There I sat with the option of going home or staying to see what the night would unfold. I chose to stay.

I hung out with the folks at SHO until well after the impact service was over. Things began to finally wind down and people were heading to their cat holes to bed down for the night. It was then that I was talking with one gentleman from the street who told me that he found it patronizing for me to sleep outside with everyone when I clearly had the keys to the building we were sleeping outside of.

I didn’t like hearing that I was patronizing the people I was so desperately seeking to learn from. As a result, about midnight I decided to go on in SHO and sleep there for the night. I slept on the floor of my office… not quite the concrete of the street.

So, I still have no idea what it feels like to sleep on concrete, but I have a much deeper understanding of homelessness. I hope to do it again sometime soon only stay outside alone.

Although I did not say on the street I was still dealing with so many other emotions and thoughts. It has taken me quite some time to process all of those thoughts. Here are some of the lessons I was able to glean from spending those four days submerged in the homeless environment. Perhaps I will come back and expound on these in the short future.

1. Humanity is all the same. All though we are all different… we are all the same.
2. Being homeless is hard work. Trying to memorize feeding schedules, making and tearing down a sleeping place daily, walking 8 miles a day and trying to find a place where can you go to the bathroom are just some of the obstacles the homeless have to work around.
3. Homelessness is exhausting… emotionally, physically, spiritually. I don’t know how people do it day to day. I was spent after just four.
4. Happiness and Homelessness are not attached. It is not an issue of “things.” Some of the happiest people ever live right here on the streets of Atlanta.You can be homeless and still serve others. Some of the most amazing people I know that are living love are the people on that have no place they call home.

These are just a few thoughts I picked up that week of being homeless. I look forward to sharing more in the future.

Naked

noreply@blogger.com (drewbenton) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 20:35:00 +0000

About four to five years ago I began a journey that did not have much clarity or direction. All I knew was that something was off in my life and I needed to get to the bottom of what that was. Even though I was a minister, I felt as though something in the church was off and we were missing the heart of the matter. During that time I started a blog to work out many of my thoughts called “Naked.” It was my thoughts uncut, unreserved – naked.

That journey took me through some seriously high highs and some seriously low lows. I began to question everything I had ever been taught in church, school, home, etc… as it pertained to my relationship to God. I wanted to purge my mind of my old way of thinking and allow Him to give me new lenses through which to view the world. The worst part of it all was the fact that those closest too me could not understand what I was going through. Some of them criticized me and still many more turned their back on me all together.

For the first year or two of my journey I struggled with understanding what my issue with today’s church was. I was finally able to articulate this thought, “We (the church) preach and teach a love that we do not live.” Once I was able to articulate that issue, I then set out to learn how to live out the love I had been singing and teaching about. That journey landed me on this one central thought… Live Love.

I say all that to say this… Over the weekend I was able to figure out how to merge my old blog that I started in 2005 with my new blog that I started in 2008. The blog entries from 2005 and 2006 are indicative of where I was at the time. Perhaps the best blog to provide a snapshot of what I was thinking is the last one I wrote called Questions Volume 1.

After writing Questions Volume 1 I did not feel as though I should go public with thoughts that I was trying to “work out.” I felt like I should wait until I arrived at some type of a conclusion before I started sharing again. As a result there is about a two year time span that I did not post blogs.

Now every day I wake up with a passion to live love. My journey looks much different today than it did those years ago. Now I have clarity and direction. My purpose and passion are clear. So, now my journey/ blog is about "learning to live love.

If you would like to take a look at some of the thoughts that I was wrestling with feel free to look through some of my old posts from 2005 and 2006.

Moving Out

noreply@blogger.com (drewbenton) — Fri, 29 May 2009 14:55:00 +0000

I turned thirty on Tuesday of this week. This year was perhaps the best birthday I have ever had. It was the best for so many reasons. My friends and family threw me an amazing birthday party. I was given some great gifts. I was surrounded by people I love all day. Perhaps the biggest factor that made this year better than years gone by is because the day began with me having a chance to live out my purpose.

The twenties are difficult. At least they were for me. I spent the majority of my twenties trying to figure out what direction I was going in life. The best part about leaving my twenties is the fact that I have finally found my purpose. I was created to live love.

Ever since I connected at Safehouse Outreach more than two years ago, that purpose has become clearer and clearer. This year on my birthday I had the privilege of putting my love into action by helping a man move his things out from under a bridge.

My friend lived there for more than a year while he tried to put things back together. I was able to get him into a program where he can live for free for the next 90 days as he saves money to move into his own place. The special thing is I was able to capture about eight minutes of this experience on tape. This is the first thing I have ever filmed while working at SHO.

After having helped my friend that morning the whole rest of the day my spirits were high. I love living love. It is my purpose. Thank you for joining me on my journey as I continue to learn what it means to live love more and more. I hope that through me sharing my journey that you will be inspired to live love as well.

Thanks to all who made me 30^th birthday amazing!

Need Magazine Post - A Dream Loved Back To Life

noreply@blogger.com (drewbenton) — Thu, 28 May 2009 13:22:00 +0000

Yesterday I had the pleasure of having a blog posted on the Need Magazine Blog. Check it out here.

Georgeology?

noreply@blogger.com (drewbenton) — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:23:00 +0000

Earlier today I posted a tweet that read, “GOD - I would rather know Him than about Him. That's why I traded my theology for theognosis.

I got some interesting feedback on that comment so I decided to post my entire thought process behind it. This was a blog I wrote two years ago.

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In my opinion Star Wars is the greatest movie ever. I am the quintessential “hardcore” Star Wars fan. My wife and I have two cats. Their names are Obi Won Kenobi and Mace Windu. For you no- Star Wars weirdoes those are two Jedi in the movies. If you don’t know what Jedi are then you need some serious counseling.

For my birthday some time ago my wife bought me a real light saber. No, not a cheap flashlight wannabe light saber you buy at Wal-Mart. It had a die cast metal hilt and an actual halogen beam. The hilt was motion sensitive so when you moved it around it would make the wooooo woooo sound. It was freaking awesome.

Darth Vader sits on the edge of my desk right now. Across the room is a great gift my best friend bought me, Darth Tater. It is a Mr. Potato Head that looks like Darth Vader. I have about twenty five Star Wars Posters. My little girl was Darth Vader for Halloween last year. I have seen all of the movies about on hundred times each. I even have and wear Star Wars underwear.

Like I said, I am a hardcore Star Wars fan.

I personally think that George Lucas is a brilliant man. I loved every single Star Wars he made (Yes…even the new ones). To be honest I think George Lucas could make a movie of Luke Skywalker mowing the grass and I would probably think it was incredible.

When you become such a fan of someone you begin to try and learn as much about that person as you can. Because I looked up to and respected George Lucas I began to study his life and learn as much about him as I could. I watched documentaries about his life. I bought books and began to read about him. I even got a photo of him and put him in my office for creative inspiration. I began to learn anything and everything I could about this man.

You know what sucks? Even though I have read all his books, seen all his movies, studied his life, and bought all his merchandise, I have never had a chance to actually meet George Lucas. I only know the little pieces of him that he has put in his biographies.

Never have George and I sat down over coffee and discussed his likes and dislike. I have no idea what his favorite color is. I don’t know what season of the year he enjoys the most. I don’t know if watches sunrises and thinks or goes to bed early. I don’t know if he bags his groceries in paper or plastic. I don’t know if he loves people or they get on his nerves. I don’t know what he wears to the beach. I don’t even know if he likes going to beach. I don’t know if likes to read or watch movies. I have no idea who George Lucas really is. I have a general Georgeology, but no Georgegnosis.

If given the chance to meet George Lucas and take him to coffee and actually “get to know him,” all of the stuff I read about him in my books and all the stuff I learned about him in documentaries would fade in comparison to having a chance to meet the real man.

Now having said that let me see if I can clarify my point. Let’s just say for some crazy reason George Lucas decided he wanted to have a relationship with me. He wanted to be my friend and every Sunday we were going to go to coffee and hang out.

The first time we go to coffee we begin with our silly small talk. Then our conversation moves to deeper discussion about life. He begins to tell me this story of the time he went sailing with his friends. He enlightens me that he likes sailing. He then proceeds to share with me a funny story that happened on his sailing trip. While he is telling the story little pieces of his personality begin to shine through. His humor becomes evident. His attention to the details of the story ring out. His great ability to tell the story becomes noticeable. All of the unseen things that make him an awesome man begin to come clear to me.

I leave our discussion with an new understanding of who George really is. During that short conversation about stuff I began to really get to know George. Not just facts and figures, but personality and person ability. Two things were happening as we talked.

First, I was learning about George- Georgeology or about God- Theology

Second, I was getting to know George- Georgegnosis or getting to know God- Theognosis.

In order to get to know the heart of George or the essence of George I was confronted with the facts of who he is.

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Enough about George. Let’s talk God. When I put my focus on getting to know God I naturally begin learning about God. Getting to know Him takes me down paths of learning about Him.

When in this order one naturally leads to the other. Theognosis naturally leads one through theology. However, when they are inverted theology does not always lead one through or to theognosis.

You can study all day long every day about God and not actually know Him. The problem is when you invert these two and put Theology first.

Theognosis speaks to the heart.

Theology speaks to the mind.

This is why I am going back to innocence and trading in my theology for theognosis. If I simply get to know God and fall in love with Him more and more the theology will come. I will no longer live bound to the dogma of crossing my “T’s” and dotting my “I’s” of God. I am letting go of religion and diving into love. Theology is no longer my priority. God/ Love is.

My Birthday Wish - TOMS Shoes

noreply@blogger.com (drewbenton) — Fri, 15 May 2009 17:36:00 +0000

In 2006 an American traveler, Blake Mycoskie, befriended children in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created a company that would match every pair of shoes sold with a pair given to a child in need. One for One. Blake returned to Argentina with a group of family, friends and staff later that year with 10,000 pairs of shoes made possible by caring TOMS customers.

The fact that companies like TOMS are forming with a greater purpose in mind speaks to the increasing spirit of love that is surfacing in our culture. I am excited that this year for my birthday my wife ordered me a pair. I am joining the TOMS movement to live love through shoes.

To learn more about TOMS visit their website or take four minutes and forty five seconds to watch this video.

The Diamond Miner

noreply@blogger.com (drewbenton) — Wed, 13 May 2009 18:10:00 +0000

Yesterday, at Safehouse Outreach, we had our monthly Advisory Board meeting. As in each of these meetings, one of the staff members will share about their department and their latest work. This month our Mentoring Program Director Errol Boyland was invited to share.

He began by saying, “It has been said, ‘diamonds are a girl’s best friend.’ We men like them every now and then too.” The room had a good laugh and then he continued to share this story about a young man who was a shining diamond in the dust.

This all took place earlier in the week at the gathering Errol and his wife, Darlene, lead at the Forest Cove apartment complex. Just to set the tone, Forest Cove is one of the darkest places I have ever visited. When we did an outreach there on MLK day there were about twenty to thirty drug dealers hanging around as we began setting up. I can remember seeing beer caps ground into the sidewalks all around the complex. Many of the apartments I got a glimpse of were dirty and in need of much repair. We were told by some of the people that gun shoots are heard in the area on a regular basis. Forest Cove is a dark cave of despair.

Each week Errol and Darlene go to Forest Cove to lead a gathering in one of the family’s homes. When it came time to read the scripture, a seven year old young man asked if he could do the reading. Errol was slightly hesitant to let him as he was not looking forward to a seven year old stumbling through the words. However, he agreed and the young man began to read. Much to everyone’s surprise this young man began reading like a pro. Even the big words were no challenge for him.

Once the gathering was over, Errol took the young man to his mother, as his father is in prison, to brag on him. After they told the mother, she went to back room and got a notebook full of this young boy’s achievements. This seven year old is an amazing student and is even being considered to transfer schools to one more challenging for him.

Errol wanted to reward the young man’s academic achievement and show some positive reinforcement in his life. So he went out and bought the boy a skate board, helmet, and pads. When he delivered the skate board the young boy was so excited. Tony Hawk, the pro skater, is one of this boy’s biggest heroes and now he too has a skate board.

When Errol shared this story, he kept coming back to the idea that this boy was a diamond in the ruff. As dark and dingy as Forest Cove is, it had produced an amazing diamond. Errol finished by asking the entire room, “What if this young man had the right influencers around him? What if he had a mentor to help lead him in the way he should go? Imagine what an amazing shining diamond he could be.”

As I walked away from the Advisory Board meeting, a different perspective came to my mind. That is the perspective of the diamond miner. There are diamonds in caves all over the place. The problem is that there are not enough miners willing to get dirty enough to dig them out. You see, we all want to wear the shiny diamond around that has been mined, sized, cut, and polished, but how many of us want to go into the dark dirty mine to get it? I am so thankful that Errol and Darlene love the children of Atlanta so much they they’ll go into any mine to look for diamonds sparkling in the dust. I am challenged by their constant commitment to live love in the lives of these kids.

Perhaps Errol is such an amazing miner because he is such a beautiful diamond himself. Through his life he has risen above homelessness, addiction, gang banging, and more. He came out of a dark cave, has been cut and shaped and now is a shining diamond who seeks to mine out the beauty in others. Thank you Errol!

If you are interested in becoming a mentor please contact Errol or Darlene. This brilliant seven year old boy still needs a mentor. Become a diamond miner yourself.

Squidoo

noreply@blogger.com (drewbenton) — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:15:00 +0000

About five months ago I bumped into an online tool called Squidoo. It is a knowledge networking site that gives money to charity. You have heard of social networking…. Now be introduced to knowledge networking. This is a place where you share what you know and allow others to connect with that information through a networking platform.

Squidoo makes money from ads and affiliate links. 5% of what they earn, right off the top, goes to charity. 45% they keep to cover overhead and stuff. That leaves 50%. That goes to charity or to the creator of the page. That decision is up to the creator.

I share this with you for two reasons.

First, I find it interesting that when Seth Godin and his team were putting together this resource that they built donations to charities into the business model. From the beginning they did not intend on keeping all the money, but rather chose a model by which they could invest in organizations that are making a difference.

I think this speaks to an underlying trend that is emerging in today’s culture. More and more people are looking for ways they can build outlets for love into what they do naturally.

Second, this is an easy way to live love. Go make a page today around whatever subject you are most knowledgeable about. You can make a lens about anything. It’s easy, it’s free, and by sharing what you know you can make a difference in someone’s life.

I started a page five months ago on Homelessness In Atlanta. Since the time my site has climbed to #7 in it’s category and has donated several dollars to charity.

I hope you will join me in the world of Squidoo.

Pay It Forward Day

noreply@blogger.com (drewbenton) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 20:48:00 +0000

Many of us saw the movie a few years ago called “Pay It Forward.” The story of a young man who had a plan to pass on good deeds has been something that has seeped into American culture. In fact, organizers who wanted to go beyond the film developed a day each year where people are to focus on and live out this idea.

The cool thing is they have provided tools in the form of little cards to help make sure the person you show love too extends that on to the next person. I hope you will all join me tomorrow in planting seeds of love and inviting others to pay it forward. Visit the site, print some cards, and love on some people. It will be interesting to see how your one deed of love spreads into many.

Leveraging Twitter to Live Love

noreply@blogger.com (drewbenton) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:23:00 +0000

About six months ago a friend of mine introduced me to an amazing social networking tool called twitter. I have had a blast using twitter to stay connected with friends, network with others, and sharing knowledge quickly. It has been fun seeing how people everywhere are being turned on to twitter. It is catching on around the nation and has been the subject of many news stories lately.

Over this last week there was an interesting development in the twitter world. Ashton Kutcher and CNN began to race to see who would be the first to get one million followers on twitter. What I found so amazing about this story is the fact that once the media storm had been created they saw a way to leverage that to make a real impact in the world. They used it to bring awareness to a real need and help meet that need with resources. Please take the next two minutes and fifty five seconds to watch the full story.

Words In Motion

noreply@blogger.com (drewbenton) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:35:00 +0000

As we continue down the road of life our paths cross with so many different people. It is funny when one of those people is in fact a old friend from the past. I recently crossed paths with a very old friend of mine, Casey Darnell. In fact, we went to school together when we were still little kids.

Since the days we were young, both of our lives have taken many turns. What is great is that we have both landed in a similar place. We are both passionate about leading people beyond words and into action. When Casey and I sat down together over coffee his heart of love began to really shine through. He spoke of orphans and homeless people he has had the chance to minister too and how each group had impacted him.

Casey’s latest album “Words in Motion” is an expression of what is going on inside him. The words of these songs are written to motivate people to move beyond singing/ talking and into action. There are a couple of really powerful songs on the album. I hope you will check it out. His music is an encouragement for me to continually live love.

Find The Need And Show Up

noreply@blogger.com (drewbenton) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:20:00 +0000

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of leading a team from an area church to Hurt Park to do some outreach and love on our homeless friends. Many of the volunteers that were part of the outreach began having conversations with different people in the park. One volunteer in particular began a conversation with a young man named Chris. After talking together for some time the volunteer decided to introduce me to Chris because he was only twenty one.

Chris and I began talking for a few minutes. I asked him if he was interested in getting of the streets. He said he was not quite ready to leave. I then shared with him that he didn’t need to be living on the streets. I told him that the streets were unsafe and that he needed to go home with family as soon as possible. Then I said, “If you ever want to get off the street, give me a call.” Then I handed him a card with a map to SHO on the back.

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People all too often try to praise me and others for what we do for the homeless here in downtown. What we do is not really all that praiseworthy. All we do is show up where there are people in need.

In the city of Atlanta there are over six thousand counted homeless people. Many of them hang out in the parks during the weekend. Knowing this, we show up in the parks time and time again because we know we are going to intersect people who are in need.

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When I arrived to work on Monday, Chris was sitting in a chair in the parking lot waiting for me to arrive. When I got out of the car and walked over to him to see what was up he said, “I am going to take your advice. I want to go home.” I then told him I had several morning meetings, but if he would hang until that afternoon I would make some time to get with him to figure out a plan to make that happen.

The very next day Chris and I got in my car and I drove him home to west Georgia. Chris is off the streets and now living again with his family all because people Showed Up where the need was.

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What are the needs in your community? Is there an epidemic of illiterate children? Are there families going hungry? Are drugs on the increase in you area? Is AIDS infecting more and more people in your community? Only you can answer that question.

I remember hearing in college someone say, “If I want to get hit by a Mac truck then go stand on an interstate.” If you want to live love then go stand where the need is. Find the needs in your community then show up to help make change in those lives. Love for people does not always have to be some huge gesture. Just show up where needed and see how you will be able to live love towards others.