{"id":302181,"date":"2010-12-20T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-12-20T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/a-chance-meeting\/"},"modified":"2010-12-20T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2010-12-20T17:00:00","slug":"a-chance-meeting","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/a-chance-meeting\/","title":{"rendered":"A Chance Meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How long had it been since he had a friend?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/web.familylifetoday.com\/fl2010-12-20.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:","filesize":"24.35M","filesize_raw":"25533971","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2821],"tags":[4002],"podcast_series":[7777],"cwp_profile":[9221],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-302181","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reaching-out","tag-reaching-out","podcast_series-stumbling-souls-is-love-enough","cwp_profile-chris-plekenpol","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/302181\/a-chance-meeting","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/302181\/a-chance-meeting","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"Q8pjHzodFg\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/a-chance-meeting\/\">A Chance Meeting<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/a-chance-meeting\/embed\/#?secret=Q8pjHzodFg\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;A Chance Meeting&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"Q8pjHzodFg\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg",508,508,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"kfairris@familylife.com","author_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/author\/kfairrisfamilylife-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"How long had it been since he had a friend?","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylifetoday.com\/fl2010-12-20.pdf","transcript_content":"<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Chris Plekenpol, a young single guy, was headed out to lunch with a group of friends after church one Sunday when he thought about the man he\u2019d seen at church, a man who appeared to be homeless.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 I\u2019d seen homeless guys tons of times all over the place, but something told me I should go after this guy.\u00a0 I said, \u201cHey, buddy. Do you want to go to lunch?\u201d\u00a0 He looks back like I\u2019m wearing almost what I\u2019m wearing now, you know.\u00a0 Pinstripe pants with a dress shirt and you know, bringing a homeless man into that kind of environment will change just the dynamics of the entire group, but once the invite is tossed out there you can\u2019t go \u201cJust kidding.\u201d\u00a0 So we go with it.\u00a0 He says, \u201cYeah, I\u2019d like that.\u201d\u00a0 .\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 This is <em>FamilyLifeToday<\/em> for Monday, December 20<sup>th<\/sup>.\u00a0 Our host is the President of FamilyLife, Dennis Rainey, and I\u2019m Bob Lepine.\u00a0 We\u2019ll hear today what happened when the ex-Army Captain and the homeless guy went out to lunch together after church.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd welcome to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 Thanks for joining us.\u00a0 Do you remember a little while ago when your wife, Barbara, was with us and we were talking about the devotional that she had put together for families around the subject of courage?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Which, by the way, we\u2019ve had a lot of folks who have contacted us to get copies of that, and we still have copies available.\u00a0 If folks are interested they can go to FamilyLifeToday.com.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s a seven-day devotional where a couple can go through it together, or for that matter, parents can sit down with their kids and read it aloud, probably in less than ten minutes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, I thought to myself as I was thinking about our guest today, he didn\u2019t read that devotional before he wrote the book that he wrote, but his story is a courage story.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 And he is a courageous man.\u00a0 Chris Plekenpol joins us on <em>FamilyLife Today.<\/em><em>\u00a0 <\/em>\u00a0 Chris, welcome to the broadcast.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 Dennis, Bob, great to be here.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I\u2019m glad I got your last name right.\u00a0 You know, that\u2019s a bit of a challenge here.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tChris is a courageous man.\u00a0 He is a graduate of West Point and served in Korea, also in Iraq for a year \u2013 and I want to get to that in a minute \u2013 has also attended my alma mater, Dallas Theological Seminary, which took some courage.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Give me five.\u00a0 That took courage.\u00a0 Taking Greek and Hebrew takes courage.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Absolutely.\u00a0 It does.\u00a0 And he\u2019s written a couple of books.\u00a0 One is <em>Faith in the Fog of War<\/em>, which is a devotional that you actually penned coming out of Iraq.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 I actually wrote it while I was there.\u00a0 It was a compilation of emails that I sent home from Iraq to people that I thought here\u2019s an opportunity, I have a platform for the Gospel, I\u2019ll tell a war story and then I\u2019ll tell biblical truth, and hopefully some believers will get encouraged and some non-believers will start asking questions.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 And your second book is called <em>Stumbling Souls:<\/em><em>\u00a0 <\/em><em>Is Love Enough?<\/em>\u00a0 I have to tell you, this theme about love and loving like Jesus Christ loved people is one that is fresh on my heart these days.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been reading a book that\u2019s kind of taken me near the heart of Christ, being a better lover of people.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI think you\u2019ve done a fine work here in this book, and I do want to talk about that in a moment.\u00a0 But since you are a legitimate war hero, alright? \u2013 I\u2019m saying that proudly, that you have served our country and the families that are listening to this broadcast, and singles as well.\u00a0 You were in Iraq for a year.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 You oversaw 100 guys, 21 tanks, a budget of $85 million.\u00a0 You were how old?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 I was 28.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 28 years old.\u00a0 I have to ask you \u2013 just share with our listeners your favorite story, your favorite moment from your time in Iraq.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 So many different moments come to mind, but one that just sticks out completely is one night, we had just lost a soldier in sector, and his best friend held him in his arms while he died.\u00a0 That soldier was one of those evangelical atheists, and he would always try to just take shots at me in a good-humored way.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo he comes to my room that night, this time not looking to take a shot at me but he was like, \u201cSir, what are we doing here?\u201d\u00a0 I go, \u201cWell, there\u2019s something wrong with the human condition.\u00a0 It\u2019s why marriages break up.\u00a0 It\u2019s why nations go to war.\u00a0 It\u2019s why people die.\u00a0 It\u2019s this thing of sin, and that\u2019s essentially why we\u2019re here.\u00a0 But the good news is that Jesus Christ came from heaven to earth to pay the penalty for your sin, and rose from the dead so you can have eternal life with our heavenly Father.\u201d\u00a0 He looks at me like, \u201cThat\u2019s like a fairy tale.\u00a0 You can\u2019t go back to this thing about Jesus.\u201d\u00a0 I said, \u201cWell, that\u2019s the truth.\u201d\u00a0 I said, \u201cI\u2019m going to start praying for you.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe said, \u201cWhat if I start sinning again.\u00a0 What if I start watching porn again, and what if I start drinking again?\u201d\u00a0 I said, \u201cStop.\u00a0 Look, the Gospel is not about making bad people good.\u00a0 It\u2019s about making dead people alive, and once you come to faith in Christ he starts to change you from the inside out.\u201d\u00a0 So tears start rolling down his eyes as he steps over that line of faith.\u00a0 It\u2019s unbelievable.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo fast-forward about four months:\u00a0 he gets -- a RPG slams in the side of his tank, and Sergeant Kish gets a chunk of shrapnel underneath his flak vest somehow, and he has to be evacuated to the States as well.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 So he was injured.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 He was injured.\u00a0 And before he leaves, I get a chance to talk to him and he goes, \u201cI don\u2019t know why this happened, but I know God has a plan and he\u2019s got a purpose for my life.\u201d\u00a0 He would live and he would be okay, but it was in that moment where I realized that God is just working stuff out on such a much greater \u2013 I mean this was the \u2013 no chance would he be a Christian.\u00a0 No chance would Jesus \u2013 and then like the ultimate pain and suffering of somebody\u2019s loss of life is the catalyst that transforms him into a man of faith, and not only a man of faith, but one who when he\u2019s encountering his own sense of suffering is able to rely on the cross of Christ and the power that\u2019s inside him.\u00a0 That to me became like \u2013 Yes-s-s!\u00a0 That\u2019s the victory.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 And just in you telling that story, personally I get emotional for our troops that are over there.\u00a0 I mean, these are young men and women who are putting their lives on the line right now.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 24-7.\u00a0 There is no Sunday day off in war.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I want to encourage our listeners to pray for our troops and pray for their safety and for their families that are back here as they suffer the loss that is created by war.\u00a0 I\u2019m not just talking about the loss of life, but the loss of relationships and the loss of being together.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThere\u2019s another story that is kind of bigger than life as well that you tell in your book, and it begins with a man named James.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Introduce our listeners to James, would you?\u00a0 In your best words \u2013 you\u2019re an author \u2013\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Take our listener\u2019s hand in yours and put it out and extend it to James and explain to them who he is and what he looks like.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, I\u2019ll never forget the first time that I saw him.\u00a0 He was this heavyweight African-American gentleman, sitting in the front row of church with a big backpack.\u00a0 I\u2019m thinking to myself, \u201cWhat\u2019s this guy. . . ?\u201d\u00a0 It was odd, only because this was kind of like the uptown church.\u00a0 This was the church that you came dressed to impress, and it was the cool church.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 This was in Dallas, Texas.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 This was in Dallas, Texas.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Lot of thread jocks in Dallas, Texas.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 Absolutely.\u00a0 So I\u2019m thinking, \u201cWow, that\u2019s interesting that he would feel comfortable here.\u201d\u00a0 So I see after the service we had like a newcomer\u2019s meeting which he went to, and he stocked his little bag full of all the extra meals that we had, and I was like, \u201cOh, great.\u00a0 We\u2019re helping out a poor soul for the day.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAs he\u2019s walking away from the church with a real little rolling bag behind him, he\u2019s got the sweat pants on and he\u2019s got the \u2013 sort of like a denim shirt on that\u2019s way too big, holey sweat pants, and I\u2019m just like \u201chuh.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tJust something hits me, as I\u2019m watching him walk away.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s that guy\u2019s story?\u201d\u00a0 Something inside me compels me to go and just ask the guy his story and invite him to lunch.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 You were at Dallas Theological Seminary as a student at the time.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s right.\u00a0 I was in my first year at Dallas Seminary.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 So you\u2019re getting immersed in the Scriptures.\u00a0 It\u2019s coming at you left and right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 Left and right, and we\u2019re studying.\u00a0 For me one of my favorite books of the Bible was the book of James.\u00a0 Just something about taking care of widows and orphans.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t know his story at the time, but I just had this sense of somebody needs to ask that guy\u2019s story.\u00a0 Somebody needs to figure out where he\u2019s been.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI\u2019d seen homeless guys tons of times all over the place, but something \u2013 I just go after this guy, and I say, \u201cHey, buddy.\u00a0 Do you want to go to lunch?\u201d\u00a0 He looks back, like \u2013 I\u2019m wearing almost what I\u2019m wearing now, you know, pinstriped pants with a dress shirt \u2013 and he looks at me very suspicious like, \u201cOkay, yeah.\u00a0 I\u2019d like that.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI get in the car, we head to Pei Wei, a little Asian diner, and we buy him lunch.\u00a0 There\u2019s a group of about ten of us, and I think everyone was kind of expecting that we\u2019d place James over to the side and he could eat his meal and no one would bother him and he wouldn\u2019t bother us and we\u2019d be cool, but I\u2019ve never been one to avoid the awkward, so I just kind of jump right into it.\u00a0 So I say, \u201cJames, why don\u2019t you tell all of us your story?\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe looks up, unsure a little bit, and he says, \u201cWell, I\u2019m a Katrina victim.\u201d\u00a0 I said, \u201cWell, no, I want to know about the whole story.\u201d\u00a0 So he goes back, \u201cWell, I grew up in Virginia Beach in a Christian home.\u00a0 My dad died when I was nine years old of double pneumonia, and at about sixteen I left home and started traveling the country, and I\u2019ve been kind of homeless ever since.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI was like, \u201cWell, there\u2019s a little bit of a disconnect.\u00a0 How do you go from growing up in a Christian home . . .\u00a0 Sure your dad dies; what was the thing that kind of turned the corner for you as far as that kind of a life?\u201d\u00a0 And he looks at me and says, \u201cWell,\u201d and he kind of drops a bomb on all of us.\u00a0 He\u2019s like, \u201cI\u2019m a homosexual.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe thing that was interesting about this, nobody kind of like excused themself from the table, or -- pretty much nobody flinched, just kind of gave him full attention \u2013 and he told the story.\u00a0 He was at a boys camp of some sort after his father died and there were some things going on in another tent and he got asked in and involved and the next thing you know, he\u2019s \u2013 at ten years old \u2013 has had an experience which has kind of marked his life for forever.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat trajectory puts him on a path towards rebelliousness towards his mom.\u00a0 You know, how is his mom going to even deal with that \u2013 even know that that was going on?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Mm hmm.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 For gay people that don\u2019t believe it\u2019s okay, there is a sense of huge guilt that falls from everywhere.\u00a0 So he kind of felt guilty, and so the way that he coped with guilt was drugs.\u00a0 And so, drugs became his answer for just about everything as he traveled the country trying to find work, trying to get it together.\u00a0 But eventually every ounce of his money or every ounce of anything he could earn went to his drug addiction.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 So the scene here is you and your church friends at Pei Wei right after the service with James, who has just said, \u201cI\u2019m a homeless homosexual.\u201d\u00a0 He didn\u2019t say he was a drug addict at that point.\u00a0 Did you suspect it?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 He told us that that was in his past.\u00a0 He said, \u201cThat\u2019s kind of how I coped.\u00a0 I\u2019m way free of that.\u00a0 That\u2019s not an issue for me anymore.\u201d\u00a0 He talked about how he was working in New Orleans, that\u2019s where he kind of last found himself, and Hurricane Katrina came.\u00a0 He spent six days in the Superdome and he told us stories about, he\u2019d watched women getting raped in there and people getting robbed, fights, murders, just <em>Lord of the Flies<\/em> happening in the Superdome.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe says he was just thankful to get out of there, and he ends up in Dallas, Texas.\u00a0 The bus drops him off, here\u2019s a couple bucks, go do your thing.\u00a0 So now he\u2019s trying to find work.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t have an ID card.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t have anything.\u00a0 He\u2019s just trying to figure out how to make it.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBy this time it\u2019s about six or seven months after Katrina actually happened is when I first meet him.\u00a0 So we go through this whole lunch and Bill, who\u2019s a guy that was in my Bible study with me, he\u2019s a crusty cop, he looks at James, he goes, \u201cWhy don\u2019t you come to our Bible study?\u201d\u00a0 To which my initial reaction was kind of, \u201cI don\u2019t know if we really want him to come to our Bible study.\u00a0 I mean that\u2019s . . .\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 That could mess up the Bible a bit.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s not exactly a homeless friendly environment.\u00a0 I\u2019m all about serving the homeless.\u00a0 I love \u2013 that\u2019s what God \u2013 but I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s going to mesh well with our 26- to 46-year-old kind of business guys that are trying to figure out the Word of God and a comfortable environment for them to learn it.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t really think about \u2013 you know, bringing a homeless man into that kind of environment will change the dynamics of the entire group.\u00a0 But, you know, once the invite\u2019s tossed out there you can\u2019t be like, \u201cOh, just kidding.\u201d\u00a0 So we go with it.\u00a0 He says, \u201cYeah, I\u2019d like that.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo that next Monday night Bill brings in James and the next thing you know, we have a Bible study.\u00a0 Here we are, guys are talking, we go through the Bible study of learning the Scripture.\u00a0 We\u2019re working through Matthew.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 How many guys are in the Bible study?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 Twelve.\u00a0 Twelve guys.\u00a0 And so you\u2019ve got business guys . . .\u00a0 It\u2019s fairly intimate, when after you get done with the Bible study part \u2013 it\u2019s a two-and-a-half hour Bible study.\u00a0 We were a <em>serious<\/em> Bible study \u2013 but the last part, that last hour or so, we\u2019d get into each other\u2019s lives.\u00a0 We\u2019d say, \u201cHere\u2019s what\u2019s going on.\u201d\u00a0 Guys were pretty frank.\u00a0 Some guys, \u201cI hate my wife.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m doing with her.\u00a0 This is terrible.\u201d\u00a0 Other guys would be like, \u201cI want to get a raise.\u00a0 I\u2019m making 60; I\u2019d like to make 70.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThose kind of things would kind of pop up, and then there\u2019s James, and James would say something like this: \u201cLast night someone put a knife to me and took the only eight dollars that I had, so if you guys would pray for that, that would be great.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd so all of a sudden, your prayer requests kind of \u2013 it\u2019s like, \u201chuh!\u00a0 Maybe the things that we thought were important weren\u2019t and maybe my wife isn\u2019t as bad as I thought she was, and maybe my job wasn\u2019t as . . .\u201d\u00a0 You know, all the things, the perspective kind of, focus for a moment.\u00a0 James became someone that kind of brought a total different dynamic.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tShockingly, no one freaked out at the fact that he was there.\u00a0 Now the first day that he was there he was like, \u201cI\u2019m also HIV positive,\u201d which brought a whole other dimension into it.\u00a0 I know all the facts about how AIDS are transmitted and whatnot, but there\u2019s still a sense of, shaking his hand, you had to unflinchingly \u201cI\u2019m going to shake his hand without flinching.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yeah.\u00a0 Yeah.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 You just had to . . .\u00a0 There\u2019s that reality of like . . .\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Moving toward someone who has AIDS.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t know many people with AIDS.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t know anybody that had AIDS or HIV or anything like that, so this was kind of like a first encounter, a first encounter up close and personal, a first encounter with somebody, that intimately, from the streets.\u00a0 But he would come, and we\u2019d drop him off every week.\u00a0 We\u2019d pick him up on that Monday night, do the Bible study, hear the stuff, prayer requests, drop him off back at the streets downtown.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Drop him off in the street?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 I know.\u00a0 You go pick him up from the street and then you drop him off in the street.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 So is he living under a bridge?\u00a0 Is he in a shelter somewhere?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 It just depended.\u00a0 Sometimes if we gave him some money he\u2019d go stay at what\u2019s called a bunkhouse, where you\u2019d have about a hundred bunks.\u00a0 For eight bucks you could stay there for the night, or for 30 you can stay for the month.\u00a0 You know, that kind of thing.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 But I just am trying to imagine after the Bible study driving downtown and opening the door and saying, \u201cWe\u2019ll see you next week.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cSee you later.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 And he\u2019s going to go sleep under the bridge.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\u00a0 Yeah.\u00a0 That\u2019s what kind of . . . So here\u2019s the thing about that. You\u2019d just drop him off.\u00a0 You always hated to be the guy\u2026it was your turn to drop him off, because you always felt like, \u201cThis isn\u2019t right.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 You\u2019re a poor seminary student. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 But you still have a roof over your head.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right. And so I\u2019m thinking . . . We did.\u00a0 We assuaged our guilt.\u00a0 We\u2019d take money every now and then, \u201cHere.\u00a0 Go get a hotel for a day or two.\u201d\u00a0 And then somebody would meet with him for coffee throughout the week, just go meet him at a random Starbucks downtown, buy him a cup of coffee, maybe some air conditioning for the month, air conditioning for the day, rather.\u00a0 But it was hard, because you \u2013 where\u2019s the trust level?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou don\u2019t know \u2013 you know, these guys aren\u2019t exactly comfortable with hanging out with the homeless people.\u00a0 So, that\u2019s where we\u2019re coming from.\u00a0 That\u2019s what made this thing fairly interesting.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, speaking to the trust issue, Bill, who was the former police officer, his experience kicked into gear, because he . . .\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 His antenna was way up on this, wasn\u2019t it?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yeah.\u00a0 And this is the point I really wanted to draw for our audience.\u00a0 This is where the body of Christ must work together.\u00a0 There are different members who are followers of Christ who have different gifts.\u00a0 Some of us rescue. . .\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 . . . the helpless and the hopeless, and left to our own means, we would just keep on rescuing people and in many cases, be taken advantage of by people.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 Exactly.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 But there are guys like Bill whose experience and antenna pointed out something out different.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 Oh, yes.\u00a0 Bill was reading James differently than me, and I kept. . .\u00a0 He was like, \u201cChris, he\u2019s on drugs.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m like, \u201cBill, you invited him.\u201d\u00a0 And so, \u201cThere\u2019s no way he\u2019s on drugs.\u00a0 We\u2019re helping him.\u201d\u00a0 He\u2019s like,\u201dChris, nobody that lives downtown that doesn\u2019t have a roof over their head is not on drugs.\u00a0 I\u2019ll bet you that if we went and did the research, we\u2019d find out that all the stuff he\u2019s telling us \u2013 that he had a job and lost it \u2013 that he just started doing drugs and didn\u2019t show up anymore.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI\u2019m like, \u201cBill, you cannot say that. \u201c So he and I are having conflict right off the bat, of him saying, \u201cChris, I don\u2019t trust this guy.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been a cop for 20 years. I\u2019m telling you.\u00a0 You may have been to Iraq.\u00a0 You may think you\u2019re invincible, but I\u2019m telling you, you\u2019re dead wrong, and I\u2019m not going to watch you get yourself hurt over this.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to let you know.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 You know, everybody listening has wondered, whether it\u2019s the guy on the street with the sign or whether it\u2019s the person that you pass, or somebody you\u2019ve come in contact with, and you\u2019re thinking, \u201cOkay, is this person conning me?\u00a0 What\u2019s really going on in their life?\u00a0 How do I . . .\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBecause our heart is, we want to help, but we\u2019re not sure that engaging,\u00a0 bringing somebody home, paying for a hotel, if we give them money, what\u2019s that money going to get used for?\u00a0 I think everybody wrestles with the impulse and the desire to help and the practical side that says, \u201cWhat really brings help?\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chris:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yeah, Bob.\u00a0 And we\u2019ve all grown up \u2013 or not all of us, but many of us in Sunday school classes where we heard the story of the Good Samaritan.\u00a0 You know, that story turned out pretty well.\u00a0 And then you live enough of life where you try to be a Good Samaritan and you get taken advantage of, and it doesn\u2019t turn out the way you expected it, and you find that people, well, are not trustworthy sometimes.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd through an interesting set of circumstances, I\u2019ve had some similar experiences, not exactly like yours, but God has really grown me up in the last decade of my life, because I tend to think of most Christians being like me, living like me, and having the same kind of lifestyle that I have.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd there are guys like James in every community across the country, who, as you talk about in the title of your book, really need love.\u00a0 It\u2019s not just a handout.\u00a0 It\u2019s the kind of love that meets a need, confronts, corrects, talks tough to, lifts up, helps them when they fail.\u00a0 Our assignment as followers of Christ, we\u2019ve got to love more like he loved, and you know what?\u00a0 Just as Bob pointed out a second ago, that will involve risk.\u00a0 Big-time risk.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 So the balance of that risk and using wisdom, stepping out in faith, wrestling with all of that \u2013 I think what you\u2019ve done in telling your story, Chris, is to bring some reality, just some good sober judgment.\u00a0 And your story is not about how you did it perfectly or about how everything turns out rosy in the end, but it does give us a perspective on what risk and stepping out in faith looks like, and how you apply wisdom in this situation.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe\u2019ve got copies of the book in our FamilyLife Today Resource Center.\u00a0 Let me encourage our listeners to consider getting a copy.\u00a0 The book is called <em>Stumbling Souls:<\/em><em>\u00a0 <\/em><em>Is Love Enough?<\/em><em>\u00a0 <\/em>Again, you can go online at FamilyLifeToday.com to request a copy.\u00a0 That\u2019s FamilyLifeToday.com, or call 1-800-FLTODAY, 1-800-358-6329, that's 1-800 \u201cF\u201d as in Family, \u201cL\u201d as in Life, and then the word \u201cToday.\u201d\u00a0 Ask about the book, <em>Stumbling Souls <\/em>by Chris Plekenpol, or again order online at FamilyLifeToday.com.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow I need to give you an update on the matching gift fund that we\u2019ve been talking about this month.\u00a0 Many of you know we\u2019ve had some friends who have come along and have offered to match donations that we receive here during the month of December on a dollar-for-dollar basis.\u00a0 Every time we get a donation of $25 or $50 or $100 from somebody we can go and draw those funds out of the matching gift amount that has been pledged to us.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhat has happened in recent days is we\u2019ve had some additional families come along and add funds to the matching gift fund.\u00a0 They\u2019ve said, \u201cWe want to really challenge <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> listeners to be a part of helping support the ministry of <em>FamilyLife Today.<\/em>\u00a0 The fund which was a little more than $2 million has now grown to become a little more than $3 million, and obviously, that\u2019s great news for us but it also means that we need to get the word out and ask folks to be as generous as you can be and help us start 2011 in a good place.\u00a0 Can we ask you to do that?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAgain, you can donate online at FamilyLifeToday.com or you can call toll-free 1-800-358-6329 and make a donation over the phone.\u00a0 Let me just say thanks in advance for whatever you are able to do.\u00a0 You know, if you can\u2019t help with a donation here at year-end, please pray for us.\u00a0 Just ask that God would supply what we need, and that we\u2019d be able to take full advantage of this matching gift opportunity.\u00a0 We appreciate that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd we want to encourage you to be back with us tomorrow.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to find out more about Chris Plekenpol\u2019s relationship with his friend, James, and about what happened when James moved in to Chris\u2019 apartment.\u00a0 We\u2019ll find out about that tomorrow.\u00a0 Hope you can join us.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, and our entire broadcast production team.\u00a0 On behalf of our host, Dennis Rainey, I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 We will see you back tomorrow for another edition of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHelp for today.\u00a0 Hope for tomorrow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts. However, there is a cost to produce them for our website. If you've benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t2010 Copyright \u00a9 FamilyLife. 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