Let the Good Times Roll!

We're only 7 days into the new year and we've already been blessed with great news.

Corpulus Brown has obtained permanent employment at St. Jude, making $16.00 an hour as a Medical Admin. Corpulus is still working towards a Masters in health and fitness at U of M. We're so proud of his accomplishments.

Deshaunka Burks (below) has been working full time at Mercury Printing for two months.



Ecclesiastes 3:11
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. (NIV)

Our Students are Listening

Jim Burnett works at Morgan Keegan and volunteers as a class speaker at Advance Memphis on the topic of "Investments". He often speaks at other organizations and schools around Memphis. This week he took a minute to share an observation about Advance Memphis students as compared to others.

“Over the last several weeks I have had the opportunity to speak in front of several groups of people ranging from high school age to early retirement, and economic ranges all over the map. It occurred to me during a few of these talks that some of the most interested of my “captive audiences” were the class members at Advance. While every group had eager listeners and some nappers, it occurred to me that the groups that were the most focused were the ones that had the most to gain…or more importantly…nothing to lose. Those in the middle tended to be “neutral” to financial concerns. I continue to enjoy speaking to the Advance classes as I continue to benefit more from them than the intended…”

Thanks, Jim!

Grace, Mercy, and Justice: How we treat people with criminal backgrounds reflects what we really believe about the gospel.

“The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever.” Psalm 103:6, 9

Psalm 103 is one of my favorite passages in the Bible because it expresses the very core of our Christian belief: our God does not hold our sins against us, but through his own suffering he has forgiven, redeemed, and restored us to a loving relationship with Himself. Every week we—the body of Christ—sing, teach, read and pray about this glorious truth, but do we stop to think about if and how we might display this truth to the rest of the world?

About a year ago, a friend of mine placed his faith in the truth that God took on human flesh, lived a perfectly obedient life, and died in his place so that he could be given new life. At that very moment his life changed forever. Not only were his sins forgiven, but his shame was lifted, he found purpose for his life, and he gained hope for his future. While this happened internally, his external choices and actions began to look quite different.

He went from selling drugs on the street, to sharing his faith with his drug-dealing friends. He began to study God’s Word with great hunger, memorizing portions of Scripture,and confessing his sin.

As I began to disciple him, I started noticing a major roadblock that kept recurring in his walk: when he quit selling drugs, he couldn’t provide for himself. He had some basic bills that he needed to pay, including $50 a month due to his parole officer. “If you don’t bring me the money, I am going to violate you and send you back to jail,” she threatened him each time they met. My friend needed income, and he needed it quick! He had already graduated from the Jobs For Life program, where he learned all the principles I could give him to find a job; however, even though he had gained all the right tools, and was faithful to job searching and filling out applications, he still couldn’t find work.

In college I was involved in a disciple-making ministry where I learned the age-old saying: “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day; teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.” For most of my Christian ministry, I based my strategies around this one principle. But this time, the principle was not working very well for me and my disciple. I taught him to fish (how to find a job), but he was still starving (no one would hire him). This included our in-house staffing service that tried, but couldn’t place him anywhere.

He desperately wanted to work, displayed tremendous character, and he would have made an excellent employee. So what was the problem?

My friend had a Scarlet Letter tattooed to his forehead. Well, not literally, but he did have a felony conviction, which is a written record of a past sin that he will carry with him the rest of his life. My friend impressed many, many people. On several occasions he was told that he was hired, but in each of these cases he was just being set up for disappointment.

Even though they originally found him to be the right man for the job, when they conducted a background check on him, they decided he was no longer qualified for the position.

My friend, even though he knew how to fish and had all the right tools, was still starving because he did not have access to a pond. What’s the point of buying a pole and bait, when no one will let you fish on their property!? Because my friend was a “Criminal” no one would trust him to perform even the most unskilled tasks. He wasn’t allowed to stack toilet paper or even sweep floors.

You see, unlike God, our society does hold our sins against us forever. Many employers will discriminate against a candidate because of a record that dates back to something that happened more than15 years in the past. I personally think this is unjust, but whether it is or isn’t is beside the point. The point is: this is not Christian! This is not in line with the truth of the gospel. We who have the power to make hiring decisions (middle to upper class society) are communicating something directly opposed to the gospel. By not employing persons who have committed a crime, we are in effect saying them: “The prison sentence you served is not enough!” Even though they have now lived up to what the law requires for restitution (jail time, community service, and financial payments), our society is still punishing them for their crimes. My friend, who has served time in jail as punishment for his sin and as his debt to society, is now serving his second punishment—one that he will never be able to pay off unless something changes.

The biblical truth is that we are all equally sinful beings. Sure, some of us have committed more offensive sins than others, but the true Judge sees through our actions and sees our hearts—and we are anything but innocent.

We deserve hell, but praise God that he forgives us and offers us a new life in Christ. Let’s live out this amazing truth. Let’s stop holding people’s sins against them forever. Let’s restore people with public sin to a humane place in society. Let’s give them dignity. Let’s let them work. Let’s let them provide for themselves and their families. There are lots of reasons fwhy we won’t let them work (for example, it’s risky, we might get burned, and our insurance premiums might go up), but praise God that he didn’t ask himself “what’s in it for me?” when he bore our burdens in human flesh!

There is a lot to contemplate here. I’m not suggesting that we can solve it all over night. But I am suggesting that we all at least feel the weight of the burden many of our brothers and sisters carry, when they daily face the dilemma of whether to go back to their old ways of making money, or put their children on the streets because they can’t pay their rent.

Andrew Vincent
Jobs for Life Instructor
andrew@advancememphis.org

My Life Has Radically Changed

Cindy Goad graduated from Jobs for Life one year ago and is now an Advance Memphis employee.
Here is her story, in her words.

One year ago, November 20, 2009, I graduated from the Jobs for Life Class in Memphis. Before I came through the program, my life was a total mess. I lived in chaos, I was sad, I was angry at my family, myself and even God. I didn’t understand why God allowed my mother to die when I was 5 years old and put me through such dysfunctional childhood events. I didn’t understand why I was trying to find fulfillment in alcohol and drugs. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t function in everyday society without wanting to die.

I had no hope for my future. 


When I sat in Jobs for Life class every day, listening to not only the instructors but to my conscience, I began to realize that there was a better way to go about living life. I starting pursuing a relationship with Christ and became very passionate about making some changes. I became active in bible studies and the AA program.

As my heart started changing, so did my thoughts, as well as my life.

I stand amazed at all God has done in my life just in the last year. 
 I am now 18 months sober and feeling better about myself every day. I am on the staff at Advance Memphis now, helping our graduates find employment when just last year I sat in the staffing office crying because I was ineligible to work through the staffing service. I have attended budget and credit counseling and I am now responsible with a checking and savings account and being able to make some financial amends. I have my own apartment and I am saving towards buying a car.

I have established a relationship with my children when I never thought they would speak to me again. They inquire about my life with Christ and have occasionally driven across town to attend church with me. I located my youngest son through the internet and now get to spend time with him when he didn’t even know me. My sisters and I are communicating and visiting with each other when I hadn’t spoken to them in years (one of them for 15yrs). My brother calls me “little sis” again. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and talking to nieces and nephews for the first time ever. My parents came from Florida to visit with me and God is definitely doing some restoration in our relationships. My dad and I cried together and forgave each other and my step mom, who I used to hold deep resentments towards, is now becoming one of my best friends.

I value relationships today, when I used to cringe at the thought of being open and honest about who I really am.

I am proud of who I am today and all that I have accomplished through Christ. 
I often pray that God will allow me to share my experience, strength and hope with others so I can be an encouragement to anybody who is in a hopeless situation. My life has radically changed today. I smile, I laugh and I enjoy my family and friends. I have a job that I absolutely love with co-workers that don’t judge me and they love me for whom I am.

I don’t want to die anymore. I want to live and tell the world of how Christ has made a difference in my life today.

Cindy Goad
Advance Memphis Staffing Service Assistant
cindy@advancememphis.org

Leading By Love

How do you evaluate whether your ministry is successful or not? It is crucial to remember that we are never called to get people to make certain decisions or “act” in a certain way. In relationships with others we are only called to one thing: love them. I think if we forgot all the other methodologies and just remembered this one basic calling, we the Church, would have a much bigger impact in our communities and in the world.

Reflecting on the ministry that has taken place at Advance Memphis, I’ve learned a lot about what it means to truly love people. There are four elements of love that come to mind. These are summarized well in the following verse.

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

1 Corinthians 13:7 (ESV)

Love BEARS all things:
Listen and pray. Your job is not to give all the answers, but rather to listen empathetically and help bear their burdens. Love isn’t concerned simply with outward performance, but it aims to see the wounded heart healed. The main aim here is to identify the pain/disappointment/temptation etc. in someone’s story, and help shoulder their burden so that they do not have to bear it alone. When this is done effectively, you should feel some of the emotional weight of the person’s struggles. The best expression of this is to pray with the person on the spot, rather than saying “I’ll be praying about that.”

Love BELIEVES all things:
One of the most powerful things you can do is express your belief in the person to whom you are ministering. Every human being, Christian or not, has been created in God’s image, and was knit together by God to possess unique talents and abilities. Learn to see these gifts in others, and as soon as you do: affirm, affirm, affirm. Many people are paralyzed by their shortcomings or failures. Break the chains of inadequacy in others by naming specific strengths you see in them. Another very important way to champion someone is to show them your own inadequacies and insecurities. They likely believe in you, and if you are open about your own struggles, they will gain the much needed comfort about their own issues so that they can start taking risks again.

Love HOPES all things.
Hope is the most important ingredient in someone’s development. As soon as someone begins to think, “I can’t change” or “life is what it is; what’s the use?" is the moment that trying to change their behavior, or get a certain action out of them becomes a waste of time. Most of what is perceived as “laziness” is usually a classic case of hopelessness. Restore someone’s hope and you will unlock the key to their movement. Your best tool for this is the gospel of Jesus Christ which is the POWER of God to bring hope to every area of one’s life. Be quick to open God’s Word and claim his promises with others.

Love ENDURES all things.
There is no excuse worthy of withholding our love from another. This means that no matter how atrocious you think someone’s sin is; no matter how stupid of a mistake someone makes; no matter how many times they’ve made the same mistake; no matter how badly they hurt you, intentionally or not; no matter if they flat out reject your love for them, you have one single responsibility, and that is to endure whatever betrayal comes your way and love them as you love yourself. One of the worst things you can do is to add guilt or shame on someone else in an attempt to get them to make the “right” decision. Unconditional love is the key to melting the hardest of hearts, so endure all things and continue to pour yourself out in love no matter what happens in the relationship.

Andrew Vincent
andrew@advancememphis.org
Jobs for Life Instructor

Tony's 60 Second Commercial

Today was the last day of class for the 16 Jobs For Life students who have made it through our intensive six week program. We had a sobering and emotional moment for several men and women today as the reality set in that finding a job with a criminal background is going to be a continual challenge (in case you didn’t know most employers automatically reject candidates who have committed crimes, and this is one of Advance Memphis’ hardest struggles as we fight for justice). It is always discouraging for our neighbors who have a felony on their record to see their classmates find work quicker than them. Today I did my best to encourage students to remain faithful with what they know, be proactive in looking for work, and trust God with the results.

As soon as class ended today I took several men from class to run errands with me. When we stopped at one of the places, the truck wouldn’t start and so we spent several minutes trying to get it jumped. As we stood around, one of the men who was upset about his background today, Tony, noticed a man planting trees. Tony introduced himself to Jesse, who, as it turns out, is the owner of a landscaping company. Tony gave his “60 second commercial” (an interviewing technique we teach in the program). Jesse asked him about his criminal background, and Tony gave him an honest answer, “I have made some mistakes in my past and had to serve time.” Tony then went on to add, “But my life has been changed and I just completed the Jobs For Life program at Advance Memphis.” With some additional comments about how he wants to work hard, add value, and prove himself, Tony was hired! Tony knew the job wasn't permanent or full time--but what mattered was that he had represented himself well and been hired. He had hope!

This story gets me excited because it demonstrates both Tony and God’s faithfulness. Tony was extremely diligent to apply himself during the 6 week program. He was brutally honest with me and his Champion about his various roadblocks, and he worked hard to address these roadblocks. He took what he learned in class and used it the first opportunity he saw. The result was that Tony was working within 2 hours of finishing the Jobs For Life class. Of course none of this would have ever happened without God’s guiding hand, which prompted Tony’s heart and was the ultimate cause behind the truck not starting. Praise God for providing such an opportunity, and congratulate Tony on his faithfulness and preparedness.

Tony told me that this was a testimony that I better use to encourage others! So I hope this encourages you as it does me.

andrew@advancememphis.org
Jobs for Life Instructor

What Happens to an iPhone That's Stolen in Memphis?

Ever get tired of people's preconceptions about Memphis? Read the following blog entry by Operations Manager Ann Brainerd. Sure, there's some crime. But there's also so much goodness.

So during our last Jobs for Life class, I had my phone stolen from my desk – my new iPhone 4.

After returning to my closed office after lunch, I grabbed my purse to head out for an errand and realized that my phone was not where I had left it. Upon hearing this, a student from class immediately walked into the classroom to ask if anyone had seen my phone. The conclusion from the class was exactly what I had been thinking: the guy that had been sitting in our lobby half the day—who I didn't know—must have taken it. Another student chimed in that she had been outside for a smoke when she saw him walk quickly out of the office and take off around the corner. Even while this was being discussed, 3 or 4 guys headed out of the building to hunt him down, while the rest of the class followed outside. The Pest Control guy who had just pulled upsaw the mass exodus and asked if we were having a fire drill or something!

While the hunting crew disappeared around the corner, several of us tried calling my phone, only to have the voicemail pick up. I eventually headed out to the local AT&T store so I could get my phone turned off and switched to my thick old school phone. The moment I walked into the store and told them my phone was stolen, they immediately smiled and asked if I was Ann Brainerd. I meekly said, “Yes,” wondering why they knew my name. They gladly told me that work had called and that my phone was safe and sound at the office! I was thrilled to know that I didn’t have to wait in the long line just to get my phone transferred – but even more so that the guys were successful at getting my phone back.

Ann Brainerd pictured with students and a volunteer from the last Jobs for Life class.

I must say that I am continually amazed at the community here. This is just one of many examples that show the mutual love and care that the community and staff of Advance have for each other. As I returned to the office, people from class continued to ask if I was okay. I had an older man in the class poke his head into my office to add that “they did that because they care about you.” I nodded, acknowledging how thankful I am for that.

One of the students that went on the hunt for the phone told me that he just doesn’t like people that steal--or the idea that someone would steal from someone at Advance. They just couldn’t let him get away with it. And I'm grateful!