ii LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY CHRIST’S RESPONSE TO THE LAST, THE LEAST, THE LOST, THE LEFT OUT- IS THE CHURCH LIVING UP TO CHRIST’S STANDARD? A Thesis Project Submitted to Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF MINISTRY By JERRY R. STAPLES May 02, 2013 iii Copyright © 2013 by Jerry R. Staples All Rights Reserved iv LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY THESIS PROJECT APPROVAL SHEET ______________________________ GRADE ______________________________ Dr. Homer Massey, Mentor Associate Professor of Religion ______________________________ Dr. Rick L. Rasberry, Reader Associate Professor of Religion v ABSTRACT CHRIST RESPONSE TO THE LAST, THE LEAST, THE LOST AND THE LEFT OUT- IS THE CHURCH LIVING UP TO CHRIST’S STANDARD? Student: Jerry R. Staples Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary Mentor: Dr. Homer Massey There is a plethora of statistics concerning how many un-churched people there are in the United States and the socioeconomic ladder does not discriminate who fits this lost category. Yet, the concern of this project deals with the gang member, drug dealer, drug users, pimps and prostitutes. The intent is to take outreach to the street through cook outs, Holy block parties, street revivals and the like. The rationale of this project is to show how one can reach, teach and keep this group of people, the potential dangers, and positive consequences associated with it. The potential value of this topic is to reach a mass of potential leaders for Christ who will be able to bring others of like class to the Lord and make mature disciples of them. This project will reveal several types of evangelistic efforts such as surveys, questionnaires, interviews, and new member classes. Abstract length: 148 words. vi Dedication I would like to dedicate this Thesis to my mother, Mrs. Virgie A. Staples and my deceased father, Rev. N.B. Staples Jr., who raised me in the fear and admonition of the Lord Jesus Christ. I extend my thanks to them for not giving up on me when I was literally the prodigal son, for assisting me periodically with the financing of my education and most importantly for all of their prayers during my lifetime. I would like to thank my wife for everything that she does, not only for bearing with me during the time that it has taken me to obtain the D. Min., but for being so supportive and loving during our entire marriage. I love you! I would like to thank my church family and all the prayer warriors that labored in prayer for me. Lastly, I would like to thank all of my professors at Liberty University for their input and wisdom. God Bless! vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION.……………………………………………………………………......1 Statement of the Problem…………………………………………………………………1 Statement of Limitations………………………………………………………………….4 Theoretical Basis………………………………………………………………………….5 Statement of Methodology………………………………………………………………..6 Review of Literature……………………………………………………………………..11 2. Chapter One: The Correlation between Drugs and other Criminal Activities...................22 Addiction and Abuse..........................................................................................................22 Contributing Factors..........................................................................................................25 Prostitution.........................................................................................................................27 Gangs.................................................................................................................................32 3. Chapter Two: Street Culture..............................................................................................36 The Limitations..................................................................................................................37 The Dangers.......................................................................................................................38 The Benefits.......................................................................................................................42 4. Chapter Three: How does the Church Fit In......................................................................51 The Body............................................................................................................................51 The Challenge....................................................................................................................53 The Response.....................................................................................................................64 viii 5. Chapter Four: Breaking the Power of Sin..........................................................................70 The Process........................................................................................................................70 The Plan.............................................................................................................................75 The Prize............................................................................................................................80 6. Chapter Five: From Destitute to Disciple..........................................................................87 The Commitment...............................................................................................................87 The Change........................................................................................................................94 The Charge.........................................................................................................................96 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………...105 7. Appendix……………………………………………………………………………….113 Power Point Presentation.................................................................................................113 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………114 Vita..................................................................................................................................119 IRB Notification..............................................................................................................120 1 Introduction Statement of the Problem Today there is a plethora of statistics concerning how many un-churched people there are in the U. S. Of course, the socioeconomic ladder does not discriminate as it pertains to the people who are lost spiritually in this country. Yet, the people who are considered here consist of the gang member, drug dealer, drug user, pimps, and prostitutes. Christ said, “For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). According to the book series Gangs, the author states, “The FBI defines a gang as ‘a group of three or more individuals bonded together by race, national origin, culture or territory, which associates on a continual basis for the purpose of committing criminal acts.’ Many gangs are a product of a specific neighborhood or locale, but some gangs have established national franchises far from their home base.”1 All of the aforementioned people who find themselves involved with these activities, which can be criminal, usually have one common denominator which consist of either using or dealing drugs, thus substance abuse is a huge problem throughout the country whether in rural communities or in metropolitan areas. The substance abuse problem has become so prevalent that people are breaking and entering into private homes, businesses and especially pharmacies. Thus the intent here is to take outreach to the street through cook outs, holy block parties, and street revivals with a rationale of reaching this group for Christ, investigating the potential dangers, and positive consequences associated therewith. To compound this, the prison system is overloaded due to non-violent crimes associated with substance abuse. Even though this type of activity has become a huge problem, the larger problem lies with the un-willingness of the church to personally approach the aforementioned 1 Andela Soliz and others, eds. Gangs: Opposing View Points Series, (Farmington Hill: Greenhaven Press Inc., 2009), 112. 2 class of people prior to incarceration as Jesus instructed us to do and compel them to come to Christ. Prior to incarceration is mentioned because approaching someone while incarcerated is not that dangerous if the guards, in fact, allows one to leave once the visitation time has expired. There are a lot of churches which are involved in prison ministry, but if one would listen to the wisdom of Barney Fife of the old Andy Griffith TV program, he would say, “Nip it in the bud,” as prevention trumps remediation every time. In other words, one should try to reach the sinner prior to incarceration no matter the danger which may be involved. Is there a distinct possibility that one could lose his or her life in a concentrated effort to reach the last, the least, the lost, and the left out in street ministry, of course there is, but did not Christ say, “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it” (Luke 9:24). Therefore, one must be very careful in an effort to go among people who have been known to rob, car jack, and even murder. Yet, to reach this target group, it is necessary at times to go into the enemy’s camp and take back what the devil has stolen. As previously mentioned, the drug dealer, prostitute, gang banger, pimp and the drug user all have a common denominator which happens