Street Pastor Training: Good News

From the title I assumed this was going to be one of those Bible Study things, but it was actually more a follow-up to the Changing Face of Society session. It presented the question: What exactly is the ‘Good News’, and what does it really mean in today’s society? The presentation material is available for download here.

The session went off on so many tangents, it took a while to make a coherent post on this.

A CityToCity project’s mission statement is this: ‘[…]A movement for the planting of highly contextualised, Gospel-centred, church-planting churches[…]‘

Let me try to explain what this means in more concrete terms: The definition and nature of evangelism has changed in recent years. Long ago (say about twenty years ago), it was common to encounter preachers evangelising on the streets in a language that might be considered rather condemning and judgemental. Basically their message was to accept Christ or be condemned to eternity in Hell, because mankind deserves the latter by default, for reasons nobody seemed to understand.
The biggest problem for myself was the absence of logic or reason in what they were presenting as ‘Good News’. How on Earth could one person be absolved of wrongdoing because another man was executed in a distant land 2,000 years ago? How is being a slave to ‘sin’ any worse than being a slave to a man-made religion? How could the idea of Hell be reconciled with the concept of a loving God? Surely liberalism and tolerance are preferable, certainly in the 21st century, than adherence to religious dogma? And what of those who profess to be devoutly religious but aren’t living up to the standards they hold others to? People are right to ask these questions, and I never found satisfactory answers to them outside the Catechism.

So, it is for those reasons I don’t evangelise by speaking of Jesus dying for peoples’ sins, or of repentance, for those words have no traction in in a secular world, and neither am I aiming to convert anyone.
I’m more interested in causing people to question materialism and consider the mysteries our faith presents us with, because that’s where the battle between secularism and religion seems to be. I hint at ideas that are somewhat occulted, and sometimes discouraged, in a postmodern and highly individualistic society. In everyday life, I attempt to bring the Good News into the world by trying to bring happiness to others and through the subtle use of symbolism – these are far more effective than any amount of street preaching. And, if the words ‘pastor’ and ‘church’ become associated in the public consciousness with kindness, hope and compassion, that would count as successful evangelism.

For myself, the Good News is that God lived amongst humanity because He loves us, that everyone is involved in the continual unfolding of creation, and that everyone can have a relationship with something much greater – these, in my belief, are the core truths behind the dogma. And they’re life-changing truths if you can believe them.

Another reason we don’t evangelise by preaching is that preaching is not effective communication. People (myself and other Street Pastors included) have the human tendency to talk instead of listen, to pause during a conversation only for the opportune moment to voice our opinions. By listening to another person and asking questions, instead of merely exchanging opinions, conversations can be made more meaningful. Interestingly enough, Jesus seemed to be aware of this – you’ll notice that He rarely answered a question directly, but instead usually countered with another question, and His teachings were usually communicated using imagery and practical demonstration.
Taking a broader view, I’d argue that Jesus’ life, death and resurrection left humanity with a profound mystery, a huge unanswered question that our best philosophers and theologians struggled with for centuries.

The Good News and the Social Condition

The way I see it, social problems arise because we’re not in harmony with what we’d call ‘natural law’ – this is something that’s better understood by reading/listening to ‘apologetics’ resources rather than your typical homily. Natural law is often described as an immutable law that’s written into the hearts of men. It is independent of, and above, secular laws, and it determines the consequences of our behaviour, individually and collectively. On a large scale, natural law governs the rise and fall of civilisations. On a personal level, it determines whether we live a good life according to our life decisions.

What has Christianity to do with natural law? Well, Christianity promotes a way of living, a pattern of individual and social behaviour that’s in harmony with natural law. We believe that every person is made in the image of God, and therefore has certain inalienable rights – the right to life, dignity and freedom of expression being chief among them. Every child should be raised by a mother and a father, and that family unit would exist within a support network of extended family and community. You’ve probably come across the truism that it takes a village to raise a child. Far from being disempowering or constricting, this pattern of society would give everyone a connection to something greater, a means to act within the world and influence it as they see fit, and even an obligation to participate in local politics. This is the essence of subsidiarity.

Like the traditionalists and conservatives, I have a tendency to refer to a sort of ‘golden age’ of society being modelled on Christian values and the aforementioned ideals, but it seems simplistically naive to think this happened without reason, and for more than a very brief period in human history. It seems, certainly in Wales’ mining communities, that strong community and the traditional family existed because of the hardships experienced by previous generations, and working men needed to involve themselves in local politics because rights for the working class had to be fought for.

The Good News, then, would include the proposition that our collective sense of disempowerment, the disconnect between the average person and how the country is run, is an illusion. Anyone could indeed change the world around them, and our individual actions do indeed affect the world more than we’re aware of.
As a case in point, who would have thought that a small group calling themselves ‘Street Pastors’, dedicating just four hours per week, could reduce crime by 40% in a town and save the NHS £millions? Who would think that a simple gesture of kindness to a homeless person early one morning would be emulated by several others?

Spirituality

We cannot really discuss ‘Good News’ without exploring spirituality and contemporary attitudes to it. In a couple of the training sessions, it’s been pointed out that, according to a fairly recent YouGov survey, most people still believe, or at least profess to believe, in a ‘higher power’ and some form of afterlife. Most the others at the sessions took this as evidence that our society is spiritual and, deep down, believes in God, but I don’t agree.

First, as Dr. Jordan Peterson has pointed out, it actually depends on the definitions of ‘believe’ and ‘God’, since those terms usually mean very different things to the religious and the secular.
Secondly, what we do know is that church attendance has been on the decline for several decades. It’s a general trend spanning most denominations, which suggests a societal reason for this. The problem is there are a myriad of possible societal reasons. Some of them are understandable and entirely valid, such as the disillusionment with organised religion and the loss of trust in authorities. And perhaps attending Mass simply isn’t something most people are into – even I sometimes need to force myself to attend Mass and do whatever is needed in my ministry.

One of the possible societal reasons for the decline in church attendance is the fact most the population are living in cities and urban areas, and with the weakening of communities that, before, would have perpetuated traditions. This would obviously have an effect on the spiritual outlook of society.
Increasingly our senses are barraged with the artificial, synthetic and man-made. Many of us spend most our waking hours staring into a monitor, a smartphone or a TV screen. We’re far less grounded in truth and reality than our ancestors were, even now to the point of political discourse being casually dismissed as ‘fake news’ or the work of Russian propagandists.
As a talking point, a short video was played during the session listing some of the technological advances that are anticipated for the coming decade. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that most the advances were in some way related to virtual and augmented reality, further abstracting our experience and interactions with the world.

What’s my point here? Spiritually, I think we’re collectively in danger of becoming rather like the prisoners in Plato’s Cave, refusing to accept the truths behind the shadow of reality presented to us, whether those truths be religious or political. As an aside, one of the more pressing consequences of this is our ignorance of the environmental impact of consumerism, and the (in)humane treatment of animals used in food production, and the welfare of those involved in the manufacture of things we take for granted.

So, the ‘spirituality’ that is common in society is actually a byword for spiritual apathy. We don’t see many becoming disillusioned with the Church and seeking gnosis in Theosophy, Rosicrucianism, psychadelics or suchlike, but instead accepting a non-committal and relativistic kind of agnosticism. What’s commonly referred to as ‘spiritual’ today is vague, post-modernist, worldview that doesn’t really have a significant influence on how one lives. It takes a back seat to all other material things.

Street Pastor Commissioning and First Shift

Despite my mixed feelings about my first patrol as an observer, and the tentativeness of my expression of interest, I pressed ahead with the training, and before I knew it I had become a commissioned Street Pastor. That’s not to say there wasn’t a considerable amount of paperwork, training and other admin involved, but it all seemed to have happened fast. A couple of years ago, I would never have even entertained the idea of becoming an evangelist. Taking Christianity out on the streets, becoming a bridge between the Church and the secular world, is such a big step. The position does indeed come with a load of responsibility and no doubt there’ll be the occasional emotionally challenging situations, though the public will only see us handing out stuff and cleaning up glass. I have a huge amount of respect for anyone who’s already been doing it for several years.

Generally the training was pretty good. Some of the sessions were the standard volunteer induction about drugs, alcohol, safeguarding, mental health. That sort of thing. Most of that, particularly the mental health and alcohol/drug-related issues, are learned very quickly on the job anyway, especially working in a night shelter. Safeguarding is primarily about covering our asses, about setting boundaries, about avoiding situations that could lead to awkward legal issues. If there’s one thing one should take away from these sessions, it’s the contact details of local organisations – business cards wherever possible. A lot of my work involves ‘signposting’. Other than that, I was rather surprised at the intellectual and philosophical depth of a couple of the sessions.

The commissioning service was a big deal for most the people there – the mayor, a couple of police officers, the local Anglican priest and a rep from the Ascension Trust showed up. Next week I’ll be meeting up with Les Isaacs. We made a few affirmations, put on our caps and then officially became Street Pastors.

My First Shift

And last night I went out on my first real patrol. There’s not as much trouble in our relatively small town as there was a decade ago, when there were a few notoriously dangerous spots here on a Saturday night – glassings and stabbings at 2:00AM weren’t uncommon, and the restaurant/club I worked at was one of the four main places they would happen. Things have changed. Now most the town is dead quiet, with about a hundred people milling around outside the one pub by the station – there weren’t even as many there as I’d expected this time of year.
So, last night’s shift was uneventful. We handed out roughly 50 lollipops, which for some reason everyone keeps asking us for, plus all the bottles of water. Several people stopped us to say what a good job we’re doing

Kit List

It’s essential to be prepared by having the right kit with you. Among other things, I carry:

• Cellphone: In the very unlikely event you find drugs lying around, or your team is involved in a physical confrontation, it’s important to cover yourself by logging that fact with the police as soon as possible.
• Notebook and pen: If something isn’t documented in writing, it didn’t happen. Don’t rely on anyone else to record something hours after the fact.
• A good flashlight: The one I have is of the ‘tactical’ variety, which I always have in my car. It has an SOS beacon capable of getting the attention of police and ambulance crew, and it has a strobe capable of blinding and disorienting an attacker long enough to get away. The toothed bezel is capable of breaking glass in an emergency.
• Standard military-issue field dressing: Known in the civvy world as ‘trauma dressing’, this is the most valuable first aid item one could carry, in my opinion. An ambulance might not be available for several hours on a Saturday night, even for serious injuries.
• Card holder: Sometimes the most useful thing we can do is provide someone with contact details to a local charity or other organisation. Have business cards for these handy.
• Sanitising gel: We could be picking up needles, glass, administering first aid, etc.

Street Pastor Training: Mental Health

Like most training sessions on mental health I’ve attended, this one was mainly about identifying signs of mental illness and how to get professional help for someone who’s facing a crisis – I’ve listed these further down. Most of us, as Street Pastors (actual and aspiring) will already bring plenty of experience to the role, either first-hand, from our careers or from previous community work, and we’ll be in a position to help in ways the emergency services don’t have the time or resources to.

I’m not sure how religion could be brought into this, but I do know Christianity, or more broadly spirituality, can play an important part in recovery, because it speaks to something deep within everyone, something that’s intrinsic to human psychology.
Christianity can provide a constructive way out for someone trapped in a cycle of self-pity, or lacking a sense of self-worth because they’re comparing themselves to others around them, or because they’re surrounded by negative influences, or simply because they feel alienated in society. To attend Mass is to be surrounded by positivity and to celebrate something greater than ourselves. Christianity can also provide a framework for understanding human nature, the world and our place in it.
Another reason I bring that up is that many young people today are highly vulnerable to radicalisation, I argue, because extremist movements, often under the guise of religion, offer the illusion of identity, community, meaning and mentorship – all human needs that modern society is failing to provide. Radicalisation is not the problem, but it’s symptomatic of a dysfunctional society that’s in conflict with the human condition. Certainly we can mitigate the problem by reporting instances of radicalisation to authorities, but actually solving it would require a return to traditions that held communities together.

Of course, drugs were mentioned as a factor, as they affect mental health to varying degrees and often there’s an underlying reason for becoming addicted to drugs like heroin. On this point, I think there’s a major generational difference between myself and most the other Street Pastors in our understanding of drugs, but this will change with experience. Often you’ll hear them say how dangerous drugs are, and all sorts of horror stories about cannabis that might have come straight from the Daily Mail. Most of them have never seen the green before, let alone tried it. To me, smoking green is just about the most mundane thing anyone could do, and the outlawing of cannabis and edibles do more harm than good.

Things to look for

• Appearance: Is the person well-groomed or are there signs of self-neglect?
• Body language and posture: Does the person appear confident and outgoing, or is the demeanor one of timidity or fear.
• Eye movements: Is the person avoiding eye contact?
• Delusions/Hallucinations: More common is auditory.
• Motivation to do normal things in life. Has the person lost interest in socialising, has a social person suddenly become withdrawn and unmotivated?
• Biological signs: These include extreme changes in eating or sleeping habits.
• Self-harming: A tricky one, as opinions vary on whether it’s an addiction or coping method.
• Consciousness and orientation: Is the person aware of identity and surroundings?
• Speech patterns: Is the person’s speech pattern incoherent, erratic or non-sensical?
• Ideation: Has the person indicated a serious intent to harm themselves or someone else?
• Head injury: A very important one. If someone appears mentally ill following a head injury, it should be considered a medical emergency.

What to Do

• Accident and Emergency: The person gets referred to a mental health team after arriving at A&E. This probably wouldn’t be the ideal course of action, because it usually means waiting several hours in a very stressful environment.
• Ambulance: Also not ideal, especially on a Saturday night, as there could be quite a long wait if the operators don’t consider it an emergency. An ambulance could arrive very quickly, but could also arrive several hours later.
• Police: They can detain and section a person who might reasonably be considered a threat to him/herself or others, and they’ll usually respond very quickly.
• Get the person to a place of safety. Could be that person’s home, or a hospital or a police station.
• Samaritans. They might refer a person in need, and offer advice. It’s important for us to be able to signpost people to available sources of help.

Listening and Mentoring Skills for Street Pastors

Many years ago, on the streets of Cardiff, it was common to see impassioned street evangelists with their placards and loudspeakers, exhorting passersby to repent and accept Jesus into their lives, and punctuating that with a repertoire of Bible verses. Sometimes I stopped and chatted with them, as that seemed the courteous thing to do, but I never came away understanding why anyone should indeed repent, and the concept of someone ‘dying for my sins’ 2,000 years ago made almost no sense to me then. I wasn’t quite sure whether they knew themselves.

If there’s a lesson for us here, aside from knowing our ‘apologetics’, it’s the importance of ‘meeting people where they are’, to borrow an often-repeated motto. Obviously that requires knowing where people are, and that in turn it requires listening to them. If we’re to reach anyone, we must make our faith relevant to their circumstances, and I don’t mean ‘relevant’ in the sense of becoming acceptable to the secular world and presenting what we think would be relevant to young people. Evangelisation is largely about where Christianity and faith might fit into the life of the individual, about what they can believe in an emulate. And usually it’s the case that religion is not even mentioned during our interactions, because they’re simply not oriented to that.

As you can probably tell, Street Pastors are working largely as counsellors, not preachers, and our mission statement is one of listening and caring. So, we spent the day with someone from a counselling service based in Newport to focus on this aspect of our ministry.

Non-Verbal Communication

One of the first things we discussed was non-verbal communication, as everyone expresses more visually than they do verbally. A lot can be determined about a person’s psychology from their clothes, facial expressions, body language, eye movements, etc. Rightly or wrongly, this will bias our interactions, and that’s another reason why it’s important to listen to what that person is actually saying.

But what do we communicate as Street Pastors? Hopefully that we’re a form of authority people can turn to without fear of being judged or reported to the police, that we can be trusted to provide a safe environment, that we can protect a vulnerable person from harm, and that we’d express the love Christ has for them. These are things we hope the uniform communicates. Maybe that is all we need to express.
A person travelling alone through the town centre after closing time would feel relieved to see police or Street Pastors. A person who’s out drinking to escape the bad patch they’re currently going through, which I’ve done myself, might feel happy to encounter someone who’s genuinely concerned about their situation.

Proxemics

Next, we covered ‘proxemics’ – proximity and personal space. Why is this important? Well, I’d argue it’s about our survival instinct. We reserve our personal space for people we know aren’t threats – relatives, close friends, etc. and we react badly when that personal space is invaded or disrespected. I also think the routine invasions of our personal spaces contributes to the stress and subtle aggression that’s prevalent in the city.

Early on the issues around hugging came up, which turned out to be a contentious subject of discussion in our group, and difficult because strangers do hug us as a show of genuine gratitude and affection. My opinion is that a Street Pastor isn’t under any obligation to allow intimate contact, and I think it’s important to set boundaries from the outset. Conversely, it’s important to remember that we’re the ones approaching people and putting ourselves in a situation in which we might encounter verbal abuse, groping, unwanted physical contact, or whatever some of us might consider upsetting – I’ve never experienced any of that on patrol or working at the Night Shelter, to my recollection. We don’t really have the right to enforce our expectations of appropriate conduct or behaviour on the streets at 01:00, unless a crime is being committed, but again, we can assert our own boundaries and personal space.

As a martial artist, as a matter of habit, I avoid being within striking range of someone I don’t know, and I’ll usually avoid facing that person directly. Also, I might have my arms folded or a hand close to my face when interacting with someone. As well as being advantageous for self-defence, these also work as psychological tactics for discouraging physical contact. Another good thing about this is you’re respecting the other person’s physical space.

Active Listening

When listening, we should have an attitude of acceptance, try to understand the person’s perspective, perhaps occasionally ask questions that invite further exploration, and basically act as a means for the person to reflect.
We covered open and closed questions. This is important during counselling, as open questions invite conversation, enable the other person to reveal more to you, and more importantly to themselves, about their circumstances, and they tend to be less loaded with your opinion.

One thing I think was missing from the session was the importance of sometimes relating your own experiences. Often it’s the case that people draw strength and encouragement from solidarity, knowing they’re not alone in whatever adverse situation they’re facing.

A Street Pastor’s First Training Session

The Street Pastor training programme started off with the session on Roles and Responsibilities, which is an overview of the role. Essentially it was an extended job description. The following isn’t what was taught during the session, but are rather my own thoughts and opinions on it.

First, it’s important to understand what a Street Pastor is, since, to most people, the name would imply someone who evangelises on the streets with placards, Bible verses and whatnot. This isn’t quite what Street Pastors actually do.
I’d argue that all practising Christians evangelise through their behaviour and actions in the secular world, for better or worse. Being a Street Pastor, just like any ministry that one might be called to, should be seen as extension of that. Here we have a night-time ministry, and that requires a certain approach and a certain set of skills.

Conversion is not the primary aim of this ministry. Les Isaac founded the Ascension Trust because he was inspired by earlier, less successful, intiatives to reduce violent crime on the streets of Britain. At the time, the Church, which is at the basis of communities, seemed to be doing nothing to address the social problems – I’d counter this by pointing out the Church does operate a welfare system behind the scenes. So, it’s more accurate to say the primary goal of Street Pastors is to transform their communities.

Another misconception might be that Street Pastors are amateurs or ‘do-gooders’. This also isn’t quite the case. Becoming a Street Pastor entails a considerable amount of professional training in a range of things – drug awareness, mental health issues, communication skills, a bit of sociology and cultural understanding, etc.
Local Authorities, Police and Street Pastors form what is termed the ‘Urban Trinity’. This partnership puts the Street Pastors in the unique position in several ways. First, we’re trusted by the police and by those who fear police involvement for whatever reasons. Secondly, we can do things the police and local authorities cannot do, since Britain pretty much doesn’t have an accessible mental health system, and it’s extremely unlikely a person in need would encounter an outreach team representing a large charity organisation. Thirdly, it’s usually the case that people express to us things they wouldn’t share with others for fear of being judged.

One thing I really found surprising is the demographics. When the Street Pastors started out in 2003, it was with 18 people, and only three of them were men. That was roughly the same male/female ratio at yesterday’s training session – two males (not counting the organiser) and about eight females. Also, to my slight disappointment, I’m the youngest on this programme by at least two decades, and admittedly this does cause me to question whether this ministry is right for me.

Core Values

Every organisation has core values, or what they profess to be their ‘core values’. The Street Pastors’ are:

• The sanctity of life: It goes without saying that every life is precious, but the implication is also that everyone is deserving of our time and attention.
• Valuing and honouring the community: Obviously, otherwise none of us would be doing this.
• Being a person of integrity: We do nothing here for personal gain, or take advantage of our position. In your personal life, it means staying true to your position and professed values.
• Personal responsibility: This was discussed in the context of personal development, identifying personal areas for improvement.
• Growth and development of those we meet: Everyone has a right to realise their potential.

Qualities of a Street Pastor

Admin requirements: This covers the application form, DBS and other formal requirements for joining.

• Personal qualities: Street Pastoring is 99% team work. You and your local team are reliant on each other. If you’re not reliable or able to work with others, the team simply couldn’t do the job. Obviously, a Street Pastor must be reasonable good at dealing with those s/he will encounter, and that involves a range of other personal qualities – this should come with experience.
• Spiritual qualities: Some people have asked why one must be a practising Chrstian to join this initiative. The main answer is that our faith is the basis of what we do. And, though we’re not the Church, we’re an expression of it. The weird thing I’ve noticed about some Christians is they have that something, a rare and elusive quality, that makes them a comforting presence even to atheists.
• Community-minded: We must be capable of signposting people to community resources, which is again something the local authorities often don’t have the time or patience to do. For this, Street Pastors must understand the local community and be working in partnership with local authorities and police.
• Relationship builder: Developing a network of relationships and channels with key players in the community is essential.

And What is Your Ministry?

This question was posed to me some time ago by the local priest. Everyone who is serious about the faith has some calling, and, of course, a healthy church needs a community to sustain it.
For me it’s the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy. Ultimately I am motivated by self-interest, as I’m acting on the belief that good works can alleviate the animosity, bitterness and resentment we see around us, and thereby transform the environment we live in. This is my idea of evangelisation. As St. Francis is quoted as saying: ‘Evangelise, and if necessary use scripture‘, or words to that effect. We live in a secular world, but we’re prepared to meet people where they are.

Just about anyone can do this. Perhaps there’s a little-known local group acting in your community who could do with volunteers. In Cardiff you’ll see a dozen people sleeping in doorways along Queen Street at 06:30 who would appreciate money, food, clothing, cigarettes or whatever. You’ll see Big Issue sellers who need someone to chat with, because the city’s not exactly the friendliest place.

Where I live, we have a system that works far better than corporatised charity, though all organisations involved are fully endorsed by the local authorities. Clients are referred to our network of night shelters by a small charity (I’ll refer to them as ‘Andy’s team’) that basically liaises between the homeless and the local authorities, arranges temporary accommodation, and handles the admin and legal matters. Because Andy’s team have their hands full doing that, it sometimes falls on Street Pastors to function as an outreach service.

Saturday Night
I played with the idea of joining the Street Pastors after chatting to Andy and one of their people last November, during a shift at the night shelter, and I banged off an email to the local co-ordinator to find out more.

After going on patrol as an observer the other night, I can’t honestly say it’s something I’m 100% decisive about doing. Certainly not enthusiastic enough to be certain I’d bother going through all the paperwork, training, DBS checks, chasing references, etc. There were some moments that night when I wondered ‘Just what the hell am I doing here on a Saturday night?’.

We spent roughly four hours patrolling the same route several times: Starting at the old town hall, we walked up the main street to the busiest pub, spent half an hour hanging around there, then walked back down the road on the other end of the bus station. The team couldn’t have patrolled without me that night, though – a Street Pastor team requires at least four people.

There were a couple of things that surprised me. It turned out the co-ordinator was someone I recognised from the Anglican church I used to frequent – normally their congregation isn’t involved with much outside the PCC circle. Another Street Pastor is a prominent figure in our community, and it was very humbling to discover that a man of his status had, for all these years, been quietly spending his Saturday nights looking out for people and picking up glass.
There was so much gratitude and goodwill towards our team among the people we met. Some even wanted to donate money in return for our help. And we didn’t have much trouble either.