Compassionate Communities: a Key to Crime Reduction

Do some people deserve the suffering they are enduring? Or Should there always be room for compassion when criminal behavior regardless of why a person did what they did, ends in tragedy? If your community is struggling to find its way in a crisis you’ll want to hear how Dr. William Cooke has done it in tiny Austin, Indiana. 

 

This is Season 5, Episode 11. We’re going to take a two part deep dive into Dr. William Cooke’s incredible book, “Canary in the Coal Mine: a Forgotten Rural Community, a Hidden Epidemic, and a Lone Doctor Battling for the Life, Health, and Soul of the People”. We’ll also talk about ideas for how anyone can be what I call a different kind of P.I. - not a private investigator like me but a person of impact in your community. 

 

The U.S. Census Bureau says that roughly 20% of the U.S. population lives in a rural area, even though urban areas make up only 3 percent of the U.S. land area. That often means that our rural citizens may not always have direct access to things most of us take for granted. In Austin Indiana from the mid 1970’s until 2004, the down had no doctor of it’s own. When Dr, William Cook set up his practice he had no idea the journey he was about to take.

 

Not very many doctors start solo practices in impoverished areas, but Dr. Cook felt that was his calling. Some of his patients had never seen a doctor before. That’s not something we expect to hear in America, is it?

 

Every church has physical, emotional, and spiritual safety issues. Most just don’t know it. Are you going to wait for a trainwreck to occur before you address them? Helping churches be proactive about safety is why I wrote “Reclaiming Sanctuary: Enhancing Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Safety in Our Churches”. I know how hard it can be to address unpleasant issues because I’ve been where you are - in a leadership position needing an intentional approach customized to the needs of my unique church. 

 

I’m offering a free 20 minute strategy call for church leaders to see if my work might be a good fit for you. Email me today at lori@theunlovelytruth.com and we’ll start a conversation about your church’s needs and how we can work together to create a customized plan for your church. Schedule your no risk, all reward call today!

 

Luke 5:31-32

 

Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 

I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

 

The teachers of the law, the religious folk of the time, tried to trap Jesus so many times. After He called Levi to follow Him, these leaders asked why Jesus and His followers would eat and drink with people they called “sinners”.  How easy it can be to fall into that trap. 

 

Does it remind you of the people who criticized Dr. Cooke for his work, and even threatened him? Does it remind you of anything else? Maybe something you’ve seen in your church? I know I’ve seen it in churches I’ve attended. I’ve probably even been guilty of it myself.

 

God can’t use us when we are showing that kind of pride. Casting Crowns has a great song called “Jesus, Friend of Sinners” . One line that really makes you think is “Nobody knows what we're for, only what we're against, when we judge the wounded”. I know that using drugs isn’t a good choice. Selling your body isn’t a great choice. But we don’t always know what has driven a person to make those choices.

 

Jesus would’ve hung out with drug addicts, and the homeless, and the sex workers. So why aren’t we? And if you do, I’m really glad to hear it. If you don’t, maybe it’s because you just don’t know how. If your church doesn’t have a ministry to feed the homeless, maybe you can work with another church’s ministry or a local non-profit. I don’t recommend going into a homeless camp by yourself though. Criminals will target the homeless because they are so vulnerable. If that type of ministry isn’t for you, consider leading a Bible study in your local jail. I’ve done that before and the vast majority of the women I met had drug addiction issues. Many turned to sex work to feed their habits, or after being pressured by their so called boyfriend. They need to hear that there is hope and that God still loves them. You’d be surprised how many were raised in church and have no idea that they have any worth or value.

 

This book that we made it halfway through today just breaks my heart.  I was raised in Indiana so a lot of the places and names are very familiar to me. But really this book could’ve been set just about anywhere. Every communities struggles with these issues whether we want to admit it or not. 

 

Let me know what you thought of this episode! Send me an email a lori@theunlovelytruth.com or message me on social media. I love it when people are willing to have those hard, but impactful conversations!

 

Visit my website to access more episodes, read my blog posts, or check out ways you can financially support the podcast so that together we can impact more people, more families, and more communities. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker, or ask about my consulting and investigative services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com. 

Episode about pill mills

 

Link to buy Canary in the Coal Mine

 

Share the episode 

 

Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn

 

Check out my Amazon Author Page to find resources on personal safety, and safety training for churches.