Emphasis Preaching Journal

Thomas Long, professor of homiletics at Princeton, tells of a church that opened its building to the homeless during a particularly cold spell. Long was recruited to help supervise one night. He invited a friend, who was not a churchgoer, to share the responsibility. After providing for the necessities, they opened the door to a long line of nameless poor. After the people had arranged newspapers into substitutes for mattresses and settled in for the night, Long's friend opted to take the first watch.