Grace Can Lead Us Home: A Christian Call to End Homelessness

by Kevin Nye

Overview

On any given night, more than half a million Americans and Canadians find themselves sleeping on the streets, in shelters, cars, and other places not meant for human habitation. Yet as this crisis continues to grow, it remains one of the least talked about—especially in churches. Even where compassion and empathy exist, the complexities around homelessness can make us feel stuck, overwhelmed, or numb to the existence of unhoused people in our cities and neighborhoods.  

Reporting back from his work in homeless services, minister and advocate Kevin Nye introduces readers to the Christ he’s met in tents, shelters, and drop-in centers. He demystifies homelessness by journeying into complex issues like affordable housing, mental illness, addiction, and more, while reimagining our theological approach to these matters and educating us on how they intersect with homelessness.  

This thorough and intimate book shows us that from the margins, Jesus has something to teach us all about grace—something that could change the landscape of homelessness entirely if we’re ready to hear it.  

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781513810515
Publisher:	Herald Press
Publication date:	08/09/2022
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	180,331
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Kevin Nye is assistant director of programs at The Center in Hollywood, a non-religious non-profit doing services and advocacy for people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles. He is a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary and completed the course of study and necessary hours for ordination in the Church of the Nazarene before stepping away from the ordination process and surrendering fully to this vocation to which God has called him. Kevin is quickly becoming a recognized and respected voice on the intersections of faith and homelessness, and he has written on these issues for publications including Fathom Magazine and Red Letter Christians.

Table of Contents

Foreword 9

A Note on Language 13

Introduction 15

1 Seeing and Being Seen 27

2 Housing 49

3 Isolation and Connection 69

4 Community and Solidarity 87

5 Mental Health 105

6 Substance Use and Overdose 123

7 Addiction and Recovery 139

8 Abundance, Beauty, and Celebration 159

Conclusion 175

Appendix: Homelessness and Housing Voting Guide 185

Acknowledgments 195

Notes 198

The Author 207

Editorial Reviews

06/20/2022

Nye, an assistant director of programs at the Center in Hollywood serving unhoused people, debuts with a sobering call for Christians to end housing insecurity. Citing a poll showing that Christians are more likely than the general population to blame poverty on a lack of effort, Nye encourages Christians to extend grace to unhoused people and provides recommendations for remedying homelessness. He decries the “merit-based model” for shelters that requires unhoused people to demonstrate compliance with sometimes onerous rules, and notes, “God freely offers us mercy and love in abundance not because we deserve it, not because of who we are, but because of who God is.” Instead, Nye advocates for a “housing first model” that gives individuals a choice of housing in their communities and offers voluntary medical and addiction services. Nye’s compassion and deep knowledge of the homelessness crisis make this an invaluable resource for Christians looking to put their faith into action, even if material on mental illness and substance abuse sometimes repeats from chapter to chapter. This thoughtful examination of a complex problem is practical and inspiring in equal measure. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

By drawing readers back to the biblical vision of justice, Kevin Nye gives readers a new lens for seeing their unhoused neighbors. He breaks open common myths about the causes of homelessness and challenges attitudes in the church that essentially blame people for their trauma. Instead, Nye articulates as well as lives out neighbor-love that is less about ‘us and them’ and more about ‘we,’ who are equally in need of grace. This vision isn’t just about addressing homelessness but also about remembering our humanity.”
 

KATELYN BEATY

This timely, moving, well-researched book is an exploration of the stunning injustice of mass homelessness in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. What is so astounding is not only that so much human suffering exists, but that we—Christians—have allowed it to endure for so long. These pages contain a call to compassion, community, and justice. They implore us to reexamine our preconceived notions and to transform our hearts, minds, and world.”
 

LINDSEY KRINKS

Drawing on years of experience in homelessness services and relationships built with the unhoused people he has met along the way, Kevin Nye skillfully walks readers through the complex issues that surround homelessness while casting a powerful theological vision that calls us to shelter all God’s people through hope and faithful action. Personal and prophetic, practical and powerful, Grace Can Lead Us Home is desperately needed, breathing love and new life into a grace-filled response to the housing and homelessness crisis.”
 

REV. DR. JACQUI LEWIS

I am so glad this book exists because as Christians we worship a homeless Savior yet when we encounter people experiencing homelessness, our response often lands somewhere between indifference and outright rejection. This is not the way of Jesus. In Grace Can Lead Us Home, Kevin Nye challenges us to rethink what it means to be the people of God in and for the world, particularly in how we practically go about loving and serving our neighbors in need. If your heart breaks every time you walk by someone sleeping on the sidewalk but you don’t know how to be Christ to them, this is the book for you.”
 

ZACK HUNT

In Grace Can Lead Us Home, Kevin Nye partakes in the sacred work of rehumanization. In illustrating some realities of our neighbors experiencing homelessness, he shows us where we might find Jesus. In showing us how we might overcome this reality, he shows us how we might embody Jesus.”
 

R. G. A. “TREY” FERGUSON III

My best friend’s father was unhoused for years. She would visit him in a tent off the side of a highway. Kevin Nye will help you see that unhoused people are fathers, and mothers, and family members, and friends. They are human beings worthy of our attention and deserving of dignity. Grace Can Lead Us Home is a book about love, compassion, and the value of humanity.”
 

HEATHER THOMPSON DAY

In exploring the grace of perhaps the most famous person in history to experience homelessness, Jesus Christ, Kevin Nye reveals the Christ in the millions of people experiencing homelessness in the world today. In doing so, Nye follows the call of God by proposing a bold but necessary plea: to end homelessness.”
 

MASON MENNENGA