- Introduction: The Sacred Threshold – Welcoming the Wounded Before Treatment Begins
- Part I: The Clinical Foundation – Understanding the Pretreatment Phase
- Part II: The Theological Imperative – A Christ-Centered Foundation for Service
- Part III: The Synthesis – Hospitality as Pretreatment in Action
- Practical Examples from the Lovelady Center
- Conclusion: The Ministry of the First Step
Introduction: The Sacred Threshold – Welcoming the Wounded Before Treatment Begins
For Christian social service organizations, the initial encounter with a person in crisis is not merely an administrative event; it is a sacred opportunity for ministry. The front door, the waiting room, the first phone call—these are theological spaces. They represent a threshold where the love and character of God are first made tangible to those who are hurting, often after they have been repeatedly rejected, stigmatized, and dehumanized by the world.1 This first moment is a profound test of an organization’s mission, echoing the words of Christ: “I was a stranger and you invited me in” (Matthew 25:35). The welcome offered at this threshold can either reinforce a lifetime of exclusion or begin the process of healing.
This paper advances a central thesis: the clinical concept of “pretreatment” finds its most potent and effective expression through the theological virtues of Radical Hospitality and Servant Leadership. This integrated approach transforms client service from a secular business practice into a powerful ministry of engagement and restoration. For populations marked by homelessness, PTSD, and mental illness—individuals whose lives are often defined by trauma and mistrust—this hospitality-first model is not merely an enhancement. It is a clinical and spiritual prerequisite for any subsequent therapeutic intervention to succeed.
This report will first establish the clinical foundations of the pretreatment phase, exploring the power of recognizing client-initiated change and the evidence-based principles for engaging hard-to-reach populations. It will then delve into the theological imperatives of radical hospitality and servant leadership as modeled by Christ. Finally, it will synthesize these clinical and theological frameworks into a practical, actionable model for ministry, demonstrating how a Christ-centered welcome can overcome profound barriers to care and lay the groundwork for lasting transformation.
Part I: The Clinical Foundation – Understanding the Pretreatment Phase
The Power of the First “Yes”: Defining Pretreatment Change
In clinical social work and psychotherapy, “pretreatment” refers to the critical period between a client’s initial contact with an organization—such as a phone call to schedule an appointment—and the beginning of formal therapeutic sessions.3 Historically, this phase was often overlooked, with the assumption that meaningful change begins only when a clinician starts applying formal interventions.4 However, a growing body of research challenges this notion, revealing that significant, positive behavioral shifts, known as “pretreatment change,” frequently occur within this window.3
Studies focusing on individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs), for example, consistently show that a substantial number of clients reduce their substance consumption or increase their days of abstinence after making the decision to seek help but before their first official appointment.3 In one study, 44 percent of clients demonstrated a reduction in alcohol consumption during the month prior to their first session.3 This phenomenon is not just a statistical curiosity; it is a powerful predictor of future success. Greater pretreatment reductions in substance use have been shown to correlate with better treatment outcomes at both three-month and twelve-month follow-ups.4
This evidence fundamentally reframes the role of the practitioner and the nature of the first encounter. The client is not a passive recipient of care but an active agent who has already initiated their own change process.4 The decision to reach out is, in itself, a monumental step. This aligns perfectly with the core tenets of strengths-based social work, which posits that every individual possesses inherent strengths and resources that can be mobilized for change.6 Rather than focusing on deficits and pathologies, a strengths-based approach seeks to identify, honor, and build upon the client’s existing capacities and self-efficacy.3 The practitioner’s role, therefore, is not to initiate change but to recognize, affirm, and enhance the change that is already underway.3 This shifts the power dynamic inherent in many service models. Where a traditional approach might inadvertently position the provider as the expert with the solution and the client as the problem to be fixed, the pretreatment change model validates the client’s agency.7 This is more than sound clinical practice; it is a theological affirmation. It recognizes the Imago Dei—the image of God—within the client, honoring their capacity, resilience, and courage. The organization’s first task is not to “fix” but to witness and affirm the work that God, through the client’s own will, has already begun.
A Framework for Engagement: Jay Levy’s Five Principles for Outreach
While the concept of pretreatment change is broadly applicable, its principles have been specifically adapted for engaging with populations who are often resistant to or alienated from traditional services, such as individuals experiencing homelessness. Social worker Jay Levy developed a five-principle framework for outreach that provides an essential, evidence-informed roadmap for practitioners during this critical engagement phase.8 These principles serve as the clinical gold standard for establishing the trust necessary for any further intervention.
- Promoting Safety: This is the foundational principle. For a person experiencing homelessness, life is a state of constant threat and hypervigilance.9 Before any meaningful interaction can occur, the worker must establish an environment of both physical and emotional safety. This means meeting immediate needs for security and demonstrating through action that the space and the interaction are safe.8
- Forming a Relationship: Pretreatment prioritizes the person over the process. The initial focus must be on building rapport and a trusting relationship, not on intake forms or assessments.8 This requires patience, consistency, and genuine human connection. The relationship itself becomes the primary vehicle for change.10
- Developing a Common Language: This principle calls for the worker to relinquish the “expert” role and collaborate with the client to find a shared way of describing their situation, needs, and goals.8 It means listening to and respecting the client’s narrative and using their language, rather than imposing clinical jargon or agency-defined categories. This honors the client’s perspective and empowers them as a partner in the process.11
- Facilitating and Supporting Change: Only after a foundation of safety, relationship, and shared understanding has been established can the worker begin to gently support the client’s self-identified goals for change.8 The change is client-directed, with the worker acting as a facilitator and resource, not a director.
- Taking into Account Cultural and ‘Ecological’ Considerations: This principle demands an acute awareness of the client’s world.8 This includes their personal culture and beliefs, but also the unique “ecology” of street life—the social networks, survival strategies, and daily realities that shape their experience. Effective engagement requires the worker to understand and respect this context rather than judging it.
These five principles provide the practical structure upon which a robust, Christ-centered model of service can be built. They operationalize the initial phase of engagement, ensuring that it is client-centered, respectful, and clinically sound.
Part II: The Theological Imperative – A Christ-Centered Foundation for Service
“I Was a Stranger and You Invited Me In”: The Theology of Radical Hospitality
For a Christian organization, the mandate to welcome others is not a matter of good customer service; it is a core theological imperative. The concept of “radical hospitality” defines this mandate, differentiating it from mere friendliness or politeness. Radical means “drastically different from ordinary practice”.12 It is a proactive, justice-oriented practice that intentionally seeks out those on the margins—people who may consider themselves “beyond the reach of organized religion”.13 It is about offering the “utmost of themselves, their creativity, their abilities, and their energy to offer the gracious invitation and reception of Christ to others”.12
The biblical foundation for this practice is rooted in passages like Matthew 25, where Jesus explicitly identifies himself with the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, and the stranger.15 This theology is powerfully articulated in the 6th-century Rule of St. Benedict, which commands that all guests “are to be welcomed as Christ”.16 This simple directive fundamentally shifts the posture of the host. The interaction is no longer one of charity, where the powerful bestow aid upon the powerless. Instead, it becomes an act of humility and adoration, recognizing and honoring the very presence of Christ in the person seeking help.16 This perspective dissolves hierarchies and demands that every person, regardless of their station or struggle, be treated with the utmost dignity and respect.
A key element of radical hospitality is its unconditional nature.16 It welcomes everyone without demanding they change first, meet certain criteria, or conform to the organization’s culture. It creates a safe and inclusive space where individuals can be their authentic selves, knowing they are valued for who they are, not for who they might become.17 Practically, this is expressed through intentional actions that exceed expectations.19 These include the simple but profound acts of truly noticing the individual as a unique person, offering them undivided personal attention, and creating an encounter that makes them feel seen, heard, and valued in a world that has rendered them invisible.1
Washing the Feet of the Forgotten: The Model of Servant Leadership
If radical hospitality is the theological posture of welcome, servant leadership is the ethical action that makes that welcome tangible, healing, and empowering. The two are inextricably linked. One cannot exist authentically without the other in a Christ-centered ministry. Hospitality without the action of service is merely a pleasant but empty sentiment. Service without the heart of hospitality can become paternalistic, transactional, or even coercive. Radical hospitality answers the “Why?” and “Who?” of ministry (We welcome because we are welcoming Christ himself). Servant leadership answers the “How?” (We welcome by humbly serving, prioritizing, and empowering).
The ultimate model for servant leadership is Jesus Christ, who declared that he “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).20 This model is built on several core principles:
- Humility: Servant leadership fundamentally inverts the world’s power structures. Jesus taught that true greatness is found not in authority or position, but in service: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” (Matthew 20:26–28).22 This principle was most dramatically illustrated when Jesus, the Lord and Teacher, knelt and washed his disciples’ feet—a task reserved for the lowest of servants.20 This act demonstrates that true leadership in God’s kingdom flows from a posture of humility.
- Compassion: Jesus’s service was motivated by a deep, empathetic compassion for the suffering of others. He “had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).20 This was not a passive feeling but an active concern that led him to heal the sick, feed the hungry, and befriend social outcasts.
- Prioritizing Others: Servant leadership requires genuinely putting the needs and interests of those being served above one’s own agenda or the organization’s convenience. As the Apostle Paul exhorts, “in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” (Philippians 2:3–4).20 This involves a conscious investment in the development and well-being of others for the sake of the common good.24
- Empowerment: A servant leader does not use their position to control or create dependency. Instead, they seek to empower others, building them up and creating opportunities for them to use their own gifts, make their own choices, and succeed on their own terms.20 The goal is to enhance the client’s capacity and self-determination, restoring the agency that has so often been stripped away by their circumstances.10
Part III: The Synthesis – Hospitality as Pretreatment in Action
Overcoming the Wall of Mistrust: Why Hospitality is the Only Key
To understand why a hospitality-driven model is not just preferable but essential, one must first grasp the profound barriers to care faced by individuals experiencing homelessness, severe mental illness, and PTSD. Homelessness is not merely the absence of shelter; it is a profoundly traumatic event that can, in itself, cause or exacerbate conditions like PTSD.9 The daily struggle for survival—finding food, staying safe, enduring the elements—erodes coping mechanisms and creates a state of chronic stress and trauma.27
Compounding this trauma is a pervasive social stigma. Public perception is often shaped by harmful and inaccurate stereotypes: that people experiencing homelessness are lazy, dangerous, addicted, or have chosen their situation.29 This stigma is not an abstract social issue; it is experienced directly and painfully in the very places where help is supposed to be found. Individuals report being treated with disrespect and a lack of compassion in healthcare and social service settings, feeling judged, dehumanized, and invisible.1 These repeated negative experiences, often layered over a lifetime of systemic failures and broken promises, cultivate a deep and entirely justified “medical mistrust” and a general suspicion of service systems.1 For many, mistrust becomes a necessary “survival skill”.30
Given this reality, traditional, impersonal, and bureaucratic intake processes are almost destined to fail. An approach that begins with a clipboard, a list of requirements, and a focus on deficits immediately triggers this history of trauma and mistrust. A person who has been consistently dehumanized will not engage with a process that feels dehumanizing. Therefore, the unconditional, person-centered welcome of radical hospitality is not a “soft skill” or an optional extra. It is a necessary clinical intervention required to breach this wall of mistrust. It is the only way to create the foundational safety and trust required for engagement, assessment, and treatment to even begin.
From Intake Form to Sacred Encounter: A Practical, Integrated Model
The synthesis of clinical pretreatment principles and theological virtues creates a powerful, practical model for the first encounter. It transforms the interaction from a procedural intake into a sacred encounter. Instead of an opening like, “I need you to fill this out,” the interaction begins with an act of hospitality: “Welcome, I’m so glad you’re here. Can I get you some water or coffee? My name is Sarah, it’s good to meet you.” This simple shift immediately embodies the principles of noticing the person 19, promoting safety by offering care without preconditions 8, and beginning the process of forming a relationship.8 The following framework provides a guide for integrating these concepts into every initial interaction.
Table 1: Bridging Theory and Practice: A Framework for Hospitable Pretreatment
| Jay Levy’s Pretreatment Principle | Radical Hospitality/Servant Leadership Principle | Practical Application in a Christian Social Service Setting |
| 1. Promoting Safety | Unconditional Welcome & Seeing Christ in the Other: Creating a space where the person’s inherent dignity is honored before anything else.16 | Offer immediate, non-contingent care: a warm drink, a comfortable chair, a safe place to rest. Use welcoming, non-judgmental language. Ensure the physical environment is clean, calm, and respectful. Meet basic needs without requiring paperwork or compliance first. |
| 2. Forming a Relationship | Humility, Compassion & Personal Attention: Prioritizing the person over the process.19 | Learn and use the person’s name. Practice active, empathetic listening; put down the clipboard and make eye contact. Ask about them as a person, not just about their problems. Share your own name. Be authentic and genuine. |
| 3. Developing a Common Language | Selflessness & Empowering Others: Relinquishing the “expert” role and honoring the client’s narrative.11 | Ask open-ended questions: “What brought you here today?” “What are you hoping for?” “How do you see things?” Avoid clinical jargon. Allow the client to define their situation and goals in their own words. Collaborate on identifying the next step, ensuring they feel ownership. |
| 4. Facilitating & Supporting Change | Strengths-Based Service & Investing in Others: Recognizing and affirming the client’s agency and resilience.5 | Actively listen for evidence of “pretreatment change” and affirm it: “It took a lot of courage to come here today. You’ve already taken a huge step.” Focus on their strengths and past successes. Connect them to resources they identify as helpful, not what the agency dictates. |
| 5. Cultural & Ecological Considerations | Justice & Accompanied Suffering: Understanding the systemic context of their struggle and walking with them in it.13 | Educate yourself about the realities of street life, trauma, and the systems that create homelessness. Advocate on their behalf against injustices. Build a long-term, reciprocal relationship that goes beyond a single transaction. Be a consistent, trustworthy presence. |
Case Studies in Action: The Evolution of Gospel Rescue Missions
This integrated model is not merely theoretical; it is being put into practice by innovative Christian organizations, particularly within gospel rescue missions that are moving away from high-barrier, conditional charity toward low-barrier, hospitality-focused service.35
Historically, many missions operated on a transactional “sing-for-your-supper” model, where receiving a meal or a bed was contingent on attending a mandatory worship service.35 While well-intentioned, this approach often failed to address the deep-seated mistrust many individuals felt toward institutions. In contrast, newer models embody the principles of hospitable pretreatment by prioritizing trust-building and unconditional care.
A prime example of this evolution is the Springs Rescue Mission in Colorado Springs.35 The mission operates a tiered program that begins with a “low barrier” Relief Shelter, offering a warm bed and a meal with minimal rules: don’t fight, don’t verbally abuse staff, and don’t use or sell drugs on-site.35 This approach establishes immediate safety and care without preconditions. Crucially, the mission’s leadership understands that trust must be earned. CEO Jack Briggs notes that many homeless people “live in a world where no one keeps a promise,” so the mission focuses on building trust through concrete, reliable actions.35 For instance, when a resident hands over their clothes to be washed, they always get them back clean—a simple, consistent act of service that communicates care and dependability more powerfully than words.35
This philosophy is captured by Joel Siebersma, the mission’s senior director, who states, “Our faith is why we do what we do, but faith is never required of others to receive basic relief services”.35 This marks a profound shift. The mission’s posture is one of servant leadership, where their role is to “help in the project, not own it,” affirming that “it’s God’s job to change people”.35 By offering hospitality first, they create the safety and trust essential for the pretreatment phase to succeed, allowing individuals to then choose to engage with further services, such as health checkups and vocational training, through an incentive-based system.35
Practical Examples of Radical Hospitality from the Lovelady Center
For Christian social service organizations seeking to foster lasting change among marginalized populations—especially those released from incarceration or marked by profound trauma—the initial welcome is not a mundane administrative task. It is, as clinical research and theological teaching assert, a sacred opportunity for ministry. This foundational concept, known clinically as pretreatment, recognizes that significant healing often begins before formal therapeutic intervention. The individual walking through your door is already an active agent who has initiated their own change process.
To effectively meet this moment, ministry workers must adopt an approach that is drastically different from ordinary practice: Radical Hospitality coupled with Servant Leadership. This integrated model is essential because individuals whose lives are defined by trauma and failure carry a deep and entirely justified “medical mistrust” of systems. A transactional approach, focusing on requirements and deficits, will fail. Only the unconditional love and dignity afforded by genuine hospitality can breach this wall of mistrust and create the foundational safety and trust required for engagement.
The early experiences of Miss Brenda Spahn, the founder of the Lovelady Center (a transitional center for formerly incarcerated women that is a partner with City Vision University and a Citygate Network member), and the first Loveladies, offer powerful, emulatable case studies demonstrating how these principles translate into life-changing action.
1. The Unconditional Welcome: Dissolving the Wall of Hierarchy
The core theological principle of Radical Hospitality is rooted in the command that all guests are “to be welcomed as Christ”. This single directive instantly dissolves the power imbalance between the provider (host) and the person seeking help (client). Miss Brenda Spahn, who embarked on this ministry after nearly facing prison herself, established this posture immediately, even when confronted by her greatest fears.
The Story of the Sacred Threshold: Miss Brenda had prepared her large home, Hob Hill, to become a “whole-way” house for parolees transitioning into the real world. When the first group arrived, they were terrifying: “six very scary women, just released from the roughest women’s prison in the country,” stomping up the driveway. Miss Brenda had learned that these women were not the nonviolent offenders she had initially expected, but “hopeless cases” rejected by other programs. They had collectively served one hundred years behind bars.
Despite her terror, her daughter, Melinda, opened the door wide, and one of the women, Shay, recalled the exact words that provided the Unconditional Welcome: “Welcome to my home,” redhead woman exclaimed. “It’s now your home also”.
Application and Helpfulness: This was Radical Hospitality in its purest form, defying the expected response of caution or judgment. Miss Brenda immediately communicated Promoting Safety, the foundational principle of effective pretreatment. She followed the initial welcome by communicating trust: “The minute you walked through my door, you received a clean bill of health. You are a newborn person with no past, nothing. Until you show me you cannot be trusted, I trust you”.
This intentional, trusting posture demonstrated Compassion and helped overcome the deep stigma they felt; the women knew they were viewed by society as “losers, rejects, and outcasts” who deserved imprisonment. By giving them a clean bill of health and treating them as trustworthy “newborn persons,” Miss Brenda affirmed their inherent dignity—the Imago Dei—and validated their agency, making a relationship possible.
2. Promoting Emotional Safety: Affirming Pretreatment Change
For marginalized individuals, Promoting Safety is not just about a clean, secure physical environment; it is about establishing emotional safety to counter a lifetime of broken promises and abuse. This phase requires the provider to intentionally promote trust so that disclosure and engagement can occur.
The Story of Tiffany’s Fear: Tiffany, nicknamed Suga-Suga, was ecstatic upon arrival, calling the house a “miracle from God,” but she carried deep, fear-driven reservations. When Miss Brenda finally sat with Tiffany privately, Tiffany revealed her central anxiety, testing the unconditional nature of the welcome: “If I tell you the truth, are you going to make me leave?”. She was certain her painful history of prostitution and drug abuse would warrant her expulsion.
Application and Helpfulness: Miss Brenda’s response was the epitome of Promoting Safety and unconditional love: “She smiled and said, ‘Of course not.’”. Tiffany noted that Miss Brenda’s smile was “so loving—something I’d never seen before”.
This immediate, non-judgmental assurance shattered Tiffany’s defensive resolve. Miss Brenda recognized the immense courage Tiffany displayed by simply reaching out for help. Instead of demanding disclosure, she provided the safety required for it. As Tiffany recalled, that loving assurance immediately melted her self-imposed silence, and her painful life story “came gushing out of me”. She felt a “tiny spark of hope” burning inside her and growing bigger because of Miss Brenda’s smile. This encounter validates the model that emotional safety must be established first for pretreatment change to flourish.
3. Servant Leadership: Restoring Agency Through the Power of Choice
Servant Leadership is the active component of hospitality, demanding that the ministry worker prioritize the needs of those being served over their own convenience or organizational process. For individuals who have been stripped of basic rights and choice in prison, servant leadership focuses heavily on Empowerment—restoring their capacity for decision-making and self-determination.
The Story of the Walmart Shopping Trip: The women arrived with almost nothing—their entire lives contained in a single brown paper sack. Recognizing the immediate need to restore dignity and provide essentials, Miss Brenda took them on a shopping trip to Walmart, giving them money: “I’ll give you each one hundred dollars. Buy things you need: panties, soap, cosmetics, and any groceries you want”.
When they reached the lingerie section, the women were paralyzed by the multitude of choices, having been institutionalized for so long. They were terrified and begged Miss Brenda: “Could you pick them out for us?”.
Application and Helpfulness: Miss Brenda refused to take the easy route of dependency, prioritizing their long-term empowerment. She told them: “No. I’ll help you, but you have to pick them”. She understood that “they had completely lost the ability to make even the simplest of decisions”. By insisting they choose, she restored their agency, reasoning: “I also knew they had to start making decisions if they were to survive outside prison. So why not start with panties?”.
This act of Servant Leadership provided not just material needs, but the dignity of choice. The trip—which included delighting in choosing scented body wash they called “hygienes”—transformed their self-perception. Tiffany walked out of Walmart feeling “brave and confident, believing I was walking into the destiny God had for me”. This demonstrates that ministry workers should utilize even simple tasks to build client capacity, prioritizing the client’s growth over the host’s convenience.
4. Shay’s Inner Dialog on Initial Encounter with the Lovelady Center
The following is the internal dialog of Shay as she was going through the above experiences taken directly from Miss Brenda and the Loveladies. As you read this consider how a client/guest’s inner dialog might reflect their emotional state when first approaching a ministry.
I know it sounds nuts that a grown woman couldn’t pick out drawers, but I couldn’t. I’d see a pair I liked. Then I’d see another that I liked better. It just seemed that no matter what ones I picked, there would always be something better. There were so many designs and colors.
The store was so big and filled with so many people. I was used to being squeezed in a dorm room with hundreds of women. But they were my kind and I got used to it. These people at the store were all better than me. They stared at us, and I could tell they knew our story. I felt like I had my AIS number—118074—stamped on my forehead.
I just wanted to get some white underwear—that’s all I’d worn in prison—but Miss Goody Two-Shoes wouldn’t let me. So I got me a pack of Hanes briefs in different colors.
On the van ride home, I didn’t feel like listening to those other women babbling on and on about how great this all was, so I thought about what color drawers I’d wear the next day. I couldn’t even figure that out.
I thought about the drive from Tutwiler to Crazy Lady’s house. These idiots had all been bursting with excitement. They believed all the lies Mr. Garner was telling us. He said this do-gooding woman was going to help us get our lives together in her big house. How did I get stuck with so many dimwitted women?
“Shut up. You’re all making fools of yourselves,” I yelled. The women were giggling like I used to when I was a little girl and believed handsome Uncle Benny’s lies. They looked at me all hurt. Better to be hurt by the truth now than be disappointed by all the lies that some white lady was telling the parole board. They might believe her crap, but I was way too smart for her.
After two hours in a car with those idiots, we got to Birmingham. Mr. Garner turned on to a narrow, curvy street and then up a long driveway. He stopped halfway up the drive to make sure we took it all in.
“This is your new home,” he said. I looked up to the left. Sitting on the hill was the most beautiful house I could imagine—buttery yellow, like frosting on a cake. It looked like Mrs. Carrington’s house in Dynasty. Of course these stupid women oohed and aahed.
“Mr. Garner, you fooled us. You’re taking us to work as slaves on a plantation,” I said.
“No. That’s your new home.”
The women all giggled, which made my anger boil over. I hated these stupid women almost as much as the white lady we were about to become servants for.
“Keep it up. Y’all fixin’ to be maids up there, living in a shack out back.”
That did the trick. Soon they all had that defiant look, that attitude I wanted to see. I was proud of how they listened to me and considered me the leader. The six of us were old-timers and had been together for years. I was grateful for that because people less seasoned might fall for this scam.
“That’s the Lovelady Whole Way House,” Mr. Garner said as he drove toward it.
“Lovelady ho’way house is more like it,” I said. I couldn’t stop laughing at my joke, but the other women just stared ahead, their mouths like straight lines.
As we topped the driveway, I saw a woman with a mane of curly red hair peeking out a window. I guess she wanted to get a good glimpse at her slaves. I looked around the property. In the back where I thought there would be shacks was a swimming pool surrounded by beautiful grounds with flowers and trees, patios, and plenty of lawn furniture. The idiots with me began giggling again.
“This is the most beautiful house I’ve ever seen,” they said at once.
My anger boiled up again, so bad I felt like I would explode. “Don’t you know it’s not going to work that way for us? No way are they taking us out of prison and putting us in a place like this. We’re being tricked. Get ready for your little black dress and white apron.”
“Well then, hand me a broom! I don’t care if I’m a maid,” Tiffany said. “This is a miracle from God, and I’m gonna take it.”
I’d known Tiffany from prison. So naive. But she was my baby. A big baby. She reminded me so much of Carolyn, my best friend growing up who went through all that bad stuff with me. I had bonded with Tiffany right away in prison. But I also knew her real well: I knew she wanted drugs more than this house.
That redheaded lady stared at us, and I made sure to look as tough as possible when I got out of the van. I wanted her to know I was in charge. I wanted her to get a really good look at the scowl on my face. I did that thing I learned to do with my eyes and my mouth. I could practically turn my face into a fist. It always worked. People would get out of my way and leave me alone when I pulled that look out of my bag of tricks.
These simple-minded women were all tripping over each other to get inside.
“Welcome to my home,” redhead woman exclaimed. “It’s now your home also.”
You’ve gotta be kidding me. Is this nut for real? Who in their right mind would bring a bunch of convicts to her home? With a little kid too? What kind of whacko is she? What kind of game is she playing with the system?
She told us her name was Brenda, and the other women immediately called her Miss Brenda. It made me really mad that my bad face that scared everyone didn’t seem to bother her. She was so dumb. Did she not know that we were a bunch of hardasses who could hurt her and her kid?
I went upstairs with her daughter, Melinda, who had the bluest eyes and the kindest face I’d ever seen in my life. Something about her eyes got to me, so I avoided looking at them. She was so soft-spoken as she showed us the bedrooms. How could she treat us this way? Like we were just normal people staying at her home?
“Sweetie”? Who calls convicts “sweetie”? Her voice dripped with what sounded like love. But she was probably as nuts as that red-haired mother of hers.
At the top of the steps was a yellow room filled with sunlight. It was the most beautiful bedroom I’d ever seen. The word Peace was painted on a plaque on the door. The bed looked so comfortable I had to sit on it. Oh, my Lord in heaven, it felt so good. I couldn’t even remember the last time I had a bed with a real mattress. Who am I kidding? I never had a real mattress before. I pulled the cover back and saw that it was Posturepedic. I didn’t want to move because I was afraid it would go away. I knew there were still other rooms to see, but what if this was the best and someone took it away from me?
“This is my bed,” I said in my mean voice so those dimwits would be too afraid to touch it. I had claimed my territory, and I was not budging until everyone had their beds. No one was taking this away from me. I felt like a child—I was so excited about that mattress. But I made sure not to show it.
Later, Miss Goody Two-Shoes rambled on to us about how good God was. I wanted to scream at her right then and there. The anger began boiling again. I wasn’t having anything to do with God because He could have helped that little girl years ago.
This time I decided to keep my mouth shut. I did not want to lose that bed.
4. Tiffany’s Story & Inner Dialog on Initial Encounter with the Lovelady Center
As I sat across from Miss Brenda, I thought, This is where my miracle ends. She looked at me all hopeful, but she had no idea what kind of terrible person I was. Once she heard my story, I was sure she’d want this filth out of her beautiful house. So I asked her, “If I tell you the truth, are you going to make me leave?” She smiled and said, “Of course not.” Her smile seemed so loving—something I’d never seen before. Then I reminded myself that a woman who lived in a home like this had never heard a story like mine. If I told her my story, that smile would be wiped off and replaced with disgust. The miracle would end, and I’d be back to my old life. I was really liking the new life Miss Brenda was showing me, so I was determined to keep my mouth locked shut.
But before I could blink my eyes, it came gushing out of me. I’m not sure why. Maybe it was because she told me that she believed God had called her to help me. Maybe it was because I believed that inside us all is a tiny spark of hope. We get broken down by life, but that spark is still there. I could feel it burning inside me and getting bigger as Miss Brenda smiled at me.
I was twenty-five, I told her, from Dothan, a small city in the southeastern corner of Alabama. It’s the peanut capital of the world. As long as I could remember, I was called Oreo by kids and even adults who wanted to be cruel. My mom is white and my daddy is black, so I am in between—light-skinned black with hazel eyes. To make matters worse, I have Afro hair that no one ever taught me how to style or manage so it’s just all over the place. With light skin and a big head of unmanageable Afro hair, I’m an outcast everywhere, especially in a small town in Alabama like Dothan.
My parents never married. Because my daddy was in and out of prison, I’d only seen him about fifteen times in my whole life. I have a younger brother and sister. We have different fathers but we’re all biracial. My mother loved black men.
My mother also loved drugs. So did my daddy. My mother’s friends used to laugh about how I learned to crawl around the floor to look for my daddy’s crack rock. He’d smoke crack and get so high he’d think he dropped it on the floor.
Those are my childhood memories. I also remember drug dealers coming and going in and out of our house. Even as a young child, I recognized that these were the people with money and power. And the drug addicts? They were just pitiful. I vowed that I would become a dealer and never use. I didn’t want to be like my parents. But not having drugs in my life never occurred to me. Some kids dream about being doctors or lawyers. My dream was to become a big-time drug dealer.
I loved to sing and I loved to write. I put my all into my writing. I’d stand in front of the class and read my stories to everyone, and for a few minutes I’d forget. But then I’d be back in the classroom with the kids staring at me, the girl with the light skin and big crazy Afro. And I’d remember who I really was.
Oreo.
I hated school. I was bullied before being bullied was talked about so much. Besides looking different, I had almost no clothes. I wore the same outfit every day. My mom just did not seem to know how to wash anything. She bleached everything I wore. So the few clothes I had looked ridiculous. Getting high was always my mom’s priority. Food, clothes, school—all were far down on the list. At night I would cry myself to sleep and pray that I would wake up and find myself in a different life, with parents who took care of me. I would be pretty, and I would be either black or white—I didn’t care which, just not both.
But the morning would come and I’d still be Oreo.
My mother had a lot of boyfriends. They moved in and out very quickly. I have wondered that if I had had a father figure in my life, could life have been different? Maybe that’s what I was searching for when I did the things I did—a father’s love. Sometimes the men were really mean to my mother. They beat her so badly, and I would hurt for her. One time a man hit my mother so hard in the stomach that blood flew out of her mouth. I thought he had killed her.
When I was eight years old, my mom took a job working nights in a factory. We were getting our life together, she told us. She left us with Betty, a baby-sitter. One night while I was sleeping, Betty got me out of bed. She took me into the room she was staying in and had sex with a man in front of me. I had never seen anything like that before. The next night she did oral sex on me. She’d rent pornography, and I’d watch it with her. Even though I was a little girl, I knew that my life would never be the same. Feelings woke up in my body that I didn’t understand, and they never went to sleep again.
My mother’s plan to get our life together didn’t work. She was still getting high all the time. We were always moving and getting evicted, moving and getting evicted. By the time I was thirteen, we had lived in twenty houses.
I started sneaking boys in every night while my mom was drugged out. Some were not boys, but men. My parents always did drugs or were in prison, and I craved love and attention. I’d never had real love, but I felt as if I had found it with these men or these boys. They might not love me in the morning, but they loved me at night.
When I was thirteen I found out I was pregnant. At fourteen, I had a baby girl. I really tried to be a mom to my newborn, but I didn’t know what I was doing. I would cry harder than the baby. A few months later, I was pregnant again. Both of my baby girls went to live with my grandmother—my mother’s mom.
At sixteen, I achieved my dream of becoming a drug dealer. I sold crack and was a natural at it. And soon, everyone liked me. I had money; I even had clothes.
One day I felt like I needed a little boost. I was so tired. Most of my business was after two in the morning. That’s when people run out of crack but want to keep on going. I had vowed never to smoke crack, but I decided that day I would smoke a little. Just this one time.
Until that day, I’d sold crack but only used powder cocaine. Crack was low-class to me. Cocaine was high-class. Crack had destroyed my parents’ lives, and I wasn’t going to let that happen to me. But that night I had no coke, so I hit the crack pipe. And the minute I did, I thought, Why in the world have I been wasting my money on powder when I could be using this wonderful stuff? I loved it and couldn’t get enough. It kept me going. I didn’t eat, so I lost weight. It seemed to solve many of my problems.
I became a crack whore. Soon I was walking the streets barely dressed, jumping in and out of cars day and night. I would walk up to men and say, “I’ll do something strange for some change.” I won’t even tell you the things I did, but I will say that there are some sick people in the world. I was the town whore. I knew that’s what they called me, and I didn’t mind the title. All the cops knew me. I had sex with many of them.
I was arrested all the time—for prostitution, drugs, stealing. I didn’t have a rap sheet. I had rap sheets. Everyone in our town avoided me. Right before I went to prison for my first time, I had my third baby girl. I was eighteen years old. And I got high the whole time I was pregnant. I would pray that my baby would be okay as I was getting high. I know that sounds crazy, but that’s what I did. I was lucky—my baby came out fine. Then I handed her over to my grandmother.
I was released after a year. A few hours later, I was high and back on the street. I would pass the house where my babies lived, and they would run to the sidewalk and cry for me. I would cross the street and wave to them. I didn’t know it then, but I had become just like my parents—I didn’t care about anything but getting high. And that’s how I lived. But you can only stay shot out for so long. Shot out is street talk for “so messed up you don’t know if you’re coming or going.” Soon I knew where I was going—north, back to Tutwiler. I had tried to sell crack to an undercover cop. I guess I was not a very smart criminal.
The judge gave me twenty years. When she sentenced me, she said I was destined for a life in and out of prison, but mostly in. She said there was no hope for me.
And I knew she was right.
I didn’t mind. I had more friends in prison than I’d ever had in my life. I felt like that was who I was. I believed the words the judge had said to me. I was destined to be in prison. This was where I belonged.
After serving just over a year, I was asked to participate in a new program called Second Chance. Of course I would go. When you’re looking at twenty years, you don’t hesitate to go anywhere. “Sign me up,” I said. One day, the guards came and got me and said I was heading to the Lovelady Whole Way House.
On the van ride to the Lovelady house, I recognized Shay from prison. Shay was one mad black woman who had always scared me. She was so mean, so angry. No one liked her. But there was something else about Shay. She knew stuff about me that I wasn’t willing to face. I don’t know how she did it, but she seemed to know the truth about you, even if you didn’t even know it yourself. It’s like she looked at you and could see your thoughts.
And what was I thinking as I sat in the room with Miss Brenda? I was thinking that Miss Brenda might be crazy—why would anyone let people like us into her home? I was thinking that I might be part of a miracle. I was thinking that maybe I was already dead and had entered heaven when I walked into that house. I was thinking that I would do whatever I could to make sure I stayed.
I was also thinking, I bet they have some real good crack in Birmingham.
The Call to Courageous Hospitality
The journey of Miss Brenda and the Loveladies underscores that the ministry of the first encounter is a sacred conversation. It is a challenge to ministry workers everywhere: your first action must be an intentional act of Radical Hospitality that establishes safety, recognizes the client’s immense courage, and empowers them to reclaim their lives.
When a client arrives, they are fulfilling the clinical mandate of pretreatment change—they are already seeking recovery. Your job is not to dictate the process but to affirm their inherent worth and build a relationship of trust. As Miss Brenda learned, the first step the client takes into freedom is an act of immense courage.
By welcoming the wounded as Christ, offering unconditional safety like Miss Brenda, and prioritizing their empowerment over your convenience, you embody Servant Leadership. You ensure that the foundational safety is laid, allowing the spark of hope they bring to ignite into a flame. The examples of the Loveladies prove that this hospitality-first model is not just good theology—it is the clinical prerequisite for achieving the incredible, lasting transformations that God intends.
Conclusion: The Ministry of the First Step
For Christian social service organizations, the work of engaging individuals grappling with homelessness, trauma, and mental illness must begin long before the first formal treatment plan is written. Effective pretreatment for these populations is a ministry, one deeply rooted in the theological virtues of radical hospitality and servant leadership. A purely clinical, procedural, or transactional approach is insufficient to overcome the profound barriers of stigma and deeply ingrained mistrust that these individuals carry. The data on pretreatment change confirms that clients are already agents of their own recovery; the theological mandate of hospitality demands that we honor that agency by receiving them as we would receive Christ himself.
This calls for a paradigm shift. Every first encounter must be reframed—not as an administrative hurdle, an assessment of deficits, or a moment of crisis management, but as a sacred opportunity. It is the chance to be the first tangible sign of God’s unconditional love, grace, and respect in someone’s life. The first step a client takes through the door is an act of immense courage. The ministry of pretreatment is about ensuring that this step is met by the organization’s own first step toward them—an intentional act of hospitality that honors their dignity, begins to heal the wounds of exclusion, and creates a foundation of trust upon which all future work can be built.
This report was generated by Google Gemini 2.5 Deep Research using the prompt:
“You are a professor at City Vision University teaching a course in Customer/Client Service, Radical Hospitality & Servant Leadership. Write a paper for those working at Christian social service organizations on the concept of pretreatment for those dealing with homelessness, PTSD and/or mental illness. Explain how radical hospitality and effective customer (or client) service is essential to the pretreatment of these individuals. Use a Gospel Rescue Mission as a Case Study”.
The section titled “Practical Examples from the Lovelady Center” was generated using NotebookLM and the prompt “Write a heartfelt longform paper using at least three stories from Miss Brenda and the Loveladies summarizing the stories from the book where they applied the principles from The Ministry of the First Encounter: Radical Hospitality as Pretreatment for the Marginalized. Explain how the principles were applied and how they were helpful. Where possible use exact wording from the Miss Brenda and the Loveladies. You goal should be to inspire workers at similar ministries and give them specific examples that they might emulate. You should write assuming that those reading this do not know anything about Miss Brenda and the Loveladies or the Lovelady ministry. Again this should be a long paper. Provide in a format that could easily be exported into Google Docs without modification.” along with erupts taken directly from the book “Miss Brenda and the Loveladies”.
It was reviewed by Dr. Andrew Sears for accuracy.
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