We recently had the chance to connect with Shawn Morrison and have shared our conversation below.
Shawn, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
Over the past few years I have increasingly been feeling compelled to write. To commit to print some of my thoughts, ideas, and perspective. Recently, I acted upon this and co-authored a book named, “Will You See Me?” a series of 25 narratives of those we have interviewed who are struggling to survive on the streets. I have several other books on my heart that are yet to be fully written but are in rough draft or conceptual form.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m a husband, father of 5 adult children, with 19 grandchildren. I’m also a Christian and an ordained minister. I have pastored, trained international Christian workers, aka missionaries, and 22 years ago I founded a nonprofit ministry called, Good in the ‘Hood www.goodinthehood.org. I now serve full-time as an urban minister to mobilize resources and volunteers to bring help to our community of those in need and to inspire hope in their hearts. Most recently I have been fulfilling a very fulfilling project, www.willyouseeme.com by interviewing nearly 40 people who panhandle to survive. I wanted to understand and humanize those we often dismiss. In addition, I hope to inform the compassion of those are interested in reaching into the lives of those on the streets. .
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
My time of ministering on the streets is limited due to some family responsibilities, including health related concerns. In addition, some of our societal and economic shifts are making funding for our ministry a growing concern. I’m in the process of determining how we can pivot and innovate what we do so that we can have a flourishing and sustainable future. This likely will include having me step into another role and allowing others to offer leadership for our organization. I believe it’s my season to multiply myself rather than to merely act within my own strengths and spacial capacity.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
My family and I have experienced many crisis in my life of ministry. Our son and daughter-in-law gave birth to sextuplets, born a few minutes shy of 23 weeks. Due to their premature development we sadly lost 5 of our beloved grandchildren in a span of only 7 weeks. Our own grief and our feeble attempts to try and minister hope to our children were a significant challenge that shaped us and helped me to better understand and experience the importance of grieving in grace rather than grieving in depression.
We’ve also been traumatized by having one of our children be a victim of human trafficking. We’re grateful that we were able to rescue her from this terrible circumstance. Still, the trauma to our child and to our entire family is not something we will ever forget.
We’ve had many other crisis including health concerns, unexpected job loss or transitions, and homelessness with 3 children in tow. All of these circumstances have helped us to trust God, watch Him work miracles, and to strengthen our resolve that we are called to show God’s kindness to others in practical ways.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
My closest friends would say the things that matter most to me are the following 3 M’s of successful life in ministry. Money, Morals, and Marriage.
1. Money: Have a healthy relationship with money and do not steal, act unethically, or allow it’s influence to control your decisions and behaviors
2. Morals: Have a strong sense of moral values to guide you through life, particularly during times of difficulty, hardship, and crisis. Our values will be the stabilizing force in our life to keep us from foolishness and poor decisions.
3. Marriage: Having a strong marriage offers blessing, support, encouragement, and belonging. We all need the security of acceptance and a good marriage will provide this and much more. It’s a character builder and place where our self-centeredness is continually challenged.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: If you laid down your name, role, and possessions—what would remain?
Our organization is a mirror image of who I am in regard to values, behaviors, and intentional kindness. If I laid down my name, role, and possessions I would continue to do Good in the ‘Hood type of activities but without the institutional aspects. It would be personal and intentional towards my neighbor rather than for my neighborhood.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.goodinthehood.org
Image Credits
Shawn Morrison
Shawn Nielsen, Nielsen Studios
