Jeff Foxworthy is accustomed to people using his celebrity for their causes.
As one of the most successful comedians in the country, he fields hundreds of requests per month, yet he says he still wasn't prepared when The Atlanta Mission asked him to lead bible study for its homeless men eight years ago.
"I'm like, there's six million people in Atlanta and you can't find anybody more qualified for this than me?" He explained that part of faith is saying 'yes,' and letting God take care of the rest.
Eight years ago Foxworthy had never known any homeless people. He certainly had never had any homeless friends. "It's easy to drive by somebody homeless when they're not a person. It's easy to roll down the window and go, 'Here's three bucks leave me alone,' but when you start learning somebody's story, they become a human being."
One of the stories he learned was on his first visit to the mission. He met a young man who had been strung out on drugs. Jeff's advice to him was that he should get a job. And then that young man told Foxworthy how when he was younger, his mother had committed suicide. Then his brother committed suicide. The boy grew up and went to college and while he was in college, his father committed suicide. Left alone in the world, he told Jeff he started getting high because he didn't want to hurt anymore.
For Foxworthy, it was an epiphany. He had faced pain in his own life, but nothing like this. He was leading bible study for some incredibly wounded people. "I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't know anybody in my group. It was me and 12 strangers who'd been living under bridges."
Jeff arrives at the mission before dawn each week, an insulated cooler filled to the top with hot Chick Fil A chicken biscuits. A short while later, he is standing at the front of a room packed with two dozen men. In 90 minutes they will discuss scripture, relapses, loss, love and not knowing – not knowing their purpose, not knowing where they’re going, not knowing what it’s all about.
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It’s the best and worst parts of life rolled into one, and then rolled out in one room.
Jeff stands at the front of the room, writing words on the whiteboard. They are words to discuss and dissect – words that will hopefully help them find their way. He shares stories of his own pain. He expertly inserts a few jokes which receive rousing laughter.
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In eight years of leading bible study, the group has grown from 12 men to over 200, with volunteers from around Atlanta now showing up each week to help lead the men as they break into smaller groups. As a bible study leader, Jeff deals with things not encountered in his life before this. “A guy will look at you and say ‘I stole my grandmother's life savings to buy heroin’ and you're like ‘Okay, fine. We can work with that!’ At least you're not pretending that you've got it all going on.”
The young man Jeff met his first time at the mission, the one who lost his entire family to suicide, wound up in Jeff’s bible study. He returned to college, got his degree, and is now married with children.
One week at a time, Foxworthy is changing hearts and lives, including his own.
“I've always had a heart for the underdog because I'm an underdog, where I came from. I just don't think you can judge somebody based on the quality of their shirt or their shoes because you don't know what beats in their heart underneath. Life is upside down. When you invest in other people you're the one who gets the most out of it not them. It gives your life meaning and purpose.”
