The Same Kind of Difference

By Pam Kumpe  

The book "Same Kind of Different as Me,” (1) by Ron Hall and Denver Moore is incredible. A wealthy man and money chaser, Ron Hall was married to Debbie. She was a God chaser, and had a heart for the homeless.

One of her dreams was to build a homeless mission, one without run-down furniture and old tables. However, one night, while she slept, Debbie had another dream. It was about a man who had wisdom, and this man would change their city.

Not long after the dream, Ron and Debbie were serving food at a nearby mission and a fight broke out among the men. After the fight, a lone man stood. A tall black man. He had no shoes and no shirt and he was screaming, "I'm going to kill whoever done it! I'm going to kill whoever done it!"

Debbie said, "That's him!"

Ron asked, "That's who?"

She said, "That's the guy I had the dream about and you should become his friend." About two weeks later Debbie saw him in the food line at the mission, so she introduced herself and asked his name.

He answered with, "Ma'am, I'm a very bad man. You don't need to know my name and you don't know who you are messing with so you better leave me alone and give me some food."

Debbie jumped over the counter, put her finger on his nose, and said, “You are not a bad man. You are a good man! God has a calling on your life. And you are going to live to see it."

Denver Moore is that man, and he completes this story, which is how the book came together. However, it wasn’t written until after Debbie lost her battle to cancer.
 
She fought cancer for 19 months, and Debbie’s illness, Denver would stay by a dumpster in the inner city and pray for Debbie’s healing. That’s right, all night. He would start at sundown, and pray until sunrise. Day after day.

Still though, Debbie lost her battle in 2000, but her dream for the mission has come true.

At her memorial service, Denver shared how people had stepped over him. How a lot of faith-based organizations, and many Christians avoided him. However, it took the love of this woman, the love Debbie offered him, to make him want to change.

Denver got a standing ovation at the end of the service, and by the next day, more than $350,000 came in for a new mission. The next week the total rose to $500,000 and then within a year $5 million came in.

There’s a brand new mission in the inner city of Fort Worth, and guess who you might see serving food to the homeless? Yes, Denver Moore. When he’s not speaking, or promoting the book, he serves food at the shelter.

God brought a dangerous, homeless man across the path of a money-seeking art dealer. Then, He spoke to a woman in her dream about a man who would change not only himself, but also his world.

What a great story about God’s timing and how we are all here for a reason.

So what would you do? Would you ask what will happen if I help the homeless? Or would you be prone to ask, what will happen to me?

There’s much to learn from this book. It will make you want to be different. It sent me looking at myself and I didn’t like all that I found. When I think of Denver, I see a miracle. When I think of Debbie, I see someone I want to emulate.

However, when I think of God, I’m reminded, how I should listen, really listen, because ultimately all of us are, the same kind of different. And sometimes, we just need help.

Resources:
1. Ron Hall and Denver Moore, 2008, Same Kind Of Different, Thomas Nelson  

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