Friday, December 31, 2010

The Original GREENE STREET LETTER

I thought I would close out 2010 with a memory.
While going through some files and old papers the other day, I ran across the very first
GREENE STREET LETTER ever written.
You can see that it originally started out as a reminder to folks of our bi-monthly
home group meeting.

Dated September 6, 1994, we used an old manual typewriter and copied the original to send out to the members of our group.
We continued to expand the Greene Street Letters over the next two years until 1996
When the church set me up with a computer and Internet.
Wow! Did we come into the digital age or what.
We were mailing out 200 + copies of the Greene Street Letters twice a month.
Our mailing list went from California to New York and from Michigan to Florida.
We had some that were mailed to Great Britain and Germany.
Throw in Japan and the far East and we just couldn't get over how this little newsletter was making the rounds.

Then came the Internet for us and the ability to forgo hard copies but send the Greene Street Letters via e-mail attachments.
Here is where it really took off.
From 1996 to 2004 we sent the letter out, receiving stories of healing and salvation.
One story involved a man who was about to commit suicide when someone gave him a copy of the newsletter. After reading it, he prayed and ask God to save him.

From 2004 until June 2008 the Greene Street Letters lay dormant.
During that time I had try to resurrect it under the name of
"Blues Notes"
"The Outer Banks"
and several other strange concoctions.
In June of 2008 I started this blog in conjunction with our Saturday night meeting here at Rapha.
The original title was Church@Rapha.
At some point along the way, I changed the name back to the Greene Street Letters and 
through some encouragement of a good friend, Bobby Sparks, I kept the name.

For those who might not know Greene Street is where I live.
It is an old neighborhood that is now occupied by grandparents of which I am one.
There is a definite view to life on Greene Street and we make no apologies of it.
I don't claim to have all the answers...
There are some days that I'm not even sure what the questions are, but I simply want to
share with you each day what God has given to me.
IF you can find encouragement in what I write then that is a plus.
If it leads you into relationship with Jesus, then it has been worth it.
IF you find yourself falling in love with the Bible and are studying it, then mission accomplished.
I would that you might begin to write about your journey with God.....
You will never know who might stumble across what you've written and how much it influenced them.
We've a story to tell to the nations....

God on you....
Happy New Year....
mb

2 comments:

Bobby said...

I thank God for the ministry of the Greene Street Letter. I think I read it before I actualy met you. God Bless!

Greene Street Letters said...

Bobby...this whole "Blog" thing is bigger than I can wrap my head around. I mean I'm sitting in Attalla, Alabama writing out some simple thoughts on God and it is being read in places I can't even pronounce.
I thank God daily for you and everyone else who takes the Internet for the Kingdom.
Happy New Year to the Spark's family!
mb

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