There is an intentionality to John Lynn's word choices that suggests he has a biblical mindset.
The 39-year-old Hixson Middle School math teacher spends much of his spare time these days helping homeless people. He calls it "loving on my friends." He spent more than a year getting to know their life stories and basic needs, a process he calls "trying to become wise."
It's as if that old, rubber-bracelet admonition, WWJD ("What Would Jesus Do?"), is somehow hardwired into Lynn's brain — along with the humble attitude the question implies.
If Jesus were in Chattanooga in 2024 it's easy to imagine him, like Lynn, bringing pizza to hungry people in Miller Park or playing Frisbee with a homeless man who hadn't thrown a disc in seven years, or providing ways for homeless people to clean themselves by hauling a portable shower trailer behind a pickup truck.
A couple of years ago, Brainerd Baptist Church helped "plant" a new congregation in downtown Chattanooga. It's called Citizens of Heaven Church and it's at the corner of M.L. King Boulevard and Lindsay Street near the Bessie Smith Cultural Center.
(READ MORE: After long search Brainerd Baptist Church chooses pastor.)
Lynn said that when Brainerd Baptist was considering helping seed that congregation, his pastor told him: "If our church is downtown, we should be loving on the community that's on the streets."
Lynn took the thought to heart and began making new friends on the street and taking inventory of their needs and available services.
About a year ago, he learned of a new Nashville-based nonprofit called ShowerUp, which was expanding to Chattanooga and points beyond. ShowerUp is behind a push to bring portable showers to homeless people in places such as Chattanooga, Chicago, Tampa, Florida, Huntsville, Wichita, Kansas, and soon, Memphis. It works with other nonprofits, churches and individual donors to pay for the service.
Paul Schmitz the Nashville man who started ShowerUp with his wife in 2016, has said in an email, "We realized that something as simple and basic as a shower was nearly impossible to get on a consistent basis for people who are experiencing homelessness."
Schmitz asked Lynn if he would head up the ShowerUp effort here, and, after praying about it, the sixth-grade teacher said yes.
These days, Lynn drives a Toyota Tundra pickup truck hauling a ShowerUp trailer around the city. The trailer contains three immaculate shower "suites" connected to an oversized water heater and tank powered by propane.
(READ MORE: Homeless, housing, development key issues in downtown Chattanooga, residents say.)
Two or three times a week, the ShowerUp trailer sets up in areas where homeless people gather, mainly on 11th Street downtown and on Brainerd Road. It serves 50 to 70 people a month here, Lynn said.
Lynn said response to the free, donor-funded shower service has been overwhelmingly positive. When people come out of the shower, Lynn says, a common response is, "I feel human again!"
Lynn said one woman, upon exiting the shower, gushed, "This must be what heaven is like."
When they enter the shower, each person is given a bag of personal hygiene items and told there is no time limit. Recently, Lynn said, one homeless man spent about 90 minutes in the shower while Lynn waited outside. Rather than become frustrated at the lengthy shower, Lynn said, "The joy (for him) was all there. I'm thankful God has given me a heart that's patient."
Lynn said he is at a good life stage to do that work.
"God has blessed me with a focus on ministry right now," he said in an interview. "I don't have a girlfriend. I don't have kids. What better way to use my time?"
People who wish to volunteer or donate to help the ShowerUp effort can visit the nonprofit's website at ShowerUp.org.
The Life Stories column publishes Mondays. Contact Mark Kennedy at mkennedy@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6645.