Glenn Cranfield on Homelessness in Nashville
Glenn Cranfield shares how Nashville Rescue Mission is addressing homelessness through dignity, recovery, and long-term transformation across Middle Tennessee.
About Glenn Cranfield
Glenn Cranfield has led the Nashville Rescue Mission for over 13 years, guiding the organization with a focus on compassion, restoration, and practical support. With a pastoral background, he emphasizes meeting both immediate needs and the deeper causes of homelessness. Under his leadership, the Mission has expanded trauma-informed care, addiction recovery services, and launched Life Recovery, a 12-month program offering hope, healing, and lasting change. Cranfield also serves on the board of Citygate Network, advocating nationwide for best practices in homeless services.
About Nashville Rescue Mission
Nashville Rescue Mission provides emergency shelter, meals, and long-term recovery programs for men, women, and children experiencing homelessness. With separate campuses and tailored services—from addiction recovery and job training to mental-health counseling and work therapy—the Mission helps individuals rebuild stability and purpose. As rising housing costs and economic strain impact more families, the Mission partners with nonprofits, local agencies, and volunteers to address both immediate needs and long-term solutions. Cranfield’s belief that “a meal or bed is only the beginning” shapes the Mission’s commitment to transformation, community, and hope.
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Spencer: Glenn Cranfield, president and CEO of the Nashville Rescue Mission. Welcome to Signature Required.
Glenn: Thank you so much for having me. Great to be here today.
Spencer: Stories like the Nashville Rescue Mission and yours are some of the very favorite ones that Carli and I get to highlight on Signature required.
Spencer: At the end of the day, the reason why we do this is to try to [00:01:00] have our listeners learn what it means to be a Tennessean.
Carli: Mm-hmm.
Spencer: A lot of people are moving here. A lot of people know that there's something special about the state, but sometimes have a hard time putting their finger on exactly what it is that makes it special.
Spencer: And so why don't you start off for those that don't know what the Nashville Rescue Mission is, and talk a little bit about what you and the Nashville Rescue Mission does.
Glenn: Great. Well, first I'd like to say I'm one of those that moved here from Oklahoma 12 years ago and found Tennessee to be such a special place, as you said. And so, so many people are coming here, moving here. My wife and I, we were talking and say, why are people coming here? Because it is a great place. It's a great place to live, great place to grow your family.
Glenn: And so many people are compassionate and care about their hurting and homeless, and we have found it to be the case. Nashville Rescue [00:02:00] Mission has been in a part of Nashville since 1953. It was started by a man by the name of Charles E. Fuller, who is a, uh, was an evangelist, and he came to the Ryman Auditorium to do an evangelistic service.
Glenn: And so when he was walking back to his hotel, he noticed homeless men on the street. And so Nashville gave him an honorarium. He sent the honorarium back to Nashville and said, take this honorarium, this money and start a work for the homeless men on the street. And that was 1953. Wow. And so since 1953, all of Nashville has really been helping in.
Glenn: The hurting and the homeless struggling. That very first night. There was 8 men that spent the night at Nashville Rescue Mission and tonight there'll be over 800 men, women and kids.
Carli: Can you give us a scope? 'cause obviously to walk in Nashville, it's clean. They've done a lot to [00:03:00] clean up Nashville and make it a really great tourist destination.
Carli: Right? Sure. Those of us that live here have seen, there are different areas where you see more of the homeless population than others. Can you help identify what is the footprint? What are we looking at in the Nashville community?
Glenn: You know, the number of homeless in Nashville depends on who you ask. Okay.
Glenn: But I think it's really about 3,500, uh, at any given time, men, women, and kids. that are experiencing homelessness right here in Nashville. And so as Nashville continues to grow and continues to prosper, the there, that always attracts all kinds of economic situations. Mm-hmm. So there's people that are coming here trying to make it, trying to get a foot on the ground, trying to get, uh, to make a living.
Glenn: And so they find themselves hurting and they find themselves in a situation that they need help. And so we're just grateful to be there with the meal, with the place to sleep, with job training and, and, and those kinds of [00:04:00] things to help people get out of homelessness and back into productive living and sometimes into productive living for the very first time.
Glenn: Sadly though there's about 3,500 at any given time that we can really, uh, do a point in time count and count the shelters and all that are experiencing homelessness in Nashville here. Hmm.
Spencer: Glennn, one of the things that I've heard you say is that homelessness is not a character flaw. And I think that's a really fascinating perspective because a lot of people.
Spencer: That walk down the street and see someone homeless, I think default to say, what decisions have you made that have landed you here? How has your life
Carli: mm-hmm.
Spencer: Gone off track as a result of your doing that makes it to where you're sleeping on the street. And so I wonder if you can talk some about [00:05:00] redefining.
Spencer: What has led someone to be homeless on the street and broaden it out from some character flaw right, that they possess?
Glenn: Yeah. Um, that's a great point. Um, so many people are hurting for different reasons. There's no single reason that somebody finds themself homeless. There's a complexity of issues. But one of the things, the reason I say it's not a character flaw is that mental health is a big, huge issue in homelessness.
Glenn: And depending on who you ask, how many people are dealing with mental health issues, that number is staggering when you compare it to the homelessness numbers. Everything from depression to schizophrenia, to paranoia, all those things combined together to really cause somebody not to be trust, not to trust.
Glenn: They can't hold on a job. They can't [00:06:00] maintain independent living, and so we're there to help them. And it reaches and touches each one of us personally, if we really, we have friends in that situation. We have loved ones in that situation, and it's not just, they don't get a job. I, yeah, I wish it was just that.
Glenn: Why don't they get a job? I wish that was the issue because it's not. We have many that are, that are homeless, that are living at Nashville Rescue Mission. I say living because they're there every night, but they're holding down jobs. They have minimum wage paying jobs, but they can't afford independent living.
Glenn: They can't afford their rent here in Nashville. They can't afford a independent lifestyle, so they, they come to the mission to sleep and maybe we can. Help them with the sack lunch for lunch during the job day. But they actually worked for minimum wage or slightly above that right here in Nashville.
Glenn: It's not a character flaw. There are so many people that are hurting [00:07:00] so many people with mental health issues and uh, and, and other issues as well. But that's a huge one.
Spencer: Mental illness is a unique. Ailment that I think our society, if someone says, I have a heart issue, or I have a stomach ulcer, or my foot's broken, there's not judgment that comes along with that.
Spencer: There's no
Glenn: stigma. Yeah.
Spencer: It's not like, oh, well. Your foot's broken because of this, or you know, your stomach ulcer that's on you, you shouldn't stress so much. Right? But the stigma related to mental illness is different. It's much more examining of how did you contribute to this? Is this real? And it also feels particularly helpless.
Spencer: From an outsider that sees it [00:08:00] because it's so difficult to treat in many cases. So for the Nashville Rescue Mission, dealing with a lot of people that do suffer to some degree from a mental illness, are you all equipped to be able to help in some capacity or are you. Not able to and are just trying to meet the basic needs in the hope that they'll be able to find something to address the mental part.
Glenn: Yeah, we don't have mental health professionals there on staff, but we is such a huge part of what we do. We do partner with mental health professionals, mental health co-op, Centerstone, uh, Cumberland Heights. They're just wonderful agencies. They actually come on site at Nashville Rescue Mission Center, provide counseling, provide care, and provide therapy and so forth for those that are necessary and those that need that.
Glenn: But you're right, it is such a travesty here in our [00:09:00] country. I. That we don't, it's kind of a passion of mine that we don't do more than what we are for those that are mentally ill. You're right, if you break your leg, we understand that we, we can get you help if you have a heart, if you have diabetes, all these kinds of issues.
Glenn: But when you start talking about dealing with mental health issues, we kind of get, you know, we, we back up a little bit. We are standoff. We don't understand it, and there are so many stigmas that come along with it, but they are generally ill. Mm-hmm. They are sick just like anybody else with heart disease or sugar, diabetes.
Glenn: They are ill. And so I really would wish that we could do more to care for them. I'm so grateful for our partners Mental Health Co-op, Centerstone, Cumberland Heights. They do tremendous job, but there are just a few that we need, so many that need the help that so many wonderful agencies like that provide.
Carli: Well, and one other people [00:10:00] group that I think gets stigmatized are people with addiction and that's. And a lot of people consider that to also be an illness. Yes. Something that, right. There's genetic predispositions. That's a really, really tricky one. And instead of, I mean, if someone's clean for a long time, you celebrate them, but it's almost like people are afraid of catching it right when they spend time with them and that really isolates and already struggling.
Carli: People group, but I know you guys do a lot to help people that maybe come under your care. We do. That are struggling with addiction. Tell me about that.
Glenn: We do and, and it's part of our long care program, which is seven to 12 months, and people with addictions are a lot of those folks that are coming to saying, I need help.
Glenn: It's beyond my control. Mm-hmm. Whether it's alcohol or drugs, I need the help for somebody to walk me through this and so we are there to do that. I remember reminded of a story. Or an event where we oftentimes will have Christian singers come in and sing for the mission, and [00:11:00] I'm really proud of that.
Glenn: They do a great job. We have a country Western Christian, all different venues or different people with different talents come and sing for the mission. We had a guy that came and he was doing a wonderful job and he's singing the mission and for the program. And then during our program we. Acknowledge, as you said, I've been sober 30 days, I've been sober 90 days.
Glenn: And so we're going through this and we have them stand up and we applaud and we celebrate their recovery, right? And so this guy came to me and he said, you stopped. And I said, what do you mean you stopped? He said, you stopped at 10 years. He said, I've been sober at 11. Oh yeah. And so this guy is well known here in the community.
Glenn: He said, please acknowledge 11 years. And I said, anybody here for 11 years? And he stands up, you know, in front of everybody. But what the message that he conveyed was so important, and he was saying, I'm [00:12:00] not any better than you are. Hmm. I'm hurting. I have dealt with problems and situations just like you, and I am overcoming this with the help of God, with the help of friends, with the help of faith.
Glenn: I'm overcoming this and you can too, and it was a great story. Hmm. Hmm.
Spencer: So talk to us some about Glennn's story. Okay. So you've been the CEO for the Nashville Rescue Mission for how long? It'll be 13 years, uh, 12 and a half years. Okay. So it's probably what brought you to Nashville. It is. Okay. So tell us some of your story in the background, because anytime that Carli and I talk to someone that is truly.
Spencer: The hands and feet of the Lord serving the least of these, there's usually a root mm-hmm. In their life somewhere. Mm-hmm. Where the Lord broke their heart and it stayed with them along the way. Hmm. And so talk to us about some of your story.
Glenn: Wow. Uh, I [00:13:00] was, um, my, my father was a pastor and he pastors smaller churches.
Glenn: And as that then, uh, me and my brother and my sister were called upon to play some leadership roles in the small churches, right? And so. Ever since I can remember, we were just instilled in us the importance of serving. The importance of serving the church, serving the community, serving people that were hurting is just instilled in us that we are servants and we are called God has blessed us and we are called to use our talents and our give them to serve others.
Glenn: So fast forward and uh, I was in Oklahoma City and I was a associate pastor as at a church there in Oklahoma City, and we had somebody that came and said, Hey, I'm going on a buying trip for my company in China, but I'm scheduled to do a [00:14:00] evangelistic service at the City Rescue Mission, a homeless shelter.
Glenn: Downtown, I won't be able to go, can you go for me? And I was thinking, oh, I don't know anything about homelessness. I don't know anything about City Rescue Mission. But because who it was that asked me, I said, yes, I'll go. And so, uh, that night I drove down to the mission and, um. It was remarkable. I walked in the chapel, I sat still, I was alone.
Glenn: And then at seven o'clock the back door opened and men, women, and children began to feel the room. They were shuffling, feet, had the heads down. They had the hopeless look in their eyes, and it just grabbed my heart. And I tell my wife about it. Oftentimes when we talk about what started this work, it was that night that started this work and I stood on the stage and I shared [00:15:00] with them about, about Nicodemus.
Glenn: Nicodemus was so good that he still needed Christ and but the very next chapter, John chapter four, is a woman at the will. And so I shared with them the woman that the will was so bad, but she needed Christ too. And so the gospel messages you, you're not so good. You don't need Jesus. And you're not so bad.
Glenn: You can't have Jesus. Right? And so that's the gospel message. And I shared that story and I thought, well, that's a pretty good, you know, invitation. But nobody came, nobody came to be prayed for or to pray. And I was really disappointed. And then, uh, everybody left the room and then I was on my way out and, uh, I passed by the one of the last pews and there was a man in the floor.
Glenn: And he was [00:16:00] crying and he, he was an older man, probably in his late sixties, tattered and worn, and I didn't know what to do, so I just sat down the pub beside him and after a little while I said, Hey, my name's Glennn. He said, I know you told us. And he told me his name and he said, you don't know what you've done.
Glenn: And I said, what have I, what? What do mean, what have I done? He said you presented something that we can't have. You talk about hope, you talk about joy, you talk about peace. You don't know anything about the life of homelessness. I can't have that. And he said that all the things that I've done in my past, all the things that I've, you know, the bad things that I've done.
Glenn: And he began to list all that he had done. And as he, as he talked, I began to get scared. I was going, oh my gosh, this really is a bad guy. But then he said something to me, [00:17:00] he said, now with all that I've told you about me. He said, are you still saying that God loves me after all that I've done and wants to forgive me?
Glenn: And I said, absolutely. That's what the scripture says. Is that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He loves you and he wants to forgive you. And at that moment, he threw up his arms in the air and he just cried. And I don't remember exactly what he said, but it was something about Jesus cleansed me.
Glenn: Jesus washed me. And He cried and cried and cried. And I, you know, I've been in church ministry all my life and I tell people, you can't see conversion.
Carli: Mm.
Glenn: Conversion is a matter of the heart, but I want you to know I saw that man change
Spencer: Yeah.
Glenn: In that instant. And, and then, um, uh, he was, we were getting ready to leave and.
Glenn: [00:18:00] His backpack was up against the door, and, uh, he was putting on his backpack and we had our set, our nice things to each other, and he gave me a hug and he, I said, well, you're supposed to go through this door. That's why you get to bed for the night. He said, Don, I didn't come for the bed for the night. I just came to eat and they said I needed to come to chapel.
Glenn: And I did. But they said, my life has changed. Everything you said tonight happened to me. I am forgiven. I do now feel joy. I do now feel hope I do now feel love. And he said, I'm gonna walk out this other door and I'm gonna tell everybody I know. And here's the thing. The thing is he will tell people that you and I will never see.
Carli: Mm-hmm.
Glenn: Yeah, we'll never see the impact that that guy has on the communities that he's involved in. You and I will never see them. We'll never have a voice. We'll never be able to share what God has done in our life, but he will.
Carli: Mm-hmm. [00:19:00] So imagine after that night you must have been pretty shook. Well then, like that's a big,
Glenn: that's a big night for your first time.
Glenn: I'm getting in my pickup. I'm driving home, you know, I'm crying and I'm, I'm just like, oh my gosh. And I went home and I told my wife, I said, this is what God is calling us to do. It doesn't mean I'm living in church. And so I stayed with the church for a long time, but then the, the pastor was able to release me to be more and more involved with the homeless ministry, but I began to get more and more involved there and less and less involved in the church.
Glenn: And I really feel that God had called me that night and said to me as only he can to me, as he knows me, he made me, I want you to share my love. With the people that desperately need to know that I love them. And that was in 1992. And in 1997, I accepted the role as Oklahoma City as CEO at City Rescue [00:20:00] Mission.
Glenn: Yeah. Hmm.
Spencer: What brought you from Oklahoma to Nashville?
Glenn: Well, uh, so I, I did that uh, at City Rescue Mission because they were looking for a CEO and I was on the board and I said, I'll do the fill in while you find somebody. So nine years later, oh, see this
Carli: last words that always get ya? Yeah.
Glenn: So nine years later.
Glenn: I said, uh, I really, I said, I'm gonna go back to pastoring, which I did, but there was a, there was a emptiness in my heart and I, my wife and I, we talked about it and we prayed about it, and I just felt that ministering to the homelessness where God had called us specifically and especially, and so. I began to look, I, I talked to the church, I talked to the board and so forth, and then eventually resigned and said, God has really called us to minister to the hurting and to the poor, and to the disenfranchised, the [00:21:00] homeless.
Glenn: And so, um, then this opportunity came up in Nashville and I applied for that. And it wasn't a snap, it was like several months later. But through all the interview process and all that, I really felt like God had placed us right here in Nashville. Hmm.
Spencer: It's one of the great things about serving for kingdom purpose is that oftentimes through serving, you think that you're the one serving someone else, and then you leave the room.
Spencer: Right, and you're the one leaving with a full bucket. Yeah,
Glenn: that's right.
Spencer: Saying I feel guilty because I'm coming out feeling served by these individuals that were present. And we're vulnerable. And I think that I often hear that the Lord is closest to those that are broken hearted.
Carli: Mm-hmm.
Spencer: And it always challenges [00:22:00] my faith when I sit across from somebody that has had a really hard hand dealt to them in life.
Spencer: Mm-hmm. That they came into trauma and abuse and a level of. Just hopelessness. That was different. But then I hear about their unapologetic love for the Lord. Mm-hmm. And their faith. And it's really humbling.
Glenn: It is.
Spencer: And so. Does that bring any story or recollection to your mind in dealing with individuals that you've just seen?
Spencer: Like, gosh,
Glenn: they love the Lord and could preach better than I could. Oh, for sure. Yeah. Um, I have, I tell people my closest friends are, um, residents of the home of Nashville Rescue Mission. They teach me more about God's love. It [00:23:00] teach me more about God's patience, about his forgiveness, about hope, about real hope.
Glenn: We, we were having a devotion this morning with, uh, with our men there and we were talking about hope. And I had a guy that told me probably about five or six years ago. He said a consultant. And, uh, I, I told him, I said, there's a, there's a fine line between the consultant and the insult,
Glenn: and uh, and that's really funny. You just crossed that line because he said, Glenn you use the word hope too much. Hope for today, hope for tomorrow, hope for eternity. You talk about hope living here, you just use the word hope too much and he said, uh, I'm afraid you use hope as a crutch. And so I thought about it a minute and I said, no, I don't [00:24:00] use hope as a crutch.
Glenn: I use hope as an anchor. You know when storms come. When your, your cells are battered and torn. Hope is my anchor. And hope is not just a philosophy, it's not just a word. Hope is a person. Hope is Christ. And so, you know, Hebrews talks about being anchored and being secure and being firm and steadfast.
Glenn: That's what hope is to me. So, you know, when difficulties come, and I see this every single day. I see guys and girls and ladies that have so many reasons why they'd bow their heads or hang their heads, you know, and whole blessedness, but they just are so chipper and you know, one of the phrases, you know, how are you doing?
Glenn: I'm blessed today. God has blessed me today, and I'm thinking, you don't have a home. You don't have a job. You don't have income, [00:25:00] but you understand that hope is your anchor and that God has blessed you. And they'll tell me the very, the very fact that I am here at Nashville Rescue Mission is a very good example of why I know that God loves me.
Glenn: 'cause his, he has placed me here in a place surrounded by people that care for me, that teach me the right way to live, that teach me the biblical way of life. And I know that God's hand is moving in this midst, and so I, I really appreciate that. There's so many stories that come to mind. There was a, I was leaving the office walking to my car, and, uh, the.
Glenn: It was around mealtime, you know, the evening up around 5:00 PM when I was leaving the office and I saw a distance. You know, my car's over here, that guy is walking towards a food line. Our paths are gonna intersect if I don't move. [00:26:00] And so, you know. Y our flash takes over, our natural guy takes over, and I thought, I'm, I'm, I'm gonna bear through it.
Glenn: So I walked and, and sure enough, our paths cross and I looked at him and said, Hey, how you doing? My name's Glennn, what's your name? And he said, what did you ask me? And I said, I was kind of a little bit taken back by it. And I said, I was asking what your, what your name is. He said, nobody has ever asked me my name.
Glenn: Mm. I feel totally invisible. Nobody looks at me. You know, everybody turns their head when they see that I'm in need. They say I'm homeless and we're standing on the corner. I don't get eye contact, and you come up here and ask me my name.
Carli: Hmm.
Glenn: And he told me his name. His name is Kevin, and he told me his name and he said, thank you just for asking me who I am asking my name.
Glenn: Can you [00:27:00] imagine somebody just thanking you that you asked them what their name was? Hmm.
Carli: There's something in how you're answering these questions that I have to call out and it's really beautiful is this humility to say, I really wanted to change my path when I was walking. Yeah. I think that's super relatable.
Carli: Or the first time you talked in church, the guy sharing all his sins like you're a priest about to, you know, give him and you're like, man, this is some dude. Right? Yeah. Right. Like I think it's important. For us as human beings to acknowledge just because we have these uncomfortable feelings or don't know what to do with a specific people group, doesn't mean we ourselves are horrible people.
Carli: It just means we haven't been educated no sure about how to serve them. And so I would love to give you a minute, two to talk about. For the people listening like me that find that unbelievably relatable. Like, Hey, here, I think I'm this strong Christian person. I would tell you I want to help. I don't know [00:28:00] the first thing about how to help somebody.
Carli: I don't know if I should ask someone their name or if that's dangerous, or if that's gonna make them upset, or if they just wanna be on their way. I don't know what the right thing to do is. What do you say to people like me?
Glenn: Yeah, that's great. Um. I am not trying to be overly religious or no, yeah. Or speak Christianese, but I tell people oftentimes I can tell you what I've done.
Glenn: I can tell what others have done. I can tell you what I would, might think about doing in your situation. But when you are in that moment, when you're in that situation, in that moment. There is a spirit of Christ within us that rises up. Let me tell you something, nobody loves that person more than the spirit of Christ within you.
Glenn: Right. And so I'm making mistakes for [00:29:00] everything that I, I can say, you know, I did this or did, I've made tons of mistakes and, uh, made many, many errors in that process of caring for people apart from the mission, whether it's a street corner or out in the community, but. But that spirit within me just is so strong that drives us that I want to reach out and love that person.
Glenn: And how does God choose to love people through us? And sometimes it's not what I can do. It's where I can point. You know, at Nashville Rescue Mission, I know if you go there, you'll get 3 hot meals, a safe, warm place to sleep. People that care for you, people that love for you, and love you. And, and le let, let me encourage you to go there and to get the help you need.
Glenn: Sometimes it's just as simple as that. You know, there are people that are training in counseling and people that are training in [00:30:00] therapy and people that are, are, are, are, are training so many areas that they are there for you. Hmm. They're there for you. They want you to come. I tell, tell people all the time.
Glenn: If you're homeless in Nashville, we want you to come to Nashville Rescue Mission. So, I mean, there are 800, there'll be 800 people there tonight. There are 800 people that are gonna be loved, 800 people that are gonna be cared for. 800 people that we're gonna sense the spirit of Hope hopefulness, right? I want them there.
Glenn: I don't want them out walking along the street. I want them at the mission. And so I would just encourage people, uh, reach down in the faith that you have and, and in a quiet moment, and sometimes it's a real quick moment, God, what would you have me to do? Hmm. Sometimes it's just offering them a place like the Mission.[00:31:00]
Spencer: Glennn, one of my favorite questions to ask people that are in the nonprofit space and. Could have any number of different needs that rarely do the finances matchup, or the staffing matchup, or the spacing matchup. And I like to ask 'em if they had a magic wand
Carli: mm-hmm.
Spencer: And they could wave it and solve something, have some type of help, something that would advance the cause of the Nashville Rescue mission.
Spencer: What would that be? Because we have a lot of people that listen that have access to all sorts of things way beyond just money.
Carli: Mm-hmm.
Spencer: So can you articulate where the pinch points in your ministry are right now?
Glenn: We touched on that earlier. I am so grateful for the Nashville [00:32:00] community, middle Tennessee community really, that comes together.
Glenn: We don't receive any government funds, so all of our funding comes through individual donations, foundations, and supporters. I am so grateful for them that recognize the wonderful work that happens there and, and are faithful givers to the mission. So proud of our volunteers. We have thousands of volunteers every single year that come and help in many areas.
Glenn: Uh, so proud of our staff and our board of directors. But if we had a pinch point, and you, you got me when you said if you could wave a magic wand, if I could wave a magic wand, it would be in the area of really providing and knowing that we are doing such a great job in providing the care that is so importantly needed for those that are mentally ill.
Glenn: Hmm. Yeah. 'cause that is a [00:33:00] huge issue that, um, back in the late eighties, we kind of closed down. We kind of threw the baby out with the bath water. We closed down the organizations, the hospitals, and the crisis centers. And then when we did that, the two largest mental health institutions became homeless shelters and jails.
Glenn: Hmm. And so now the stigma is huge. I just wish there was something we could do to care for them in a more responsible way and provide for them the, the, just the loving care and, and, and, um, that they need. Hmm.
Spencer: And just to dig into that more, when you talk about in the eighties the baby was thrown out with the bath water, you mean mental institutions called asylums or any number of different kind of large scale mental health structures?
Spencer: Right. Were just shuttered. [00:34:00] Correct. And. Now in the absence of those facilities where there were plenty of abuses, sure, yes, but plenty of good things going to, right. It's, we only have jails and homeless shelters. And the cost of getting mental health treatment is out of reach for everybody.
Glenn: It is out of reach and I'm so grateful not to, you know, to ignore.
Glenn: I don't want to ignore the wonderful work that takes place for folks like Centerstone Mental Health co-op that do tremendous work, but they're just so, the need is so great. Mm-hmm. Yeah. The need is so great and they're limited in their efforts just as we are, and with the need being so great, I, I just wish I could wave a magic wand.
Glenn: Mm-hmm. And just fix all of that.
Spencer: Yeah, that's a great answer. And Carli and I see it in a lot of the conversations that we have is there [00:35:00] are these pinch points. That sometimes are financial purely, but sometimes they're regulatory. Mm-hmm.
Carli: Mm-hmm.
Spencer: Where there are laws and situations that have to be overcome.
Spencer: Mm-hmm. And so I just appreciate your ministry that. Has survived a lot.
Carli: Yeah, right, right. I
Spencer: mean, Nashville has changed a lot since 1953. And so from a position as CEO, what do you view as your primary responsibility or two in your functionality? To lead the Nashville Rescue Mission?
Glenn: Well, that's a great question.
Glenn: So my training and educational background is in music now, hang on. I can't sing. I don't play and I don't produce. But I [00:36:00] was a music educator for years in in school. So, yeah, flutes and clarinets, noble bassoon, trumpets, trombones, French horn. So I, I wasn't an expert at any of those, but my job was to take all of those different groups and then to bring them together and to make wonderful music of that.
Glenn: So I don't know if I did or not, but I sure tried. But, so my background, that's, that's kind of my training and my education. It hasn't changed a whole lot. So in the era of finance, fundraising, therapy, counseling, uh, so many wonderful things that are happening with the mission every single day, I'm not expert in any of those.
Glenn: So I see my job as bringing all those together, just like the band. Bringing all those together and making sure that the organization functions [00:37:00] well, functions smoothly, is ministering to as many people as we possibly can, and meaningful. Wonderful word, wonderful ways. And I see my, really, my role as being a band director, if you will, staying in front of the organization and recognizing where we have pinch points, recognizing where we have needs, where we need strategy, where we need to develop things, and really calling that out and really working together as a team to make that happen.
Glenn: One of my philosophies. About leadership. For me personally, it's, it's not about consensus. And so it's about collaboration. There's a big difference. Consensus is, you know, we're all gonna agree on that. Collaboration is we all have input, right? And so at the end of the day, somebody has to make the call and that's my role to make the call, but only.
Glenn: After collaboration, only after everybody has [00:38:00] an opportunity to address a situation. I have a box. Many times I'll use it in staffing and boxes, different sides on it, and I paint a different color on each side of the box and I put it out on the table and I'll ask somebody, tell me what color you see.
Glenn: Well, you only see a limited number of colors on that box. You can't see the entire box. So it take to everybody surrounding that box in that meeting to really develop what the true color of that box is. And on top is a color. Everybody sees that color, right? So everybody sees that. But there's some things that I don't see, but you see, you notice, and I need you to help me understand that.
Glenn: And of course, there's the bottom of the box that nobody sees.
Glenn: And so we can put all of our efforts together, surround the issue and do our very best to determine what we can see in this situation. But [00:39:00] there's still that unknown factor involved in that.
Spencer: Glennn, that's a sermon that we'll preach right there.
Spencer: That's good stuff.
Carli: It's a Rubik's Cube sermon.
Spencer: Yeah.
Glenn: Rubik's Cube. Yeah. Right.
Carli: I'd love to help people understand, because we've talked a lot about homelessness. We've touched on addiction, we've touched on mental health. You mentioned meals for men, women and children. But can you give us a idea of the scope and size of what your programs are?
Carli: So if somebody's like, I've never been. To the rescue mission. I've never received a meal. I've never served a meal. What all do you do?
Glenn: Yeah, that's great. We have two, two really uh, streams. One is we call Hope for today, which are the emergency needs that you may have, and you mentioned that you need meals, you need shelter.
Glenn: We serve about 1500 meals a day. Uh, we sleep about 800 people a night. So those are, you need emergency help. You [00:40:00] need something right now.
Carli: Mm.
Glenn: You know, we can talk to somebody about their future, but they're hurting right now. This need to know, Hey, I'm going to eat. I'm gonna have a safe place to sleep. I'm gonna get a shower.
Glenn: I'm gonna be taken care of. So then we have what is called the hope for tomorrow. And that's our life recovery program. And we have about 80 to a hundred men and women on that program at any given time. And it's a seven to 12 month program and it is, um, filled with counseling. With therapy, uh, dealing with addictions, dealing with issues that anger, all kinds of issues, helping make somebody employable for the future.
Glenn: Uh, but we also have, as a part of that work therapy, which is very important. And so while they're staying at the mission, they don't pay anything, but they have, as part of their therapeutic behavior, they have work [00:41:00] responsibilities. So they may work in the kitchen, work in the warehouse. Work is very, very good.
Glenn: I really believe in the power of work and, and the nature of that, helping people recover with their addictions and so forth. So, so we have, again, 80 to a hundred people, men and women on that. Any given time, their day. It starts very early at 6:00 AM A lot of 'em didn't know there was at 6:00 AM and uh, we had devotion this morning at seven and able to share with them a biblical story, biblical point to, to really think on throughout the day.
Glenn: And then they, so half of 'em have work therapy. Mm-hmm. Although they have go through counseling and therapy and classes, we also have classes other than counseling and therapy, from anger management to financial management, from hygiene, uh, uh, employee readiness training, uh, teaching people how to do interviews.
Glenn: We have classes along [00:42:00] with the therapy and the counseling, and that again, that's about seven to 12 months.
Carli: And you have a couple community partners, don't you, that really help with the individuals you serve that are maybe job ready or looking to get back into the
Glenn: workforce? Oh yeah. We have wonderful, um, tour, well, Turner Construction, TW Frierson, we have many we.
Glenn: Beyond those two even that, that are able to take our, our graduates, if you will, and give them an apprentice. Give them a place to start. Hey, here's where you can actually put the things you've learned at the mission to work on an ongoing basis. In the hosp hospitality industry, we have many that are able to employ people for that purpose State.
Spencer: Glennn, we've interviewed a number of nonprofit leaders and some of them are very intentional about being faith-based and some of them. Carli and I can see the threads of faith-based, even though they strategically perhaps, have decided not to make that a part of [00:43:00] it. Sure. Where does the Nashville Rescue Mission fall on that spectrum?
Glenn: Well, thank you for that question. We, um, our philosophy is a little bit different. I know it sounds strange, but we don't say internally that we're faith based. We say that we're faith focused. We believe that faith, uh, that God has a plan for every single person that walks through our doors. Every person that comes across the threshold of National Rescue Mission, we know that God has a plan for that person.
Glenn: It doesn't matter how, uh, homeless they are, how difficult they are, how rude they are, how mean they are, how tattered they are, God loves that person. He has a plan for their life plan. Not to harm the Jeremiah says, but plans to give them a hope and a future. And so we want to focus on that, not just base our ministry on it, but focus our [00:44:00] ministry.
Glenn: On that faith that God loves every single person that we will ever encounter at Nashville Rescue Mission. And so we need to be focused on that. And so we, we call ourselves a faith focused ministry. That's
Spencer: good. Glennn, one thing that we do that wraps up every podcast is I have three short fill in the blank.
Spencer: Sentences for you. Okay. So you haven't seen these ahead of time? I have not. So the way that this goes is I'm gonna read you this short sentence with the blank, and you can fill it in with a word or a short phrase to finish the thought. But if you'll just repeat the prompt back and then fill it in with whatever you feel like completes the thought.
Spencer: Okay. Alright. Alright. When we talk about homelessness in Nashville, we can't ignore blank.
Glenn: When we talk about homelessness in Nashville, [00:45:00] we cannot ignore the reality of mental health issues. Mm-hmm.
Spencer: The biggest challenge for renters today. Is blank.
Glenn: The biggest challenge for renters today in Nashville is a, is the a increasingly rising cost of rentership and home ownership. It's incredible. In Nashville, there's the living wage, there's a minimum wage, and the living wage and the minimum wage gap just continues to drastically climb.
Glenn: Here in Nashville,
Spencer: I've seen some really great. Research that you articulated some to earlier, is that sometimes the quip of just, well, why don't they just get a job? Mm-hmm. There's a now hiring sign on every corner. Mm-hmm. And there's so much complexity that goes into the [00:46:00] transportation realities.
Spencer: Absolutely. Background checks. So many different components that even if they are able to be able to get a job, it doesn't mean that they can afford to put a roof over their head.
Glenn: Right. And when you understand that many of Nashville Rescue Mission clients have jobs,
Spencer: I think that was a great point. Yeah. I, I think a lot of people would have no clue.
Spencer: I think people would guess that, well, if you're at the Nashville Rescue Mission, you're unemployed. Mm-hmm. But that's, that's a, that's a really fascinating number. What keeps me up at night is blank.
Glenn: What keeps me up at night is the incredible, uh, fast growing pace of Nashville, and we're running out of shelter beds for those.
Glenn: As Nashville grows, it doesn't just grow for those that are, are well off and above. It grows for every socioeconomic status. [00:47:00] And so we have to stay above that. We built our Women and Children's Family center. Uh, it opened in January 24, and it's already full. Mm. And so, you know, we, we have to stay above that.
Glenn: So, yeah, that keeps me up at night is Realiz. And There are more people that are in need and more people that need the help than we're able to provide for. Mm-hmm.
Spencer: Glennn, it's been a real treat to have you on our show today. Every person that we interview brings their own spirit to the podcast, and yours is very unique that you bring a spirit of humility and of servant leadership.
Spencer: In a way that makes it very clear to both Carli and I, why you have been so successful at the Nashville [00:48:00] Rescue Mission and. You know, the age old saying that the reward for good work is more work, right? And I have a feeling that you're gonna have a whole lot more work coming your way. So thank you for serving in the way that you have and really embodying why Tennessee is so special.
Spencer: So. We can officially categorize you as a Tennesseean, no longer an Oklahoman. Okay?
Glenn: I tell people, Tennessee's fascinating and wonderful. I got here as quick as I could. Thank you, Glennn. Thank you. Absolutely. Thank you.
Spencer: Glennn Cranfield, CEO of the Nashville Rescue Mission. I really loved talking with him. There's,
Carli: yeah, you're a softie. In that one we that nobody would see it, but off camera. You guys almost got like teary together that he's [00:49:00] a really special human.
Spencer: We talk often about a prayer of saying, Lord, break my heart for what breaks yours.
Carli: Scary prayer.
Spencer: Yeah. Just don't pray that prayer unless you want life to change in a big way. Effective immediately, and I really am struck by. People that have the spirit that he has on him, one that is so clearly a servant leader serving the least of these. I've never met someone like him that doesn't have one of those moments in life where their whole life was turned upside down.
Spencer: Mm-hmm. And I had no idea about that backstory. No clue. But I knew if I threw that hook in the water that. I'd reel in a story that he knew it immediately.
Carli: Mm-hmm.
Spencer: Too, like as soon as I asked it, he knew when and where and how his heart [00:50:00] got broken for the homeless. And then he spent the rest of his life trying to address it.
Carli: I think it's interesting the way he talked about how he was in rescue mission or mission work in Oklahoma, and then he stepped back into a pastoral role and then he just had this unquenched fire. And I think that that's true when your life is so mission oriented, when the Lord puts a fire in you to do something, you feel hollow without it.
Carli: And I think when we're looking for. An answer to, should we do this opportunity or that opportunity? What's next? Right? Sometimes you have to chase that fire that the Lord has put in you and just say, I don't really understand why but it does not feel complete unless I'm doing X. It's like the old prophets say, you know, if I didn't preach the fire of the word would consume me, and all the hard of preaching is better than being consumed by being quiet.
Carli: So I, I think that that's true, [00:51:00] and I think you and I have felt that as we've searched for what our calling is, and I, I think that was really authentic. Something I really appreciate about him was his ability to speak to the human condition without condemnation. And it's rare that you meet someone that's so beautifully articulates what it feels like.
Carli: To feel uncertain, to question your motives, to question the person next to you, but still feel called to do the right thing. I've really appreciated how he spoke about those instances.
