Faith
The title of the book is "Have A Little Faith", and faith, in all its shapes and forms, is the central and unifying theme within. Both of the main characters, Rabbi Albert, and Pastor Henry, are men of great faith, which has helped them through all of the difficult times in their lives and enabled them to carry out what they know to be their mission on earth. Despite their different paths in life, both men had a solid and unshakeable faith from an early age. The author, Mitch Albom, is struggling with his faith, having lost it as a young man, and almost rejected it, and during the course of the book, finding it again. Whatever stage of faith any of the people in the memoir is at, the overwhelming theme is that of the importance of faith, and that through faith, all things are possible.
Faith As Part Of The Community
Mitch realizes that he does not really have a community of friends but rather a series of acquaintances with whom he exchanges the basic brief texts and emails of friendly interest. He believed that this was a deliberate act on his part but when he sees the incredible community that faith has built both in his home town and in Henry's part of the city of Detroit, he comes to realize that faith and community are sometimes one and the same thing. The community is built around a shared love of their spiritual leader, shared interest in and concern for one another. This would not be possible if not for the Rabbi's faith in his community and their capacity for doing the right thing.
Redemption
Although a person of great and unshakeable faith in God since his childhood, Henry was not always an exemplary person. He reacted negatively to the many unlucky and awful things that happened to him, and spent much of his life "getting his own back" on life itself that had treated him so unfairly. Throughout his time in prison, his time as a drug dealer, and his time as a general menace in the community, he promised God that this would one day change. When it did, he served God by serving the community as well, changing many lives. This was not what he viewed as him now being a good person but it was his own personal redemption, and what he felt he owed God in return for saving him from the life of crime and danger that he was leading. In seeking his own redemption Henry also enables others to find the same.
Homelessness
One of the lesser themes of the book is homelessness, which is seen mainly through the eyes of Henry's flock who are helped by his outreach program. It is this work that ultimately inspires the author to start a charity that helps the homeless people of Detroit which he names after Henry's church. Homelessness is seen as something that can happen insidiously, not due to one major error but due to a succession of small pieces of misfortune that result in having nowhere to live. The theme also extends to showing how one small act can begin to reduce the impact of homelessness on the community.
Second chances
In Have A Little Faith, second chances are not frowned upon. The pastor Henry who is part of an outreach program is given multiple second chances. Before becoming a pastor Henry was a drug addict, and a thief. One night after he had stolen drugs from another dealer he feared someone would come find him, and kill him. He could not live this way anymore for the sake of his wife, and child he promised the Lord he would give up the life he was living and grow closer to the Lord. He then opened a church where he began to spread the word of the Lord to other addicts, and poor people. Although he knew his other lifestyle brought in more money he knew that heaven was greater than all the money in the world. All because of second chances this man changed not only his life, but many others who were struggling with addiction, and pain.
