July 2006
Hello, my friends!
Sometimes missions can get scary. This week I hosted a team at Brighton Springs. The band was playing Christian songs when suddenly the sound went dead. "That's odd," I thought and went over to investigate. A bald headed man with earrings started yelling at us.
"You %*$# Christians! Get out of here! We don't want you here." He shook his fist in the air. I looked at the power cord cut in half. He waved his wire cutters in the air.
"You need to relax, man," I stated quietly.
"And you need to get the $&% out of here. We don't want you trying to convert these kids," he screamed. His breath reeked of alcohol. He stomped off towards his apartment.
"We need to call the police," my team leader urged.
"He's not worth the trouble. Don't worry," I said. "We don't need the police." Five minutes later he was back, this time with a video camera. The team was behind me, helping the kids with a craft—a book mark with crosses on it. He started screaming again.
"I'm a resident and I say leave!!"
"Listen, dude. I work with the owners. We were invited to be here," I said.
"I don't want you here. If you were a real Christian you'd lay on the ground and let me kick the $&% out of you."
"Dude, I've read the Bible eighteen times through. I've never read that. Where's that verse?" I continued to separate him further from my team.
"It's when Jesus said, "Give to Caesar what's Caesar's."
"Jesus was talking about taxes! C'mon over here we can talk about it more."
"I hate you $&% Christians."
Just then one of my team leaders came over to us and shouted, "I bind you Devil in the name of JESUS!" She waved a finger at him. He really was demonic. His eyes burned daggers into us. "You're so full of anger. Did some Christian hurt you?" I asked, in a very calm, low voice.
Then he shoved me. Not hard, but enough. "Ok. Let me tell what you just did. That is called assault. I work with the cops a lot. I'm on their Gang Task Force. Now what do you think they're going to do when they find out that one of their community leaders has just been assaulted?"
"They can go ahead and lock me up. I don't care!" He said, but he started walking back to his apartment at a fast walk.
"Yeah, right." I said, under my breath. The team leaders ran up to me shocked by the violence and foul mouth. "We need to call the cops," they begged.
"What that guy needs is Jesus. Not the police. Now think about it—What missionary is ever going to reach that guy except me? That's why we're here!" Pray for our Mission!