Props to God

God is amazing, flat out! I just got back from a trip out of town to find out that all of my support has been raised plus some!!! I can honestly say it wasn't me who made this happen. I sent out letters had a few face to face meetings, but God came through in such a way that is incredible. I wasn't sure if I would have all the money pledged by the time I was supposed to leave on Oct. 11th, but that is no longer an issue. Now all that is left is one shot, packing and saying good-bye. Wow, this is coming up so soon.

Who's on our team?

My encounter with the man at Bumbershoot has continued to be on my mind. When I talked to him I felt like he was using an improper method for going about interpreting scripture. From what I could tell he was not being honest to the texts he was using to support his argument. At the same time I am challenged by the story of the man he was teaching and healing in Jesus' name. However, when the disciples came across the man, the told him to stop doing so. This was reported back to Jesus. Jesus did not approve of the disciples attempt to limit those who could or could not spread the gospel. The man they encountered wasn't one of the twelve, we never really hear about him again. So, my frustration with this man in Seattle, was I trying to preserve Orthodox faith, and halt negative stereotypes of the Church, or was I being like one of the disciples in that story? Was I trying to keep Christianity and evangelism to people who talked and taught like I do?

The People You Meet

A good friend of mine from college recently moved out to Washington from the Mid-West, so he came down to see me and another college friend last weekend. The three of us went around to different spots in Seattle, showing him around. Monday we ended up at Bumbershoot, a four day music festival with several different stages, some comedy acts, and other arts. Well, the concert was o.k. but as my friend and I were standing around, we saw a man with a large sign that had different writing on it, front and back. On one part of the sign, read the words, Jesus can save you from HELL. Behind the print were flames and red and the whole bit. On another part of the sign was a list from one of Paul's letters of all the different types of people who are going to hell. Liars, idolaters, drunkards, the who list. Elsewhere it had a reference to John 3:18 which refers to not being condemned and being condemned because of the Son of God. So, my friend and I decided we'd go see what this guy was all about and what he was telling people.
I came up to the man and said, in a calm non-threatening voice, "Sir, do you believe this is the most effective way to spread the gospel of Christ's love?" He whole heartedly did, because he believe by convicting people of their sins, they would repent and turn back to the LORD. Something about him, told me he wasn't a modern day Jeremiah, or Isaiah. My friend and I continued to ask him questions trying to figure out why he thought the way he did. I challenged him on several points, but he just had automated responses or quick biblical references for his rebuttal. He would then generally start talking about things that really had nothing to do with the conversation at hand. It was frustrating to say the least that this man was the one representing Christ to a portion of Seattle, which seems to me at least to already be somewhat skeptical of Christianity as a whole. No where on this man's signs was the word "Love" used once, not once. That astonished a great. There were other things I took issue with what he said to me, but overall, I find these encounters frustrating. I feel it is hard enough for me to accurately represent the gospel at all times in my life in order to gain credibility with others, but it becomes all the more difficult when "Super-apostles" like this guy give a truncated view of the gospel. I know all I can do is pray for that man, and the people he has talked to in hopes that God will continue to work and move in peoples' lives despite human fallibility on his part as well as my own.