Context: I have mixed feelings about The Way of the Master (I agree with what Mikey blogged on it today) evangelism technique. My concern is theological (using the 10 commandments as a yardstick with 21st Gentiles) and pragmatic (not sure if it puts more people off considering Jesus because of the manner). On Saturday night there were a couple of cowboys doing some open air preaching on the corner of George St and Park St (diagonally opposite Town Hall) in Sydney City.
I spent some time listening to the preachers, and thought I could try to get into a conversation nearby. An 18(ish) year old dude yelled out some terribly obscene comments about Jesus. I was offended. I begun thinking about how an extreme Muslim might respond in a similar situation. So I walked after this young fella and sized him up. As I followed, I couldn’t help but reflect on Jesus’ words from the cross, “Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.” So instead of punching him, I prayed for him and then prayed God would forgive me for being a crackpot.
pic from here
