In Starbucks this morning a group of middle aged men occupied the center arena. They were in rapt attention with their bibles out. They were listening to the tales of one of the members talking in great detail about his drug experiences. Not how it felt but rather who he met and what were the outcomes of a drug life in the 70's. Questions were asked and some were answered.. but only on the same movement as described above. Kind of like a name dropper on events.
One of the events was noted as "waking up" in Carmel Valley on the streets naked and asking a resident about how to get to a particular place. This led to 17 days of jail because of the number of apostolic enforcers in the area. He also had a psychotic break due to mushrooms. Question form the floor was "What kind of mushrooms?" Answer the kind that make you sick. He also talked about how a contact was out for his life. In encountered the hit man that drove one of those old caddies with the huge seats in the back.
So the witness continues. The minister was walking a fine line in working this witness so as not to draw conclusions or allow others to judge in the process. I think the mode is to get crediablity for the witness and then draw them back to how their life has changed with the religious presence in his life.
Does kind of message work anymore? Are we over this assault? Do really care enough to change out life because of it? Is doing this in a 6am Starbuck's make it more effective as an outreach? Have our old institutions changed enough to be effective to our modern lives? How do other religions do this sort of thing?
Weigh in readers.. hit the comment button and tell me what you think.
: ) Pat
I know that in certain 12-step programs, it is considered cathartic to recount your experiences, but it also can become a "I was a worse sinner than you" sort of flop event. Sometimes this can be where you still get points for having done really horrible things. Your audience is a critical factor too. Was the purpose of this discharge to show people who lead righteous lives that evil is still out there? Was the purpose to fund raise for a program to save sinners? In that case, it is like those people who are missionaries in Africa who come back to the US and tell us what it is like in those other countries.
ReplyDelete