king of krazy

so recently i saw the movie the king of kong, which is about the seedy underbelly of professional gaming. in this case, it was about two guys competing for the world record high score of donkey kong. i thought it might be kind of a halfway boring doc, but it was really interesting. it became all about the sociology of the two main guys, and what the title meant for each of them. it's an interesting movie, and worth a look. i could never play donkey kong for over 2 hours to get the high score.

mysterious ways

so i was in phoenix this week, and i was hanging out on mill avenue, wich is right next to ASU, and is very much like olde-towne pasadena. for many years now, there is one street corner that has been devoted to street preaching. every weekend, a p.a. system is set up, and someone does some good old-fashioned fire and brimstone. there is also usually a group of people acting as a support team, passing out flyers and talking to people.

this particular night i was on the corner and was approached by a high-school aged guy who was passing out tracts. he asked if i wanted a tract and i said 'no thanks' and told him i was already a christian. he then asked me if i knew what would happen to me when i die, and i said 'yes, i'm already a christian.' he then asked me if i sin, to which i replied that i did in fact, but that i was a christian already. he then began to quote a bible verse to me, and i politely excused myself from the conversation.

the problem here is that there never was a conversation. for some reason this person was never taught how to actually communicate with people on the street. he was never taught how to actually listen. i got the feeling that he wasn't actually hearing what i was saying, but was trying instead to get through his list of pre-planned things to say. i hope he did better with those who do not already believe in Christ.

i don't condemn street preaching outright, but something about it really rubs me the wrong way. maybe it's the fact that they just look and sound silly. maybe it's that people like to watch them because of the spectacle, and to make fun. maybe it's because they don't seem to emphasize much of the love of Jesus for people. maybe it's because sometimes they just don't listen.

on the positive side, they are out there preaching the gospel. and i know it reaches some people. but i think they could reach more if they would revamp their methodology a little bit.

a friend recently showed me "bullhorn," which is rob bell's video (009) where he explores the same issues. like i said, i can't write off street preaching, because it does communicate the message of Christ to people. yet i still don't like it, and i think for the most part it makes us all look bad. but hey, the Spirit moves in mysterious ways.