Tuesday Morning Notes 12.9.08

Today Boyd and I were in a lower income part of Brooksville. We spoke to several people, mostly positive. I also saw a young man who was a patient where I work (secular mental health crisis unit). More on that in a bit.

This neighborhood, or maybe I should say 'this street,' was mostly a poorer section than we have been to recently. It is mainly black families there. However, the people there were friendly enough. We met one woman who claimed to be a Christian while puffing away on a cigarette and telling us that she was bound for heaven because she followed the Ten Commandments. Now I do not believe smoking will keep you from heaven (no matter how disgusting and unwise it is), but believing you get there by following the Commandments- however good that is if you can really pull it off (which is a feat I have never met a person who has successfully done so)- will not save. The lady agreed and then told us how she lived by the Commandments again. That really went in a circle so we thanked her and moved along.

There was one nice early 1900's home on the block. In the typical older cities of Florida you will find mansions on one block and shacks on the next. This had a few shacks.

Our next exchange went well at first. We spoke with a young man with gold teeth, deeds and decked out in a "gangsta rap" style. He told us he had been saved several times, but was not living for Jesus now. A gentleman, who seemed to be a relative, came up and asked if we were Jehovah's Witnesses (the same thing I thought when I first met Boyd and his former evangelism partner), and then told us his wife was a pastor and they were holiness Pentecostals. He left briefly to work with a tow- truck driver (who had a good ol' "Redneck" license plate). The younger gentleman recognized his sinfulness and seemed to be falling under conviction when the holiness guy came back and began to argue that you had to speak in tongues to be saved. The young man took that opportunity to be released from the proverbial "hook" and our conversation became unprofitable at that time, so we thanked them for their time and left. Our policy is not to engage in arguments with cultists, which is what I consider "the holiness guy."

The final conversation was with a dear lady who answered her door after we left. She was very receptive, if not a little hard-of-hearing, and really seemed to want to go to church and find out more. She said she would definitely go to Anchor Baptist- and was very enthusiastic about it.

While we were out, we did come upon that young man I met while he was involuntarily committed to our mental health facility. He had been violent and made threats in the past. He recognized me, but did not cause any trouble. However, for safety's sake, we chose to go down another street. That is where we met that enthusiastic lady. It definitely seemed like the Lord diverted us to that house.

That is about it. I apologize if this is choppy or for any misspellings, I am writing this post on my iPhone. I love technology. May God strengthen us and prepare the way for next week's outreach.