Dover Center and Center Ridge in Westlake - 8/31/09

I joined my pastor for coffee at 11 AM this morning, and after that I drove to the intersection of Wagar and Center Ridge in Rocky River. A crew was working on the traffic lights, the lights were not functioning, and a police officer was directing traffic. Instead of adding to the confusion with my cross, I went to one of my spots in Westlake.

I drove over to Dover Center and Center Ridge and around 12:15 I set up. Traffic was moderate again today, but foot traffic was light. I handed out 2 tracts while at the intersection. I got a thumbs up from someone driving by and a friendly wave from someone else driving by.

On my way back to my car, a man working gave approval to my sign. I gave him a gospel tract and he told me he went to church. I asked him if he knew where he was going when he died and he said, "Yes, I do!" I told him that was good to hear.

North Olmsted Homecoming Parade & Festival

I joined my pastor and some of the participants of the Evangelism Boot camp (link will be provided later with content) went to the North Olmsted Community Homecoming Parade today. I had tracts with me, but the group from the boot camp was handing out tracts, so I just walked the half the route of the parade once and then the entire route once. By that time, the parade was near it's end at the entrance to the North Olmsted Homecoming Festival.

My pastor told me a group of people in the park yesterday were told to leave, so I was debating whether or not I had the right to display my sign inside the festival. After some deliberating, I went inside and just walked around past the different booths in the festival with the cross on my side. After making a few laps, I headed for home. I handed out 5 tracts today and I am unsure of the total the boot camp group handed out.

Brookpark & Great Northern in North Olmsted - 8/29/09

Today I went to the intersection of Brookpark and Great Northern in North Olmsted again. I showed up at a few minutes past 6 PM and stayed for a little over an hour. Vehicle traffic was moderate and a lot of people saw the cross, but foot traffic was light, as I only handed out 2 tracts.

A group from the Evangelism Boot Camp at my church this weekend drove by and Beth from our church waved to me, which I returned. Another passenger in a separate car that drove by said "Hallelujah."

Was a quiet day, but a lot of people saw the cross, most of who I know aren't saved.

Open Air and Tracting in Lakewood

I joined my pastor and John (holding my cross), an elder from church, for open air at Lakewood Park for open air. Please excuse the poor visual quality- it is taken from a frame of the video. After my pastor read from Scripture and went through the Law and Gospel, I read "Are You Really a Christian?" that I wrote for our church website. After this, John and I went to the sidewalk in front of Madison Park to distribute tracts.



I love handing out tracts with John. He has so much energy and a great desire to reach the lost.

Today was the first day I was recording with my digital audio recorder. I bought a cheap one on eBay just to have as a precaution in case there is ever a dispute of what was said on the street.

As I was putting my camera back in the car, John starting having a conversation with a man named Steve. John invited me over and I asked Steve if he would consider himself to be a good person. He said, "Yes, sir," at which point I asked him if I could ask him a few questions to see if that was true.

I asked him if he had ever told a lie. He said no. After some prodding, he admitted to telling maybe a white lie. John asked him what that makes him, and he said, "Bad." John asked him what he would call John had told him a lie. "It starts with L." The man says "sinner." John replies, "An L!" (exclamation on the L). He finally says liar.

I ask Steve if he has ever stolen anything. He says no and continues to explain how he was wrongly accused of stealing something by someone. I move on.

Have you ever used the Lord's name in vain? "No. Never."
Have you ever disobeyed your parents? "No. My parents would have would have beat my butt!"

John asked him if he has ever lusted- he finally says, "Heck, yea." John explains this is adultery in the heart.

John told him he has broken some of the commandments of God. John asks him, on the Day of Judgment, if he would be innocent or guilty before God. Steve says innocent. John asks him, "Why's that?" Steve said "Because, I'm a good person."

John tells him that he has now broken the second commandment- creating a god to his own image. John gives him the analogy of being in a court room and having broken six laws, what is Steve going to say. He says, "That I'm a good person."

John told him that a good judge will make him pay the penalty for his guilt, at which point Steve says he has to go.

Next was Carl. Carl told us he had recently been in jail and was out of work. John tried giving him some advice on where to find work. When John brought up the topic of Jesus Christ, Carl appeared to want to have nothing to do with it. When John offered to pray for him, though, he quickly folded his hands and John prayed for him.

John left me around 1:35, and I stayed at this location with my cross for about another two hours. A little while later, a young man rode past me on his bike and asked me what the cross meant. I motioned to him to come back. He stopped his bike, turned around, and came back. I took him through the law and he admitted he was guilty and he was headed for hell. I asked him if that concerned him, and he said it did. I asked him if he knew what God had done for him so he wouldn't have to go to hell. He said he did not.

I explained the gospel and the meaning of the cross and gave him a gospel tract. I was able to tie in how the church across the street had the name "Grace" incorporated into it. He said he had been to a Catholic church when he was younger when I asked him about a Christian background. I told him to read over the gospel tract, as it goes over what we talked about.

Another man who I gave a gospel tract to asked me if what I had given him was Christian or Jehovah's Witness. I assured him it was Christian. School has just started and I my cross was clearly visible to a lot of students walking home. John handed out about 15 tracts and I handed out about 25 tracts today.

My pastor is heading up an Evangelism Boot Camp (at which John is speaking) this weekend and we should have the audio available on the church website soon after it is finished.

Are You Really a Christian?

Wrong Decision in Joining Protestors at Abortion Clinic

Someone invited me to join their protest in front of an abortion clinic earlier this week (see this post). It was about 6:30 that night and I looked at the piece of paper I had been given by someone who came up to me on the street when I was displaying the cross. It indicated one of their protests was on Tuesdays at 6:30. Saying a quick prayer asking whether I should go or not, I ended up going. I was debating on whether to wait longer or if I should go, since they were already out there. I ended up going.

As I wrote previously, the group is made of up of mostly Catholics. There was also a man there who had a sign that said "Pro-Life Atheist." I wish I would have waited longer instead of jumping the gun. I was reading 1 Corinthians today, and 1 Corinthians 5:11 says this: "But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one."

I was associating myself with a group of people who were praying the rosary and standing next to a man holding a rosary. Not only that, next to him was the man with the "Pro-Life Atheist" sign. 1 Corinthians 5:9-10 says, "I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world."

Now, I could get technical about this and say that I don't call a Catholic a brother, and I definitely don't call an atheist a brother, but to everyone driving by, I was clearly one of their group. While their root cause (against abortion) may be commendable, this is not a place I want to be standing with my cross.

Dover Center and Detroit in Westlake

I decided to go out for a second time today around 3 o'clock until right around 5 o'clock. My neighbor and someone with her had just arrived home and were getting out of their car. They noticed my sign and asked me about it. I was able to talk a little bit about the gospel and my testimony and I gave each of them a gospel tract.



After this, I headed over to Dover Center and Detroit in Westlake- traffic was starting to really pick up. I did not realize it, but today was the first day of school for Westlake and there were a lot of school buses passing by this intersection. The students on these buses appeared to be elementary school aged. Most of their eyes were glued to my cross as the buses drove by.

A man named Berry pulled up and asked me what church I was affiliated with. I told him I was just trying to spread the gospel but I also told him the church I attended. Turns out he knows my pastor. He said he looked up the Scripture passage that I had on my cross but read something about baptism- he read Mark 1:5, not Mark 1:15. I told him what Mark 1:15 said and we had a brief chat.

Another man pulled up and asked if I had any pamphlets. I gave him a gospel tract and it turns out he was looking for a church in the area. I directed him to my church's website and told him to check out the resources available on it.

One man inquired about my cross but when I tried to give him a gospel tract, he refused. He said he doesn't read the Bible. I tried to get him to accept my offer of the tract, but he didn't want it.

A passenger in a car that drove by yelled out to me, "Ready for what?" and I stuttered for a second in thought and by that time, she was beyond the reach of my voice. If people driving by do ask me that, I think I am going to encourage them to pull over and come to talk to me.

I can see the lip movements of people as they pass by as they read my cross. We think people have heard the message, but I don't think they have. If they have heard a message, it is often times the wrong message. For example, I asked a girl yesterday and she had told me she was baptized. While we are commanded to be baptized, the act in and of itself has no saving value. If I ask someone, "Are you going to heaven?" and they say, "I hope so," I can guarantee you they aren't saved. If one is truly born again, they will know their salvation is secure.

I was able to hand out about ten gospel tracts at this intersection today, in addition to the one I handed out earlier today to someone at a different intersection. Today was the first time I was visually assaulted. Someone driving by honked their horn to get my attention and then flicked me off. That person is entitled to their free speech just as much as I am, as long as it doesn't escalate beyond that.

Brookpark & Great Northern in North Olmsted

Today, I had planned to go get the oil changed in my car and spend three hours on the street with my cross in three different areas. I left early this morning after eating and planned on coming back mid afternoon. Turns out my car needed brakes and my plans changed. I had wanted to be in Fairview Park for an hour, North Olmsted for an hour, and Westlake for an hour.

I changed the orientation of Mark 1:15 on my cross so it is easily read without having to turn your head. I noticed some people were actually turning their heads to read it.




There was light traffic in Fairview Park, so I headed to North Olmsted to the intersection of Great Northern and Brookpark. Both roads are five lanes at this intersection and it seems to be busy no matter what time of day it is- I wasn't going to even try and count the number of cars.

There is also a high rise apartment building at this corner and my cross should have been clearly visible to residents who had balconies facing me. I wish I knew someone in the building to see if the type is visible. "ARE YOU READY" is about 7.25 inches tall and "MARK 1:15" is about 7.5" tall. I know it is clearly visible at intersections, but I am not sure beyond that.

I was able to hand out one gospel tract to someone passing by on the sidewalk, but other than that, foot traffic was pretty non-existent. There was plenty of vehicle traffic and multitudes of people got to see the cross today. I even had a few thumbs up and someone say to me "I'm ready!"

I stood with the cross for about an hour, from around noon to 1 PM. At that point, I was pretty thirsty and getting hungry and headed home. I really like to interact with people- time really flies while you are talking to someone and all the people in the cars still get to see the cross as I am talking. Next time I will take a bottle of water for refreshment.

In Front of an Abortion Clinic

Frank, who approached me earlier today (see "What a Blessed Day!" post), invited me to the twice weekly demonstration in front of Planned Parenthood in Rocky River. I viewed this as another place to display my cross and possibly as a witnessing pond.

I showed up around 7:00 and approached one of the guys with a large sign (about 5 feet tall by 3 feet wide) with a picture of an aborted fetus on it. His name was Fred.

Fred is the chairman of "Stop Abortion in Rocky River." The majority of the people that are a part of the group are Catholic, but there was a man who wore a sign that said "Pro-Life Atheist." While I did ask Fred questions about abortion, I tried to center my speech around the gospel at all times. I told Fred that while abortion is murder, there are 150,000 people that die each die, most headed straight for hell.

I have mixed feelings about this experience. His group does get its fair share of hecklers passing by (in the form of fowl language and obscene gestures). One man even pulled up and go out of his SUV and confronted Fred. He asked Fred who was in charge, and he said "Jesus Christ" - more on that later. I have been blessed to not have this happen to me yet, or at least I haven't noticed it or identified it. I have had just the opposite- encouragement, as I did today.

The man was upset over the graphic nature of the pictures being displayed and young children being able to see them. After this man was finished ridiculing the pro-lifers, I showed him my cross and asked him if he had a problem with it. He said no, that mine was fine. I asked him if he had a Christian background, and he said he did. I pressed him more about it, and he told me he was agnostic. I offered him a gospel tract, but he refused.

My cross was actually dwarfed by Fred's sign and I'm not sure how many people on the street saw it. There were an abundance of large anti-abortion signs and my cross was not as noticeable as it normally is. In fact, standing next to Fred's sign, it was not noticeable to a lot of traffic.

While I appose abortion, I made it clear that I was here to promote the gospel and the exclusivity of Jesus Christ. Fred agreed with all my points, including the necessity of repentance. The rosary was being recited by others in the near distance. Fred had a rosary in his hand, but I did not feel like this was the place to press him on that.

I told Fred I wanted to be like the Apostle Paul and to "know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." Fred agreed, but him as a Catholic, I know this is not the case (especially with someone holding the rosary and it is being recited in the near distance).

As the sun set and the night was wrapping up, Fred wanted to introduce me to the rest of the group. One of the people in the group was a Catholic Apologetic. It was quickly known to the group that I was not Catholic and indeed an ex-Catholic. Someone asked me about what version of the Bible I had and what Mark 1:15 was. The Catholic Apologetic mentioned John 6 and I knew exactly where this discussion was going to go: the Eucharist.

I tried referencing Hebrews 7:27 and and Hebrews 10:10, but he insisted that on taking John 6 literally as the actual body and blood of Christ. We talked briefly about it, but it was obvious that I wasn't budging on my stance and neither was he. He and one other person invited me to come back home to the Catholic church.

Todd Friel had a question from a listener today on whether it is ok for a Christian to attend a Catholic marriage ceremony. While he said he thought it was ok to attend the ceremony, Friel said he would not participate if asked because that would show his approval of the doctrine- something he clearly does not.

I do not know if I will return to the abortion clinic with the cross while the pro-life group is there. I clearly do not approve of the Catholic doctrine. I found myself limited in being able to talk about witnessing techniques because the man with the "Pro-Life Atheist" sign was about five to ten feet away.

This atheist must have assumed I was out to support their anti-abortion movement because he seemed to have no problem with my cross. Which leads me to my next question. Who am I being associated with by standing with this group? I understand Fred wanting to unite people against abortion, but I have to ask, is it ok to do it at the expense of religion?

Granted, my message and Fred's message are different in regards to salvation, but is it ok for a Catholic and an atheist to unite for a common cause? More so, is it ok for a Christian (me) ok to unite with this group? Your thoughts are welcome and appreciated.

What a Blessed Day!

Today, I went back to the corner of Dover Center and Center Ridge in Westlake around 11 AM. I ordered an audio recorder but it hasn't arrived yet. Today is a day I wish I had a recording device with me to recap the day!

Traffic was moderate again, and not soon after I arrived, a man saw me with the cross and parked his car in the parking lot of the store on the corner. His name was Timothy. Timothy told me he was a Christian and has been 0ut of work since April. He was in the area dropping off something at his parents' house. We talked for a while and although he said he was born again, I made sure he left with a gospel tract.

Not too longer later, Frank pulled up and parked in the parking lot. He commended me for what I was doing and wanted to give me information about another location I might be interested to display the cross. I gave Frank a gospel tract as he gave me the information. The location is the Planned Parenthood Federation of America where abortions are performed. Frank is a staunch Roman Catholic and told me most of the people who picket outside of PPFA are the same. I told Frank I wasn't Catholic- and he said he guessed as much as Catholic's don't have signs with Bible verses on them. That speaks volumes!

He said they pray the rosary in front of the "abortion mill." I then asked Frank what he would tell me if I had only three minutes to live. He told me to ask for forgiveness of my sins. I told him there were two words I was looking for that he didn't use- "repent" and "trust." He said that's what asking for forgiveness was, and I quickly corrected him and told him that it must include turning away from the sin.

Our conversation started drifting into apologetics, at which point a girl driving by noticed my sign and she was curious to know what it was about. She parked her car and came up and asked what Mark 1:15 meant. I quoted the verse to her and I asked her about heaven, to which she replied she was baptized. I started to go through the WOTM presentation, but realized she was going to get two different messages if I continued- one from me and one from Frank. At this point, I gave her a gospel tract and encouraged her to read it.

After this, she and Frank both left and I stood on the corner a little while longer. A few younger boys riding by on bikes asked me what Mark 1:15 meant and I was able to quote the verse to them and give them all gospel tracts. I told them if they had any questions, to visit the website listed on the tract and to either get a hold of me or my pastor. I was also able to hand at least three more tracts to people passing by in addition to the three I gave to the young boys and the three I gave to Timothy, Frank, and the younger woman who approached me.

I noticed someone in a car turning their head to read "Mark 1:15" on my cross and I turned my cross so they could read it- but I think I turned it so "Mark 1:15" was upside down! I quickly tried turning it the other way, but I'm not sure if they were able to see it. I am going to change the positioning of "Mark 1:15" on my cross so people don't have to turn their heads to see it.

I feel so blessed to have had these three conversations today. There was a moment or two when it sounded like there were a few jeers from cars passing by, but I couldn't tell if it was in support or against what I was doing because I was engaged in conversation. I hope to have more detailed accounts of my conversations once I get my audio recording device.

Hilliard and Madison in Lakewood

Today I stood on a sidewalk near the intersection of Hilliard and Madison in Lakewood, facing both streets as well as a two cross streets, around noon. My cross and I faced the intersection (although in the picture the cross and I are facing the camera). There is a small park on the corner and the area is a mix of residential side streets and businesses on the main streets. It was a moderately busy location.

I started out by reading from John, chapters 1 through 3. I forgot to bring water, so that's all I subjected my voice to. After that, I stood with my cross facing the intersection. I was able to hand out four gospel tracts to people passing by on the sidewalk. My sign caught the interest of a younger girl on a bike on the southern cross street as she took a prolonged look at it. No problems with the police as several drove by and I was able to hand out 4 tracts to people passing by.

A Busy Day in Lakewood

Today, an elder from church (John) picked me up and we drove over to Madison Park in Lakewood. He brought Big Money (not Giant Money) tracts and pink and blue curved allusion cards with him, while I had my million and trillion dollar tracts. Although there is not as much vehicular traffic as the intersection I was at yesterday, there were occasionally people walking by on the sidewalk. I don't know exactly how many tracts we handed out, but I would say at least two dozen to people passing by.

I practiced reading the stop light preaching message I had typed out and taped to the back of my cross. It was good to actually do it in public (even if we weren't at a stop light) instead of just thinking about doing it.

John was on a roll witnessing to people. I stood with my cross directed at the traffic while John handed out tracts to people passing by on the sidewalk and engaged a few of them in conversation. John had a conversation with a man named Walter, who insisted that there was no way to know the truth. He said he had read the Bible and the Koran.

John gave a tract to a woman who asked him, "Is this going to tell me something sad?"

John also had a conversation with a young man named Manuel. Manuel told us he had aspirations of becoming an architect. Manuel knew about Jesus, but said if he were to die today, he would go to hell and that it did concern him. John presented the gospel message to him and asked him if he had any Bibles at home. He said he a few, to which John urged him to read the Gospel of John. John prayed for him before he went on his way.


Then there was Rebecca and her boyfriend and Rebecca's son. John had given them tracts the first time they passed by us, and the second time they passed by us, her boyfriend made a reference to John 3:16. John asked him what he knew about that, after which he went into the law and the gospel. The Holy Spirit appeared to be convicted them of something in their hearts. John prayed for them and their situation before they went on their way.

At this point, we drove over to Westlake to go to the intersection I was at yesterday. After being there for about five minutes, a man across the street crossed over to where we were and John gave him a gospel tract. He said he was saved and he seemed to have the correct language of a saved believer. He needed a ride four miles down the street to an RTA station. I was hesitant about going along with this and offered to walk home (I was about a little over a mile away from home at this point), but John told me to come along- so I did. After dropping the man off, John told me that he is pretty sure this is a man that our church had encountered before when our church was at a different location (and before I started attending). I'm thankful nothing went awry.

A Busy Intersection in Westlake

Today I went out to a busy intersection in Westlake nearby where I live. I know the picture isn't a perfect panorama (I didn't have my camera with me or a tripod- I have a variety of lens for my camera, included a wider angle lens than my wife's point and shoot), but here is a shot of the intersection:



I checked the clock on my phone once I arrived at my spot and it was 12:09- lunch time. Aside from the noise of all the cars, vans, and trucks, it was a pretty quiet day. I took my Bible this time and tracks to hand out. I tried giving out two tracks to people walking by, but they refused. The other people who came by were on bikes and were either moving too fast to offer them anything or on one of the other corners of the intersection. A man yelled out to me, "Are you ready to rock and roll?"

I was trying to get myself to quote Mark 1:15 (which is what the base of my cross says [not the actual verse though]), but I kept chickening out. Most people had their windows rolled up. There was about a second where traffic in all four directions had a red stop light, and I was going to quote the verse. I tried saying it to myself once, and it seemed like a tight squeeze to get in.

Tomorrow, I am supposed to be joined by an elder from church and he told me to pick an intersection for us to go to. It will be his first time out with a cross, and I think we will take turns holding it while the other preaches or hands out tracts (although I am not sure how many tracts, if any, we will be able to hand out at intersections).

Yesterday was my first day on the streets with the cross in Lakewood. Lakewood is a lot different than Westlake. Westlake is more spread out- there are approximately 31,700 people living in the city over an area of 15.9 square miles.

Lakewood, on the other hand, has approximately 54,700 people living in it over an inhabitable area of 5.6 square miles (total 6.7 square miles, 1.1 square miles being water). Wikipedia states the population density is 9,957.3/sq mile, making it more densely populated than both Los Angeles, California and Toronto, Ontario. It is, in fact, the most densely populated city between New York and Chicago. Just as a general observation, more people walk the streets in Lakewood, where parking can be a premium in certain places. It seems like it would be a good fishing pond.

First Time Alone With the Cross on the Street

This morning started off with an awful cramp in my neck that started the night before. My neck started to hurt right after I picked my spot in Lakewood to display the cross and I decided I was going to read from Scripture there. I could barely move my neck this morning, but once I got out of bed, it felt better (although it still hurts to rotate it).

I was joining my pastor for support of his open air at Lakewood Park at 12:30. I left a little early to scope out Lakewood- there were two locations I wanted to check on. I didn't go with the first one because there was no free public parking around. I won't park in public shopping centers, even if they don't have signs posted prohibiting it.

I had stuck some gospel tracts in my Bible (a small ESV New Testament) and realized I left it at home. My pastor had an extra Bible with him which I initially took, but then I gave it back thinking I would go back home and just go to another street in Westlake (where I live). I ended up staying in Lakewood and going to the location I picked last night with no Bible (although I did have tracks in my wallet).

I went to Madison Park in Lakewood. I noticed the area was under video surveillance by the police department. I know I am within my first amendment rights, but I still get nervous from time to time. A few patrol cars drove by during my time there and didn't stop.

I sat on a guard rail that separated a public parking lot and the sidewalk. A woman named Amelia asked me, "Ready for What?" and I took her through the law. There was a little bit of a language barrier at times, but I was able to proclaim repentance and to trust in Jesus. I am pretty sure she left with a gospel tract.

A few younger boys who appeared to be on their way to the pool stopped and asked me the same question and I went through the law and gospel. It amuses me how younger people won't admit to doing something, but their friend standing right there is willing to rat them out! Looking back, I realized I should have just given them gospel tracts and had them read them instead of actually taking them through the presentation.

At this point, I decided to only give younger kids gospel tracts if they asked me what the cross meant. I should have been passing out gospel tracts to everyone, but I didn't start doing that until about halfway through, and I still avoided some people (out of my own cowardace) and some of the younger kids. I did get one rejection from a man in a tie.

Another man got a tract who was on his way to the store. He said he had already recieved one that had a million dollars on it from someone else. On his return, he told me that they didn't have the spices he needed. I told him I couldn't help him.

Looking back on this today, I want to always have gospel tracts ready, give younger kids gospel tracts and do not take them through the law (even if they are old enough to be roaming the streets on their own), and make sure I have my Bible next time to read!

A Spiritual Attack or a Coincidence?

About 2 weeks ago, I decided to start going out with my cross on my own. Prior to that, I had only gone places with my pastor or where he had something set up (a prayer station). It was about that time that I made a commitment to God that if I heard a blasphemy on a TV show that I would change the channel. I cut the cable a few months ago, but I am amazed at how much garbage is even on the network channels. Needless to say, I don't watch much TV anymore.

I will watch the news with my wife occasionally and perhaps Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, but I heard a blasphemy even on Jeopardy the other day. My rule has to been to turn off that particular episode- not ban the entire show, although come 8:00 PM, I turn to the Bible for the next two hours. I wasn't sure if it was because I was just so tuned in to listening for the blasphemies, but I found my brain repeating the blasphemies I heard and soon anytime I heard someone say "Oh my.." my brain would fill in the rest- even if they didn't take the Lord's name in vain.

Then I expanded my blasphemy ban to curse worse and included the radio. So now my brain was tuned into both blasphemies and curse words. Before I knew it, my brain was combining the Lord's name and curse words together whenever I even thought of our Heavenly Father's name.

A big problem I had with this was that this was a new issue that popped up in my life- it wasn't a pre-existing sinful state that I had failed to repent of. I never really blasphemed before I was saved, so having this play out in my mind makes this all the more troublesome. I have struggled with this for about two weeks, and recently I've gained a lot of control over it- mostly by just not thinking about it. I realized the more I thought about it, the worse the situation got. I don't want to be blaspheming, but thinking about it or replaying situations where it was done can cause my mind to do it, so the best thing was just to stop thinking about it.

Last night, I decided on a location to go to in Lakewood to display my cross. It would be the first time alone with the cross on a street. I also decided I was going to read from Scripture. Right after I made those two decisions, my neck started to hurt- out of nowhere. This morning, I had trouble even lifting my head off the pillow. I think these occurrences are more than just coincidences.

Once I started moving around, my neck started to feel better, but it still hurts. I wasn't going to let it get the best of me, though, and I still headed out to Lakewood Park to join my pastor and I did end up finding a new fishing hole! More on that later!

Quiet Day in Rocky River

Today, my pastor and I took the cross to Rocky River Park and it was another quiet day. We sat on a bench overlooking a beach and Lake Erie. I've been hitting the parks in the far western suburbs of Cleveland and they are all equally quiet during the week days. I think it's time to move on to busier areas- I just have to pick one and muster up the courage to go out there!

With the Cross at Clague Park

Today, I started out going to Clague Park in Westlake, but there weren't many people there, so I drove around a bit looking for somewhere to go. There are plenty of busy intersections around here, but I don't want to park anywhere that isn't public property (like a library or a park). I ended up going back to Clague Park.

I had no interactions, but about a dozen people saw the cross. I pray I at least planted a seed in their heads.

Open Air at Lakewood Park - 8/12/08

Yesterday was another quiet day with the cross- no stories to share. Today, my pastor told me he was going to Lakewood Park at 1:00 to open air, so I showed up at noon to set up my cross tied to a tripod. I didn't get much reading done, but some hopefully some new people got to see the cross. One man drove by and gave me either a thumbs up or a wave. It has been a real blessing to receive those. I haven't had any hecklers yet. A man was looking at my cross and asked me what this was about, and I stumbled a bit as to what to say and asked him if he had a religious background to which he walked away.

Around 1:00 PM, my pastor arrived and shortly thereafter another two people from church came to offer their support. I spoke after my pastor with this, that I wrote this morning:

"We need to place our trust in Jesus, but this is not the kind of trust you have in your local police department. I live in a very safe area. How often do I need to call up the police? Rarely, if ever. In fact, most of us look at the police as the enemy when we are driving. The first thing most of us do when we see a police car is brake because we are breaking the law by speeding. Is this how you treat Jesus? You are constantly in rebellion and hide from Him whenever you see His face? Do you only call upon Him when you need something? We need to have a deeper trust in Jesus. We need to depend on Him for everything, not just when something goes wrong in our lives. This is what it means to surrender your life to Jesus."

After that, Beth from church got on the box and open aired. It has been relatively slow at Lakewood Park, but we know the gospel is still being heard.

A Quiet, Hot Day

Weather in Cleveland has been really mild this summer, and we got out first real dose of heat yesterday (above 90 with a heat advisory) and today is in the upper 80's and muggy. The forecast is calling for thunderstorms later today, but when I went out with my cross today, it was mostly sunny.

I went to my first stop (I don't want to call it my usual spot because this is only the third time I've been there) or Cahoon Memorial Park in Bay Village with some water because of the heat. I got a couple of greetings from people on the exercise track, but no one interacted with me today, although the cross did garner a lot of looks from people passing by on Lake road. There were some really good gusts of wind, and had I not held on to my cross, it definitely would have taken off.

I did get this idea while I was sitting there: put "ASK ME" above "ARE YOU READY?" I would like to use the cross as a conversation starter, but not many people seem to be responding to the question "Are you ready?"



When I was at a street corner with my pastor, I noticed that people tend to look at the sign longer when they are stopped at a red light. I'm hoping, if nothing else, that will at least prompt people to ask me the question and while I may not be able to witness to them there, I can give them a gospel tract.

Coming back, I couldn't help but notice the shadow that my cross cast:

Day 2 Alone With the Cross

Yesterday I joined my pastor at Lakewood Park for open air preaching. After he had read Scripture and preached, I read Matthew 5. After that, I headed to Cahoon Memorial Park in Bay Village.




Yesterday was my second day alone with my cross. Previously, my pastor and I had stood once on two separate street corners with it, the second time he had his own with him. I went to Cahoon Memorial Park in Bay Village around noon and stayed for about an hour. Thursday was my first day alone with it at the same park, and it was a quiet first day. The cross is just over 4 feet tall and about 2 feet wide, with about 7 inch lettering on it.

Yesterday, a younger lady asked me about my cross. She proceeded to tell me that she attended a Catholic church, and I asked if she thought she was going to heaven. I asked her if she had kept the ten commandments, and she said she tried to. I tried to go into the law with her, and she quickly told me she goes to confession. I tried telling her confession was merely admission of guilt, but she clearly did not want to talk about her beliefs. She did mention repenting to me, but she told me she also believed in the Saints. I tried to give her a gospel tract but she wouldn't take it. I hope to see her again sometime and hope we will be able to talk again.

Another man walked by me and asked, "For Santa or the Easter Bunny?" His remark was in reference to the question displayed on my cross, "ARE YOU READY?" I quickly said "Christ!" but he just kept on walking.

I noticed someone riding a bicycle yelling as he rode past me (across the street from the park), but I wasn't sure if it was directed at me. A few moments later he was yelling again, but I paid no attention to him. About 30 seconds to a minute later, the car alarm on my car started to go off (it is the factory installed alarm on my car- it's not something I put in myself). I had to walk back to my car to turn off the alarm. I do not know if the two events are related, but it just seemed like quite a coincidence. I had a smaller cross visible in the front seat of my car that I try to display while driving, so I'm not sure if that someone saw the cross and tried to tamper with my car.

I did get two passing honks in support of what I was doing, one from a city garbage truck driver. I noticed two police cars drive by the park while I was there, so hopefully that means the police will not disturb me. I hope to start reading from the Bible at this park soon, which will hopefully lead into street light preaching at other intersections.

I had wanted to go out alone with my cross, but I couldn't find the courage to do it. I finally just made myself go out on Thursday and it was quite uneventful and boring. I found myself wanting to have witnessing conversations, but no one commented on my cross. Yesterday, I had a brief conversation, the quick remark about Santa or the Easter Bunny, and my car alarm going off.

This was only the second day I went out alone, but the parable of the tenants came to my mind: "For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away." The first day had no interactions, but the second day did. I think the Lord just wanted to see if I would be faithful and continue, and then He will give me more. I pray God will allow me to have more interactions as I continue.