Saturday in the Park, part 3: Making "history"

The team had gone ahead into the park while I stayed in the parking lot talking with the couple. I finally made my way over there and stood for while looking to see where the teams were. I saw one talking to a couple sitting on a bench. I made my way over to him. By the time I arrived, another team member joined us. We stood by the fence for a moment and talked, passing out tracts to people as they came by. I saw a couple of Junior High schoolers coming down the side walk, so I got ready for some fun.

Stopping them I said, "I have in my pocket your answer to the question I am about to ask you. Ready? Out of the three most common shapes (circle, square or triangle) which do you think is the most 'popular' shape?" Now, I have to give away a secret here to explain what this all about. This is based on a so-called "mind reading" trick used by slight-of-hand magicians. No matter what a person says, I can produce a card with that object, having "read" their mind. What the person does not know is that I have three cards, one in a different pocket. On each card is a shape: one with a square, another with a triangle, another with a circle--and that circle card is extra-special. I'll show you in a minute.

If a person says, "square" I simply pull the card with the "square" from my pocket and the person is amazed that I have "read" their mind! I can go on with another illusion that swings into a gospel presentation. The same thing happens if the person says, "triangle."

The girls agreed that "circle" is the most popular, so I reach in my pocket and pull out this green card with a gold circle. Drawing attention to the gold, I ask something like, "what makes gold so precious?" with the intent on getting to the fact that gold is precious because it is pure.

Then I ask, "Have you ever heard of someone having a 'heart of gold?' What do you think that means?" It usually means a person who does good things, helps others, does'nt lie or steal . . .

I then can begin my "good person test." The girls admitted to lying and stealing. I folded the card back to show a black heart. Their eyes got huge, mouths dropped open. One girls said, "you are making me feel like a guilty criminal!"

"Well, this is how God sees the heart . . ." I began, as two policemen came up behind me. They motioned for one of the team members to come aside to talk. I continued with my presentation, keeping a view in my peripheral vision as to what was going on. Another young man joined the girls and, though he had a bad attitude and was intent on interrupting, said he knew what all "this" was about and was already saved.

"From what?" I asked. He did not know. I took him back through the "good person" test. When I asked if he'd lied, or stolen, he admitted he had. Then I asked if he obeyed his parents every time. He snapped to attention, his eyes got big and he said, "I GOT it!"

"Got what?" I asked. "I know what I am saved from now! Sin! Lying is sin! Stealing is sin . . ." he smiled as the girls stood uneasily nearby.

"And if you disobey your parents, that is sin too, isn't it?" I asked and he agreed. The cops kept talking and I felt the need to hurry.

I folded my card again and showed the cross and talked about Jesus dying on the cross to pay for sin and when we repent (fold, fold) our hearts are made clean (white heart). They thanked me for talking with them, and made their way down the sidewalk.

I gave the police my undivided attention. "You guys all together?" They asked.

"Yes, sir." I replied. "Can I help you with something?"

The officers informed us that we were breaking Columbia City Ordinance by stopping people for conversation. They made it clear that because the park event for the evening was a sponsored event, we could not approach anyone with the intent of distracting, impeding, preventing enjoyment of, etc. said concert event. If we continued, they would be forced to use force against us. They made it clear they understood our religious "right" and would uphold our right to the 1st Ammendment, but under the City Code that protected sponsored events in the park, we would be viewed as disruptive--even by carrying on a conversation with someone who was attending the event. In other words, we could not stop anyone for any reason. We can only carry on if we are approached. We were welcome to continue our work outside the park or at any other time, but not during these events. We then found out that part of the reason for the crack-down was because of political parties who were making their way through the crowds (which is something we do NOT do) to get candidates on the ballot--and they were being disruptive. We just got caught up in the mix and law enforcement had to be fair.

In one sense, history was made. The Gospel is as welcome as the weather--only if someone wants to talk about it at sponsored events . . . like Sunday, September 7. More on that later.