Taking risks for the gospel

It's better to make a fool of yourself than to play it safe | Andrée Seu

Illustration by Ali Douglass

My roommate on Cape Cod in 1974 was a Jewish girl who got saved on the Boston Commons when a Christian approached her, in all her hippiedom, and said, "Want to meet some normal people?" Susan said yes, and followed. If there is a worse evangelistic appeal, I don't know it.

Let me have risk-takers around me. Just as a practical matter. Let me have Christians who try things that fail, and then try something else. Introduce me to someone who parks near handicapped parking at McDonalds and waits for someone to come along who might need prayer. Send me a friend who would rather make a fool of himself obeying what he is 80 percent sure the Word commands than play it safe, or who supports missionaries beyond his means. I want to hang out with a woman who snaps to the voice of the Spirit, rather than mind-screwing it till it subsides. Or who puts her full weight on the promises of God and doesn't get so mired in theological discussion of "context" that the promise is whittled to nothing.