The article in last Sunday’s San Francisco Chronicle was titled, “Loud Enough to Raise the Dead.” The author, Dan Reed, told the story of store owners in downtown Berkeley who are losing business as customers flee the street preachers shouting about God over their public address systems. Reed writes about “how these fire-and-brimstone-spewing clowns are force-feeding their version of redemption to whoever crosses their sidewalk-blocking paths…While they’re trying to save souls, they’re also gumming up the pathways in front of the local merchants trying to sell their goods…Crazies are a part of street life. But they’re usually unamplified. These purveyors of the New Testament’s ‘Good News’ might want to try getting their message across in a genteel way, rather than through a bullhorn blast. As a local florist said in an apt sign: ‘Why crucify me?’”
The preachers, part of the Bay Area Outreach Ministries team, said that they don’t mean to drive away business, just preach Biblical teachings. One of their ministers believes they are doing things the way Jesus would, noting, “He was very loud, because thousands of people could hear him at one time. So he must’ve been very loud with his voice.” The article includes the observation that when local merchants have called the police, the preachers have turned the decibel level down by the time they arrive.
By contrast, I read an article on a Christianity Today blog, which suggests a dramatically different image. Chad Hall writes: “My kids (6, 3, and 2 years old) LOVE the ice cream truck, and so do I. What’s not to love? There we are, outside on a hot day playing in the yard or riding a bike or washing the car and out of nowhere we hear the faint melody of the ice cream truck. Like an unexpected friend dropping by, the ice cream truck rounds the corner and delivers delicious desserts in the middle of an otherwise humdrum day. It’s a beautiful thing.
The ice cream truck reminds me of what it means to be a missional disciple. The ice cream truck driver has a wonderful gift he wants to bestow (okay, he’s selling it—every metaphor has its flaws, so let’s ignore the mismatches, okay?). The driver also seeks out the very kinds of people who are ready and in want of the gifts he has. The driver does not sit in the parking lot of the old folks’ home and wait for my family to drop what we are doing and come to him to get our cool treats. No, he comes to us. And we delight in what he brings. Missional disciples also have a wonderful gift (Jesus), best offered to those in want. The more I think about it, what my kids love is not the ice cream truck—it’s the ice cream itself. If we bring Jesus to people, people will love what we bring.”
Two approaches. One puts in a loud word for God; the other puts in a sweet word for Him. One approach causes people to walk away in a heated huff. The other invites people to run joyously toward the gentle music that signals cool refreshment. May we find ways that kindly compel people to taste and see that the Lord is good.
Dennis Lynn
