So we harrassed the community this afternoon with our first corps motorcade…looked for a moment that the rain might let us down, but the sun did burst through when we stopped for our open airs. We had some mighty speakers blowing out some praise and worship, cars decorated, the whole lot. The benefit of the day? Well, I guess some of us were actually encouraged by the joy of sharing our faith and praying for our community out in the open. And, well, we prayed a good bit of peace and blessing into the streets as we drove through them. There were some cracking conversations going on, people stopping to listen, waving as we went past.
If you can’t find the tap to get a drink, how can you get a drink? We need to be visible, whether it is in a ‘traditional’ way like our motorcade today or whether it is wearing something to identify us in the crowd.
Unifrom gets bad press these days. And perhaps for society at large, its not terribly helpful in the sense that some people wouldn’t be seen dead in a regular SA uniform, but there is a lot to be said by visibility. STOP PRESS: I would rather have my whole congregation wearing jeans and a t-shirt with a Red Shield on it on Sundays, something that can be worn casually every day of the week than have a whole corps who dress up nice on a Sunday. Sure, you can’t stand at the top of a coffin leading a funeral in a t-shirt, but this is the practicalities of living and ministering in a community, to our friends and neighbours.
Visibility….do people have to look deep into your eyes to see Jesus or should we make it a bit easier?
Some weird guys in the early church bought themselves some tall poles, climbed up the top of them and just sat there so that people could see them and come and talk spiritual with them. Sound extreme? Yeah…but no one would have taken notice if they were sitting on the temple steps.
Andrew M Clark 