Lessons from the Street Corner Evangelist
By Gabriel KaimLike most college campuses, The University of Texas periodically has evangelists preach on street corners. While walking through campus this week, I couldn’t help but notice two men who had managed to attract a large group. Each day the group seemed to grow in size, and the students were almost always taunting and ridiculing the men. So what is it, I thought, that can make a random group of students so angry that they will spend their free time yelling at someone they don’t know. After listening to the speakers for a couple minutes it became clear what was wrong with their message. People, and especially college students, have enough stress and problems as it is. The last thing anyone wants is to hear another person tell them they aren’t good enough. I would even say that college students are used to hearing that they’re going nowhere, but hearing they’re going to hell is enough to anger even the most apathetic people on campus.
Still, I believe we as Orthodox Christians need to take some valuable lessons from the soap box evangelists. We are blessed to have the true faith and message of Jesus Christ, but what are we doing with it? St. James tells us in his epistle that “faith without works is dead,” and during the sermon on the mount Christ commands us to “let our light so shine before men, that they may see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven” (James 2:20, Mathew 5:16). With so much noise and new theologies in today’s world, we must first remember the foundation of Christ’s message to us. Then, after understanding our goal, we must act so that others may come to the light.
So what was wrong with the message of my street corner preacher, and what would the Church’s response be? From the fifteen minutes I listened to the man speak; I must have heard the words damnation, hell, fire, and wrath used 20 times. Love, however, was mentioned only once, and then it was given only to those who lived a righteous life. I couldn’t imagine how two men so acquainted with scripture (they quoted the Bible meticulously) could be so far away from the point. The Orthodox Church has always maintained that Christ came not to “condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17). And Christ, while instructing, gave a new commandment that we “love one another even as I have loved you” (John 15:7). Yes, as Christians we must hold ourselves to high moral standards, but that is why we need Christ’s love. The healthy don’t need a doctor, and Christ didn’t come for the righteous.
If our goal is to spread the word of God, then what better examples do we have the Christ himself. During his 33 years on earth, Christ never hid or disassociated himself from the sinful. Instead, he called Zachariah down from the tree and brought salvation to his house. Christ did not condemn the Samaritan Woman at the well, but instead showed compassion and offered her salvation. And when the Savior was on the cross, he did not condemn the criminal, but instead promised that he too will have eternal life. Our God is a God of mercy and love. If we are to share his message we too must give mercy and love. How can we preach God without exhibiting his two most prominent traits?
So we now have a message, but what is our action. I think it is important to remember that Orthodoxy comes from a tradition of die hard evangelists. From St. Paul to St. Raphael, our church history is full of men who yelled from street corners, and spoke when no one wanted to here their voice. Many of our grand-parents, if not parents, were immigrants to this country. They worked hard to establish our faith here, and it is now our turn to continue their work. However, somewhere along the way it seems as if we have grown complacent.
Of course we’re not all called to stand in public squares and profess our faith, but there are things that are required of us. We are blessed with the true faith, and “to whom much is given, from him much will be required” (Luke 12:48). We are living in an exciting time. Orthodoxy now more than ever has the chance to grow, and we can be a part of that. Become active in your OCFs, volunteer in your community, and don’t be afraid to tell someone about our faith. The love Christ speaks of in his Gospels is a verb, and it’s something that must be actively pursued.
Whether it is a new job, new music, or new philosophy, all college students are looking for something. For mainstream America, our ancient and apostolic faith is ironically something new! For most people who only know a western Christian tradition that has strayed so far from its roots, our doctrine can be a breath of fresh air. So from time to time speak above the noise and let our faith be seen.
