Clergy/Leaders' Mail-list No. 1-046 (Evangelism/Witnessing)

THE SWAGGIE

One night at a small church in Atlanta, Georgia, a man shared how he had become a Christian while in Sydney, Australia. "I was at the street corner in Kings Cross," the man began, "when I felt a tug on my sleeve. Turning, I found myself face to face with a swaggie [a bit like a street bum in the US]. Before I could say anything, the man simply asked me, "Mister, if you were to die tonight, where would you spend eternity?' That question troubled me over the next three weeks," the man continued. "I had to find an answer, and I ended up giving my life to Christ."

The pastor of the Atlanta church was amazed that a man on a street corner could have such an impact. But imagine his amazement when, three years later, another man came to his church and gave an almost identical testimony. He, too, had been at Kings Cross in Sydney when a derelict had pulled on his sleeve and then asked him, "If you were to die tonight, where would you spend eternity?"

This second man, also haunted by the swaggie's question, eventually sought and found an answer in Jesus.

Shortly after hearing the second testimony, the pastor of that small church in Atlanta had to be in Sydney for a missions conference. On one of his nights off, he went to Kings Cross to see if he could find the man who had been mentioned at his church by two different people. Pausing on a street corner to look for someone like the swaggie he'd heard about, he felt a tug at his jacket.

He turned, and before the poor old man could say anything, the pastor blurted out, "I know what you're going to ask me! You're going to ask me if I were to die tonight, where would I spend eternity?"

The man was stunned. "How did you know that?" he inquired. The pastor told him the whole story. When he finished, the man started to cry. "Mister," he said, "ten years ago I gave my life to Jesus, and I wanted to do something for him. But a man like me can't do much of anything. So I decided I would just hang out on this corner and ask people that simple question. I've been doing that for years, mister, but tonight is the first time I ever knew it did anybody any good."

God calls us not to be successful, but to be faithful. We need to obey God even though we can't see whether it does any good. When you share Christ with someone, for instance, or when you help a person in need, you aren't responsible for the outcome. It's God's job to form us into what we can be in Christ.

On the other side of things, be careful not to judge others for what they are doing in the Kingdom of God, even when it seems foolish or unproductive. God uses all kinds of ministry in many different ways in order to fulfill his purposes.

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We thought our CLM subscribers would appreciate this piece, even if it meant all these credits!

-- Edited from "Still More Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks" by Wayne Rice. (http://www.YouthSpecialties.com/mall/browse/#illus) From Sherry's Inspirational list: by way of ACTS International - http://www.actsweb.org

Phew!