On the evenings of October 30 and 31 our church is going to have a ‘Trunk and Treat’ in the Grove at the east building. Kids can come and go from vehicle to vehicle and get candy, enjoy some of the things our Youth are going to have for them and get a little Gospel in the process. All in all, a pretty good deal for the young ones.

          It reminded me of something we used to do in Ohio. We had twelve churches in our community and every year four of those churches, New Life Assembly, the United Church (a union of a Baptist church and a Congregational church from many hears before), the Missionary Alliance church and our church, Park Street Christian Church, would get together and have what we called a ‘Kids Night.’ We would rent out the Community Center and set it up for games and treats. We had ours indoors because on the 31^st of October you could expect snow. (Here it is only getting down to the 40s both nights. Positively balmy!) The entire floor of the Center would be set up in games for the kids to play. If they won, they got a lot of candy. If they lost, they still got a lot of candy. It was (forgive the pun) a sweet deal. At the end of the evening we had a special evangelistic message just for the kids, a message that invited them to come to Christ. We got them to stay by having a drawing for a bike or something and they had to be there when the drawing took place to win. If they did leave, they were given a Gospel tract at the door. Throughout the night, 600 to 700 kids would hear the Gospel. It was advertised as a ministry of those four churches and we told folks up front that it was intended to give a safe haven for the kids and to give us an opportunity to share Christ.

          One year after the evangelistic message, I was heading to the back of the Center to get a drink. I had the message that year, so I was not required to hand out door prizes. As I approached the beverage center I saw a woman in the face of Officer Tim, one of the off-duty city police officers we had hired to show the uniform and keep the peace. She was just all over him. I even thought to myself, Ah, poor Tim! But then, the officer turned and motioned to me and I knew my rather pleasant evening was about to come crashing down. I walked over and the woman turned on me. She was so angry her cheeks were literally purple.

          “HOW DARE YOU! IF THIS @#%%&*$# COP DOESN’T ARREST YOU ALL I AM GOING TO SUE THE LOT OF YOU! HOW DARE YOU TALK CHURCH STUFF TO MY KIDS! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TRY AND INDOCTRINEATE MY KIDS WITHOUT MY PERMISSION! THEY ARE TO YOUNG TO LISTEN TO THIS CRAP! I OUGHT TO TAKE YOU DOWN RIGHT NOW!” As she ranted I glanced over to Officer Tim. His look made me think he was thinking what I had been thinking shortly before. Ah, poor Pastor Wade. I let her run down and when she stopped I told her, “Ma’am, we have a permit from the city for this event and it is in the permit that it is a religious event. We have rented the Center from a private company and they also understand why we are here. And, (here I pointed at one of the many signs we had up all over the center outlining what we were doing and why) by you bringing your children here you imply that you understand why we are here and you are giving us permission to tell your kids about Christ. Nothing is illegal here.”

          “NOT ILLEGAL??!!? WHAT ABOUT THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE?” She had that triumphant look that people get when they think they know the law but do not. “Ma’am, this is not a school event nor is it a government event at all. Separation of church and state does not apply.”

          “WE’LL SEE ABOUT THAT! YOU WILL HEAR FROM MY LAWYER!” That is always the last threat someone gives when they have nothing else. I handed her my card and said, “That’s my number. Have him call me.” She snatched the card and gave me a look that could melt plastic. “MY GOD! (given the circumstances, that was an interesting choice of words) WHERE CAN A MOTHER EVEN TAKE HER KIDS ANYMORE THAT IS SAFE?!!?” With that she stormed off, snatching her kids as she went.

          But that last sentence floored me. Earlier in the year, just after her kids’ bus would have rolled through town taking them to school, we had a shooting down town. People were killed. The police had to shoot the shooter. Our church took a few bullets. In a nearby town there had just been a shooting. Three had died. On a trick or treat night two years earlier in our town someone had slipped razor blades into candy bars. One of the reasons for the Kids Night was to get the kids off the streets and into a safe and protected place. It wasn’t the primary reason, but it had been a consideration. Her statement made me wonder what she, and other people, considered a threat. Why would she think an event like that was a dangerous thing?

          Some years ago, I was talking with a mother about bringing her kids to church. “Oh, goodness no! They are too young to make religious decisions.” I was a little taken aback. “You decide where they go to school by where you live, you decide what they wear, you decide what they eat but you are putting off their eternity until they can make the decision for themselves?” She was offended. She found another church that made nice with her. I didn’t really talk to her again until three years ago, when her son died of an overdose. What is wrong with people that they perceive danger and refuse common sense?

 In Isaiah 5 we have a series of woes pronounced on people. A ‘woe’ given  by the prophet in the name of the Lord is a very bad thing. It is a promise of doom. In verse 20 of Isaiah 5 we have this: Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! I believe the problem today is not that the lost out there reject the Gospel, that they call evil good and good evil. I think the problem is that Christians have become that way. If the Bible says it is a sin, we have no right to soft pedal the sin. The Bible tells that what opens the womb belongs to God. Yet, we will say that abortion is OK if the mother’s life is in danger. The Bible doesn’t say that, Christians say it. The Bible says that homosexuality is an abomination, yet we will say that is a choice I wouldn’t make, but that’s not me. But the Bible still calls it an abomination. We don’t want to make waves, we don’t want to upset, we don’t want to be seen as ‘holier than thou.’

 The lost have always thought evil is good. The lost have always made excuses for not listening to or not sharing the Gospel. Always. That is Satan’s method of operation. I really believe, though, that my encounters with those two mothers, and their responses to me, has more to do with their lack of respect for Christians (because of their lack of zeal) than it has to do with Satan’s actions.

 Jesus wasn’t very popular, but He did change the world. Paul wasn’t very popular, but he did change the world. There are others we could name, but the point is this; God could have saved us and then taken us home, but He did not. He left us here. Not to be popular, not to get along, not to not ruffle feathers. God left us here to change our world.

 An old high school classmate sent me an e-mail about an accident to doors down from her house. It had just happened and she was asking prayer. A young man, two young women and a baby were killed when a guy ran a stop sign and broadsided them. The next day I got a message from the man who played the organ for our church for fifteen years. The four dead were actually his two great nieces, one of their husbands and a great, great nephew. Two days ago this same man (my friend Nick) got back with me and told me it has come out that it was the fifth time the driver who caused the accident has been arrested for driving under the influence. Four people are dead because some judge will not take a stand. Here is what goes through my mind. If I lose my temper and start ranting and swearing, if I hold back from witnessing because I don’t want to ‘offend’, if I refuse to stand up for the good rather than stepping aside for the evil, aren’t I just like that judge that let the drunk off? If someone dies and goes to hell (and yes, I believe in a real hell) because of something I did, I am a horrible man.

The lady who didn’t want to make her children go to church until they could make the decision. (Her kids had been at our VBS for a week and loved it.) When her son overdosed she sat at the funeral home across the table from me. She wanted me to tell her he was in heaven. I told her I couldn’t tell her that because I didn’t know. “I didn’t know him except for that short time.” I wanted to say, but you took him away to make his own decision, and now he has made it. But I didn’t say it. It would be wrong to attack the grieving mother. For the next six months until we came to Indiana I counseled with her and her daughter. Now that mother understands about Christ, but she also realizes that things could have been different for her son for the present and for all eternity.

We sing the song, “Stand Up, Stand Up For Jesus.” We know it so well, but do we listen? First verse” Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross;
lift high his royal banner, it must not suffer loss. From victory unto victory His army shall He lead, till every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed.

We aren’t very good soldiers if we don’t stand up.