May Daze: Evangelism At Wright-State University
May Daze is the name for two annual events at Wright-State University--
an official one on campus--and an unofficial one down the road at some apartments. Thousands of students and other young people from around the state turn out for the party that begins in the late evening and goes well into the night the first weekend of May. This past May Daze, we took the opportunity to reach a few hundred of them with the message of the supremacy of Christ.
We got the confirmation from Aaron in the early evening that the unofficial May Daze was indeed happening. Erin and I joined him and Josh and Becky at around 10pm in the Waffle House parking lot. We finished folding tracts, making posters, prayed together and were walking down Zink road toward the party at about 10:30.
The method of evangelism we used primarily is something referred to as 'posterboard evangelism'. It involves making a posterboard with a message and simply standing in a strategic location where people will stop to read it and talk with you.
For this occasion, and last year, we were using a quote from C.S. Lewis slightly modified to avoid some initial misconceptions that could come up. It says:
"We are half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drunkenness and sex and entertainment when infinite joy is offered us in Christ. We are like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mudpies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a vacation at the sea. We are far too easily Pleased."
The primary message is that the most satisfying pleasures are in Jesus Christ.
New conversations began with people who read the poster literally every few minutes in a wide variety of ways. Some students were highly interested in self-justifying with all kinds of excuses. Very many of them simply agreed with the message but weren't at all interested in actually seeking pleasure in Christ.
Most people might think that the crowds are full of the low-lifes, prostitutes, and 'tax collectors', the types of people that Jesus spent time with. And some are. But in reality, the self-righteousness we faced was much more resemblant of Pharisees and Sadducees. They weren't just ignorant of true pleasure, they were arrogant against it.
If a student was too drunk to comprehend anything we were saying or even to read the sign, we would hand them a tract and say to read it in the morning. Not very many were so drunk that we couldn't carry on a conversation. More than a few we spoke to did seem to be highly impacted by the message. We also heard the testimonies of two people who had seen the signs in previous years and whose lives had been drastically changed since then.
One girl was lost when she heard the message a year ago and is now a Christian experiencing true pleasure in Christ. She was with a couple of other Christians who borrowed tracts from us and even walked around with an extra sign. We thought we were only a few when we headed out there but found out at least 15 Christians were out at May Daze for Christ that night. One person was saved through the personal witnessing of a sister from Chi Alpha.
These are a couple of links that will tell you more about May Daze the event, and what happened this year. It's been going on for decades and there's no reason to not start planning now in your heart to get out there next year. It's truly an amazing opportunity to share the truth in love about Jesus Christ.
Newspaper Article:
WSU Gives Alternatives to Drinking for May DazeChristian site:
Some of our brothers and sisters share their experience and the testimony about the salvation
Crazy People Walking In Good Works Prepared Beforehand
The book of Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
But does that include 'crazy' people? Are 'insane' people God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works? It definitely includes some crazy people. The popular Bible concordance maker Alexander Cruden's story is that of a man with little-to-none and even anti- common sense in him. John Piper provides good reasons to believe that God made him that way intentionally; for a purpose. Here is an excerpt, and I encourage you to read the rest of the article at the link provided if you want to know about no-kidding crazy people worshiping Christ.
"Cruden had apparently gone to break up a brawl but ended up spending the best part of an hour admonishing disorderly soldiers not to swear while periodically whacking them on the head with a shovel. He also would propose to women with whom he had established no romantic bond (one such intended he had not even met). Being unable to take no for an answer, he would then turn himself into a persistent nuisance, if not a stalker."
The Good, Insane Concordance Maker @ Desiring God
Namibia - More Namibian Online
Shady deals exposed"An ongoing power struggle between top municipal officials at
Okahandja appears to be taking its toll."
Swapo May Have To Intervene"The worsening situation in two Namibian towns, Otjiwarongo and
Okahandja, with power struggles and residents pitted against each other, has to be brought under control before threatened violence erupts."
Passport Problems At Home Affairs"The following week I asked to speak to anyone at the passport inquiries, again after five attempts from the switchboard, the person who picks up the phone immediately told me that she does not work in that department. I decided to go to the office itself in order to look for this so called Steven Namugongo and on that day I found six people angrily looking for him as well, but he did not want to come to the counter."
Quo Vadis Okahandja?"Recently I went back to find it really is becoming a ghost town. There are no major economic developments, no real social entertainment places and alcohol abuse amongst the youth is too high."
God Saved My Daughter"I first give praise and thanks to our
Supreme, living God who just demonstrated His love, mercy and everlasting power." [Note: This type of thanksgiving should not give the impression that God only acts on behalf of believers. Rather, all miracles and tragedies are in His hands. Christians are the ones who give the glory where it is due.]
Namibia - The Namibian Newspaper Online
In order to better prepare and understand the territory and people to where we will be going, we keep up to date withe "The Namibian Newspaper - News & Views from Namibia" online.
This is an interesting article about the actual town to which we're planning on going:
Okahandja fed up with town councillorsThe following are all letters written to The Namibian. Reading the letters section regularly has provided insights into various different things about the way of life in Namibia. Read below for just a sample of a few of them.
Call For Zero Tolerance For Drinking In PublicExcerpt: "Namibia needs a value/moral reformation, starting with parents and positive public role models to counteract the cumulative debilitating socio-economic of the three 'A's': - Atheism (lack of values, beliefs, standards) - Alcoholism (failure to cope, escapist addiction) - HIV/Aids (prostitution, unprotected sex) "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter" (Martin Luther King)."
Where's The Balance in Gender?Excerpt: The Bible says that "A man shall be the head of the family just as Christ is the head of the Church". What does that mean? This means that a man is the head of the family but it does not necessarily mean that if the man is the head of the family, he has the right to kill, beat, de-humanise a woman? No! But a man is there to take care of his wife and family, and the wife has to support the husband so there must be a strong bond of communication, love, unity, peace and justice between them.
What Happend to Religious Education?Excerpt: EDUCATION shall be practiced as a means of learning or improving skills, knowledge, behavioral norms, values and moral beliefs in order to achieve societal and economic goals.
More at:
The Namibian