From Fox News
Imagine getting arrested for just striking up a conversation about religion in public. That’s what happened to California resident Matthew Snatchko in 2006 when the youth pastor initiated a conversation about God with three shoppers at the Roseville Galleria mall. The women gave Snatchko permission to broach the subject, but a nearby store employee said they “looked nervous,” so he ordered the evangelist to leave. After Snatchko refused, mall security arrested him. “He was put in handcuffs and hauled down to the mall’s security station and later booked at the local jail,” said Snatchko’s attorney Matthew McReynolds of the Pacific Justice Institute, a legal defense organization specializing in the defense of religious freedom. Snatchko was later released and never charged with a crime, but he and the Justice Institute decided to challenge the constitutionality of Roseville Galleria’s restrictions on conversations about topics such as religion and politics.
I have to wonder what is happening to free speech in this country. I also have to wonder why folks cannot simply say “no thank you” to unwanted intrusions, if that is what this was. Third, I have to question if this is the best way to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to a world that desperately needs to hear it. It seems to me that the best way to evangelize is in the context of our daily relationships.
If we really think having a relationship with Christ is something good, and if we have benefited from having a relationship with him, then it follows that we would naturally want to share that with others as opportunities present themselves. After all, we eagerly share other kinds of good news with folks (“Hey, I got a raise,” or “Hey, my kid was elected President of the United States,” etc., etc.), often whether they are willing to listen or not. Why, then, would we not want to share the Ultimate Good News with folks, especially when we see them hurting? Of course, in doing so we must be prepared for people to say “no thank you” to our invitations, and we must continue to love them no matter what their response.
Sharing the Good News is not about us, but about directing people the the Source and Author of all life, and inviting them into a life-changing relationship with him. He can take it from there.
What are your thoughts on this?
For the same reason I didn’t tell you I got a raise.
I agree completely with your commentary.
But you didn’t tell me your kid had been elected President! 😉