sooo, it’s that time of year again…everyone dresses up in some sort of costume and begs for candy…i must say it’s just quite annoying to me…especially when you have so many LAZY parents that drive from house to house as opposed to walking with their kids…i saw quite a bit of that last night!!!
but that’s not the point of this post…so i’m moving on…
in addition to the costumes…some various places will invite you spend money and walk through their “haunted” house, cornfield, or woods…and i’ve done that once or twice in my life…it can be quite the adrenaline rush!!!
but then there are religious organizations that do this as well…they get your adrenaline flowing…manipulate your emotions just a bit…and then they play the trump card…they try to…
scare the HELL out of you?!?
they present the Gospel…they tell you how Christ died for you and give you the opportunity to make Him your Savior…that way you will get to spend eternity in heaven…right!?!
i’ll be honest and say that this leaves a real akward taste in my mouth…i’m not so sure that i agree with the concept…but that’s just me…i mean i was even a part of a ministry team in college, where this was a BIG deal each year…SCAREMARE…and churches would bring their teens from all over…thousands would come through…it was insane!!!
but, it just doesn’t sit right with me…i think that is because we are called to make “disciples”…not just to get people to make a one time decision…not to mention that they are doing so while their emotions and mind have just been severely manipulated…but again, that’s just me…
sooo, i would be interested in hearing from you…what is your take on this…is it something that religious organizations should be taking part in…is it a tool for ministry???
can they really…
scare the HELL out of you?!?
I really agree with you, and I believe that they mean well by what they are doing, but should take a step back and possibly “love the hell right out of them” Now I think that a conversion is a huge thing that we need to be focused on, but what is going on after that takes place…If we are going to do something of this magnitude, should we not be there to disciple them once this gets done! Working with peoples emotions can be done by completely walking with them in their relationship with Christ, letting them feel a love that they have never felt before!
Jon, you and I both were raised in conservative churches, and ones that are very vital in shaping our minds on who Christ is….but I firmly believe that by spreading our wings and realizing that it is more about the walk, than the experience, we have been able to know that GOD loves us where we are at and that we need to stay close to that!!
Dude, you rock! The people that do things to trigger emotions are going at it the way they believe and in no way shape or form am I saying that they are wrong in the way they do things, I just think that we need to LOVE THE HELL OUT OF THEM, and not SCARE THEM TO CHRIST!
Now now. I was one of those parents who drove around last night. Well, not exactly. We went to the mall…then just drove around the development behind us to see all the costumes and people. We stopped at one neighbors house behind us and she had just set a bucket of candy on the front porch.
Anyway…
hmmm…I agree with you. I’ve been to a couple of those types of church things around halloween growing up. Of course, I was already a Christian at that point. I definitely agree that this isn’t “making disciples”. I suspect the church has some form of follow-up ministry with anyone who makes a decision for Christ at these events.
Ditto to Tug’s comments as well!
Wow the statement that Tug gave is really awesome: Love the hell out of them and not scare them to Christ.. Watching some of the documentaries that come about at this time of year, cults are ever present, not sure Jon if that is the trail you were taking, but just watching some of that puts the hair on the back of my neck at attention… Its scary, they make Christ as being transparent, and you and I Know that Christ is by far transparent, We need to stay connected to Him thru His word, thru discipleship, offering His praise and glory every day of our lives.
@tug – LOVE the last statement on LOVE!!!
Wowee! Great blog…great comments! I agree. Love them like Jesus. I don’t remember Him scaring anyone….
Jon, I love this post. I couldn’t agree more. Your friend is so right too. Our old church did something called Judgement House which is the same concept. Larry and I went one time and thought this just doens’t sit right with us…. you completely wrote what we felt.
btw, Happy Halloween.
hey jon–i totally agree with you here. kris and i were just talking about this same thing last night. My big 2 reasons for not being a “fan” of these judgement house-first and foremost Jesus didn’t use scare tatics-he loved on them and second-it’s usually “church-goers” who go to those things only and the “big sins” these judgement houses use-partying, drinking, etc. are what are portrayed… why not show the other sins in churches as well?
and on a side note that I think you might appreciate, I was apart of the judgement house in high school and because I was the public school girl I was nominated to be the “drunk” later killed…
also-i booed the parents in their cars on thursday night.