do YOU know about that thang? / i send them demons screamin’!

(These two stories are some street classics we’ve experienced on our journeys…)

“I already know about that thang!”

April and I headed downtown to pass out a few Bibles yesterday. We saw a man under the bridge near Ross Ave and 75, so I threw on the hazards and stopped in the middle of the road and put it in park.

I grabbed a Bible with the standard two bucks inside and tossed in my business card – which has a prayer of Salvation on it – and hopped out.

I made my way over to the man as he sat against the concrete under the bridge. I called out, “How’s it going?” He looked at me with a spoonful of suspicion.

That didn’t bother me. That’s perfectly par for the course in this line of business. I kept going. I held up the Bible.

“A couple bucks and a Bible?”

He held up his hand and defiantly said, “Nah. I already know about that thang.”

Hm. That thang. For some reason, I found this funny, and even laughed about it later. That thang. Blatant disregard for God’s word is a clear indicator of someone hurt by religion some how some way. Anyhoo, I kept on.

“Man, it’s a good read. You sure?”

He shook his head. I think he said something like, “Nah. I don’t need that.”

Obviously, it was more clear than ever that he did. I stood there. Not budged.

I guess he saw I wasn’t leaving so he finally pointed to some metal electrical box by us and said, “You can put it there.”

“Promise me you’re gonna read it,” I asked him. He nodded, so I sat it on top of that box.

“Thanks for the dollar,” he said.

I held up two fingers and smiled, “Two dollars.”

He nodded and I took one step backwards to give him his space, but I repeated, “You promised you’re gonna read it, right?”

He nodded, “Yea.”

That was good enough for me. I was originally wanting to lead him to the Lord right then and there, but I think I had worn out my welcome for that time. Hopefully he cracked open that Word and began to eat it up. Therein lies soul Salvation.

As I walked off, he called out something that I seriously thought sounded like, “That’s a pretty girl in the car” or something. I looked at the van and with how the sun was hitting and given the distance from him to her, I thought “how could he see her?” He’s right, but how does he know?

Apparently that’s not what he said because he yelled out, “Don’t hate.”

What? I turned back around and he said, “I said have a good day.”

I smiled, “God bless!”

He nodded and I hopped the van. On to the next stop.

_____________________

“I send them demons screamin’!”

70 Bibles. Approx. 70 seconds. That’s about how fast they went today was we handed out bucks & Bibles to the “VIPs” – what they call the homeless – at Temple of Prayer Christian Fellowship church in downtown Dallas. I’d love to thank Bishop Porter Perry for allowing us to come by and help spread the love, message and Word of Jesus.

Jimmy Sr and I. Sideways…

We were also super lucky to have a great friend of ours, Brittany – who’s also a Director for our nonprofit – and three of her YoungLife crewleaders join us for the ride. They are super awesome at engaging the people and personally ministering to each. Kudos to whoever their mentors are. All of their personal stories about this mission will be on this blog soon. Look for those. I’m serious. Look.

Meantime, I met a man named Jimmy Whitehead, proud father of “the greatest kept secret in college basketball,” #24 Jimmy Whitehead, Jr. He plays ball for the Minnesota State Mavericks, who this year made it to the semi-finals in the Division II NCAA tournament before losing out. But no matter, Jimmy Jr’s a red shirt freshman, which means he’s got time to lead this team to a championship before he eyeballs the pros. And where does Jimmy Sr say he wants him to play? “I’m already here in Texas. He’s got his orders. Dallas Mavericks.” Nice.

Jimmy Sr served in the Navy during Vietnam, which he says, cut his basketball career short. However, when asked if he can still beat his son in one-on-one he says,“I taught him, but I didn’t teach him everything.”

See? This is awesome. These are the people who you meet when you step outside your own bubble and venture out into God’s world. I was blessed to have met and known Jimmy Whitehead, Sr. We googled on my cell phone and looked up his son’s stats and a photo, which looks exactly like his dad. No DNA test needed on this one.

I’m going to make Temple of Prayer a normal stop on our rounds. I’m not sure how often, but I feel it is one of the places God is calling A Couple Bucks & a Bible to keep on the rolodex.

Oh, Jimmy Sr is a street minister as well. He told me, “I send them demons screamin’!”

With enough faith, we all can.