E-vangie Tales #66 “Stiffneck by the Sea”

The nerve! This guy claimed to be without sin, but was a big, fat liar…

I walked along the Redondo Beach pier with my daughters and we stopped at the Corndog on a Stick stand to give the owner a million bucks and ask about his eternal destiny. He answered that he’d go to heaven because he was a good person.

“So God will let you in?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said as he wiped down a counter distractedly.

“What do you think the Bible says?” I continued.

“Doesn’t matter. I don’t believe the Bible; it was written by men. In fact, I think that people who talk about the Bible are not good people. That book is just a bunch of opinions.”

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E-vangie Tales #66 “Purgatory”

My little girls screamed with delight as we walked into what was billed as “The South Bay’s Biggest Midway!” We rushed in expecting huge crowds, shoulder shoving show-offs and long lines at the scary rides…but we were pleasantly disappointed. Though there were no dancing clowns, fire-breathing midgets or Shriners in mini-cars, there were also no people. Well, very few people. And Frank the carnival barker…

He sat on the corner ledge of his booth with head in hands. Stuffed animals drooped sadly, hanging on walls in the back and to the side of him. The goldfish-dunkin’ or coin-toss-loss or balloon-poppin’ con was a dud. There he was: a barker with no bite. Or customers. Nobody.

“How’s it going?” I asked cheerfully, knowing all too well how it was going.

“All right,” Frank answered glumly.

“Here. Take this.” I handed him a million dollar bill. He examined it carefully turning it over in his hands. I detected a tiny smile at the edges of his mouth. He looked up at me and said thanks.

“You’re welcome. Now you have to answer the million dollar question…”

“What’s that?” he asked curiously.

“You sure you want to know?” He nodded. “If you were to die today, would you go to heaven or hell?”

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E-vangie Tale – Edge #1 “Monk Stew”

(An Interview with Brother Will)

I recently spent 3 days and 2 nights at Mount Calvary Monastery on top of a mountain over-looking Santa Barbara to get some much needed rest. This is a Benedictine Monastery and the “Brothers” are of “The Order of the Holy Cross” which numbers about 40 men who live in various homes in the U.S. and Canada. Their Order is an offshoot of the Episcopal church.

I interviewed Brother William (Will) Brown, a very polite and engaging 80 year-old Englishman:

(Comments in brackets [ ], are when I put down my pen and recalled from memory.)

*
Steve: How did you become a monk?

Will: I grew up in a Methodist family in England where we lived in a rowhouse. My sisters’ peers were Anglo-Catholics who would do research for their college papers by visiting an active monastery in Northern England. They were always so beautiful. My Dad would always say, “Those monks always knew where to live.” Always in the back of my mind, I thought about the monastic life.

I had become an Episcopalian at age thirty. I met a monk after church and asked to visit the monastery where he lived. I visited it many times. At age fifty I entered the monastic life.

S: You said you were single for fifty years, was there a reason?

W: Yes. I’m a gay man.

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My Great Evangelism Adventure, Part 5: “Little Comfort”

They turn it over in their hands, smile and ask, “What is it? Where did you get it? Is it legal?” It then gets passed on to the next person. They smile too… (Click here to start at Part 1 of “My Great Evangelism Adventure.”)

I rarely hand out gospel tracts. Why? I hate to contribute to the littering problem. Most are just plain boring and didactic. Ugly. Old school. Ahhh, but this one people like. They want it and read it. They give it to their friends. I have given out nearly a hundred in just over a week.

The bald and tattooed Mexican guy, arm coiled around his girlfriend, gave a hard look to me as they walked by. I never blinked. Neither did he. “Excuse me,” I said.

Eyes narrowed as he slowly turned to stare me down.

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