USC Ugly, Pt. 2: Belial the Behemoth

Belial is a pretty strong word, but anyone who tries to interrupt or prevent the preaching of the Gospel is certainly Satanic. We had to be very creative to outwit this son of perdition. (Read Part 1 here)

The huge man hated that we were at the USC game to present our message of salvation—again! The week before he got nose-to-nose with my friend Ed Lee, so he was really ticked when we showed up a second time. My estimate of his size would be about six-foot-five and 280 pounds of sheer aggressive bulky terror.

And the object of his wrath? Five-foot-eight, 180 pound Alfredo Chavez.

He never flinched as he explained the consequences of sin and God’s mercy to the forty or so fans lined up for a private pre-game party outside the Coliseum (he looks taller standing on a milkcrate).

Belial was tailgating from a Winnebago just off to the side, catching “Alfy” off guard in the middle of his message.

The man threatened, huffed and puffed, swore—yet Alfy held his own, moving out of range as the rest of evangelism team set up basketball-like “picks,” forcing the big man to bump into or walk around us as Alfy preached forcefully.

Belial was undeterred. Alfy moved, dodged, weaving in and out as we passively blocked the angry Redwood. But he would not stop, sometimes standing in front of Alfy, preventing  all view of the smallish preacher. That’s when I had an idea. As Alfy recited: “Jesus said that I am the way and the truth and the life,” Belial blocked him.

I had an idea. “Alfy!” I shouted. “Give me the mic!” He passed me the microphone and I continued the rest of John 14:6: “No one comes to the Father except through me!” He then blocked me. I passed the mic back to Alfy who said: “Unless you repent, you, too, will perish.” He got blocked; I got the mic again: “So put your trust in Jesus today!” This went on and on until we finished the message. Belial lumbered back to his mobile home defeated, and we moved on to our next destination.

Folks, the best part of any football game is the pre-game show, especially if you have a message on your lips, a fire in your heart… and a medical insurance card in your wallet.

Read part 3 here!

Comments (3)

  1. Tom Nance-Ulrich

    Reply

    This was fun! Tag-preaching, who woulda thought. Alfy was great! He just kept going & going, like the Engergizer Bunny of Open Air Preachers.
    I enjoy your sense of humor and the fun you make what is very serious work – preaching the gospel to an unregenerate, uncaring world.

    Folks, Come join us this Sat – back to the friendly environs of the Redondo Beach Pier. Maybe DD will preach in Alfredo’s place.

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