A PASTOR ON THE PLAYA? (or "Why I Go To Burning Man")

BurningMan.com ^ | Randy Bohlender

[Liberal Classic]

My stepmother attends a Vinyard church and they are good people. I know they do missionary work and this would seem to be them going where people need them to be. They do not offer only positive messages, as you claim.

[jjm2111]

BURN, BABY BURN!

[najida]

Of course the lost need Christ, but my childhood experiences with religious hypocrisy had soured me on church-going. I'm just very grateful that someone was able to speak to me about God and Christ in an idiom I could understand.

Exactly. We don't all speak the same language, or see the world with the same eyes.

[Burn24]

Hi, Naj - you off this week too?

[mountaineer]

It seems to me that the pastor is acting in accordance with scripture.

Only God can say whether he is. It's not "judgmental" for any of us to express the desire that the pastor honors God through his words and deeds as he attends this Satan-glorifying festival.

[Semaphore Heathcliffe]

He took a swig, looked back up to the throne and quietly said "Thanks, God."

very cool.

[najida]

More like I am sick...
Recovering from injuries inflicted by a red-wasp the size of a Buick.

[Burn24]

Yikes! The wasps get angry this time of year, don't they? What are you doing for it?

[freebilly]

yep it seems that way to me too. Some people like to judge instead.

It somewhat reminds me of John who wanted to stop a non-disciple from preaching--

John said to him, "Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he was not following us." 39 But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me. 40 For he that is not against us is for us. 41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ, will by no means lose his reward.

Mark 9:38-41

[najida]

Going for all the sympathy and Krispy Kreme donuts I can.

I look like Pumpkin Head so it is pretty easy to get both.

[Jmouse007]

I propose he reach them the way God's holy Word says we are to reach them:

"Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God".

If we know Christ; we are to PREACH Christ to those OUTSIDE of Christ!

I have no problem with friendship evangelism, the problem is this: this so-called "pastor" gave them nothing, no Christ, no answers that would satisfy the longing of their souls.

When the Philippian jailer came to Paul and asked "what must I do to be saved?" Paul didn't talk about changing the living conditions of the prisoners or giving them water bottles. Neither did he wax eloquent on the latest Philippian sports figures. He realized he had a short/limited opportunity to share the truth with this man and so he simply shared the gospel with him:

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved".

Paul's jailer responded to that simple message and God saved his soul.

The pastor attending Burning Man had a limited short-term opportunity to bear witness to Christ, to thousands of souls whooping it up on their way straight to Hell. Given the details presented within the news article I believe he failed to take advantage of that opportunity; he did not obey God's mandate to believers to proclaim Christ, found in Matthew 28: 18 - 19 and Acts 1:8.

As for your straw-man argument-excuse regarding "religious hypocrisy" it does not wash. Just because there are phonies/hypocrites out there (and there are lots of them) it does not of necessity mean that there aren't multitudes of genuine Christians and churches, which know and love Jesus Christ and which faithfully proclaim and obey the Word of God.

Just because there are counterfeit $20, $50, and $100 bills floating around it does not mean that currency as a whole is untrustworthy.

To prove my point, I guarantee you accept and use cash on a daily basis without giving it a second thought.

The Word of God, not our personal views, ideas or "childhood experiences" is to be the sole-basis for believing what we believe and for living our "Christian" lives, and that includes witnessing! Those of us in ministry and those of us who know Christ as our personal savior have a solemn responsibility to follow God's Word in ALL matters of faith and practice.

On a personal level, I am grateful for the pastor who lead you to Christ. But I guarantee that there came a point in that "relationship" where he shared the truth and MESSAGE of the gospel with you.

Dr. S

[CJ Wolf]

Sorry mountineer I didn't mean for that to be directed to you. Looking back at my post, I can see how you could have taken it that way.

I don't judge, I leave that to the Lord.

Seems: To appear to one's own opinion or mind:

As in everyday walks of life you will find 'satan-glorifying behavior' that is the place to find sinners, that is the place to find those that desire salvation as well.

[Almondjoy]

The fact of what Jesus was doing is only evident 2000 years later. It was not evident however at the time it was being done. After this man has passsed on and the stories of him at burning man are told down the road will future generations know if he too was doing a good thing.

[freebilly]

When the Philippian jailer came to Paul and asked "what must I do to be saved?" Paul didn't talk about changing the living conditions of the prisoners or giving them water bottles. Neither did he wax eloquent on the latest Philippian sports figures. He realized he had a short/limited opportunity to share the truth with this man and so he simply shared the gospel with him

When the Burning Man participants ask this pastor what they need to do to be saved, I doubt he's talking about sports or water bottles.

In the past 3 months I've personally brought 10-12 new people to my church. I guarantee that I did not begin my conversations with them by telling them how God loved them so much he sent his Son to die on a cross for them.

If the goal is to win people to Christ, then we must "be wise as serpents and innocent as doves" (Matthew 10:16). Now, I'm sure you are an effective witness for the power of Christ in your life among your circle of acquaintances. I doubt you'd be a very effective witness in my circle of acquaintances (just as I might not be a very effective witness in your circle).

God uses each of us, all that we are, for His purposes, if we let Him, and Christ has admonished us not to hinder others from pursuing their ministry.

[freebilly]

The Word of God, not our personal views, ideas or "childhood experiences" is to be the sole-basis for believing what we believe and for living our "Christian" lives, and that includes witnessing!

There's a great book by Og Mandino called "The Greatest Salesman in the World". You might like it.

[ocean]

Its is much easier to judge someone than to examine our own walk. I'm sure that you have introduced Christ to many more people than this guy, but I know that I probably haven’t. I have no place to judge. The church has become very unchristlike when it insists that the unsaved somehow find their way into our "church" building so we can sell them our 3-step plan of salvation. Christ walked among the unclean and sinful and was greatly criticized for it by the "clean" religious leaders who just KNEW this man couldn't be the one he claimed to be because of his "unreligious" conduct.

Jesus accused them of actually PREVENTING people from entering the kingdom of Heaven.

This Pastor is going to the dirtiest of the dirtiest and shining light while "real" Christians scoff from their sanitized Christian box.

For me personally I was introduced to Christ by a man who first befriended me. He came up to me as I was sitting on a sidewalk and we just chatted, he didn’t even say a word about God but I knew he possessed a peace that I needed. Months latter I gave my life to Christ at his home church and haven’t looked back since. I know by my appearance that most Christians wouldn’t have given me the time of day on that street.

I attend a vineyard church every week. The pastor is no holds barred when it comes to sin and the blood of Christ. They plant churches and do multiple outreaches in the local community. It would be dangerous to stand in judgement of such a church

their Website: www.vcfgp.org

[CJ Wolf]

"When the Philippian jailer came to Paul and asked "what must I do to be saved?""

He asked, he desired it. Paul did not go to him. This takes you back to the gift of free will.

The pastor who wrote here allowed for that opportunity to come to the burning man attendees. Some may have understood and still others my find this thread or his article and find grace.

I don't see it the same way you do with regards to Matthew 28: 18 - 19 and Acts 1:8. I believe that in order to go and make disciples of Christ you must lead people to that choice. It can not be forced and pounded into the thoughts of man en mass.

And to use his metaphor, The boxes we put around ourselves don't allow for that at all times. He came out of his box and he seems to understand that the boxes we may stand on to 'PREACH' seem to ensure the Word is not heard and instead shunned and ridiculed.

[freebilly]

Thanks for your post.

[CJ Wolf]

Try a slice of raw onion to sooth the pain and reduce the swelling.

[Timesink]

Geez, isn't this the third Burning Man article posted on FR just today? They're just failed loser detrius from the dotcom fraud collapse going out there to get high and have lots of sex. And the festival is getting smaller every year as more and more people realize it's an embarrassment to admit they've attended, not a bragging point.