Front page, top headline: Mr. Smith stares blankly, beside cult-prophet-leader...
See ma?
You told me I’d never amount to a hill-o-beans,
and here I am on the front page of the newspaper!
They say everyone gets “15 minutes of fame” (or an hour?), and I guess this is mine. Well done. At my funeral they’ll say, “He was a GREAT cult-prophet-leader!” (Among other things.)
I’ve been dying to blog about it for a few months, but I didn’t want to hurt anyone. Maybe it’s OK now: the dust has settled, the inflammatory tenor is abated. I’m very thankful for the experience. As I recently told J. Carney (the ABJ reporter), it opened my eyes to how meaningful this cause is: they say “Jesus Saves,” and they’re right, and that’s why He’s worth fighting for. (Read this article to get the background, if you’re lost…)
I learned what “Joy under persecution” means, and why so many people in the Bible (and in the history of Christian martyrs) all experienced joy under such adverse conditions.
I highly recommend it for every Christian—godly persecution, that is, not persecution for idiocy. I researched persecution extensively in the Bible, and from other writers during this time (but I’m surprised at the paucity of current Christian books published on persecution!) and I’ve arrived at a most-astounding, scandalous conclusion:
The people causing us trouble think “persecution” doesn’t fit us, because we’re a “cult”. But their exhaustive efforts to raise public alarm has turned us into the most well-researched, closely-examined, and certified-safe church in Ohio. Months of work with hundreds of man-hours by many outside parties ended—and we were clean. No dirt. Nothing. Their work firmly established this as a classic study in persecution: some people consider Christianity a threat. (Duh).
And that’s all they found here: Christianity on-the-move.
Police investigation report--one of several investigations declaring all complaints groundless.
Numerous local Christian groups examined us too, like the Christian Missionary Alliance, Riverwood Chapel, Hudson Chapel, Akron Chapel, Campus Crusade for Christ, and even the local Catholic diocese weighed-in with an opinion: without exception, they all agreed we were receiving persecuted for our faith. They all expressed their sympathy and support!
(The people causing us trouble aren’t convinced: we bribed the ABJ reporter, the police are incompetent, the mayor is in our pocket, the high school principal is lazy, etc., etc., etc. See what I mean here >>)
Why Me, Oh Lord?
Which begs the question: why does Xenos draw the Cult-attack flack?
