Cross and Shield

This evening I was handing out flyers in the park in Sannomiya and came across three 20-something guys talking amongst themselves. I offered a flyer, briefly mentioning about the program and free English, etc., but one of them coldly moves his hand in a slow and deliberate dismissive motion, pushing my arm back. I told them there was no reason to be rude about it, that a simple “No, thank you” would suffice, and then left.

It’s not unusual to get remarkably curt and insolent responses, but I did wonder as I walked away what I should do if they came at me. I’m not much of a fighter – little skill and less training. Should I just dodge back and away (I’m good at that), or see what I could do with a few preemptive blows to the soft spots to take the fight out of them? Pretty sure that would have landed me in the clink by the Japanese police.

Here’s what a bantam Steve “Lionheart” Rogers did when faced with a never-do-well. Words like intrepid, dauntless, stout-hearted, and resolute also come to mind.  

Now that's showing what us little guys can do!
And speaking of the little guy.

But then, I can also imagine what the late David Wilkerson would have done, and witnessed the fire from heaven fall and bring them to their knees in awe of God.
In case any of you are unfamiliar with Wilkerson, here’s the movie The Cross and the Switchblade, which covers his love-wins-out-style clash with New York gangsters.  (The link probably won't stay up long, but you can search YouTube.)

In 1958, he felt called to go to New York to preach to a gang, facing death head on, along with starting a street ministry for drug addicts. Later he founded Times Square Church among the strip clubs and crackhouses, similar to Jackie Pullinger’s work with St. Stephen’s Society reaching out to Triads and opium dens in the Walled City of Kowloon of Hong Kong.

I'm really excited as I see some ideas and people and plans coming together to impact the streets of Osaka. What do you think of their lives? Do you know any other people doing similar work?