An Unbelievable True story

On my recent trip to Las Vegas I was delighted to be with my daughter and her husband and their five kids. I tried to put aside my regret they didn’t live closer and enjoyed the moment. They do live in a different world. No, not because it’s Las Vegas, but rather because of the frantic pace of their lives. Work, home-schooling, parenting and most important, evangelism, are all on their daily schedule.

Several nights (and sometimes days) a week Doug takes Bible in hand, grabs the ever necessary tracts and with brothers from the group they proceed to the hot spot venues, the strip (Las Vegas Blvd. South) in front of the fountains at the Bellagio Hotel, downtown to the Fremont Street Experience, on to an art fair, or anywhere that people gather. They fortify their efforts with prayer and fasting to prepare to meet those who have yielded to the temptations of “sin city.”

My son-in-law is an ideal representative of Christ. He is an imposing 6’5” and probably 245 lbs. with an emerging black beard surrounding a constant smile. He is highly intelligent, a good speaker, and an enthusiastic believer. He is always eager to go one-on-one with either the non-believer or the visitor who left his conscience at his home town airport.

My last night there he mentioned that he would be accompanied that evening by a man with an interesting story. I am grateful he shared it with me and I shall share it with you.

We shall call him Frank since that’s his name. He had a job with a major supplier of neon signs in a city which uses more of that product than any other. For twenty plus years he had been installing naked ladies and beer signs all over the valley in bars, gambling halls and clubs. He was sick of it. Further, he found the explicit signage incompatible with his evangelistic efforts. Frank went to the boss and said as much and requested the opportunity to stay with the company but not to be involved with the more tawdry installations. The headman reminded him that their was no preference given in the work assignments and denied his request. Whereupon, he quit!

He then went home and informed his wife and family that he no longer worked there or anywhere and they would have to make some life style adjustments. Having heard his mounting complaints previously, they made the plans that are necessary when such things happen. She took another job, the kids cut back on expensive plans, and Frank went to work looking for employment.

He soon found another position but at a vastly reduced pay and a great deal more physical demand. It did have a decent benefit package though so he went ahead and endured the pain of a taxing job. Not too long after, his boss called him in to the office. Given his past experience with management he wasn’t looking forward to the meeting. Once there the owner mentioned that he had observed that the work had become very difficult for Frank. He then asked what he would rather be doing. Frank smilingly replied that he would be happiest if he were a full time evangelist.

The boss then stunned him by saying he thought that might be a very good idea. He then offered to create the opportunity for him to do just that. He told him he would continue to pay his salary, furnish his health insurance and other benefits and Frank could spend his requisite number of hours preaching the gospel wherever he felt needed. He explained that he belonged to a group of Christian business men and that others in the group would pitch in and bring his wages up to what he had made previously. He also explained that with the pressures of running his business he just didn’t have the time to fulfill his heart felt obligation to the Lord. He and the others had discussed it and felt that Frank was the ideal man to share the knowledge of Jesus Christ for them.

To say Frank was overjoyed would be a massive understatement. I met him that evening before he and Doug went out. We shared our mutual love of the Savior and anecdotes from the street and encounters they had. At first exposure I was overjoyed to find this degree of recognition of the importance of street evangelism in a city with the reputation of Las Vegas. The pool of main line Christians (ME, BAP, LU, RC, etc.) is disproportionately small compared to the size of the city. The primary faith, surprisingly to many, is LDS. The usual cadre of bike born missionaries is as common as school crossing guards and just as obvious.

As I drove to Tucson the next day I had plenty of time to ruminate on this remarkable story. Being the self-appointed church skeptic, I tried to figure out what could possibly be wrong with the whole thing. The only problem I could discern was for the men who financed the program. It has a taste of indulgences. Past history has a record of many men who have paid others to “go” in their stead. Although most prominent in the military, it has also been in the church. Variance from doctrine could easily be purchased by members of the Roman Catholic Church at different times in their history. I don’t know if the the practice remains today or not. Although this is not exactly the same it does have some characteristic similarities. Past that, I find the story uplifting, and since I met one of the principals, I know it to be true. Praise God!

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon