Mardi Gras and Alcohol

O.k. I am about to open a can of worms and see where it leads.

The subject of alcohol is a hot topic and is like wading into a minefield. Let me proceed cautiously.

First of all, I don't drink alcohol. The last time alcohol entered my system must have been through some cough medicine, maybe. I'll explain why in a bit.

Honestly, I just don't get it! What is so appealing about alcohol.

On my flight to Mardi Gras there was a group of women sitting behind me on the plane. They were on their way to party at Mardi Gras. They were giddy with excitement and chatted together the entire flight. They major topic of discussion and laughs was about all the alcohol they were going to consume. They were absolutely bursting with anticipation about alcohol.

Is it really all that? Maybe it is, and I just don't know. That is not what my eyes witnessed with the thousands of people intoxicated at Mardi Gras. They looked miserable to me.

Alcohol at Mardi Gras is like sand on a beach. It is everywhere, comes in every type imaginable, and can be consumed through many odd different contraptions.

At about 11:45 I saw this one guy stumbling towards me. Around his neck was a plastic looking fishbowl. Inside this rather large fishbowl was some type of pink alcoholic concoction. It had a lanyard around it so that the fishbowl hung at the the guys chest. It had a large straw that reached up to the mouth so they guy could drink from the fishbowl hands free. Human ingenuity is so amazing!

He was blitzed and drunk. He started talking to us, and I think he might have been speaking in tongues. He made no sense, his words were not just slurred, they were barely recognizable. There is no way this guy is going to remember what he did the next day. He probably got sick, killed many brain cells, was in serious danger of alcohol poisoning, and could have been easily taken advantage of. That does not sound like fun to me.

I bet he woke up with a hangover, sobered up, and then laughed with his buddies about how much fun he had, even though he couldn't remember any of it. That is either ridiculous, or I am missing something.

Why do people love alcohol so much? Why does our society worship at the alcohol altar? Seriously, alcohol is a god. It is an idol that people worship.

I'd be willing to compare my sober fun to anyone's alcohol fun. I have had more fun with Christ followers, even doing ministry, that I think far surpasses the "fun" people were having at Mardi Gras. I know that following Christ is not about having fun, but it does have moments that are incredibly fun. I don't just mean humorous, I mean that I have been hysterical with laughter and having an absolute blast. And the best part, I remember all of it.

I don't need alcohol, I have the joy of Christ.
I don't need alcohol to unwind from a tough day, I have the peace of Christ.
I don't need alcohol to liven things up, I have abundant life in Christ.
I don't need alcohol to quench my thirst, I'll just drink water.

It's just not necessary!

Mardi Gras Mission

Tomorrow evening I will embark on my second trip to New Orleans to work the streets during Mardi Gras.

Mardi Gras in N.O. is one of the largest parties in the world.(Biggest is in Rio De Janeiro). Hundreds of thousands of people will come to NO from all over the states and all over the world. The will drink gallons of alcohol, get wasted, get naked, engage in all kinds of lascivious behavior and sins. (doesn't sound like fun to me)But, these are not the scum of society, they are your neigbhors and co-workers. They are not evil, they are lost and need a Savior.

I will not be partying, I will be doing the work of an evangelist. Lord willing, I will hand out tracts and start conversations in which I can share the message of Christ with anyone I can.

Does this work? Is this effective? Is this just a waste of time? After all, they may not even be sober.

First of all, Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. Well, here they are. Jesus did not come for those who do not need a physician, but for those who are spiritually sick. Well, here they are.

Is it effective? Absolutely yes, from a certain point of view. I have already been convicted of the Lord that I need to be in much prayer about this trip. Me being drawn closer to the Lord - that is effective. I will get the opportunity to share my faith and be obedient to the Great Commission. That is effective in my own life.

But, is it effective in reaching the lost and bringing them to a saving knowledge of Jesus? The answer to that question is maybe.

I think this type of Christ sharing is like shooting a machine gun. You put out a lot of bullets and hope something gets hit. Or, it is like fishing. You make lots of casts and hope to catch something. Or, to use a biblical illustration, it is like sowing seed. Much of that seed might fall on useless ground. But maybe, just maybe, the seed of the gospel of Jesus might just fall on good soil. Soil that comes to faith in Jesus, and yields a bountiful harvest of fruitfulness for the glory of Christ.

I don't know what God might do. Imagine a scenario like this. I put a tract into the hands of a man from Timbuktu. He is drunk, has no idea what's going on. He wakes up the next morning and sobers up. He can't believe what he did the last few nights. He finds a piece of paper stuck in his pocket. He pulls it out and reads it. It is the gospel tract telling him about Jesus Christ. He realizes how deep his sin truly is. The man gets on his knees, repents and places his faith in Christ. Then he goes home and tells his family about Jesus - they come to faith. He goes on to live a life that glorifies God and leads many others to the throne of grace.

Could something like that happen? Absolutely. And since that is a possibility, that is all that matters.

Mardi Gras #3

What's The Deal?

Not only did I see lots of evil things down at Mardi Gras I saw lots of religious people. I guess we were not the only ones that had the idea of doing some evangelism at Mardi Gras. There were all kinds and manners of people doing different types of evangelism. The majority of which I thought were ineffective at best and possibly unbiblical.

The different groups:
- The fearmongerers: This group had large signs and a huge cross made out of pvc pipe. They used PVC because it is a light material. They don't want the cross too realistic and an actual burden to carry. Anyway... Their method was to tell everyone how much God hates them and what they are doing. This is posted on their signs and is the message coming from their bullhorn. Was it effective? The only people they seemed to talk to was belligerent drunks. My favorite part was when one belligerent drunk showed up with his own bullhorn that was louder than theirs. A great shouting match ensued and I am sure many converts were made.(my tongue is firmly in my cheek)


- The biblically illiterate. I ran across a couple of groups that fit this category. They too had signs, they were just not what the Bible says. One young guy had a sign that read, "Everyone goes to heaven, but not everybody gets to stay." What?! We approached him and asked about his message. He didn't have a good answer but we took the opportunity to teach him the truth that everyone does not go to heaven.

Another poor theologian held up a sign that read, "You are so incredible that Jesus died for you." This one made me downright mad. I calmly approached this man and told him his sign was unbiblical. Romans 5:8 says that "while we were yet SINNERS, Christ died for us." If we were so incredible Jesus wouldn't have had to die for us.

- The street preachers: There were a couple of groups that had a microphone and were attempting to preach or something. The problem is no one was listening. I really wonder what they were thinking.

- The personal witnesses: I was in this group. We had a two pronged approach. One was to hand out as many gospel tracts as we could. Not everyone took them, and not everyone read them. But we cast the seed out. The other prong was to get into a one-on-one conversation with people and personally share the gospel with them. We got to do this with quite a few people.

Obviously, you can tell what I think of those other approaches. At times it was almost embarrassing to think that I was in the same group as some of those "religious nuts". But, then again, you might think I am a nut just for going down to Mardi Gras.

Just another interesting observation about the events surrounding Mardi Gras.

Mardi Gras #2

The Depravity of Man

A friend called me last week and invited me to go do some street evangelism at Mardi Gras in New Orleans. After thinking and praying it through I felt like I should go. I knew that Mardi Gras was wild and filled with partiers, but it exceeded my expectations. I have been among the party crowd before doing evangelism and this was similar just multiplied by a factor of 10.

What goes on at Mardi Gras? Most people are aware of the party atmosphere, the copious amounts of alcohol and the scantily clad (if clad at all) people. But, there are some things that you don’t hear about or see on t.v. There is open drug use, public sex acts, voodoo, demonologists, fortune tellers, and all kinds of lewd and lascivious behavior. A police officer once told a friend of mine that the only thing that is illegal during Mardi Gras is inciting a riot and public urination. All ten of the Ten Commandments were broken in clear site with no shame.

Let me give you an example. As we walked down Bourbon Street just as we passed the porno shop, I saw two girls dancing to the street music. As we got closer they were not just dancing but they were basically gyrating in a motion to imitate like they were having sex. Now, these girls did happen to have on their clothes, there are those who do not, but what really shocked me was their age. They stopped for a moment and I approached them and asked their age. They were 16 and 17. I attempted to share Christ with them, but they were more interested in resuming their lewdness. 16 years old!!!!

It breaks my heart to see such young teens caught in the bondage of sin. Their only hope is to be redeemed by Jesus Christ. I pray that He saves them before it is too late.
You might be tempted to think that the only people that do things that are done at Mardi Gras are the losers of society. Not so. The losers are there, but so are your neighbors, and co-workers. There were people of all ages, races, colors and creeds. These are people that could be a mechanic or an accountant. This is not something that is isolated to a few days in New Orleans. We may not see it exactly, but there are people that we see in our everyday life that are caught in sin.

I was thankful for what the Lord did in my own life. I was thankful for the opportunity to share the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. I pray that seeing the depravity of man will motivate me to share that good news more often.

Mardi Gras

I just got back from quick mission trip to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. WHOA!!!! I am still processing all that I saw and what went on. The next few blog posts I will include some of my thoughts and experiences.

Let me start off with this; I knew it would be wild and crazy, I did not know it would be SO wild and crazy!

More coming soon.