 |
John’s JIGROP Project (Hypothetical Scenario) + Part One It was a cold, dreary day in September when John Jones decided to spend time surfing the Internet. Like most hours on his Dell computer, he busied himself reading top news stories, writing short notes on message boards, or doing sporadic web searches to learn more about favorite people or things of interest. When reading about “Witnessing” by “CoolCat3" on a favorite Message Board, John noticed a word he had never seen before. Since the letters were capitalized, he assumed the “JIGROP” word was an acronym, but there was no explanation given to explain the meaning. He became curious enough to do a search on the Internet where he found the JIGROP.com web site. John learned the word meant: “Jesus is God; Repent or perish! He remembered hearing many times that Jesus was the “Son of God,” but he’d never thought of Him as being God. Something about the information he was reading caused him to wonder if he needed to study his Bible more often and more seriously. Like many Christians do, he had always depended on the church pastor to explain what to believe – or what not to believe. More Internet searches were done that night and during the following day to see what other Christians believed about the divinity of Christ. John soon became convinced that JIGROP Christians were legitimate. Verses given to support their beliefs confirmed everything they were saying – even though it still took faith to fully accept the concept. It was about a week later while sipping a cup of coffee and reading headlines in the morning paper when John noticed a photo of kids wearing T-shirts with cartoon designs. It reminded him of JIGROP photos and ideas seen days earlier. Something in his mind seemed to click. Knowing how he had reacted to the new word, the thought of wearing a JIGROP T-shirt started to make sense. He wondered if other Christians, especially kids, would be willing to join him if he started a witnessing team? John tore the photo out of the newspaper, took a pen from his pocket, and started sketching JIGROP over the cartoons. About an hour later, he was talking to the owner of a small silk screen print shop, explaining how he wanted his designs reproduced on about 50 shirts. During the process of placing an order, he felt enthusiasm growing. He was imagining how many people might be influenced when the one-word message was advertised. “Make that 150 shirts. Friends at my church might want some,” he said before leaving. + Part Two It was the third Sunday after John’s 30-member witnessing team had decided to wear their JIGROP T-shirts to church that Pastor Mike White preached his sermon titled “Jesus is God.” John sat listening and smiling, thinking it might have been inspired by reactions from people who were always asking what JIGROP meant. It was now normal to see visitors filling up this place where empty spaces had been tolerated for too long. During the months after the pastor’s “Jesus is God” sermon, the witnessing team doubled – and then tripled in size. Experiences ranged from hecklers shouting obscenities to souls being saved in public places where “solicitors” are not welcome. One irate store owner called the police, thinking a public sidewalk was an inappropriate location for “troublemakers” wearing what he called, “Those shirts with that weird word on them.” Somewhere between security guard complaints, police reports, and public criticism coming from people who disagreed with the ideas being promoted by JIGROP Christians, stories began appearing in local newspapers, on radio and television. It was one story in a Sunday edition of the paper comparing John Jones to “Jim Jones” that was especially controversial. Within days, the writer of the article, an admitted atheist, was defending his slanderous comments in a more comprehensive story about other members of the witnessing team. Naturally, radio talk shows were giving everyone a chance to voice their opinions. “Jesus is not God,” a few professing Christians, Jews, and Muslims were saying. “Jesus is God,” responded believers. The debate was finally taken nationally, and then internationally via the Internet. John was spending more time at his computer than anywhere else. His energetic defense of himself and his friends became an obsession. Weeks went by before he realized it was impossible to convince people with closed minds that he was right. Rude people who had been attacking his faith in God were now busy complaining about other things – like hurricanes, earthquakes, terrorists, wars and rumors of wars. It was nearly eight months later when John saw a news report on TV showing interviews with survivors of a tornado. One woman was wearing a JIGROP T-shirt, telling everyone, “It’s like a war zone! It sounded like a train coming through. Every house in my neighborhood is gone. Thank God I took my children into the basement. It's a miracle we’re still alive.” John knew what she was saying was typical, but seeing her wearing a JIGROP shirt in that disaster zone made him realize how important one word can be in places where fear and sorrow dominate. “When human existence is being threatened, only a fool would refuse to ask God for help. When thinking we might die, repenting of sin is the best thing we can do. Maybe I should get some red shirts made with ‘JIGROP Generation’ printed in white?” he was mumbling as the TV was turned off. DO A WEB SEARCH TO FIND JIGROP |