During a recent trip out west I observed a gentleman doing some "street corner preaching." This was not the first time I had actually seen this being done. A few years ago I saw a few people preaching to the crowds entering Texas Stadium before an athletic event.
The more recent "preacher" was inside the walkway at Mount Rushmore and was commenting on the ill-conceived ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States regarding same-sex marriages.
It seemed that nearly everyone was politely stepping around the preacher and ignoring him and his message. There was no confrontation, nor was there any lingering to hear the message.
In reflection, I held the belief (long held actually) that this kind of preaching is very limited in its impact. Small-scale personal conversations with people interested in listening are probably much more powerful.
A reality that I could not miss, however, was that this man was actually doing something. Many of the rest of us are content to be distressed, but not enough to spur us to those "more effective" communication strategies.
Isn't it interesting how easily we can be drawn into evaluating the strategies and methods of others who are at least doing something, while being personally content to confine our own activities to that of a critic.
He was at least doing something! Perhaps it is time for the rest of us to follow suit.
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