Another Public Transportation Experience

It must be the season for it. I was riding the Staten Island Rail yesterday on my way to the ferry, once again reading a book, when I glanced up and noticed a rider who did not quite fit in with the rest of the commuters. He could not have been more than 22, was wearing dark slacks with a short-sleeved white collared shirt and a conservative tie. His plain haircut and red hair screamed that he was not from Staten Island. As he stood holding onto a pole, he looked at the subway map on the wall of the car, and then at the other passengers, with a look both anxious and furtive. I did not need to see the nametag on his shirt pocket to know that he was a Mormon missionary.

He leaned over to a sitting passenger to ask a question. I finished a paragraph, shut my book, and slipped it into my backpack. I began to pray that God would protect the heart and mind of this other passenger, confuse the tongue of the Mormon missionary, and give me an opportunity to become part of the conversation. Eavesdropping is not normally behavior that I encourage, but I strained to listen in. I grinned when I heard the discussion. The passenger was thoroughly against formal religion and more interested in whether the Mormons believe that dogs have spirits and will join us in heaven. He was also eager to talk, such that the missionary could not disengage from the conversation. After several minutes, the passenger got off. Next I felt a pang of disappointment. At the next stop the missionary got off as well, before I could engage him.

How does a kid from Utah who believes a false gospel find the courage to start a conversation about spiritual matters with a complete stranger; but most evangelical Christians that I know, who are genuinely converted as far as I can tell, who believe in the biblical gospel, struggle to talk openly about their faith with friends, coworkers, and family members? Too often I must include myself in this evaluation. Perhaps the sting of rejection is less with a stranger (though I do not know many Christians who substitute contact evangelism in public spaces for evangelism in the context of relationships). Perhaps the labor of investing in personal relationships and modeling integrity, or the risk of vulnerability and authenticity, are wages many of us are unwilling to pay.

But this is now twice in the course of a week that I have encountered some sort of evangelistic work on public transportation, after over two years of not seeing anything at all. And although I am persuaded that this sort of effort is not the most effective means at our disposal, I think there is heartwork that God is doing in me through these experiences in regard to what I value and what I am willing to risk.