What's with the Roller Coaster?

What's with the Roller Coaster?

Some people love roller coasters. Most people dread them.

I'm one of the dreaders. When I was eight years old, I hopped on a big coaster expecting excitement.

Climb--Dive! Climb--Free fall! Climb--Plunge! Climb--Nosedive!

My guts felt ripped out. I almost fainted, but grimly, silently I gritted my teeth and hung on with all my might. When I finally staggered away from the agony, I vowed I would never ride a roller coaster again.

I kept that vow for forty years. Until...

Jesus Screams with Us

In August 1997, I was preparing a sermon on personal witnessing. I thought of how most people--including myself--are kind of chicken when it comes to speaking the name of Jesus outloud. Then I wrote:

Sharing one's Christian faith with others is like riding a roller coaster. Ups and downs. Terrors and thrills. Proclaiming the Good News in a cross-cultural setting is even tougher, like riding a monster roller coaster. But we don't need to give in to our fears. Why? Because Jesus promised, "Whenever you are making disciples, I am with you" (paraphrase of Mt. 28:19, 20).

Excited, I kept typing:

So, while you may feel like a chicken riding the witnessing roller coaster, rest assured that Jesus is riding right next to you--and he is screaming! Not with fear, but with delight!

I added the crazy screaming idea, because I had heard from the nuts who like roller coasters that they enjoyed screaming.

Screaming with Jesus

I finished the sermon on Thursday morning, feeling sure it would speak to people who are fearful of both roller coasters and witnessing.

But that evening, the Holy Spirit kept flashing an unnerving thought into my mind. "How can you, of all people, talk about roller coasters? You don't know from experience if screaming helps. Until you've tried it, it's only hearsay. The only way you can honestly preach that sermon is to get on a roller coaster and see if it's true."

Needless to say, this idea shook me up.

The next day happened to be the first day of the Minnesota State Fair. At 9 AM when the rides opened, I was there. The red infrastructure of the roller coaster loomed above me. By the standards of roller coaster fans, it wasn't a monster coaster. But it was big enough for me to wonder if I was a maniac to do this.

I bought a ticket. Took my seat. In a moment I would be the first person to ride the roller coaster at the 1997 Minnesota State Fair. As we jerked forward I prayed, "Lord, thanks for being beside me. Scream with me."

Every time we dropped, I made a point of screaming. It really did help! I almost enjoyed the ride.

Then I walked out of the fairgrounds--the first person to exit the 1997 MN State Fair. But now I could preach that sermon based on personal experience, not hearsay.

Grab an Extra G

On Sunday, people resonated to my comparison of witnessing to a roller coaster ride. But I had more to learn about screaming.

After the service, a professional pilot told me this story.

I'll never forget my first training flight in a jet fighter, back in the Air Force. I was scheduled to ride along with a seasoned pilot. Before we boarded he taught me how to get into a G-suit, a special rubber outfit. Then we took off.

That pilot took me through every imaginable loop and twist. Whenever the Gs of pressure got so strong that I should have passed out, the G-suit would kick on, pressing on my legs to force blood from my lower body up into my brain. But the part that seemed strange was that whenever we plunged 5,000 feet straight down, the pilot was screaming. I didn't know why he was such a wimp, but I wasn't going to flinch. I toughed it out in silence. But even with the G-suit, I was graying out.

After the flight, I was pretty woozey, but the pilot seemed just fine.

"You should have screamed," he told me.

"Huh? Why?"

"When you scream you contract your stomach muscles, and that forces more blood to your brain. If you scream, you can endure the force of an extra G. And an extra G can be all the difference between winning a dog fight or losing it."

Roller Coaster Logo

So, Christian outreach is like riding a roller coaster. Ups and downs, terrors and thrills. To enjoy the ride, just remember: Jesus is riding right next to you (Mt. 28:20) and He is screaming! Not with fear but with delight.

Screaming really helps. First, it forces blood to your brain so you don't faint as you free fall. Second, screaming is just plain fun.

As an outreach encourager, I want to persuade you that with God's help, sharing your faith in Christ can be a joy ride.

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