In a previous blog entry, I described making a wooden cross. The cross stands 5.5 feet high and 42 inches wide. It is made out of 2×4’s and weighs 20 pounds.
First Time
This week, Duane and I took the cross out for the first (two) times. The first night we took the cross out we decided to stand by a busy intersection at rush hour. We arrived at the corner of George Bush Tollway and Old Denton Road in Carrollton, TX at about 6PM. We picked a spot on the North side of George Bush. At that point, Old Denton is three lanes each north bound and south bound. In addition there are turn lanes making the road even wider. In the center there is a grass median that is about 15 feet wide. About 100 feet up from the intersection there is a “Carrollton” sign. That grassy median by the sign would serve as our place to stand with the cross. As this would also be a means to reach Carrollton for Christ. We parked the car at the Panda Express at that corner. We read 1 Corinthians 1:18 and following:
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Then we prayed.
Since this whole thing was my idea, I went first. Finally, after two months of seeing pictures, videos and blog entries of Tony and the others stand with a cross, it was my turn to take up the cross. I must admit. I was nervous. And if Duane had not been there as encouragement and support, I might have just gone home. But it was predecied to do this. So I took the upright portion of the cross in one hand and the cross beam in the other and went to the cross walk. It seemed like an eternity waiting for the light to change to get the walk indicator. When the light finally changed, I crossed to the median and walked over towards the Carrollton sign. At that point, I stood up the upright piece and inserted the cross beam. I stood with the cross facing the north bound traffic. This was also a good spot for people to see it who were turning from George Bush via the turn lane onto the north bound side of Old Denton.
Lift High the Cross
I intiailly stood with the words “Repent” and “Believe” facing out. Standing behind the cross, I realized that how I was standing, I was blocking those from behind me from seeing the cross and reading the “AfterLifeCatalog.com” that is printed on the other side of the cross beam. At that point I decided to stand more to the side and hold the cross with one hand. That way both sides of the cross could be seen and read at the same time. As I stood at the corner, I had the lyrics to Lift High the Cross, going through my mind. I was reciting them over and over again and praying. So, I thought, how ironic. I am singing Lift High the Cross, while I stand holding the cross from falling over. So I lifted the cross up on my shoulder (see picture above) and held the bottom of it. With the cross in this position, both sides of the writting were easily visible to the cars.
Trading Places
After about 10-15 minutes, Duane and I switched places. I took over with the video camera, and he took the cross. We have most of the event captured on video that still needs to be editted and then posted online. As Duane was staning with the cross, I set a timer for two minutes and counted every car that I could see that passed by. There were roughly 110 cars passing by in two minutes. So figure ballpark is 50 per minute. I am not sure exactly how long we were there. We each held the cross for about 10-15 minutes. So somewhere between 25-30 minutes total. That means approximately 1250-1500 cars passed while we were standing there. Pray that these people heed the warning, visit the web site, hear the Gospel and most of all repent and believe the Gospel.
Reception
The obvious question is “what kind of reaction did standing on the corner with the cross have?” Overall, it was well received. Some people smiled, some waved and some gave a thumbs up. There were a few that shook their heads and laughed at us. I recall at least one car honked at us.
Day Two
The next night, Duane and I took the cross with us to The Shops at Legacy in Plano. We stood the cross against a light pole and then set up the box nearby so we could open air preach. Duane preached first. He preached a wonderful message that I call “this man” and gave attributes of “this man” and his impact on all of history. He then revealed that the man he was speaking of was none other than the God-Man, Jesus Christ. It was very moving. There was a steady stream of people walking by as he preached and read from the Bible. As people walked by, I handed out Gospel tracts and had a few short one on one conversations. On atheist had a violent reaction, tossing the tract back at me and saying, “it is because of him that I am an athiest.” I pointed out to her that Duane had no control over her willingness to acknowledge the evidence that God created the universe and her and that it was her choice to pick sin rather than the savior. She walked away. Others gave a thumbs up or smiled.
I went next. I read Acts 26 which was the Project Ezra suggested reading for the week. I then preached a Gospel message and made reference to the cross that was standing there several times. Then we called it a night and went home.
