jesus power explosion

at the aforementioned fourth of july parade, a float went by with this banner on it. then someone came by and handed me a couple of tootsie rolls and a flyer with the same information on it. JESUS POWER EXPLOSION!!!!

i put the picture up on facebook, and someone commented, "I don't know if i should be excited or afraid."

exactly.

i mean, don't get me wrong, i'm all for evangelism in so far as evangelism means sharing Good News with people. i'm all for offering drink to the thirsty and food to the hungry and company to the lonely and orphaned and care to the sick and so forth. i'm all for sharing Jesus with people. but an explosion? is jesus an atom bomb or wmd? are we trying to infiltrate the elk county fairgrounds so we can blow the place up with God?

i'm not trying to be cynical here, i just have my own doubts about this technique. when i hear that there's going to be a 'jesus power explosion' my first thought is to cover my face to avoid the shrapnel. maybe i'm just not big on explosions (i do, on the other hand, love tootsie rolls. if a jesus power explosion involves a heavenly bounty of tootsie rolls, like little chocolate pieces of manna, then i'm all for it.).

i hope and pray that Jesus is evident (present) in the way i live: in my words and in my actions and especially in my brokenness. i deeply desire that my life would be a demonstration of redemption. i pray earnestly for the Church, that she would truly embody Christ and answer his call to be people of love and grace and hope. my assumption is that the directors of this 'explosion' event want the same sorts of things. we just differ a bit in our understanding of how this ought to play out.

how about you?