Behind the Scenes of Way of the Master Radio (07-10-07)

Today, my daughter, Michelle, and I spent the afternoon at the Los Angeles Zoo. We thought we would try out a new "street fishing" pond, today. As is the case with any new fishing hole, you never really know how good the fishing is until you throw your line in the water.

We made our way to the chimpanzee exhibit, which maintained the largest crowd in the zoo. I approached a young man named Jose. Jose (24) works for the Department of Transportation. His function is parking enforcement and impounding illegally parked and abandoned vehicles.

Before I put Jose on the phone with Todd Friel, I asked him if he believed in evolution or intelligent design. He said, "Evolution."

"Why?" I asked.

Jose thought for a moment (as most people do when asked that little, disarming, one-word question). "Well," he said while motioning with his head toward the chimpanzees, "they sure do act a lot like us."

Todd Friel took Jose through the Law and the Gospel. Click here to listen to their conversation. Once Jose was off the phone, he did not appear to be the light-hearted, jovial man I encountered just a few short minutes earlier. The look on his face was that of a man who had some important questions on his mind.

"So, how did it go?" I asked.

"It was good." He said. "He asked me some questions that made me realize I need to repent because I'm probably going to hell."

"Let me ask you this. Were you at all offended by the conversation?"

"No. He just asked me questions that really made me think."

I took Jose through the courtroom and parachute analogies, which helped to drive home his need to repent. It also helped to show him the difference between an intellectual belief in Jesus Christ and saving faith.

Always trying to be aware of my surroundings (it's the cop in me), I noticed two ladies who were sitting nearby as I shared the gospel with Jose. One lady soon said to the other, "Let's go. Do you want to listen to this stuff!"

Another couple sitting behind Jose in the amphitheater didn't leave. They seemed to be listening intently to the conversation.

I heard Jose answer one of Todd's questions, which led me to believe he did not have a Bible. So, I asked Jose if he had one. When he said that he didn't, I gave him a copy of Ray Comfort's book, How To Live Forever Without Being Religious. I also gave him an Evolution--The Evidence For and Against gospel tract. I explained to him that the book contained the gospel of John and that that would be a good place for him to start reading the Bible.

My follow-up conversation with Jose left us about fifteen minutes to find a guest for the next hour's street fishing segment. Now having older children, I discovered that I had forgotten something about trips to the zoo. Every adult has at least one child clinging to his or her ankle. And many of those same children are not happy people.

We couldn't find anyone to put on the phone. I came close near the Howling Monkey exhibit, but it didn't work out. I thought it would be nice to have screaming monkeys going off in the background as Todd shared the Law and the Gospel with someone.

My attire for the day (which you can see in the above photo) drew the attention of at least one zoo patron. "Excuse me. Can you tell me when the next chimpanzee show is?"

She was a little embarrassed when I told her I didn't work at the zoo. I would later use my attire to help me hand out tracts. I simply walked up to people, handed them a Billion-Dollar Bill, and thanked them for visiting the zoo today. Nobody refused the tracts. I guess they thought that I worked for the zoo and the tracts were part of a zoo promotion. Oh, well. :-)

Since I couldn't find someone to put on the phone during the second hour, Todd asked me if I had a "Cop Tale" I could tell. I thought for a second and said that I could do it. Click here to listen to the show. Here is a more detailed account of the story I shared with Todd.

An Unseen Enemy

In many other situations, criminals have lured officers into an ambush during foot pursuits or by making false calls for assistance to the police department. When criminals know that the police are on their way, they have ample time to conceal themselves and to assume an advantageous tactical position so they can “get the drop” on the responding officers.

I remember answering a “918/417” call several years ago (“918” is the radio code for a mentally disturbed person, and “417” indicates “a man with a gun”). The caller reported that a man was standing in front of his house, yelling and holding a shotgun.

The call came from a semi-rural area of our jurisdiction, where the roads were dirt and there were no streetlights. My partner and I approached the location in our patrol car as cautiously as possible. We couldn’t see the suspect, nor could we hear him yelling. I remember both of us drawing our weapons and holding them on our laps as we drove past a tall, thick hedgerow. I remarked to my partner that the suspect could be anywhere, and if the suspect was on the opposite side of the bushes, we were sitting ducks.

A short time later, we located the suspect in his home and took him into custody without incident. And we found his shotgun, loaded with rifle slugs—a large, solid ball of lead that could penetrate a concrete block wall.

Although this particular call ended well, as my partner and I talked to one of the suspect’s neighbors, the hair on the back of our necks stood on end. The neighbor told us that he heard us drive down the road. When he looked outside, he could see the suspect standing behind the hedgerow, pointing his shotgun at our patrol car on the opposite side of the bushes. The neighbor could hear the suspect say, “Pow, pow, pow,” as we drove by. It was only by God’s grace that the suspect didn’t fire the shotgun into our patrol car. Because of the devastating nature of the round—which could penetrate a car door like a warm knife cuts through butter—the suspect could have killed us both with one shot.

We need to remain alert because—whether we are aware he exists or not—our spiritual enemy is constantly looking for an opportunity to attack. He is well versed in disarming us. He is not above lying in wait to ambush us. So we must always be prepared. The battlefield is closer than the world around you. It is even closer than the peaceful confines of your own home. You are part of the battlefield. Don’t go into battle unarmed. Don’t take to the field poorly equipped. Take up the full armor of God so you can stand firm against the enemy’s attacks. Get suited and armed for battle. Be alert!

Although everything did not go as planned, it was another good day of fishing.