Street Stories - A Ringside Seat To Over 4 Decades Of Taking Jesus To The Streets Of The World

Chapter 3

Goldilocks – S.O.S. Salem

O n a sunny August afternoon in Salem, Oregon, my good friend, Pastor Sarge Haskell, and I stood side by side on the Marion County Courthouse steps, located smack-dab in the middle of the downtown square. With our well-worn acoustic guitars strapped over our shoulders and His song in our hearts, we anxiously stood ready to boldly praise the Lord. During the previous Sunday morning service that had kicked off our annual S.O.S. Salem Outreach, we had invited members from Maranatha Christian Fellowship, pastored by Sarge and his wife Barbara, to join us in this powerful outdoor praise rally. A small coalition of the willing had shown up downtown and was ready and eager to lift up the Name of Jesus in song, prayer and public proclamation. Before we began, our little band of worshippers formed a circle, held hands, and bowed their heads as Pastor Sarge led us in prayer. I kept my head raised and my eyes open as he prayed for the Lord to be glorified in our praise and worship. Because I had been involved in frontline street ministry for so many years, many of those years of ministry in violent areas in the midst of contentious and riotous crowds, I preferred to keep my eyes open when we prayed to be sure no one was coming upon us with plans to do us any harm.

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