Preaching To The Needy

I was watching a TV program about Heather Veitch on Channel 4 today, 'The Holy Hottie'. It was all about how Heather was a topless model, stripper and porn actress who found God and became a sincere follower of Jesus Christ. She proceeded to network with other Christian women from her church in order to form a ministry; "JC's Girls".

What I found remarkable about this is the way the JC's Girls took the message of the Gospels directly to those who needed it. Capitalising on her experience with the porn industry and having first-hand experience of the suffering that exploited women undergo, Heather and the JC Girls go directly into the topless bars and strip clubs - and even the Adult Entertainment Expo festivals - and gently persuade the strippers to give up their vocation and accept the love of Christ into their lives. The endeavour was surprisingly successful and is still going strong, even though it naturally has it's critics.

The part which I found most touching is how the pastor of the California church who hosts the ministry was being pressured by the 'higher-ups' to discontinue the project. As the pastor was wholly committed to the ministry having seen it's remarkable success first-hand, he set an ultimaturm in front of his congregation that if he did not receive the support of the congregation then he would leave and go elsewhere. He was willing to sacrifice the whole church in order to support the ministry. They were initially stunned but then, slowly but surely, they all arose and made their way to the stage in a 100% show of support. Wow! And it was all started off by one woman.

This inspired me to think about the love of Nitai and Gaura. People supported the "JC's Girls" ministry by citing Christ's own example of associating with the prostitutes and the drunks in order to transform them with his love. Well isn't our Caitanya the very Patita-Pavana himself? And isn't our Nitai dayamaya? How could anyone resist the love, compassion and forgiveness of these Two? They saved Jagai-Madhai and so many others, They incarnated for the very purpose of loka-upakara, and They took their gifts directly to those who needed it.

As devotees of Nitai-Gaur, we have a responsibility to extend Their compassion by humbly taking up the same duty of preaching and, even though I loathe the term, "save the fallen souls". I was also reflecting on the preaching activities carried out by ISKCON; book distribution, chanting parties, pandal programs and so on, and their success thereof. I am always amazed at those who advocate or are more inclined towards concentrating on their own progress and are not much inclined towards proper preaching. I have to admit that even though I was full of the fire of preaching when I was younger, time and experience have taught me that some approaches are not always successful. It is not the type of "Speaker's Corner" preaching that will be successful although that may have some advantages. I was thinking that it is time to think of strategies that make up an ideal of intelligent preaching.

I have not heard any stories of devotees being so bold as to enter strip clubs and the like for preaching. There is a wine bar next door to the ISKCON London temple, and I remember once how one devotee went down there in his enthusiasm during the street chanting-and-dancing party. He did it just for a joke and promptly came up the stairs again, whereas the other devotees looked at him and laughed with a look of mock horror and concern. Why did they do that? Is it really so bard to enter wine bars or pubs in order to preach? Isn't that directly taking the message to those who need it, regardless of their receptivity to it?

Another factor to consider is that the "JC Girls" are preaching about Jesus after all. This is possible in the USA which is a Christian country and the whole population is familiar with the idea of Jesus. It is not so easy to talk about Nitai Gaur (what to speak of Radha-Krishna) in a "foreign" country. Even in India Nitai-Gaur is not so well known except in Bengal, while at least Radha-Krishna is known everywhere. So in that respect, Vaishnavas have a harder task than others in regards to first introducing the whole subject from the beginning.

The JC Girls used the strategy of entering a strip club and booking a dancer for a so-called private dance in a dedicated booth. They then told the dancer that they didn't want a dance and they only wanted a chance to chat about Jesus, offering to pray for them right then and there, and then paying them for the "dance" that never happened. This endeared them to the owners of the club since the dancers were not losing any money by talking to the Christians. The funny thing was how most of the dancers were receptive to the preaching and were happy to accept invitations to attend church, accept a free Bible and so on.

Anyway so these are the main points circulating in my mind after watching that show. There is opportunity to harvest a broader field by way of intelligent preaching strategies that bring the all-encompassing love and forgiveness of Nitai-Gaur directly to those who need it.