Aikido For Christ

AIKIDO FOR CHRIST

The lessons and teaching of the Holy Spirit came each day and through various ways. When we were doing a tent revival on Penn and Plymouth, the Holy Spirit taught me a lesson about dying to myself and letting go of my natural abilities like strength and fighting to resolve issues.

Pastor Nate had asked Bear and I to guard the tent at night in this rough district of Mpls. We were honored to do so. Well, one night around 12 midnight we were sitting in lounge chairs listening to Keith Green sing about putting away your idols, when a guy came onto the tent site. It was obvious that he was high. He came in started bugging some of the other people who were there, so I told he needed to leave.

He left muttering under his voice, and a few minutes later we heard a clattering in the tent. I went into the tent and turned on the lights, and here is this guy with a can of mosquito spray ready to pour it over the mixing board. I ran over to him mad and grabbed him by his neck and, according to Bear, lifted this man right off his feet by his neck. I then threw him into the first row of chairs. I figured the situation was over as he lay there in the tangle of the chairs and moaning. I went over to him and told him to leave before I hurt him worse. He got up and lunged at me at again, at which time I did an Aikido move on him and flung him over into another row of chairs. I was amazed as he came at me again; this time I took him up over my head and slammed him into ground with my whole weight coming down on top of him. He laid their gasping for air.

I figured he was done and severely hurt, so I walked outside the tent. I was actually going to have Bear call the police and ambulance for the guy. Besides, that would be the Christian thing to do. He came running out of the tent at me screaming, and I did another Aikido move on him and slammed him on the concrete parking lot, not once but twice.

As he was there gasping again for air and moaning, I became irritated with Bear, who was huge, and said, "Why don’t you give me a hand – at least you could sit on him next time I slam him into the ground." Sitting in his lounge chair, he says, "Mike when are going to give up your old ways of handling situations like this?" He then added, "You are the one called into the ministry, and I think you need to quit relying on your martial arts training and strength and give this situation to the Lord for him to handle."

I looked at him in amazement – but inside the Holy Spirit was yelling at me to trust His power, not mine. The man got up started toward me again, and I pointed my finger at him and said, "Clyde I am sorry for slamming you – forgive me." He stopped dead in his tracks, sat down next to Bear, and no kidding Bear led him to Jesus. Clyde then became a part of Outreach Church.

The next day, Pastor Nate had heard about my heroics and he said something to me I will never forget. "Mike, we do not body slam people into the Kingdom of God – we love them into the Kingdom!" I apologized to him and never forget that lesson from the Holy Spirit.