Friday, March 16, 2007

Girl Scout Cookies and Evangelism

That was a pretty mundane first day of March Madness, wouldn't you say?

The appeal of the NCAA Basketball Tournament is found in the David and Goliath drama; the hope that the little guy can spoil the day for the giant. Apparently, all of the slingshots in David's bag yesterday was poorly aimed.

Only one "upset," at least according to the seeding, as Virginia Commonwealth knocked off perennial power Duke. Obviously, Duke was overrated and the game wasn't quite the cataclysmic upset some have made it out to be.

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From the "Did You Know" Department: In yesterday's Fresno Bee, Bill McEwen had an article addressing the challenges of government services in Fresno County. In the article, he cited a couple of interesting facts of which I was unaware.

"Which states are smaller in territory than Fresno County? I'll give you Rhode Island because every place is bigger than Rhode Island. The others are Connecticut and Delaware.

Now, which states have fewer residents than Fresno County? There are six, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2005 estimate: Wyoming, Vermont, North Dakota, Alaska, South Dakota and Delaware" (Section B, Page 1 of the March 15, 2007 edition).

I never knew that if Fresno County were a state, it would be the forty-fourth largest state in the Union!

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So what is your favorite box of cookies in the annual stash sold by the Girl Scouts?

Wednesday night, I laid claim to four boxes of my favorites (Caramel Delights and Shortbread) from Megan Lee.

I've always thought one of the greatest approaches to evangelism is modeled by those Girl Scouts. For example, have you ever turned down an offer to buy cookies from a Girl Scout? Those little gals are great selling their stuff.

They're bold. They're sweet. They're unpretentious. They're sincere. And they believe you'll buy what they're selling.

I've never met a timid Girl Scout when it comes to selling cookies. They are unashamed about their product and their confidence is transparent.

Could we be a little more like them as we take Jesus to our friends and neighbors? Could we be a little more daring, a little more unashamed, a little more sincere and sweet with a "product" designed not to nourish the temporal hunger of mankind but the eternal hunger in the souls of people?