1st May 2006

Restroom ministryby John Fischer

Don’t look now, but one of our readers is closing in on a new ministry. Ben is loose in the restroom! He writes:

When I was leaving work yesterday, I saw this guy in the restroom that I knew had been going through some grief, having lost both of his parents over the past year. My father just passed away on Feb. 27. I told him that I had a book on grieving the loss of a parent that might be useful to him. He said he didn't like to read a lot of books. I said, “Yeah, I can't really endorse it either. I haven't read it myself.” (Good one, Ben!)

I told him that I had the pleasure of leading my father to Christ back in November of 2004. I also let him know that I prefer to limit my reading to recommended books and was currently reading through Randy Alcorn's Heaven. I was able to share with him some of the fantastic things I have learned about Heaven and how it seems to have taken my grief away quickly.

We walked out together, down the elevator, and to the parking garage. During that time, I was able to talk with him more about his own certainty of eternal life. He has trusted in Christ but said that he "drifts" sometimes. I got to tell him that when he received Christ, he became a new creature and that he was going to go to Heaven. But between receiving Christ and dying, he was going to go through a process of being made more like Christ that wouldn't be complete until he died. I told him that God will speak to him through the Bible, prayer, and through meeting together with other believers like we were doing right then.

When we finished talking, I could tell that God had done something in him right then. He straightened up real tall and shook my hand firmly. "I want to thank you for taking the time to talk to me. This has meant a lot."
Now here’s the clincher …

I don't think I mentioned it, but I really don't like to talk to people in the bathroom more than just, "Hi, how are you ..."

Oh, sure Ben. We almost believe that!

You know, Ben’s story just confirms that most people want to talk if you show even the slightest interest in them. In this case, it was this gentleman’s loss that Ben was able to identify with.

I like this story because Ben is clearly not the professional Christian or the expert witness. He’s just … well … Ben – a guy who doesn’t like to talk to anybody in the restroom, but who did anyway because God moved him to. It’s pretty amazing what you can accomplish from the restroom to the parking lot when you follow his lead.