In the mid 80's, a teenager named Brian Warner began attending
a local youth group. He was sort of an awkward kid, and no one
really wanted to talk to him. The youth pastor would approach
him, and do the usual youth pastor thing. You know, "How are
you... that's good..." and then talk to other kids. One day
the youth group went to an amusement park, and the pastor wanted
the kids in pairs, but no one wanted to pair with Brian. So
he walked around the park by himself. The pastor didn't think
he really needed to talk to Brian about God because he had gone
to a Christian school all his life and was raised in the church.
Brian attended church for about 3 1/2 months, but one day he
just stopped coming.
A few years later, the youth pastor received a phone call from
one of his former high school students who had become a youth
pastor, himself. The young man asked his former pastor if he
remembered the kid named Brian Warner. The pastor kinda remembered
the name, but after a bit of description knew exactly who the
kid was. The guy asked his pastor, do you know who he is now?
The former pastor said no. The guy gave him a hint, "He doesn't
go by Brian anymore." The pastor was stumped. He replied, "Brian
Warner is now known as Marilyn Manson." This is a true story.
As you can tell, the boy in this story, Brian, was shunned by
the "Christians" in his youth group. If he had been accepted
into the group, he might not be what he is today. He is a hurt
man. Regardless of his actions, he still has feelings, and truly
believes that his experience at youth group is truly what Christianity
is all about. If someone could reach him, maybe, just maybe,
he could bring millions of teenagers into Heaven, instead of
leading them into hell. Just something to think about...
Send this to all your friends. Let them know, that no matter
how weird or awkward a person may seem, never ever be a snob
towards them. They may need your love. And you are the only
Jesus someone may ever see.
5/17/2001 update:
Shock rocker Marilyn Manson, infamous for his dark stage presence
and lyrics that glorify hate and violence, will use the Word
as a weapon at his June 21 concert in Denver. Manson countered
local protests against the show by saying he'll "balance"
it with Bible readings - "so we can examine the virtues
of wonderful 'Christian' stories of disease, murder, adultery,
suicide and child sacrifice. Now that seems like entertainment
to me," said Manson in a statement posted on his Web site.
Citizens for Peace and Respect, led by a local youth pastor
and supported by 21 churches, teens and a few families of Columbine
victims, had asked that Manson cancel his appearance in Ozzfest
at Mile High Stadium. According to the Denver Post, two death
threats were e-mailed to the youth pastor this week, prompting
a police report.
