When “playing the field,” some people approach potential datees as projects, objects, potential conquests. When evangelizing, some people do the same thing. Sometimes, as in singles ministries, both things happen. I’m thinking about this because of two interactions from the last few days. I’ve concluded that in both of those interactions, the only possible options are that 1. I’ve been hit on or 2. I’ve been witnessed to.
Scenario 1: A guy jogs in my neighborhood, rain, sleet, or snow. I see him in the mornings. He’d begun saying hello as he jogged by, sometimes turning around to jog backwards and await a response. A few days ago, I was sitting in my car, and he stopped at my window. He introduced himself and started asking me about my life in general small-talk terms. He asked if I ever jog. After a few minutes, he reached in my window, placed his right hand on my shoulder for three seconds, and said that he hoped to see me around. He jogged off into the sunrise.
Scenario 2: Last night, at a Greyhound pit stop in Pasco, Washington, a girl came and stood by me while I smoked in the parking lot. A large amount of liquid had been spilled outside the bus doors. She smiled at me and asked, “Do you think that’s water or urine? Cause if it’s urine, yuck” (If this was hitting on me, it’s the worst pick-up line I’ve heard to-date). She kept smiling, over-largely. I told her I thought it would be okay, and she began walking toward the bus, stopping briefly to look back at me.
Hit on or witnessed to? I’m not a particularly good-looking guy, and I’ve never been hit on as far as I know, so hit on feels a bit amusing and arrogant, but neither do I feel that I look like the typical target for evangelism (and I think there is a type we have in our minds, which I’ll save for another post), so witnessed to is a bit worrisome.
Anyone else have these thoughts?
I am thinking "hit on" in both circumstances, though I would have to know more about the actual questions in the first interaction, which may edge it more to the "witnessed to" category. The latter seems clearly more "hit on" or just casual banter or prelude to the "hit." It does not seem a likely beginning to the type of pseudo-manipulative conversation that makes up so much of our "witnessing" attempts.
Posted by: Neil E. Das at November 30, 2004 09:42 AMoh, definitely i have these thoughts. sometimes, for me anyway, it's difficult to decipher between friendliness or getting hit on. but the girl stopping briefly to look back at you, that qualifies as getting hit on. your jogger friend simply sounds weird.
Posted by: judah at November 30, 2004 09:51 AMok, here are my calls:
1. the guy is hitting on you. he just is. no worries. maybe you can witness to HIM. be nice. but maybe in this case let him ask you out first - because if you ask him out, he won't know it's to love him. he'll think you're merely reciprocating his kind of affection.
2. the girl is sleep-deprived and not really wanting to be hanging around alone at greyhound pit stops in the middle of the night. she is not hitting on you. you're the lesser of the evils as far as safe-looking spots to stand, and she's trying to make small-talk about the nifty glaze on the concrete. however, as i mentioned, her mental and dental states have been hijacked by sleep-deprivation. so reduced, she would've skipped a pick-up line altogether and tackled you. forgive the toothy smile and urine comment - she couldn't help it.
in neither case do i think they were trying to witness. you might be able to draw some analogies to various mentalities within the Church, but i don't think these two cases necessarily illustrate the reality concretely - just perhaps metaphorically-allusively.
Posted by: joy at November 30, 2004 10:25 AMThe jogger could've been a prelude to a witness, but more likely, he's just odd. Watch your back! The girl, if she's doing either, is not very good at it.
However, in the right setting, I think you may be on to something here.
Posted by: Jason at November 30, 2004 11:32 AMI think you will find this a helpful resource
http://datetosave.com/
let me know what you think
Posted by: zach at November 30, 2004 12:17 PMIn college, some 'friends' of mine said they wanted to use a 'missionary bazooka' on me. I thought that was the worst metaphor ever.
I'm not sure if you were hit on or witnessed to. If the latter, neither one of them managed to bring Jesus into the picture. If hit on, I agree with others that they weren't very good attempts.
Posted by: ck at November 30, 2004 03:49 PMTwo thoughts.
1) You were definitely hitting on them.
2) You should research missionary dating from
www.whichcircle.com - I think several of the comics deal with this.
* the guy was trying to find someone to sell his book, "running with jesus," to.
Posted by: jane. at November 30, 2004 04:55 PM* and for the sake of the girl, one of my fears is folks trying to think i am hitting on them when i'm just a pretty friendly person in general. people can't be nice any more. maybe the girl felt stupid for talking about urine and was trying to see if you were absolutely disgusted or not.
Posted by: jane. at November 30, 2004 04:59 PMhit on. x2. handsy men make me nervous, and i say stupid things when attempting to flirt. this is my empirical evidence.
Posted by: natalie at November 30, 2004 06:37 PMi say neither for both, mister paranoid.
Posted by: ED at November 30, 2004 08:58 PMWhat do you mean you are "not a particularly good-looking guy?" You are damn good looking.
Posted by: Michael at November 30, 2004 09:46 PMAnswer to all your problems...ever.
1. The guy's been watching too much American Beauty
2. Hey, people just like to talk about pee. What can ya' say?
Was the affectionate guy the dude from the Dave Matthews video who goes around hugging people all over the place? If so, I think you should ask him out. Cuz I mean, hell, he's in a Dave Matthews video! You could say you were dating the dude from the Dave Matthews video!
Posted by: potted meat at December 1, 2004 08:46 AMActually, I think that's the best pick-up line I've ever heard. It sounds like you were more or less being hit on, which sometimes amounts to little more than being talked to hence the confusion at times. I don't know. I just talk to people.
Posted by: whitey at December 1, 2004 09:44 AMHey, you never mentioned the answer to whether or not you jog. :)
Posted by: Jenn at December 7, 2004 07:53 PMmy memory. that's the only thing.
Posted by: jeremy at December 7, 2004 08:25 PMhello everybody!
Posted by: bred at March 28, 2008 12:53 AM