“Hey, Man! You Straight?”

When the Lord allows me to, I head down to Tampa, Florida for the winter to avoid the colder weather up north. Usually, I stay at a missionary house in a low-income neighborhood referred to by locals as “Suitcase City” because of numerous transients that live there (someone once left a suitcase pictured here by the fence surrounding the property). The area has become a mission field for me. 

The first time I resided in this neighborhood of mostly Hispanics and African-Americans, quite a few of the latter approached me asking, “Hey, man! You straight?” Suspecting they were drug dealers, I always replied, “Yeah, I’m going straight to heaven. How about you? If you died right now, where would you go…heaven or hell?” Usually, they walked (or in some cases ran) away from me. 

Two days ago I was asked again by a stranger, “You straight?” After I turned the conversation into a witnessing opportunity, this man swore and walked toward a bar. Minutes later when arriving at Burger King to go online with my laptop, I decided to verify what that man wanted. Sure enough, the website urbandictionary.com states “you straight?” is “…used to find out if someone has illegal drugs…used mostly for marijuana.”

Before becoming a Christian, I regularly drank alcohol but never got into drugs. Nowadays, I encourage dealers and users to get high on the Most High God. That helps keep one on the straight and narrow.

“Enter through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and spacious and broad is the way that leads away to destruction, and many are those who are entering through it. But the gate is narrow (contracted by pressure) and the way is straitened and compressed that leads away to life, and few are those who find it.” - Matthew 7:13-14 (AMPC)

A Nation Going to Pot

Debates are going on right now in the U. S. regarding the legalization of marijuana. In recent years, a few states have decriminalized pot to varying degrees. Some allow only small quantities for medical usage. Others such as Colorado and Washington permit recreational usage of cannabis if purchased from authorized dealers.

While in high school I heard this saying: “Man made booze, God made grass. Who do you trust? God.” Even some Christians try to justify marijuana usage because of what God said in Genesis 1:29, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.” Keep in mind this statement was made before the Fall of Man.

Not every plant is beneficial if taken internally. Poison ivy, poison oak, and poisonous mushrooms are also plants. The latter is good for breaking down dead wood but certainly bad for eating. Even cocaine originates from green leaves.

Hemp is good for making rope but contrary to medicinal claims, there are health hazards connected with smoking it such as brain damage and an increased heart rate. According to new figures from the Washington State Patrol, more drivers there have tested positive for marijuana since the drug was legalized. This may have contributed to more car accidents.

American Center for Law and Justice founder Jay Sekulow has said, “If anyone tells you that you cannot legislate morality, remember that legislation is morality.” Additional marijuana legalization will result in more people using drugs that wouldn’t otherwise. As we get closer to the return of Christ, drug addiction will continue to increase. Revelation 9:21 says, “And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.” The Greek word for sorceries is pharmakeia. One of its definitions is “the use of or the administering of drugs.”

Some say imprisoning people for drug usage is a waste of tax-payer dollars. I can somewhat agree with that. I believe heavy fines would be enough of a deterrent. The drug users who really should go to jail are the pushers. Society would benefit if they were off the streets.

Sometimes I’ve been approached by drug dealers while evangelizing. Whenever one asks me, “Hey, man...are you straight?” I answer, “Yeah, I’m going straight to heaven. How about you? If you died right now, where would you go...heaven or hell?” Usually these drug dealers take off running.

Three months ago, one woman asked me to sign a petition to legalize medical usage of marijuana in Florida. I replied that Jesus was my healer. This woman got a little persistent until I asked, “Does marijuana raise the dead?” Sylvia then revealed she was looking for a church and thought being a good person would get her into heaven. Eventually she prayed to get born again.

There is a better alternative to drugs: getting high on the Most High God.

“That they may know that You, whose name alone is the Lord, Are the Most High over all the earth.” - Psalm 83:18

Toking the Ghost Revisited

Back in February 2007, a fellow missionary I was traveling with started talking about “smoking the weed from heaven.” He would pretend to have a joint of marijuana between his fingers and have “smoke breaks with Jesus.” He also encouraged other believers to take “hits.” I was a bit uncomfortable with this idea but didn't contest it.

Then in October of that year, I heard John Crowder preach on “toking the Ghost” at a church in my hometown of Fargo, North Dakota. I was inspired to make a video with John to share with my missionary friend. During the filming, I experienced much laughter. I decided to make the video public figuring other people might enjoy it also.

Two weeks later at a church in Minnesota, I heard Benjamin Dunn share testimonies of people getting healed from “toking the Ghost.” This was just before he and John Crowder started ministering together. I believed this was God confirming His word in the mouth of two or three witnesses. 

Many people were blessed by my “Tokin' the Ghost” video including those who got saved out of the drug culture. However, numerous individuals took issue with it. One woman emailed me saying she couldn’t find basis for it in Scripture, where there are plenty of references to the Holy Spirit being like wine. 

In response, I referred to the leaves from the tree of life mentioned in Revelation 22:2. Evangelist Jesse Duplantis testifies in his book “Close Encounters of the God Kind” that when he went to heaven in 1988, he saw people smell leaves for healing or when they felt weak. I suggested that has a similar effect as “toking the Ghost”, which is breathing in the presence of God.

This same woman also asked if I thought John Crowder and Benjamin Dunn have a genuine reverence for God. Only God knows their hearts. James 1:27 says, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” John’s ministry is involved with taking care of orphans and “loving the lepers.”

Two years ago I decided to remove the “Tokin’ the Ghost” video from YouTube. In recent years, I’ve seen John teach things I thought were inaccurate and unscriptural. Therefore, I no longer endorse John’s ministry but still consider him a friend and brother in the Lord.

As far as I know, both John Crowder and Benjamin Dunn have stopped promoting “Toking the Ghost.” Their like-titled electronica CD is now out of print. Nevertheless, they continue to receive flak for preaching that. One man emailed me wanting to use my “Tokin’ the Ghost” video as part of an exposé on John Crowder’s ministry. I refused his request because I don’t want to give heresy hunters additional ammunition.

I used to get drunk on alcohol before becoming a Christian and yet “drinking of the Spirit” initially offended me. Since then I’ve embraced that just like “toking the Ghost.” Both of which are prophetic acts that I now rarely do in public. Even things clearly encouraged in the Bible such as speaking in tongues can be detrimental if done with the wrong motive or at the wrong time.

 “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside.” - Colossians 4:5