more fire

Irie Jamboree was a fertile ground for planting gospel seeds. There were over 20,000 people there to enjoy the reggae festival and we shared the Word almost exclusively among the Rastafarian community. We arrived early with a bag of tracts and a willingness to be used by God to advance his kingdom. The cover of the tract provocatively asked, “What did Haile Selassie say about Jesus Christ?” The tracts allowed us an opportunity to engage people in spiritual discourse. Vonetta engaged women and I engaged the men.

Vonetta attempted to hand her first tract to a dreadlocked Rastawoman wearing a red, gold and green dress that hung to her ankles. The Rastawoman defiantly asked, “What is your objective?” Vonetta, still extending the tract to her, answered, “To show that Selassie worshipped Jesus Christ and to share the truth of the gospel.” The Rastawoman, with a hint of a smile, then took the tract and a seed was planted.

Sharing the gospel with a Bobo Ashanti Rasta at Irie Jamboree

I saw a tall, broadshouldered man with long dreads wrapped under a turban wearing a shirt that read, “The Truth About Christ.” I approached him and asked him to share with me the truth, as he understood it, about Christ. He said that Selassie, Moses and Jesus are all incarnations of God. He elaborated on his beliefs and informed me that he is in the Bobo Ashanti branch of Rastafari. There are three main branches of Rastafari: Nyabinghi, Bobo Shanti and Twelve Tribes of Israel. I confided that Haile Selassie was a great king who fought for truth and justice, that he was an emancipator of the oppressed and a prayerful man who sought God’s will for his life and his people. I then shared with the Rasta that Selassie worshipped Jesus Christ and encouraged others to put their faith exclusively in Christ. He took the tract and we parted.

Often, when parting, a Rasta will extend his fist to hit your fist and then hit his chest over his heart as a sign of respect. This is usually followed by the statement, “Jah bless.” Many Rastamen intimitated this rite to me during the festival. My wife and I were warmly received by almost every one we came in contact with. I believe it was Christ’s genuine love working through us, and nothing of our own other than our availing ourselves to the Lord, that encouraged others to respond so warmly.

Backstage with Morgan Heritage

Vonetta was thirsty for an icee so she stood in line while I continued to share the gospel. I saw a group of Rastas of Indian descent and talked with them for quite a while. I told them that I was sharing the truth about Haile Selassie and that he was a man of great faith. I explained that many have perverted the personality of Selassie and have elevated him to the status of a god, yet he was a man committed exclusively to the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. They responded well and asked where they can get more info. I pointed them to the More Fire! Web address on the back of the tract.

There is a large population of people from India who settled in the Caribbean over the last couple of centuries. In fact, the Rastafarian culture has been deeply impacted by Hinduism. About a century ago, a group of Indian indentured servants escaped their servitude and moved into the interior of Jamaica. It was there that they reverted to the ancient lifestyle of the Indian saddhu. They grew their hair into dreadlocks and started growing and smoking marijuana, which they called ganja (a name derived from the Ganges River in India). They shared these customs with escaped slaves with whom they formed maroon communities. Today, dreadlocks and ganja are two of the most distinctive features of Rasta culture.

Damian Marley, son of reggae legend Bob Marley

Vonetta finished her icee and now wanted some jerk chicken. As she ordered the food I struck up a conversation with an older, gray haired Rasta named Zebulon, who happened to own the jerk chicken stand. He was more than happy to receive the tract because he is a member of a branch of the Rastafarians callled Twelve Tribes of Israel, which are the most orthodox Christian of all the Rastafarian branches. They do not worship Selassie and they confess Christ as their Lord. The group was founded by a man named Vernon Carrington who emphasized reading the Bible everyday. It is from those Bible studies that they arrived at the truth of the gospel. Zebulon gave me his phone number and the address to his church and asked me to schedule a time to give a talk to his congregation.

After handing out all the tracts we enjoyed the show. Because we had press passes we were allowed backstage to mingle with the artists. It was a blessed day of roots music, good food and evangelism. Please pray that the seeds we planted will take root.