Kingdom Klowns bring visual message to FCA
April 10, 2008

"When it comes to accepting Jesus Christ as your savior, there are only two choices - yes or no," said LuLu the Clown, as The Kingdom Klowns of Iowa visited the Montezuma FCA huddle group on Thursday evening in the Presbyterian Family Center.

"If you haven't decided, that is a "no" answer if your life should end before you make a choice," LuLu said. "We pray that all of you make the right choice."

LuLu and LeRoy the Tramp are Linda and Keith Brake of Montezuma. They perform more than 90 times a year in Iowa, southwest Wisconsin and northwest Illinois.

'LeRoy' served on FCA staff

Keith regularly attends Montezuma FCA meetings and reports about them on this website. Huddle leader John Bushong, noting that the current generation of Montezuma young people probably know little about him, asked him to take the lesson for Thursday - and the appearance by The Kingdom Klowns resulted.

Keith has a background in FCA, which includes serving on the staff at the state level in Iowa, and helping to found the original FCA huddle at the University of Iowa.

The clowns did something unusual in that they switched back and forth between their real life and clown characters. As clowns, they performed a sampling of the skits they use in their appearances. All have a Christian theme or lesson.

Keith talked about events in his life that have made an impact for Christ and have led him to where he is today.

The couple also told about their backgrounds.

Linda originally was from Wisconsin and Keith grew up in Illinois.

She helped to found the Klowns 4 Heaven's Sake Ministry at the United Methodist Church. It included as many as 30 people ranging in age from eight years to age 81. She also authored "There's An Elephant in the Sink," which is a collection of 15 children's sermons youth group leaders and pastors can use.

He has written high school sports in five different decades, helped to found the Montezuma Dollars for Scholars Chapter and chaired the board of directors for a national-caliber drum and bugle corps.

Keith talked about "earthly angels."

"Maybe they see something in us that we cannot see ourselves and encourage us, or give us some extra attention that we really need," he said. "Sometimes, they come into our lives and go as quickly as they came. Other times, they stay for a long time."

He talked about a pair of English teachers in high school who encouraged his writing talent. Later, he mentioned Linda as an "angel." "She steered me back toward the Son - Jesus Christ - after I had strayed," he said.

Brake talked about a suicide he helped to prevent while working at a newspaper. "I had no training in suicide prevention," he said. "That was an example of God working through me - using me for His purposes."

He later described being taken to the hospital because of a possible heart attack and listening to three other patients in the cardiac unit die. "I had just gone through a divorce," Keith said. "I wanted to die but I was afraid to. I liked good food and (alcohol)," he said. "I weighed 286 pounds when they brought me in. I looked like a balloon in the Macy's parade. So here I was, a semi-Godless glutton, trying to make a deal with the Almighty," he said.

It turned out, he said, that he had had an angina attack, which didn't result in heart damage. "The doctor told me to lose weight. I went from 286 to 155 in four months. Survival is a strong instinct."

Keith said he didn't forget his end of the "deal" he was asking God for, and later, with Linda's help, turned back toward Christ.

"Fast-forward 30 years. I was diagnosed with diabetes. But, I now consider that a blessing," he said. "The difference now is that at age 56, I'm no longer afraid to die. I'm concerned that I might not do all that God wants me to do on earth, though."

While he was on staff at FCA, Keith said, he noticed a change in the organization's philosophy from trying to quantify what it did in its ministry, to making sure that it provided a quality experience for each young person.  "I read a statistic where if you were to help convert just one person a year to Christianity, and they went out and did the same, the entire planet would be Christian in just 33 years," he said.

"We just need to turn people toward the Son, then let the Holy Spirit take over," he said.

The devil can weaken our 'armour'

Lulu "dressed" FCA member Kris Halterman in balloons in a skit about the Armour of God. After providing him with a helmet, a belt, shoes, a shield, body armour and a sword, she popped the balloons, one by one.

LeRoy described our "armour" as prayer, Bible study, and arming ourselves with God's truths. "God's word is the Bible," he said. "B-I-B-L-E - basic instructions before leaving earth. But knowing God's word is not enough."

"If we say our prayers on Monday but don't say them again until Thursday, our armour has weakened and the devil can sneak in," he said. "The devil keeps temping us until our armour is gone."

Pointing at the broken balloons on the floor, LuLu said, "see the mess the devil has made. That mess is our lives if we let the devil take control. Drugs, alcohol, not taking care of our bodies. And the devil won't be there to help us put the pieces back together. But God will. We can always turn back to God. He's waiting with open arms. The same open arms that Jesus spread on the cross. Keep your armour strong every day."

Eight members of the group - four boys and four girls - played a "spot" game in which they had to use letters to spell out different words. They had to invert a letter on the final play in order to come up with the solution.

"Sometimes," LeRoy said, "we have to look at problems from a different angle."

Other skits touched on the Golden Rule theme - do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

During final prayer, LeRoy asked that members adopt a "win-win-win" theme in their interactions with others.
  
"Whatever it is," he said, "make sure it will benefit others, benefit yourself and give glory to God," he said. "If it doesn't fulfill all three criteria, I pray that you will be given the strength to say, 'no deal,' and walk away from it."

Church & Faith is brought to you by LeRoy and LuLu, the Kingdom Klowns of Iowa. Visit our website at www.clownsiniowa.com and click on the 'Church & Faith' tab.