Art Robles is going back on the road. By mid-September, he will once again take up the ministry to which he says God called him. From Key West, Fla., Robles will hoist a 100-pound, eight-foot cross on his broad shoulders and start walking.
It's hard telling how far he will go or where he will end up. Robles' first walk with the cross started in October, 1987 and ended a year later. During that year, Robles, 48, traversed the perimeter of the United States, logging more than 8,000 miles along the way.
In the 16 years Robles has been carrying the cross, he has walked thousands of miles and reached thousands of people with the message of salvation through Jesus Christ.
During his first walk, which took him from California across the country to Florida, up the
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 Art Robles, |
I was scared. It shook me like I've never been shaken before. I slapped my ears. I thought I was hearing things. I thought I was going crazy, but it was God wanting to speak to me.
He also wore out the soles of his shoes in a hurry.
"You go through a pair of shoes about every 30 to 60 days," Robles said.
Hearing from God
Robles began his cross walking ministry in dramatic fashion. He was a successful pastor in California, "living high on the hog," by his own description. The things most important to him, at the time, were material: his jewelry, clothes, money, his house and a restored 1970 Pontiac GTO.
On October 25, 1987, while driving to his home outside Los Angeles, Robles said, he had a "mountaintop experience."
In an audible voice, he said, God told him to rid himself of all his material goods, build a cross and set out, on foot, to spread the gospel.
"I was scared," he said. "It shook me like I've never been shaken before. I slapped my ears. I thought I was hearing things. I thought I was going crazy, but it was God wanting to speak to me."
Robles said he resisted, at first.
"The normal reaction a person has is, ‘God, what am I going to do with all my stuff? What am I going to do with all my gold, diamonds, my money in the bank? What am I going to do with my sports car?' "
But, when God speaks, you listen, he said. Within eight days, he was ready to begin walking.
"I sold everything I had, paid all my bills off, and left out of the church broke," Robles said. "I left all my money at the altar of the church and started carrying the cross."
Serious Ministry
When Robles sets out from Key West, it will be his 11th walk. Recently, Robles has been operating out of a home base he established in Louisville, Ky., after visiting there during an Alabama-to-Canada trek in 2000.
Returning to Louisville after the walk was completed, Robles began attending Evangel World Prayer Center. It was at the 5,000-member church that he met his wife of four months, JoAnn, who will accompany him on his new walk. During his three years based in Louisville, Robles opened a Mexican restaurant, but closed it in preparation for going on his walk.
A radiographer with 20 years experience behind her, the 44-year-old JoAnn Robles knows
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 JoAnn Robles, |
"People in the church obviously understand. They know the plan of salvation," she said. "They've read the Bible and know Jesus went out among the people and that he spoke with people personally."
But people outside the church may only see folly in her action.
"When you have people out in the world who see you resigning your job, out walking around with a cross and no monthly support…they're looking at that like it's crazy," she said. "At least it gets their attention."
Art Robles is well aware of the raised eyebrows and sideways glances from people who question his ministry. But they don't deter him from his sense of calling. When others mock, he is ready to minister.
"We're not playing a game," he said. "We're walking down the street so that we might have an opportunity to minister to that person that's going to confront us. People know that's true. They know that's real. I've been doing it too long for it not to be real."
For support, the couple expects to speak at various churches, where members typically will take up "love offerings." Additional support may come from sponsor churches and individuals.
A Unique Witness
The Rev. Sam White, pastor of Center Baptist Church in Marion, Ill., is one who is not likely to question Robles' calling.
Writing in Discipleship Journal, White recalled a personal experience he had with carrying the cross in public.
One Good Friday, years ago, while working with a campus ministry, White and several students carried an eight-foot cross while witnessing on campus. Left with the task of returning the cross and a box of tracts to the ministry building, White was struck by the difficulty of carrying the cross by himself.
"But I didn't just wrestle physically," White wrote. "As I made my way across the campus, I wished one of my students would come along to help. I wished that someone,
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To Contact Them To contact Art and JoAnn Robles or to send them donations, write to: Come to the |
White wrote that even though he had earlier been reminding students of what Good Friday cost Jesus, he had lost sight of it himself, worrying about what others thought of his awkward juggling of the box and the cross.
"On the way to His crucifixion, Jesus labored under a cross far heavier than mine. Simon of Cyrene was forced to carry the load because Jesus was weak from the beatings," White wrote.
"If Jesus could go through the pain of mocking, beating, and crucifixion for me, why would I worry about what people thought as I simply carried a cross and a box across a campus? Wasn't I denying my Lord at that moment  or at least wanting to?"
Now, said White in a telephone interview, he has a greater appreciation for people willing to do the extraordinary.
"You would have to be extremely bold to do it, or you would be humiliated," he said.
"Many people will make fun, but they also, deep inside, I think some of them at least, wish they had the guts to do something like that. If nothing else, they think this guy has a cause he really believes in. To me, that is a witness."
More Comfortable Walking
Robles' walks are not meant to be a stroll in the park. If it rains, he gets wet. If it's hot, he sweats. If it is cold outside, so is he. For food and shelter, Robles trusts in God's provision. He is bearing a cross, after all, and comfort is unimportant  at least his comfort.
This walk is a bit different, he said, because his wife is accompanying him. This time he
 Art and JoAnn Robles stand next to the eight-foot, 100-pound cross they will carry. |
"I think that Art has a lot more physical stamina than I do but we're going to be walking together at least for half of the day," JoAnn Robles said. "Then he'll probably walk by himself the other half of the day."
Art Robles, who has roughed it during all his other walks  he typically has nothing more than the clothes on his back and counts on God to provide for his needs  had no problem with the change.
"This is the first time that my wife will be coming with me," he said. "So, I have to make it comfortable for her and I have to protect her."
As for those who think he is crazy to lug a cross around the country, Robles said they have a point.
"I'm crazy about God," he said.
