‘Celebrity Evangelist’: The Daunting Task of Attempting to Witness to Scientologist Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise is, without a doubt, a household name, but it’s his status within the Church of Scientology that reportedly makes reaching him with the gospel so eerily difficult.
Dylan Novak, known online as “The Celebrity Evangelist,” recently shared with CBN’s Faithwire details of his brief encounter with Cruise, who was promoting his then-new film Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, in 2016.
Novak said it is at times “terrifying” witnessing to Scientologists. He said in a segment on the Quick Start podcast that it’s “by the grace of God” he was able to give Cruise, who is, according to ex-Scientologist Leah Remini, considered “a deity” within the church, a gift bag containing two handwritten notes, a couple of gospel tracts and a book by Pastor Tony Nolan.
“I’ve witnessed to a few Scientologists,” Novak said. “They’re terrifying. That’s probably who I’m most nervous to talk to. I’d rather talk to an atheist, because you’re starting from scratch.”
While the details of this alleged encounter have not been corroborated by the Church of Scientology, Novak explained to CBN’s Faithwire that a higher-up within the church purportedly sends “bodyguards” with Cruise wherever he goes “to protect his mind” from anti-Scientology content.
The evangelist, a youth pastor based in Tennessee, recalled lining up alongside other fans waiting to meet Cruise at the movie premiere. As the Mission Impossible star made his way down the line, his alleged “bodyguards,” Novak said, were ahead of him, inspecting every gift fans planned to give the actor. {eoa}
For the rest of this article, visit our content partners at faithwire.com.
Reprinted with permission from Faithwirecom. Copyright © 2022 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.