Post by Jesse Morrell on Jul 23, 2005 0:07:13 GMT -5
Arrested for the Gospel
While I was on my normal route to New Haven, CT, I felt the sudden urge to turn around and go to the city of Hartford for ministry instead. I had never preached open-air in Hartford before and wasn't sure exactly how to get there either. I did however find my way easily and located a great public place downtown for preaching.
When I first got out of my car a man was walking by and I greeted him. We started talking and apparently his truck ran out of gas and he was stuck in Hartford. I don't know if he was lying or not but if he was lying then I am sure he got convicted when I gave him money and a gospel of John. He said he would read it. There were a lot of people in the downtown area when I got there. I set up my stool on a big brick walk way that had benches full of people and vendors. Like Paul I used a statue to spring board into the gospel. Near me was a statue of Rev. Thomas Hooker who founded the city of Hartford in 1636. He had a bible in his hand and the monument said it was in that spot where He preached the sermon that inspired the Hartford constitution. “There is a difference between the Hartford Thomas Hooker founded and the Hartford we see today. And what is the difference? The difference is the book that he is holding in his hands...” Some children gathered near me to listen while other people were listening from the benches.
A man came out of one of the offices and asked me to move. I asked if I was breaking the law and he said "no". When he realized that I was not going to move he told me that I was on private property and have to move. I think that was a lie because there were public benches all over that area and it was a public brick sidewalk but I said "Okay sir, where can I preach?" He showed me an area right across from where I was. When I started preaching there a different security guard came and said "Oh no they can't send you over here". Then all the security guards came together from all the difference offices and agreed on a spot that I could preach.
Although the only spot they said I could preach was only inches away from the main road, I preached there just the same. As soon as I started a man came out of the office buildings nicely dressed, looking like an executive. He started swearing and cursing at me over and over again. He got closer and closer until he was only maybe an inch away from me. He acted as though he would put out his cigarette on my face, it was so close I felt the heat of it on my skin, but he never actually did it. He was repeatedly screaming "YOU SHUT THE BLANK UP". He got me a big crowd. I said "Sir you keep this up and your going to draw me a bigger crowd." He continued to yell and to spit and would not ease up. I told him if he doesn't stop I'll call the cops. He started doing a satanic sign along with his cursing and then told me he worships Satan. I said "In the name of Christ Jesus you leave me alone!" and he walked off without saying a word.
That's when the cops showed up. They pulled me aside and said I can't use the portable battery operated microphone without a permit. Then they put me in the back of the police car and talked with me for a few minutes. When they released me there was an even bigger crowd there waiting to see what was going on. I stood up on my stool to address them but first looked over to the office and said " can I preach now? He said "You can preach whatever you want without your microphone." So I preached the Law, sin, righteousness, judgment, and offered them Christ. A vendor came and complained to the cops and then to me. I told him that I had just as much of a right to preach as he had to sell, but that I will keep him in mind while I’m preaching and that I had only been there a total of ten minutes and won't be there too much longer.
The cop pulled me aside and said I can't preach anymore because someone complained. I attempted to reason with the officer by saying that we have the first Amendment because not everyone agrees. I said “If I have a crowd of thirty people that are interested in hearing me, and one man complains, I have no more right to speak?” He said “correct, your bothering people.” I asked the crowd if they were bothered by what I was doing. Many in the crowd said "NO" and not a single person said "Yes". That's when they put the hand cuffs on me which gave me marks for two days and put me in the back of the police car. The officer went around the area for about ten minutes talking to people to try to get as many complaints as possible. When he returned he told me that nobody wanted to leave their information in order to complain. Finally the cop said "Look, we don't want to arrest you. We will release you if you promise not to preach." I said "Officer, it is 2:44pm right now. If you release me then by God's good graces I'll be preaching again in public by 3:00pm." He said "then your going to jail" so I said "I would rather go to jail then to forfeit my right of freedom of speech. I would rather go to jail even for the rest of my life then to deny my Lord who commanded that I preach." He brought me to jail where I was able to witness to a young guy in the cell with me named Jeff. He seemed touch. Eventually I was taken out of the cell and was told that I was going to be released. I requested another ten minutes behind bars so I could finish witnessing. They were kind enough to grant me the favor.
Of coarse the cops claimed that I was not "arrested for the gospel" but in reality, the only thing I was doing was preaching the gospel. I was doing nothing more and nothing less. The case did not hold up in court and was immediately dismissed, no questions asked. I think I did good going two years of open-air preaching in Connecticut without getting arrested; John Baptist lasted only six months in his day. A preacher friend said "your not really apart of the club until you've been arrested." We must remember the encouraging words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who said “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." (Matthew 5:11-12)
While I was on my normal route to New Haven, CT, I felt the sudden urge to turn around and go to the city of Hartford for ministry instead. I had never preached open-air in Hartford before and wasn't sure exactly how to get there either. I did however find my way easily and located a great public place downtown for preaching.
When I first got out of my car a man was walking by and I greeted him. We started talking and apparently his truck ran out of gas and he was stuck in Hartford. I don't know if he was lying or not but if he was lying then I am sure he got convicted when I gave him money and a gospel of John. He said he would read it. There were a lot of people in the downtown area when I got there. I set up my stool on a big brick walk way that had benches full of people and vendors. Like Paul I used a statue to spring board into the gospel. Near me was a statue of Rev. Thomas Hooker who founded the city of Hartford in 1636. He had a bible in his hand and the monument said it was in that spot where He preached the sermon that inspired the Hartford constitution. “There is a difference between the Hartford Thomas Hooker founded and the Hartford we see today. And what is the difference? The difference is the book that he is holding in his hands...” Some children gathered near me to listen while other people were listening from the benches.
A man came out of one of the offices and asked me to move. I asked if I was breaking the law and he said "no". When he realized that I was not going to move he told me that I was on private property and have to move. I think that was a lie because there were public benches all over that area and it was a public brick sidewalk but I said "Okay sir, where can I preach?" He showed me an area right across from where I was. When I started preaching there a different security guard came and said "Oh no they can't send you over here". Then all the security guards came together from all the difference offices and agreed on a spot that I could preach.
Although the only spot they said I could preach was only inches away from the main road, I preached there just the same. As soon as I started a man came out of the office buildings nicely dressed, looking like an executive. He started swearing and cursing at me over and over again. He got closer and closer until he was only maybe an inch away from me. He acted as though he would put out his cigarette on my face, it was so close I felt the heat of it on my skin, but he never actually did it. He was repeatedly screaming "YOU SHUT THE BLANK UP". He got me a big crowd. I said "Sir you keep this up and your going to draw me a bigger crowd." He continued to yell and to spit and would not ease up. I told him if he doesn't stop I'll call the cops. He started doing a satanic sign along with his cursing and then told me he worships Satan. I said "In the name of Christ Jesus you leave me alone!" and he walked off without saying a word.
That's when the cops showed up. They pulled me aside and said I can't use the portable battery operated microphone without a permit. Then they put me in the back of the police car and talked with me for a few minutes. When they released me there was an even bigger crowd there waiting to see what was going on. I stood up on my stool to address them but first looked over to the office and said " can I preach now? He said "You can preach whatever you want without your microphone." So I preached the Law, sin, righteousness, judgment, and offered them Christ. A vendor came and complained to the cops and then to me. I told him that I had just as much of a right to preach as he had to sell, but that I will keep him in mind while I’m preaching and that I had only been there a total of ten minutes and won't be there too much longer.
The cop pulled me aside and said I can't preach anymore because someone complained. I attempted to reason with the officer by saying that we have the first Amendment because not everyone agrees. I said “If I have a crowd of thirty people that are interested in hearing me, and one man complains, I have no more right to speak?” He said “correct, your bothering people.” I asked the crowd if they were bothered by what I was doing. Many in the crowd said "NO" and not a single person said "Yes". That's when they put the hand cuffs on me which gave me marks for two days and put me in the back of the police car. The officer went around the area for about ten minutes talking to people to try to get as many complaints as possible. When he returned he told me that nobody wanted to leave their information in order to complain. Finally the cop said "Look, we don't want to arrest you. We will release you if you promise not to preach." I said "Officer, it is 2:44pm right now. If you release me then by God's good graces I'll be preaching again in public by 3:00pm." He said "then your going to jail" so I said "I would rather go to jail then to forfeit my right of freedom of speech. I would rather go to jail even for the rest of my life then to deny my Lord who commanded that I preach." He brought me to jail where I was able to witness to a young guy in the cell with me named Jeff. He seemed touch. Eventually I was taken out of the cell and was told that I was going to be released. I requested another ten minutes behind bars so I could finish witnessing. They were kind enough to grant me the favor.
Of coarse the cops claimed that I was not "arrested for the gospel" but in reality, the only thing I was doing was preaching the gospel. I was doing nothing more and nothing less. The case did not hold up in court and was immediately dismissed, no questions asked. I think I did good going two years of open-air preaching in Connecticut without getting arrested; John Baptist lasted only six months in his day. A preacher friend said "your not really apart of the club until you've been arrested." We must remember the encouraging words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who said “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." (Matthew 5:11-12)