Post by messengermicah on Sept 5, 2008 13:43:12 GMT -5
Monday August 25, 2008-James Madison University-Harrisonburg, Virginia: Classes began today at James Madison University but since this campus requires advance notification I would not be able to begin preaching.
Sister Elizabeth and I drove to the campus and reserved the free speech area for most of the week and several days into next week. The free speech area seemed to be a great location. The only drawback was I was not allowed to begin preaching until 2:00 PM each day. Nevertheless, I was expecting a great week of preaching and had peace in my heart.
Tuesday August 26, 2008-James Madison University-Harrisonburg, Virginia: It was somewhat overcast today. Sister Elizabeth and I arrived in the free speech area around 1:35 PM. There seemed to be a constant flow of students walking through the area.
The free speech area here is an open brick area surrounded by benches and cement cylinders. Various campus groups reserve these benches in the early afternoon.
I began preaching around 1:50 PM and soon began to draw a small crowd. Soon after I began one of the campus “ministry” groups angrily approached me, got in my face and demanded I leave.
The crowd continued to build until soon it was from 200-250 and formed a large circle around me. Many of the students sat down and the crowd kept a good distance. There were several rowdy hecklers but the majority of the crowd seemed to listen intently. A few times several of the students crowded me in but then backed off and kept their distance.
Around 3:20 PM many in the crowd began to close in around me. I walked over to one of the cement cylinders next to the benches and stood on top of it, faced the crowd and continued preaching.
The crowd size was now down to around 70-80. I continued preaching for another 30-40 minutes. For the last 20 minutes or so a hypocrite stood on the cement cylinder next to me and tried to preach over me until he began to lose his voice.
I stepped down from the cement cylinder around 3:50 PM and moved to another location. The crowd did not follow me but did not hang around to listen to the hypocrite either.
I had planned to stop preaching after two hours anyway because I had not preached outdoors in over two weeks and was concerned about my voice giving out. My voice held up good and strong the entire time and I did not become hoarse after preaching. Praise the Lord!
I continued to talk to several students until 4:30 PM and then we left the campus. I thought it was a great first day of preaching with my voice holding up strong. I felt great physically after losing over 20 lbs. over the summer and still dropping.
Wednesday August 27, 2008-University of Virginia-Charlottesville, Virginia: I was going to attempt to preach today at the University of Virginia because the free speech area at James Madison was reserved all afternoon with loud events taking place.
When we woke up in the morning it began raining and continued raining steadily all day. Sister Elizabeth and I drove over to the university in hopes of the rain letting up some but it never did.
That evening I preached in a church in the Charlottesville area from Matthew 6:10 on “Advancing the Kingdom of God”.
Thursday August 28, 2008-James Madison University-Harrisonburg, Virginia: It was supposed to continue raining today. When I woke up it was just slightly drizzling.
As Sister Elizabeth and I drove to the campus the rain continued to drizzle on and off.
I began preaching at around 1:50 PM and soon gathered a crowd of 50-70. I believe the crowd would have continued to grow but it began to rain. At first it was a slight drizzle but then began to rain harder.
I put on a raincoat and continued preaching and the crowd stayed right with me. After some time the rain stopped and I continued preaching.
The crowd had already begun to close in on me before it started raining and the police were on the scene watching. After the rain they continued to close in around me so I exited the crowd, stood on a cement cylinder, faced the crowd and continued preaching.
The crowd followed me and remained at 50-70. The rain began to come down again and the crowd stayed with me. After some time it stopped raining.
I continued preaching until around 4:20 PM. I then stepped down from the cylinder and began to talk with a seemingly open female student who was raised muslim, still wore a hair covering but claimed she was no longer a muslim. She asked very good questions and listened well. I also had some good conversations with some seemingly sincere young men on issues of biblical doctrine. During this time I always had a group of 5-20 students surrounding me and listening.
Around 5:00 PM Sister Elizabeth and I left the campus.
That evening during the church service where we were staying I learned my picture and my wife had made the “Shot of the Day” section in the Harrisonburg city newspaper “The Daily News Record”. Someone handed me a copy of the newspaper with my picture in it. I knew I had been photographed but did not know which paper it was.
Friday August 29, 2008-James Madison University-Harrisonburg, Virginia: As we drove to the campus it was dark and overcast. Sister Elizabeth and I arrived in the free speech area around 1:00 PM. I arrived early because I figured since it was Friday there may not be much going on in the area and I could start earlier.
When we arrived it was still dark and overcast and the area was filled with various student groups occupying the benches around the area and ungodly loud music was being played from large speakers.
Technically I was not scheduled to start until 2:00 PM, so I waited in the area and had several good conversations with different students who approached us.
Around 1:55 PM the students groups playing the loud music began to pack up and turn off the music. I began preaching and instantly the sun began to shine brightly.
I quickly gathered a small crowd that continued to grow to around 90-100. After some time the crowd came down to around 60-70 and then began to close in around me.
I walked out of the crowd, stepped upon a cement cylinder, faced the crowd and continued preaching. They all came around me.
The crowd was around 50-60 when a very emotional so called “Christian” male jumped up on the cylinder next to me and tried to steal the crowd. His message was the usual “Jesus died on the cross for you because we are all sinners, He loves all of us, and you need to change your ways but you must first accept Jesus before you can begin to turn from your sins”.
The Bible does not teach we become Christians first and then we repent. Repentance is a condition of salvation. In order to turn to Jesus we must turn from sin. In order to turn to sin we must turn from Jesus. Jesus said “…except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3, 5). Repentance is first “repent ye and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15), “repentance toward God and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21), “repentance from dead works and of faith toward God” (Hebrews 6:1).
God calls sinners to repent (Matthew 9:13). The power of the Holy Ghost comes on the world (John 16:8) to reprove them of sin, righteousness and judgment. The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of the fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11) which brings men to a knowledge of God (Proverbs 1:7), to depart from sin (Proverbs 16:6, Proverbs 14:27, Proverbs 3:7) and to hate evil (Proverbs 8:13).
This guy preached for a few minutes and then left. After he left, I continued preaching and the crowd grew to around 100-110. Three police officers were now on the scene. For some time I preached hard and fast as the students fired questions and accusations at me from every direction.
I continued preaching until around 4:00 PM. The crowd dwindled down to around 20-25 during the last 20 minutes or so. Around 4:00 PM I sat down and tried to answer the students’ questions until around 4:30 PM.
Sister Elizabeth had been talking to students all day and a small crowd began to gather around her around 3:30 PM. She continued to witness and answer questions until around 4:30 PM and then we left.
Sunday August 31, 2008: We attended services in the local church where we were staying and preached for 1 hour in the evening service from Matthew 6:10 on “Advancing the Kingdom of God”.
Monday September 1, 2008-James Madison University-Harrisonburg, Virginia: It was a hot, sunny day today. Despite it being Labor Day, the university was not closed and had classes.
Sister Elizabeth and I arrived on the free speech commons area around 1:45 PM. I began preaching at 1:50 PM. I soon gathered a small group of listeners that quickly grew to 30-50.
Around 2:15 PM three members from the church where we were staying showed up to listen and support the preaching. Two were a husband and wife and the husband is interested in open air preaching. The other was a sister from the church.
Around 3:40 PM the crowd moved in closer so I retreated, walked through the crowd, stood upon one of the cement cylinders, faced the crowd and continued preaching.
They all came around me and I continued preaching until around 4:00 PM. It was a hot day and I had run out of water. I called on the brother from the church to take over the crowd. He stepped up and did a good job of answering questions and controlling the crowd.
I went and sat down in the shade and soon a few students came to talk to me and eventually I was surrounded by 20-25 students.
I sat and answered their questions until 5:30 PM and seemed to be making some real progress with several of the students. Towards the end of the day a few hecklers and hypocrites came around to make things difficult by constantly interrupting and talking while trying to deal with the more sincere seekers of truth.
At 5:30 PM we left the campus. We had been invited to eat by a male student who wanted to talk with us. A female student joined us and we all went to eat and talk. They had many questions about the preaching, what we believed, etc. I answered all of their questions and refuted all their objections with the Bible. We had a great time of conversation and fellowship and parted on good terms around 7:30 PM.
Tuesday September 2, 2008-James Madison University-Harrisonburg, Virginia: Sister Elizabeth and I arrived on campus around 1:15 PM. It was another clear, hot and sunny day.
There was loud music being played as we arrived but as soon as we arrived they turned it off. I was going to start preaching since nothing else was going on but was approached by a respectful sincere young man. He seemed to be a sincere student of the Bible and we had a good conversation for about 15-20 minutes.
I began preaching at 1:40 PM and soon gathered a small crowd that quickly grew to 50-60. For the next two hours I preached to a crowd that ranged from 50-130. This was probably the best day I had in terms of preaching. The crowd was somewhat rowdy, playful and angry at times but did a good job of listening most of the time.
A student approached me from the school paper around 3:15 PM to do an interview. I told him I would preach about another 30 minutes and then do an interview.
After another 30 minutes of preaching, I turned the crowd over to Sister Elizabeth and began the interview.
As Sister Elizabeth continued the preaching and I began the interview after some time several of the students came over to listen. The journalist was probably the most unprofessional I have ever encountered. He allowed the students standing around to ask questions during his interview. This is not so bad but most of the time the students do not really have questions to ask but just want to give me their version of the gospel and how I should preach.
By the questions he asked and the way he conducted himself I knew the article would be one of the more biased and slanted.
From the time I stopped preaching around 3:45 PM and began the interview until 5:30 PM, I continued talking to small groups of students and had many good conversations and seemed to make some real progress with a few. The “reporter” stuck around me the whole time with his recorder stuck near my face.
Sister Elizabeth and I departed the campus around 5:30 PM. That evening I preached for about 30 minutes in a church on “The Power of God to Win Souls”.