Post by bullhornbob on Nov 18, 2008 23:57:08 GMT -5
University of Georgia
After driving 1,740 miles from Flagstaff, AZ to McDonough, GA, I must admit we were kind of wiped out! We made the trip in 3 days, staying in our favorite spots along the route: Wal-Mart Resorts, USA! The next time you visit a Super Center, look around the parking lot. It is highly probable that you will see some RV’s parked there!
Our dear friends, Kevin and Jennifer C., were gracious to let us park our fifth wheel at their farm for a week or so. We decided to take some time off to rest up and get some chores done, and then head out to UGA for a couple of days of preaching.
Thursday, October 9, 2008:
We made the 1 ½ hour drive to Athens and parked, then made our way to Tate Plaza. I lifted my banner and started preaching, and within 15 minutes I had a crowd of about 200 students form a half circle about 10 yards from me. All I had to do was start preaching hard against their pet sins: fornication, masturbation, drinking and drugs, and of course, the biggest idol in America, SPORTS!
If any of you know anything about UGA, it is that they LOVE football. And they defended it tooth and nail. It was lightly raining off and on, but seemed to clear up when we arrived. One of the Student Union groups had reserved Tate Plaza, but took shelter during the drizzles. When they realized I had the student’s attention, they came and set up onstage.
A very courteous and respectful Administrator approached me and explained that since the group had the area reserved, I did not have to leave the area, but I could not interrupt or “divert the attention” of the students from the event on stage. I also had the option of going to another Free Speech Area just a few blocks away. I opted to stay and talk with a few of the students, who actually had some very good questions.
As the group concluded, I again began to lift my voice for about 15 minutes, and then Evangelista took over for about 30 minutes. She boldly preached on sin, righteousness, and judgment to come. As I filmed my wife, a young Latino coed approached me and told me “you have to leave right now, we have this area reserved!” I told her that I would not leave, and asked her why she came directly over to me, yet all of the other groups of people milling about and sitting at tables, etc., were ignored. She said that if I did not leave immediately, she would call the Police. I told her to feel free to do so, but we would not leave the area just because she did not want us there.
So, what ensued was an enormous whining session by this group of Latin students who thought we were trying to prevent their guest from speaking. I felt singled out, and decided to stand my ground, based on the conversation I had earlier in the day with the polite Administrator. Another young lady approached me and also informed me that I had to leave the area immediately or face being escorted off campus, or arrest for disrupting the scheduled event.
I demanded to talk to the nice guy from earlier on, as now the instructions were conflicting. Obviously the girls got it wrong, as the nice guy again came out and explained it in laymen’s terms. It turns out that I did not have to leave, but again, needed to stop preaching and diverting attention from the scheduled event. I agreed to stop and take down my banner, as the guest speaker nervously approached the podium. By this time, I had the UGA Liars Club, I mean the Student Newspaper, busily snapping pictures and asking me all sorts of questions about who we are and what we do.
This is the problem as I see it: The University has obviously had issues in the past with preachers. I assume lawsuits and other legal issues have arisen, so how do we fix this? No problem, just reserve the plaza over and over, and the preachers can’t preach.
So, can I as a visiting preacher reserve the plaza? NO WAY JOSE, you must have sponsorship with a university affiliated organization, or no permit, and no preaching. So, which of these “christian” student organizations would possibly sponsor a hellfire and brimstone preacher such as myself? Hmmmm….
After about 7 minutes, the guest speaker stepped down, and the event was over. I preached again to sparse crowds of 15-20 until about 4:00PM. We decided to call it a day and head back to the farm in McDonough, rejoicing that we made a huge impact on the campus. It seemed as if this type of preaching was never experienced by these students, as many stood listening with mouths gaping.
Friday, October 10, 2008:
Yesterday was filled with continuous interruptions, and today would prove to be more of the same. We arrived about 11:30AM, parked and set up the banner at Tate Plaza, and were again able to immediately draw a crowd of about 150 students. I held the crowd for about 30 minutes, when I was approached by a staff member and instructed to, in his words, leave the area until the scheduled event was finished. He did say that if I did not cooperate, I would be trespassed from the campus, possibly permanently, because of the fiasco of the day before.
It seems that we made quite a stir on campus, as the Student Paper had a huge article on the incident from yesterday, front page picture with Bible T-shirt and scripture banner included at NO CHARGE! The headline read “Preacher stalls Latino rights rally.”
OK, I didn’t see it that way, but you know, the media hardly ever gets it right, right? The irony of it all is, this was a speech devoted to the civil rights of oppressed Latinos, specifically aimed to promote awareness in the student body.
We were forced to relocate to the alternate free speech area, which was dead as a doornail. No foot traffic, plenty of loud buses charging down the street, two trees, and some chirping crickets. We decided to head back home and call it a day, only after walking through Tate Plaza again. The crowd was long gone, and the band was crowing like banshees. It was not a total loss, as we were able to chat with a few students. Praise God for the opportunity to preach the gospel to every creature!
PLEASE PRAY FOR US AS WE PREACH THE GOSPEL PUBLICLY ON CAMPUSES AND STREETCORNERS EVERYWHERE!
After driving 1,740 miles from Flagstaff, AZ to McDonough, GA, I must admit we were kind of wiped out! We made the trip in 3 days, staying in our favorite spots along the route: Wal-Mart Resorts, USA! The next time you visit a Super Center, look around the parking lot. It is highly probable that you will see some RV’s parked there!
Our dear friends, Kevin and Jennifer C., were gracious to let us park our fifth wheel at their farm for a week or so. We decided to take some time off to rest up and get some chores done, and then head out to UGA for a couple of days of preaching.
Thursday, October 9, 2008:
We made the 1 ½ hour drive to Athens and parked, then made our way to Tate Plaza. I lifted my banner and started preaching, and within 15 minutes I had a crowd of about 200 students form a half circle about 10 yards from me. All I had to do was start preaching hard against their pet sins: fornication, masturbation, drinking and drugs, and of course, the biggest idol in America, SPORTS!
If any of you know anything about UGA, it is that they LOVE football. And they defended it tooth and nail. It was lightly raining off and on, but seemed to clear up when we arrived. One of the Student Union groups had reserved Tate Plaza, but took shelter during the drizzles. When they realized I had the student’s attention, they came and set up onstage.
A very courteous and respectful Administrator approached me and explained that since the group had the area reserved, I did not have to leave the area, but I could not interrupt or “divert the attention” of the students from the event on stage. I also had the option of going to another Free Speech Area just a few blocks away. I opted to stay and talk with a few of the students, who actually had some very good questions.
As the group concluded, I again began to lift my voice for about 15 minutes, and then Evangelista took over for about 30 minutes. She boldly preached on sin, righteousness, and judgment to come. As I filmed my wife, a young Latino coed approached me and told me “you have to leave right now, we have this area reserved!” I told her that I would not leave, and asked her why she came directly over to me, yet all of the other groups of people milling about and sitting at tables, etc., were ignored. She said that if I did not leave immediately, she would call the Police. I told her to feel free to do so, but we would not leave the area just because she did not want us there.
So, what ensued was an enormous whining session by this group of Latin students who thought we were trying to prevent their guest from speaking. I felt singled out, and decided to stand my ground, based on the conversation I had earlier in the day with the polite Administrator. Another young lady approached me and also informed me that I had to leave the area immediately or face being escorted off campus, or arrest for disrupting the scheduled event.
I demanded to talk to the nice guy from earlier on, as now the instructions were conflicting. Obviously the girls got it wrong, as the nice guy again came out and explained it in laymen’s terms. It turns out that I did not have to leave, but again, needed to stop preaching and diverting attention from the scheduled event. I agreed to stop and take down my banner, as the guest speaker nervously approached the podium. By this time, I had the UGA Liars Club, I mean the Student Newspaper, busily snapping pictures and asking me all sorts of questions about who we are and what we do.
This is the problem as I see it: The University has obviously had issues in the past with preachers. I assume lawsuits and other legal issues have arisen, so how do we fix this? No problem, just reserve the plaza over and over, and the preachers can’t preach.
So, can I as a visiting preacher reserve the plaza? NO WAY JOSE, you must have sponsorship with a university affiliated organization, or no permit, and no preaching. So, which of these “christian” student organizations would possibly sponsor a hellfire and brimstone preacher such as myself? Hmmmm….
After about 7 minutes, the guest speaker stepped down, and the event was over. I preached again to sparse crowds of 15-20 until about 4:00PM. We decided to call it a day and head back to the farm in McDonough, rejoicing that we made a huge impact on the campus. It seemed as if this type of preaching was never experienced by these students, as many stood listening with mouths gaping.
Friday, October 10, 2008:
Yesterday was filled with continuous interruptions, and today would prove to be more of the same. We arrived about 11:30AM, parked and set up the banner at Tate Plaza, and were again able to immediately draw a crowd of about 150 students. I held the crowd for about 30 minutes, when I was approached by a staff member and instructed to, in his words, leave the area until the scheduled event was finished. He did say that if I did not cooperate, I would be trespassed from the campus, possibly permanently, because of the fiasco of the day before.
It seems that we made quite a stir on campus, as the Student Paper had a huge article on the incident from yesterday, front page picture with Bible T-shirt and scripture banner included at NO CHARGE! The headline read “Preacher stalls Latino rights rally.”
OK, I didn’t see it that way, but you know, the media hardly ever gets it right, right? The irony of it all is, this was a speech devoted to the civil rights of oppressed Latinos, specifically aimed to promote awareness in the student body.
We were forced to relocate to the alternate free speech area, which was dead as a doornail. No foot traffic, plenty of loud buses charging down the street, two trees, and some chirping crickets. We decided to head back home and call it a day, only after walking through Tate Plaza again. The crowd was long gone, and the band was crowing like banshees. It was not a total loss, as we were able to chat with a few students. Praise God for the opportunity to preach the gospel to every creature!
PLEASE PRAY FOR US AS WE PREACH THE GOSPEL PUBLICLY ON CAMPUSES AND STREETCORNERS EVERYWHERE!