Post by Jeffrey Olver on Apr 15, 2009 19:58:39 GMT -5
Diving in…
Jesse Morrell has joined me in Tyler, Texas with his soon growing family! Jesse is a long time friend and we have travelled and preached together on many campuses and many streets. He first really introduced me to open air preaching as a legitimate way to consistently spread the Gospel.
I had been praying for quite a while that there would be more people in Tyler doing public ministry – out of the plethora of churches here, I’ve never seen anyone else doing public ministry.
Well, the day Jesse rolled into town we decided to venture out that night.
A practical step in open air preaching is to observe the surroundings; running reconnaissance. One must be aware of their surroundings and what elements would make the most of a preaching effort. Are their crowds? Is there an event taking place at a certain venue? Where are the public areas and the private property? Where will you be best heard and seen? We drove around a bit, through the parking lots of various clubs to see where we should make our first assault against the kingdom of darkness.
We first attacked the Electric Cowboy, the town’s oldest nightclub. Usually their popular night is Thursday which hosts drink deals and often special events for college students. Being Saturday, there weren’t droves of people in the parking lot or lined up by the door. After some brief preaching while trying not to be blown to Kansas holding our banners against the wind, we jogged across the street to Click’s Billiards.
A Familiar Face…
I’ve been preaching regularly outside of Click’s since I moved down here in November of 2007. There were a few people congregated outside, so I immediately lifted up my voice. “If you’re out tonight before Easter Sunday to get drunk, to sin, and you’re going to church on Sunday, you’re in big trouble with God!” The group of 4 or 5 individuals began to approach. “The Bible says no drunkard will inherit the kingdom of God.” When they reached us they asked what “denomination” we were. It became apparent that they were professing Christians attending the venue in support of some friends they knew playing in the headlining band.
One woman asked if we remembered her. I did. She recounted how roughly six months ago she confronted me on my method of preaching and holding a banner. She asked, “Do you remember what I said to you?” Sadly, I did. “You told me I would do more good sitting in my car praying than preaching and holding a sign.” “That’s right.”
Heresy at Click’s…
She turned to Jesse and asked if she could show him a video on her phone. Jesse and I both knew exactly what it was going to be. “Rob Bell?” Jesse asked. “Yes!” “Nooma video?” “Yes!” “Bullhorn Guy?” Again she affirmed Jesse’s suspicions. He then began to explain to Rob Bell’s errors and giving a defense of our method of evangelism.
Soon it came out the small group before us believed that you would always have to sin, and we spent much of the time there exhorting this group on right living and how Christ makes us a new person. Using much scripture we explained God’s commands and His fairness. Two individuals seemed to understand what we were saying and saw we were using scripture and respected the Bible’s authority.
Nooma Lady would go back and forth between claiming we didn’t know our Bible, and then admitting she was glad we knew so much scripture. The entire time, the small group used no scripture in defense of what they believed – they only regurgitated familiar postmodern Christianized philosophy.
The Way Of The Master…
Our presence reminded one of the gentlemen who approached of Ray Comfort and Way of The Master evangelism courses. He was reminded of the use of the law and speaking of sin. As he related that he knew about this, his ceased objecting and actually used scripture to condemn sin as other people, claiming not to be Christians, joined the group.
What’s Your Heart…?
They initially accused Jesse and I of saying they were going to Hell merely because they entered a bar. We were able to explain there is nothing immoral about the building. There is nothing wicked about the actions you take to walk in – it all lies in your motives! We asked them, “What’s in your heart? If your pursuits are for the ultimate goal of self, then you’re in trouble.”
Soon they left to attend the concert their friend was playing in and we decided to see what the action looked like at some of the other places in Tyler.
Where’s Rufus…?
Where’s Rufus? is a newer bar in Tyler which is very popular with the college crowd. I had never preached there because I always assumed it was a restaurant until I heard an advertisement on the radio. I unfurled a banner while Jesse donned a sandwich board sign. I stood on a grassy rise by their front door and Jesse stood by the road on a grassy area bordering their patio. Immediately the outdoor revelers crowded against the fence to read Jesse’s sign. I could see they were asking questions and some were jeering at Jesse. Several individuals climbed over the fence of the patio in order to speak to Jesse and I, as I had just walked over upon noticing the attention that was being drawn.
Ineffective?
Many people do not like the confrontational technique that often accompanies open air evangelism. It is harsh, sometimes loud, and presumes to get in the way of the self centered pursuits of would be revelers without invitation. Today’s society has been trained that anything loud and/or negative is bad. That judgment is wrong, without emphasizing hypocritical judgment. Almost immediately and more often than not, many people are quick to judge that an open air preacher is being very ineffective in spreading the gospel because the message of repentance or the mention of hell, sin and wickedness is negative.
Let me paint a picture of how “ineffective” we were at Where’s Rufus this night…
Saturday night. It’s a mild, cloudy night with a breeze. It’s a good atmosphere to go out and enjoy a night of carefree self gratification. About 30 people are congregated on the patio of Where’s Rufus drinking alcohol and smoking. Many of the women are dressed immodestly with apparently no sense of shame, their flirtations and gyrations telling on them. The men flagrantly lust and swagger, brandishing their beer bottles, being cool. Along comes a man, wearing a sandwich board, with the message that basically says, “Sin leads to hell, turn to Jesus Christ.” He sticks out like a sore thumb and everyone notices him. Instantly they crowd to the five foot high wooden fence to ask questions and jeer. Upon hearing the warnings against sin and the exultation of God in reply what does the young crowd do? Pick up their ashtrays and go inside? Quietly file in carefully as to not spill their drinks? Leave the bar and go home?
No!
They leave their drinks at their tables, toss out their cigarettes, abandon their conversations about who knows what, forsake the female or male they were lusting over and crowd the fence. They pack in, two and three people deep to get a closer look at the preacher’s sign! Several of the men, who were perfectly happy guzzling their drinks, leave them and climb over the fence to talk to the preacher! The dancing has been halted. The conversations are now turned onto more spiritual matters. The eyes which were once roaming for body parts are now riveted on the signs! The ears drinking in rock music are now straining to hear the preacher’s words over the music and other people talking!
Ineffective?
Police called...
Eventually the owner of the bar approached Jesse and accused us to trespassing, though we were obviously on public property. The owner warned others not to be hanging around us when the cops showed us in case they would implicated, so most of the people drew back behind the fence, lingering to jeer at us. Jesse was engaged in a conversation with one man, and another who was getting drunk was trying to reason with me through his drunkenness. His friends enticed him back to the bar and Jesse and I just waited for the police.
When the police arrived, the officer we initially spoke to seemed to have little patience for Jesse’s questions in regards to his assumptions about our activities. Jesse remained very civil and polite throughout the conversation, while the officer told Jesse to “shut up.” He became very irritated when we asked to speak to his supervisor. He walked away to place that call, and separately we spoke with two other officers who arrived on the scene. They each were professing Christians and showed genuine appreciation for our efforts and concern for our safety – as opposed to the first officer whose attitude seemed to brim with impatience. We had very genial conversations about being a police officer and local law enforcement until the supervisor arrived. By this time it was 12:20am – we had initially planned only to be out until midnight.
The conversation with this officer was cheerful and short. He examined the bible verses on Jesse’s sandwich board, expressing his approval for the signs. He then quoted his favorite verse from Genesis about sin lying at the door and its desire is to have you, and you must overcome. He then got to the point. He said the nearby sidewalk was definitely public and we were free to preach there, implying we shouldn’t get too close to the patio. He reminded us our safety should be priority and encouraged us to use video to protect ourselves.
We videotaped the conversation with the supervising officer, which will most likely be available on Jesse Morrell’s YouTube page: www.youtube.com/openairoutreach for the instruction and edification. ;D
We're looking forward to many more outreaches in Tyler and the surrounding areas!
Jesse Morrell has joined me in Tyler, Texas with his soon growing family! Jesse is a long time friend and we have travelled and preached together on many campuses and many streets. He first really introduced me to open air preaching as a legitimate way to consistently spread the Gospel.
I had been praying for quite a while that there would be more people in Tyler doing public ministry – out of the plethora of churches here, I’ve never seen anyone else doing public ministry.
Well, the day Jesse rolled into town we decided to venture out that night.
A practical step in open air preaching is to observe the surroundings; running reconnaissance. One must be aware of their surroundings and what elements would make the most of a preaching effort. Are their crowds? Is there an event taking place at a certain venue? Where are the public areas and the private property? Where will you be best heard and seen? We drove around a bit, through the parking lots of various clubs to see where we should make our first assault against the kingdom of darkness.
We first attacked the Electric Cowboy, the town’s oldest nightclub. Usually their popular night is Thursday which hosts drink deals and often special events for college students. Being Saturday, there weren’t droves of people in the parking lot or lined up by the door. After some brief preaching while trying not to be blown to Kansas holding our banners against the wind, we jogged across the street to Click’s Billiards.
A Familiar Face…
I’ve been preaching regularly outside of Click’s since I moved down here in November of 2007. There were a few people congregated outside, so I immediately lifted up my voice. “If you’re out tonight before Easter Sunday to get drunk, to sin, and you’re going to church on Sunday, you’re in big trouble with God!” The group of 4 or 5 individuals began to approach. “The Bible says no drunkard will inherit the kingdom of God.” When they reached us they asked what “denomination” we were. It became apparent that they were professing Christians attending the venue in support of some friends they knew playing in the headlining band.
One woman asked if we remembered her. I did. She recounted how roughly six months ago she confronted me on my method of preaching and holding a banner. She asked, “Do you remember what I said to you?” Sadly, I did. “You told me I would do more good sitting in my car praying than preaching and holding a sign.” “That’s right.”
Heresy at Click’s…
She turned to Jesse and asked if she could show him a video on her phone. Jesse and I both knew exactly what it was going to be. “Rob Bell?” Jesse asked. “Yes!” “Nooma video?” “Yes!” “Bullhorn Guy?” Again she affirmed Jesse’s suspicions. He then began to explain to Rob Bell’s errors and giving a defense of our method of evangelism.
Soon it came out the small group before us believed that you would always have to sin, and we spent much of the time there exhorting this group on right living and how Christ makes us a new person. Using much scripture we explained God’s commands and His fairness. Two individuals seemed to understand what we were saying and saw we were using scripture and respected the Bible’s authority.
Nooma Lady would go back and forth between claiming we didn’t know our Bible, and then admitting she was glad we knew so much scripture. The entire time, the small group used no scripture in defense of what they believed – they only regurgitated familiar postmodern Christianized philosophy.
The Way Of The Master…
Our presence reminded one of the gentlemen who approached of Ray Comfort and Way of The Master evangelism courses. He was reminded of the use of the law and speaking of sin. As he related that he knew about this, his ceased objecting and actually used scripture to condemn sin as other people, claiming not to be Christians, joined the group.
What’s Your Heart…?
They initially accused Jesse and I of saying they were going to Hell merely because they entered a bar. We were able to explain there is nothing immoral about the building. There is nothing wicked about the actions you take to walk in – it all lies in your motives! We asked them, “What’s in your heart? If your pursuits are for the ultimate goal of self, then you’re in trouble.”
Soon they left to attend the concert their friend was playing in and we decided to see what the action looked like at some of the other places in Tyler.
Where’s Rufus…?
Where’s Rufus? is a newer bar in Tyler which is very popular with the college crowd. I had never preached there because I always assumed it was a restaurant until I heard an advertisement on the radio. I unfurled a banner while Jesse donned a sandwich board sign. I stood on a grassy rise by their front door and Jesse stood by the road on a grassy area bordering their patio. Immediately the outdoor revelers crowded against the fence to read Jesse’s sign. I could see they were asking questions and some were jeering at Jesse. Several individuals climbed over the fence of the patio in order to speak to Jesse and I, as I had just walked over upon noticing the attention that was being drawn.
Ineffective?
Many people do not like the confrontational technique that often accompanies open air evangelism. It is harsh, sometimes loud, and presumes to get in the way of the self centered pursuits of would be revelers without invitation. Today’s society has been trained that anything loud and/or negative is bad. That judgment is wrong, without emphasizing hypocritical judgment. Almost immediately and more often than not, many people are quick to judge that an open air preacher is being very ineffective in spreading the gospel because the message of repentance or the mention of hell, sin and wickedness is negative.
Let me paint a picture of how “ineffective” we were at Where’s Rufus this night…
Saturday night. It’s a mild, cloudy night with a breeze. It’s a good atmosphere to go out and enjoy a night of carefree self gratification. About 30 people are congregated on the patio of Where’s Rufus drinking alcohol and smoking. Many of the women are dressed immodestly with apparently no sense of shame, their flirtations and gyrations telling on them. The men flagrantly lust and swagger, brandishing their beer bottles, being cool. Along comes a man, wearing a sandwich board, with the message that basically says, “Sin leads to hell, turn to Jesus Christ.” He sticks out like a sore thumb and everyone notices him. Instantly they crowd to the five foot high wooden fence to ask questions and jeer. Upon hearing the warnings against sin and the exultation of God in reply what does the young crowd do? Pick up their ashtrays and go inside? Quietly file in carefully as to not spill their drinks? Leave the bar and go home?
No!
They leave their drinks at their tables, toss out their cigarettes, abandon their conversations about who knows what, forsake the female or male they were lusting over and crowd the fence. They pack in, two and three people deep to get a closer look at the preacher’s sign! Several of the men, who were perfectly happy guzzling their drinks, leave them and climb over the fence to talk to the preacher! The dancing has been halted. The conversations are now turned onto more spiritual matters. The eyes which were once roaming for body parts are now riveted on the signs! The ears drinking in rock music are now straining to hear the preacher’s words over the music and other people talking!
Ineffective?
Police called...
Eventually the owner of the bar approached Jesse and accused us to trespassing, though we were obviously on public property. The owner warned others not to be hanging around us when the cops showed us in case they would implicated, so most of the people drew back behind the fence, lingering to jeer at us. Jesse was engaged in a conversation with one man, and another who was getting drunk was trying to reason with me through his drunkenness. His friends enticed him back to the bar and Jesse and I just waited for the police.
When the police arrived, the officer we initially spoke to seemed to have little patience for Jesse’s questions in regards to his assumptions about our activities. Jesse remained very civil and polite throughout the conversation, while the officer told Jesse to “shut up.” He became very irritated when we asked to speak to his supervisor. He walked away to place that call, and separately we spoke with two other officers who arrived on the scene. They each were professing Christians and showed genuine appreciation for our efforts and concern for our safety – as opposed to the first officer whose attitude seemed to brim with impatience. We had very genial conversations about being a police officer and local law enforcement until the supervisor arrived. By this time it was 12:20am – we had initially planned only to be out until midnight.
The conversation with this officer was cheerful and short. He examined the bible verses on Jesse’s sandwich board, expressing his approval for the signs. He then quoted his favorite verse from Genesis about sin lying at the door and its desire is to have you, and you must overcome. He then got to the point. He said the nearby sidewalk was definitely public and we were free to preach there, implying we shouldn’t get too close to the patio. He reminded us our safety should be priority and encouraged us to use video to protect ourselves.
We videotaped the conversation with the supervising officer, which will most likely be available on Jesse Morrell’s YouTube page: www.youtube.com/openairoutreach for the instruction and edification. ;D
We're looking forward to many more outreaches in Tyler and the surrounding areas!