Post by messengermicah on Apr 25, 2009 9:59:55 GMT -5
Monday April 6, 2009-University of Georgia-Athens, Georgia: It was a very cold day today especially for Georgia at this time of year being in the 40’s, overcast and windy. Sister Elizabeth and I arrived on campus after 1:00 PM. Since there are usually activities’ going on at the Tate Center free speech platform in the early afternoon and it seems to be more difficult getting a crowd earlier in the day I usually do not try to begin preaching here until around 1:30 PM to 2:00 PM.
GOD LOVES HOMOSEXUALS
There was a young man sitting across from the Tate Center free speech platform holding a handmade sign that read something about how God loves homosexuals. I began preaching in the overcast, windy, 40 something degree weather. I was all bundled up with warm clothes but most of the students were underdressed as usual. The young man holding the sign came over to talk to me later and claimed to be a Christian but was very confused. To his credit he was civil and carried a Bible.
I gathered small groups of up to 5 throughout the afternoon and had some excellent conversations. The students who stood in the cold and discussed seemed to be genuinely interested but I could see them shivering all over and struggling to stay.
After the last students left around 3:10 PM I exited the platform and called it a day.
Tuesday April 7, 2009-University of Georgia-Athens, Georgia: It was another overcast, cold and windy day with temperatures once again in the 40’s. It was supposed to rain all day and was raining as we drove to campus.
We arrived after 1:00 PM and there was some dance group playing music and dancing on the platform. As Sister Elizabeth and I waited in the Tate Center for the dancing group to leave we saw a friend of ours whose father pastors a church in Florida. She came over to eat her lunch with us and fellowship.
Around 2:15 PM I noticed the dance group was finishing up. I left Sister Elizabeth and the other sister and began preaching on the platform around 2:30 PM.
ROWDY CROWD
I soon gathered a rowdy crowd that continued to grow to around 50-70. Later the sun came out some although it remained cold and windy. Students in the crowd jumped up on the platform, got in my face, followed me around, tried to take my Bible from me, held up hand made signs judging and condemning me, threatened me, etc.
The crowd closed in around the platform and later I had about 25-40 students gathered asking questions, heckling and sometimes listening intently. I preached until around 4:30 PM and continued to sit around and answer questions from 5-15 students gathered until after 5:00 PM.
Sister Elizabeth and I headed for the car and one male heckler and a female student who professed to be a Christian and seemed genuinely trying to understand what we were doing followed us. We continued talking to them for some time and the female student seemed to have gained a better understanding of what we were trying to accomplish, thanked us and left.
The male student heckler seemed to want to try to follow us to our vehicle but as he was dishonest and insincere I did not trust him. We gave him the slip and headed to our vehicle. He watched us from inside the glass windows. This young man was on crutches due to a tattoo he had gotten on the bottom of his foot.
Wednesday April 8, 2009-University of Georgia-Athens, Georgia: Sister Elizabeth and I arrived on campus after 1:00 PM. The weather seemed ideal for preaching but unfortunately there was a muslim activity complete with food, music and speakers going on at the Tate Center platform. The meeting seemed to be scheduled for the entire afternoon. We waited around to see if it would finish.
GREAT DISCUSSION INSIDE THE TATE CENTER
We were sitting in the Tate Center talking to a friend of ours who traveled and preached for years on the university campuses and lives in the Athens area. Several students I recognized had gathered around our area and began talking to our friend, mainly trying to voice their criticisms of me and my preaching to him.
I listened for some time and finally entered the conversation. Soon our friend left and I continued answering the students’ accusations, comments, and questions with thorough scriptural answers. For several hours we sat in the Tate Center and had discussion and answered the questions of a group of 10-15 students. It seemed to be a very profitable time overall. Some of the students did not like the answers given and had no way to Biblically refute them so they ended up leaving exasperated but others remained and continued listening intently and asking more questions.
We left the campus around 4:30 PM as I was scheduled to preach that evening in the church where we were staying.
That evening I preached for almost an hour from Judges 2:6-13 on “A Gospel of Power”.
Thursday April 9, 2009-University of Georgia-Athens, Georgia: Sister Elizabeth and I arrived on campus after 1:00 PM again. It was another day of great preaching weather but once again the platform area was taken up again with an all day activity dealing with stopping domestic & sexual violence against women called “Take Back the Night.”
PREPARING FOR CLEMSON
After some discussion Sister Elizabeth and I decided to make the almost two hours drive over to Clemson University to reserve the free speech area for the following week. They require 72 hours advance notice so if we did the paperwork today we could begin preaching there the following Tuesday.
We made the drive over and filled out the paperwork for the permit. We also located the free speech area.
That evening I preached in a local church for over one hour on “Advancing the Kingdom of God” from Matthew 6:10.
Friday April 10, 2009-University of Georgia-Athens, Georgia: Sister Elizabeth and I arrived on campus after 1:30 PM. It was overcast and supposed to rain.
There was a group near the platform with tables set up playing loud music. I waited for some time and around 2:00 PM they began packing up.
AN UNUSUAL DAY
I began preaching on the platform around 2:10 PM. I gradually drew a crowd of 35-40 but most of them remained far from the platform in the areas around the Tate Plaza where they could sit down. It was a strange day as the crowd listened intently but did not ask many questions at all.
A SEEMINGLY SINCERE SEEKER TURNS ON ME
I had some fierce hecklers, most of whom I recognized from Wednesday’s discussion in the Tate Center. One young man seemed to ask very good questions that day and listen intently to my answers, did not object and thanked me when he left. However, this day he would jump in front of the 35-40 listeners and tell them not to listen to me, I was preaching false doctrine, was a false prophet, and Jesus died on the cross for their sins, and God loved them.
HELL FULL OF THOSE GOD LOVED AND GOD’S CONDITIONAL FORGIVENESS
Of course I preach and believe Jesus died on the cross for their sins because He loved the world but I let them know hell was full of people Jesus died for (1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Matthew 23:33, 25:30, 25:41). I also preached God’s forgiveness and mercy was conditional upon repentance (Proverbs 28:13, 1 John 1:7, 1 John 1:9, Luke 13:3,5, Acts 3:19). I preached Jesus died to save them from their sinning and not to save them in their sins (Matthew 1:21, Acts 3:26, Galatians 1:4, Titus 2:14, 1 John 3:5, John 1:29). I also preached the issue was not whether or not God loved them but whether they loved God (John 14:15, 1 John 5:3, John 15:10), and anyone sinning did not love God (Matthew 6:24, 1 John 1:5, John 3:19-20).
JUDGING FALSE PROPHETS
Another heckler I recognized from Wednesday was a Catholic student who had heckled me fiercely on Tuesday by judging me as a false prophet because I was judging and we were not supposed to judge. I always ask the students how we know false prophets if we cannot judge. They always call me a false prophet and then I tell them I thought we were not supposed to judge.
This Catholic boy came out with all kinds of false information about me about how I go around and get people to hit me and then sue people. He taped this information up on the walls and students came around and would be reading it while I was preaching. With all this heckling going on it seems it would have drawn in a large crowd but there were just not many students in the area on a late Friday afternoon with bad weather.
I continued preaching until 4:00 PM and then sat down to talk and answer questions from a small group of 5-10 students. A student who wrote an article on me in the school newspaper in October 2007 recognized me and scheduled an interview with me on Monday around 12:45 PM.
GOD’S PROTECTION
We left the school after 5:00 PM. There were tornadoes in the area that evening but the Lord protected us and our property.
Monday April 13, 2009-University of Georgia-Athens, Georgia: The weather today was overcast and drizzling rain as I drove to campus for the interview. I met the student around 12:50 PM and he interviewed me until 2:30 PM.
After the interview I headed back to where we were staying to pack up and head to our next location to prepare to preach at Clemson University the following day.