Post by messengermicah on May 30, 2009 14:43:55 GMT -5
Monday May 11, 2009-Ohio University-Athens, Ohio: Over the weekend we heard the weather was supposed to be good today so we decided to make the drive down to Athens. Bro Cope, Brother Rick, Sister Elizabeth and I drove down together. On the way down someone mentioned there was supposed to be a 50% chance of rain in Athens today.
We dropped Bro Cope off at the preaching spot on the public sidewalk in front of the Civil War statue around 11:50 AM and went and parked the car. Bro preached until 12:40 PM and had a few hecklers and got a few students sitting in the area listening.
PREACHERS PERSERVERE THROUGH RAIN
The weather became very cold and overcast. Brother Rick preached from 12:40 PM until 2:00 PM and gathered an attentive group of 15-25. I believe Brother Rick would have been able to build the crowd up bigger but while he was preaching it began to rain and was very cold (at least for us Floridians). The preaching spot here is shaded and all the trees prevent the students from getting too wet if it is not raining real hard. It came down fairly hard, then slowed down and began coming down fairly hard again during Brother Rick’s preaching. Around 1:45 PM the clear skies began to move in. Around 2:00 PM the sun was beginning to shine again and Brother Rick turned the preaching over to me.
WHAT IS IT?
I began preaching around 2:00 PM and was able to build the crowd up to around 80-100. I had one listener who had short hair and dressed like a male but still looked like a female. She insisted she was a man but I had my doubts. Later she confessed to having had a sex change operation. This is the generation we are dealing with. I preached until around 3:20 PM and turned the crowd over to Sister Elizabeth.
They were fairly rowdy when I turned the preaching over to Sister Elizabeth. She preached until around 4:15 PM. During her preaching the crowd closed in around her and continued to be rowdy. She turned the preaching over to Bro Cope around 4:15 PM.
BREAKING THROUGH
Bro Cope preached until around 5:40 PM to a crowd that was rowdy at times yet attentive at times. After 5:30 PM the crowd was down to a few and Bro sat down and had some conversation with the students. All of us had small groups around us and we were all having profitable conversations.
We left the campus around 6:00 PM.
Tuesday May 12, 2009-Ohio University-Athens, Ohio: Bro Cope, Brother Rick, Sister Elizabeth and I arrived in the Athens area around 11:40 AM and dropped Bro Cope off to begin the preaching while we went to park several blocks away.
It was a picture perfect day for preaching as the weather was clear, sunny and in the low 70’s. There was a picture of myself and a newspaper article of the preaching on the 5th page of the school newspaper.
BUILDING MOMENTUM
Bro Cope preached from 11:40 AM to around 1:10 PM and gathered an attentive crowd of 30-40.
Brother Rick preached from around 1:10 PM to 2:05 PM to a crowd of 25-40.
Brother Rick turned the preaching over to me around 2:05 PM and the crowd grew to around 150-160. There were some good hecklers and things grew a little rowdy a few times but overall it was an effective time of preaching as the crowd was mostly civil and attentive. I continued preaching until around 3:25 PM and then turned the preaching over to Bro Cope.
Bro Cope preached to a crowd that was somewhat rowdy at first but gradually settled down some from 3:25 PM to 5:10 PM and ranged from 100-150.
Brother Rick preached from 5:10 PM to 6:05 PM to a mostly attentive crowd that ranged from 40-80. Brother Rick called on me to preach again.
AFTER ALMOST 7 HOURS STUDENTS STILL WANT MORE
I preached from 6:05 PM to 6:35 PM to an attentive crowd ranging from 25-60. After almost 7 hours of preaching we left the campus with about 40-60 students still sitting around listening intently.
We all had many fruitful and productive conversations on the sidelines while the others were preaching.
Wednesday May 13, 2009-Ohio University-Athens, Ohio: There was a good chance of rain today but we were trusting God for the weather to hold out. Bro Rick decided to preach at Ohio State University alone while Bro Cope, Sister Elizabeth, and I drove down again to Athens.
STRAIGHTFORWARD PREACHING TO ATTENTIVE HEARERS
When we arrived it was sunny out. Bro Cope drove so he dropped me off at the preaching spot around noon while he went and parked the vehicle. I began preaching around 12 noon. The crowd gradually grew to around 80-110. At times I had some hecklers trying to disrupt and others were rowdy at times but overall it was a very profitable time of straightforward preaching with many attentive hearers. I turned the crowd over to Bro Cope around 1:30 PM.
BRO PERSERVERES THROUGH THE RAIN
When I turned the crowd over to Bro Cope the crowd was around 50-60. After Bro Cope had preached for some time it began to rain and dwindled his crowd down to around 10-15. It only rained a short time and then stopped. After it stopped Bro Cope was able to build the crowd back up again to around 30-40. Bro preached until around 3:30 PM and then turned the crowd over to Sister Elizabeth.
After I finished preaching around 1:30 PM I was interviewed by two students with camera equipment for a radio or program for the university.
Sister Elizabeth preached from 3:30 PM to 4:15 PM to the crowd of 30-40. We left around 4:15 PM to make the long drive back to Columbus for church service.
Thursday May 16, 2009: We were rained out today.
Friday May 17, 2009-Otterbein College-Columbus, Ohio: Today was a hot, clear sunny day with weather around 80 degrees which is very hot for Ohio. Brother Rick had headed back home for a few days, so Sister Elizabeth and I arrived on campus around 12:15 PM. Bro Cope was already preaching when we arrived and had gathered a group of 5-10 listeners.
RESTLESS CROWD
Bro turned the preaching over to me around 12:40 PM. The crowd grew to around 25-30 but it was a very strange crowd as they were very restless. Every time several new students would show up several more would leave. Students would ask me questions all at the same time and then not listen while I was answering them and then accuse me of not answering their questions. I also think it was a little hot for most of them to sit on the concrete steps in the heat for long periods of time.
I felt a little dizzy at times while I was preaching due to the heat and had not preached in heat like that since South Carolina (it was much hotter there).
POLICE ON THE SCENE
The crowd was rowdy and restless most of the time. Someone called the police and they lingered around for some time while the students talked to them apparently complaining about something. The police watched the preaching for some time but never got out of the car and never spoke to me.
I KNOW EVERYTHING BECAUSE I ATTEND THE VINEYARD
I continued preaching until around 2:00 PM and then turned the crowd over to Bro Cope. As soon as I finished a male “Christian” who lives on the block began judging me and accusing me of sinning by saying I was judging. I tried to move away from the preaching area and answer his questions but he was the kind of person who thought he knew everything but everything he said was totally wrong. I kept showing him scriptures that contradicted every statement he was making but he told me he went to “Vineyard” church and he was a Christian.
He was making a big scene and this distracted from the preaching I turned over to Bro. The remaining crowd of 20-25 wanted to watch the “Christian” tell me off. I took a walk to the restroom and Bro Cope tried to deal with the man but was not able to get anywhere either. It is hard to teach someone who already knows they know everything.
Bro tried preaching for a few minutes longer after the man left but was not able to get the attention of the students. Sister Elizabeth and I left the campus area around 2:30 PM as we were driving to a new location later that afternoon.