Post by messengermicah on Jun 13, 2009 20:50:23 GMT -5
Tuesday May 26, 2009-University of Cincinnati-Cincinnati, Ohio: Sister Elizabeth was still in Florida at this time and this morning Brother Rick was ill so I would be preaching by myself today. The weather kept changing from sunny to overcast as I drove to campus.
GOOD CROWD BUILDS UP
I arrived on campus just before noon but had to wait for a parking spot to open up. I began preaching in the free speech spot around 12:20 PM. Slowly but steadily a small group of 10-15 students began to sit and ask questions. The crowd continued to grow from there. A police officer showed up and kept an eye on things. The crowd eventually grew to around 150-200. It had been a good time of fairly straightforward preaching with the crowd being mostly attentive even though they opposed my message of repent or perish.
Around 2:10 PM it began to rain and much of the crowd dispersed. I moved in close to the 10-20 students remaining and stood under the trees to keep most of the rain off. This was the area where the students could sit down and listen on a 9-11 Memorial Wall. I stayed there and answered their questions for some time. It stopped raining and gradually the crowd began to grow again. I stood on the 9-11 Memorial Wall where the students sit and listen and continued preaching. The crowd built up to around 150 again. I mostly preached as fervently and loud as I could in a straightforward manner reproving, rebuking and exhorting with all longsuffering and doctrine.
GET OFF THE WALL!
The crowd fluctuated for the remainder of the afternoon from 50-150. Some students kept trying to make me get off the wall. I told them to call the police and I would be glad to step off the wall if the police ordered me.
Eventually several police cars showed up but they just watched and said nothing. I asked them if I it was okay to stand on the wall and they replied yes.
YOU ARE A FRAUD!
As has happened the last two years I continued to hear accusations from the crowd that I am a fraud because I go around and provoke students to hit me, then sue the universities and that is how I make money. I challenged the students to provide the proof of these accusations yet no one ever has.
I continued preaching in a hard straightforward manner until 3:45 PM. I was preaching by myself and it was very hot. I had consumed over one gallon of water and had to use the restroom. I announced to the crowd, I would return the following day.
Wednesday May 27, 2009-University of Cincinnati-Cincinnati, Ohio: Sister Elizabeth would not be returning from Florida until the evening and Brother Rick was still sick so once again I would be preaching by myself.
It was a very hot and sunny day. As I arrived on campus, I noticed the front page of the daily university newspaper with my picture and an article. I arrived in the designated preaching spot around 12:25 PM. There were several campus police officers in the area and around 10-15 students.
LARGE CROWD GATHERS
I began preaching around 12:25 PM and the crowd immediately began to increase. The crowd continued to increase quickly and eventually reached over 300. Several students kept getting in my face, heckling, following me around and threatening me. Most of the crowd kept a good distance away from me for some time.
CROWD DISTRACTERS
As the huge crowd formed the massive circle around me several students tried to jump in the middle where I was and distract the crowd by doing performances (juggling, dancing, etc). Since I had to reserve this designated area in advance I did not think the students should be allowed to jump in the middle of the designated area I was assigned to after I had gathered the crowd and try to distract the crowd. I politely informed the officers of this and asked if this was a reasonable request. The officers did an excellent job of keeping the crowd back from me for some time, stopping the hecklers from following me around and trying to prevent the preaching, and making the crowd distracting performers leave the middle of the circle.
Gradually the large crowd of 250-300 plus continued to move in closer and closer around me. Around 2:00 PM the officers informed me they could only do so much to keep the crowd back. I understood and was close to finishing for the day.
Thankfully many in the massive crowd sat down as they moved in around me and overall the crowd was somewhat tame for one that size. I continued to preach and answer questions.
The weather was very hot, I was almost out of water, the crowd was large, I had only slept a few hours that night, and would probably be preaching in a church that night. The police also asked me politely if I could finish for the day because I was tying up all their manpower. Due to all these factors I was only planning on preaching a few hours and then heading back to try to rest before going to church and heading to the airport. I concluded the day’s preaching around 2:20 PM with a crowd of 200 plus around me and announced I would return on Friday.
SPECIAL PRIVILEGES FROM POLICE?
The police told me they were receiving many threats against me and asked me to get in their police car so they could drive me to my vehicle. The students resented this because it looked like the police were giving me special privileges. The officers had been very helpful and professional. They said they were not giving me special treatment but just did not want me to get assaulted on the way to my vehicle.
That evening I preached in a church for over one hour from Matthew 6:10 on “Advancing the Kingdom of God”.
Thursday May 28, 2009: We had no permit to preach this day as our preaching area had been reserved for a big water slide event they do each year at this time. Last year they double scheduled us with the water slide event. It rained a good part of the early afternoon anyway.
Friday May 29, 2009-University of Cincinnati-Cincinnati, Ohio: Brother Rick headed back home on Wednesday evening and Sister Elizabeth arrived back in Ohio from Florida. Sister Elizabeth and I arrived on the campus around noon. It was a perfect day for preaching with sunny weather in the 70’s.
CROWD ALREADY WAITING FOR US
As I arrived in the designated preaching area there were already 30-40 students waiting for our arrival along with several police officers. The officers had taped off an area in the middle to keep the students from crowding in too close yet at the same time I had a nice sized area to move around in.
I began preaching around 12:20 PM to the 30-40 students already waiting. The crowd quickly grew to 200-300. It was a very large crowd again today but not quite as large as Wednesday’s.
FAITHFUL SISTER
A sister from a local church who joins us each year showed up today with a hand made banner dealing with hell and repentance.
SUPPORTIVE STUDENT
One young man stood in front of me by a tree for much of the preaching just listening. He walked up to me and asked me to sign his Bible and then thanked me for being there and asked me to pray for him.
I preached for three hours to crowds ranging from 120-275. At 3:20 PM I took a restroom break. Most of the crowd of the remaining 120 or so had dispersed. I took a chair and sat in the middle of the area they had taped off for me in front of the 9-11 Memorial wall. This way the students could sit in the shade on the wall.
I sat in the chair and answered questions from the 40-50 students gathering around the 9-11 Memorial wall from 3:30 PM to 4:00 PM.
A SINCERE SEEKER OF TRUTH
As Sister Elizabeth and I were leaving a young man walked with us and asked many sincere questions. This young man had told me in front of the large angry crowd that opposed me that he appreciated my being there and the message I was preaching. He seemed to be a very sincere Christian.
Saturday May 30, 2009: Sister Elizabeth and I attended a church service and I had the privilege of preaching. I preached for just over one hour on “Advancing the Kingdom of God” from Matthew 6:10.
Sunday May 31, 2009: We attended the local church services where we were staying in the morning. In the evening, I had been invited to preach in the prayer service of another church. I preached for 30 minutes from Judges 2:10-11 on “A Gospel of Power”.
Monday June 1, 2009-University of Cincinnati-Cincinnati, Ohio: It was a hot and sunny day in the 80’s as Sister Elizabeth and me drove to campus. I had gotten word over the weekend that the GLBT (homosexual community) at the University of Cincinnati was planning to protest our preaching on campus.
CROWD AND PROTESTORS WAITING
Sister Elizabeth and I arrived on campus just after noon. As I approached the free speech area there was again already a crowd of 30-40 students waiting for us along with several campus police officers. I noticed there were two different sections taped off. I stepped into the section I had been preaching in last Friday and began preaching around 12:30 PM.
The crowd quickly began to increase and the protestors with hand made signs and rainbow flags were told to move into the other taped off area. The protestors taped off area and my area were about 10 yards apart. Students were not allowed inside the 10-yard area between the two sections.
BIASED ADMINSTRATOR
A good-sized crowd of 150-200 began to form all around my taped off area in addition to the protestors in the other taped off area. At this point an administrator began telling the police officers to make the whole crowd move into the area reserved for the protestors.
I was strongly against the administrator doing this for several reasons 1) Every student was not there to protest 2) I did not come to preach to the protestors-the protestors are not there to listen to the preaching or learn. They usually just make accusations; sing songs, threats, yell, etc. Putting the whole crowd mixed in with the protestors would not allow me to answer questions or dialogue with students who were interested in the message. 3) I had to give 5 days advance notice to reserve the free speech area. I wanted to see the protestors permit. This protest had been organized over the weekend and could not have given 5 days advance notice. 4) Why where they given a permit in the same area I had already reserved?
SOME STUDENTS STILL THINK FOR THEMSELVES
Well thankfully, at least some of the students are still capable of thinking for themselves and realized the administrator did not have any right to make everyone move into the protestor section. The students began to complain and grumble about being forced to move into the protestors’ section. From that point on the administrator stopped trying to move them into the protestors section.
I also asked to see a copy of the protestors permit to be there. The administrator told me if I wanted to see a copy of their permit I had to go to such and such a building. I asked my wife to go and check on it but when she went everyone was “out to lunch”.
PROTESTORS IGNORED
Ironically and thankfully the protestors’ section was set up directly in the sun whereas my area had some shade under the trees for some of the listeners. Every once in a while I would say something to the protestors, or even answer a question if they were being very polite, but for the most part I preached with my back to them and ignored them. They would scream at me to stop ignoring them, sing songs, make accusations, etc.
I faced the rest of the crowd and preached and answered questions. After the administrator made the crowd move into the protestor section the crowd outside of it was only around 40-50 but soon it built up to around 200 again in addition to the protestors.
As the afternoon wore on and the protestors were ignored as they stood in the direct sunlight their numbers and enthusiasm dwindled. I continued preaching to crowds of 100-200 until around 2:40 PM.
At 2:40 PM, I sat in a chair and answered questions until around 4:10 PM. I sat as far away from the protestor section as I could so they would be totally excluded and ignored. Soon they all left.
STUDENT FROM LAST YEAR DEFENDS PREACHING
Initially, I had over 100 as I sat and answered questions. As I prepared to depart around 4:10 PM I had around 25-30 students. Just as I was beginning to leave one student spoke up and defended our preaching method. He said something to the effect of “Last year, I said all the same things you all are saying. Now I realize this has gotten everyone thinking and discussing the subject of the Bible. Several weeks ago the campus ministry groups advertised and tried to get people to come to a Bible study they were going to have out here and only one or two students showed up. Today hundreds of students were listening to the Bible being preached.”
As we departed from the campus one young man who seemed sincere wanted to take me out to eat and discuss better ways I could do what I am doing (even though he has never preached publicly himself). I was willing to do this but on the way to our vehicle the young man left and did not show back up.