Post by messengermicah on Sept 5, 2009 13:14:31 GMT -5
Monday August 24, 2009-James Madison University-Harrisonburg, Virginia: This is the same campus we began preaching at last year at this time. One reason we chose this school again is because most of the schools in this area do not begin until the following week (August 31).
BANNING THE PREACHERS
There was some talk from the students last year about signing a petition to have us banned. Sometimes this is just talk but sometimes the students can have an influence with the administration and cause them to back down and make unconstitutional practices.
I was not planning on preaching today since it was the first day of class and thought I remembered their policy required 24-hour notice. I also remembered this school had many activities planned early in the afternoon the first few weeks of the semester. Due to the talk from last year, I was somewhat concerned JMU would attempt to keep us from preaching.
It was a hot (mid to high 80’s) clear sunny day. We walked to the office where we sign up and arrived around 12:15 PM. Signing up was no problem. The same lady who I dealt with last year was still there and she was very honest and fair. One disadvantage I had again this year that I had last year was most of the seven days I reserved I would not be able to begin preaching until around 2:00 PM due to activities going on. We prefer to begin preaching around noon since that is usually when there is the most activity.
CHRISTIAN ROCK CONCERT AND POPSICLES FOR JESUS
After signing up Sister Elizabeth and I walked to the free speech area and sure enough there was a loud “Christian Rock Concert” going on with many students in a campus ministry group handing out “popsicles for Jesus”.
As we were walking back to our vehicle around 1:00 PM a couple from the church where we were staying drove by and offered to give us a ride. They had come out to listen and support the preaching. They invited us to lunch.
LONG INTERVIEW
After lunch I had previously scheduled an interview with a young man. He asked me questions for about 3 hours.
Tuesday August 26, 2009-James Madison University-Harrisonburg, Virginia: Sister Elizabeth and I arrived in the free speech area around 1:35 PM. It was another hot (mid to high 80’s) sunny day.
HARSHLY REBUKED FOR PREACHING TOO HARSH
It appeared there was some campus ministry group handing out materials when we arrived. They began packing up as soon as we showed up. I remembered this group from last year as their leader looked familiar. He came up and harshly rebuked me because he thought my preaching contained too much harsh rebuking of sin.
I began preaching on top of the cylinder cement block next to the table I was assigned around 1:45 PM. Students took free Bibles and tracts from our table. Unfortunately, there is no shade at all in this free speech area and concrete everywhere.
GOOD FIRST DAY OF PREACHING
Soon I gathered a small group of 15-20. I preached throughout the afternoon to groups ranging from 15-75. At times the crowd seemed to listen well. Other times I had hecklers jumping on the cylinder block and table next to me.
All in all it was a very good first day with some good times of preaching and interaction. I preached until around 4:25 PM and then sat down on the cylinder block I was standing on to talk to the remaining group of 10-20 students.
We had a very good discussion for about 30 minutes and then a student who professed to be a Christian jumped in the middle of me and the students and began preaching about how God is love and He accepts us no matter what we do as long as we confess him as Lord, etc.
LET’S JUST HAVE A DISCUSSION
I stood on the cylinder and rebuked him and began preaching and refuting his lies (Luke 13:3, 5, Luke 6:46, Matthew 7:21, Hebrews 5:9). Then the student who tried to steal the crowd wanted to know why I had to yell and why couldn’t we just have a discussion. I pointed out to him we were having a discussion until he came up and began yelling.
It was now about 5:10 PM and my permit expired at 5:00 PM. No one was forcing me to leave and I do not think it would have been a problem to stay but we needed to leave to get back for church services where we were staying.
VOICE REMAINED STRONG
I was so thankful for the way my voice held up. I had not done much outdoor preaching over the summer but my voice held up strong after preaching almost three hours. It never went hoarse or weak.
One student who had been asking sincere questions later in the day walked with us most of the way to our vehicle. He seemed to be a sincere seeker of truth but because of traditional so called “Christian” teachings that are unbiblical he had a hard time grasping them.
AFRICAN STUDENT SUPPORTS PREACHING
Sister Elizabeth had a great discussion with a student from Africa who greatly appreciated, supported and agreed with our preaching. She kept making comments about how different the “Christians” were here from in Africa. She is shocked at how the students claim to be “saved” and go around sinning all the time.
Wednesday August 26, 2009: I had permission to use the free speech area today from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM but chose not to use the time. Preaching at 3:00 PM is fairly late to start and two hours is not much time. Elizabeth and I were both still lagging from the long drive up and scheduled to preach in a local church that night.
I preached for one hour that evening in a local church on “A Gospel of Power”.
Thursday August 27, 2009-James Madison University-Harrisonburg, Virginia: It was another clear, hot (mid to high 80’s), sunny day. I was scheduled to begin preaching at 2:00 PM but I wanted to try to arrive in the free speech area around 1:30 PM in case the area was already available.
Sister Elizabeth and I were delayed as we obtained a parking permit so I ended up arriving in the free speech area right around 2:00 PM.
THOU SHALT NOT STEAL
I began preaching at 2:00 PM and soon gathered a crowd of 25-30. For the next two hours the crowd fluctuated from 15-75. Early on a female student stole my water jug and poured it out. She professed to be a Christian while inhaling a cigarette, using profanity and being dressed immodestly.
At times the crowd was rowdy and playful and other times seemed to listen well. I stopped preaching around 4:00 PM and sat down on the cement cylinder I was preaching on next to my reserved table. I sat and taught and answered questions for the next 40 minutes. During this time the crowd grew some and so I stood up and began preaching again.
LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR
Around 4:50 PM a so called Christian group began blasting loud live music and talking to the students. Their permit was not until 5:00 PM and I did not appreciate their interrupting my preaching during my allotted time. After I finished preaching, I expressed to the group my lack of appreciation for their unethical behavior and especially since this group talk so much of “loving your neighbor”.
Sister Elizabeth and I continued answering the questions of the students until around 5:00 PM. One female student who professed to be a Christian had been asking many good questions and listened attentively stuck around after the preaching to ask more questions. Sister Elizabeth and I left the campus around 5:20 PM to attend church services where we were staying.
Friday August 28, 2009-James Madison University-Harrisonburg, Virginia: Sister Elizabeth and I arrived on campus around 11:30 AM. My permit today began at noon. It was somewhat overcast so it was not as hot as the other days.
WILD DAY
I began preaching on the cement cylinder around 11:45 AM. I soon gathered a small crowd that continued to grow to over 100. As I continued preaching the crowd continued growing to around 150-170. The crowd was rowdy but listened well at times.
After about one hour it began to rain fairly hard. I put on a raincoat and continued preaching but almost the whole crowd left except for about 10-15 students.
Soon the rain stopped and the crowd continued to grow again and continued growing back up to around 150-170. Much of the time the crowd listened well even though they were rowdy. My raincoat was stolen and so was my new preaching Bible. Thankfully a student found my Bible and returned it. Around 2:15 PM it began to rain again but the crowd stayed this time.
GET OFF OUR CAMPUS!
As the rain continued to pour, the crowd became angry. I stopped trying to preach and just stood my ground with my umbrella in hand. Several students were standing next to me screaming in my ear and making all kinds of false accusations and the crowd was hollering for me to leave their campus. It was too loud and the students were too rowdy to try to preach to.
As the rain continued to fall and I continued to just stand and not respond some of the crowd began to leave. Around 2:30 PM I announced I would return on Monday and stepped down from the cylinder block I was preaching from. I walked over to Sister Elizabeth who was surrounded by about 25-30 students asking her all kinds of questions.
COOLING THINGS DOWN
This gave the crowd some time to cool off and get rid of some of the students who were making trouble. After a few minutes I walked back over to the cylinder and sat down to teach, discuss and answer questions from the students.
For the next two hours Sister Elizabeth and I were surrounded by small groups of 10-25 students asking questions. We were able to teach and answer their questions effectively.
We met a male student, Brother T. who attends one of the churches in the area where I preached last year. He seemed supportive of the preaching and helped some in witnessing to the students.
It was almost 5:00 PM when we left the campus.
HATE CRIMES
Many people believe we are no longer allowed to speak out against the sin of homosexuality but each day I preached no different than I ever have as this subject comes up often while preaching on campuses.
To my knowledge the hate crime bill has not even passed yet and if it does it does not mean we can no longer speak out against homosexuality.
Do not back down and keep preaching strong against all sin.
BANNING THE PREACHERS
There was some talk from the students last year about signing a petition to have us banned. Sometimes this is just talk but sometimes the students can have an influence with the administration and cause them to back down and make unconstitutional practices.
I was not planning on preaching today since it was the first day of class and thought I remembered their policy required 24-hour notice. I also remembered this school had many activities planned early in the afternoon the first few weeks of the semester. Due to the talk from last year, I was somewhat concerned JMU would attempt to keep us from preaching.
It was a hot (mid to high 80’s) clear sunny day. We walked to the office where we sign up and arrived around 12:15 PM. Signing up was no problem. The same lady who I dealt with last year was still there and she was very honest and fair. One disadvantage I had again this year that I had last year was most of the seven days I reserved I would not be able to begin preaching until around 2:00 PM due to activities going on. We prefer to begin preaching around noon since that is usually when there is the most activity.
CHRISTIAN ROCK CONCERT AND POPSICLES FOR JESUS
After signing up Sister Elizabeth and I walked to the free speech area and sure enough there was a loud “Christian Rock Concert” going on with many students in a campus ministry group handing out “popsicles for Jesus”.
As we were walking back to our vehicle around 1:00 PM a couple from the church where we were staying drove by and offered to give us a ride. They had come out to listen and support the preaching. They invited us to lunch.
LONG INTERVIEW
After lunch I had previously scheduled an interview with a young man. He asked me questions for about 3 hours.
Tuesday August 26, 2009-James Madison University-Harrisonburg, Virginia: Sister Elizabeth and I arrived in the free speech area around 1:35 PM. It was another hot (mid to high 80’s) sunny day.
HARSHLY REBUKED FOR PREACHING TOO HARSH
It appeared there was some campus ministry group handing out materials when we arrived. They began packing up as soon as we showed up. I remembered this group from last year as their leader looked familiar. He came up and harshly rebuked me because he thought my preaching contained too much harsh rebuking of sin.
I began preaching on top of the cylinder cement block next to the table I was assigned around 1:45 PM. Students took free Bibles and tracts from our table. Unfortunately, there is no shade at all in this free speech area and concrete everywhere.
GOOD FIRST DAY OF PREACHING
Soon I gathered a small group of 15-20. I preached throughout the afternoon to groups ranging from 15-75. At times the crowd seemed to listen well. Other times I had hecklers jumping on the cylinder block and table next to me.
All in all it was a very good first day with some good times of preaching and interaction. I preached until around 4:25 PM and then sat down on the cylinder block I was standing on to talk to the remaining group of 10-20 students.
We had a very good discussion for about 30 minutes and then a student who professed to be a Christian jumped in the middle of me and the students and began preaching about how God is love and He accepts us no matter what we do as long as we confess him as Lord, etc.
LET’S JUST HAVE A DISCUSSION
I stood on the cylinder and rebuked him and began preaching and refuting his lies (Luke 13:3, 5, Luke 6:46, Matthew 7:21, Hebrews 5:9). Then the student who tried to steal the crowd wanted to know why I had to yell and why couldn’t we just have a discussion. I pointed out to him we were having a discussion until he came up and began yelling.
It was now about 5:10 PM and my permit expired at 5:00 PM. No one was forcing me to leave and I do not think it would have been a problem to stay but we needed to leave to get back for church services where we were staying.
VOICE REMAINED STRONG
I was so thankful for the way my voice held up. I had not done much outdoor preaching over the summer but my voice held up strong after preaching almost three hours. It never went hoarse or weak.
One student who had been asking sincere questions later in the day walked with us most of the way to our vehicle. He seemed to be a sincere seeker of truth but because of traditional so called “Christian” teachings that are unbiblical he had a hard time grasping them.
AFRICAN STUDENT SUPPORTS PREACHING
Sister Elizabeth had a great discussion with a student from Africa who greatly appreciated, supported and agreed with our preaching. She kept making comments about how different the “Christians” were here from in Africa. She is shocked at how the students claim to be “saved” and go around sinning all the time.
Wednesday August 26, 2009: I had permission to use the free speech area today from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM but chose not to use the time. Preaching at 3:00 PM is fairly late to start and two hours is not much time. Elizabeth and I were both still lagging from the long drive up and scheduled to preach in a local church that night.
I preached for one hour that evening in a local church on “A Gospel of Power”.
Thursday August 27, 2009-James Madison University-Harrisonburg, Virginia: It was another clear, hot (mid to high 80’s), sunny day. I was scheduled to begin preaching at 2:00 PM but I wanted to try to arrive in the free speech area around 1:30 PM in case the area was already available.
Sister Elizabeth and I were delayed as we obtained a parking permit so I ended up arriving in the free speech area right around 2:00 PM.
THOU SHALT NOT STEAL
I began preaching at 2:00 PM and soon gathered a crowd of 25-30. For the next two hours the crowd fluctuated from 15-75. Early on a female student stole my water jug and poured it out. She professed to be a Christian while inhaling a cigarette, using profanity and being dressed immodestly.
At times the crowd was rowdy and playful and other times seemed to listen well. I stopped preaching around 4:00 PM and sat down on the cement cylinder I was preaching on next to my reserved table. I sat and taught and answered questions for the next 40 minutes. During this time the crowd grew some and so I stood up and began preaching again.
LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR
Around 4:50 PM a so called Christian group began blasting loud live music and talking to the students. Their permit was not until 5:00 PM and I did not appreciate their interrupting my preaching during my allotted time. After I finished preaching, I expressed to the group my lack of appreciation for their unethical behavior and especially since this group talk so much of “loving your neighbor”.
Sister Elizabeth and I continued answering the questions of the students until around 5:00 PM. One female student who professed to be a Christian had been asking many good questions and listened attentively stuck around after the preaching to ask more questions. Sister Elizabeth and I left the campus around 5:20 PM to attend church services where we were staying.
Friday August 28, 2009-James Madison University-Harrisonburg, Virginia: Sister Elizabeth and I arrived on campus around 11:30 AM. My permit today began at noon. It was somewhat overcast so it was not as hot as the other days.
WILD DAY
I began preaching on the cement cylinder around 11:45 AM. I soon gathered a small crowd that continued to grow to over 100. As I continued preaching the crowd continued growing to around 150-170. The crowd was rowdy but listened well at times.
After about one hour it began to rain fairly hard. I put on a raincoat and continued preaching but almost the whole crowd left except for about 10-15 students.
Soon the rain stopped and the crowd continued to grow again and continued growing back up to around 150-170. Much of the time the crowd listened well even though they were rowdy. My raincoat was stolen and so was my new preaching Bible. Thankfully a student found my Bible and returned it. Around 2:15 PM it began to rain again but the crowd stayed this time.
GET OFF OUR CAMPUS!
As the rain continued to pour, the crowd became angry. I stopped trying to preach and just stood my ground with my umbrella in hand. Several students were standing next to me screaming in my ear and making all kinds of false accusations and the crowd was hollering for me to leave their campus. It was too loud and the students were too rowdy to try to preach to.
As the rain continued to fall and I continued to just stand and not respond some of the crowd began to leave. Around 2:30 PM I announced I would return on Monday and stepped down from the cylinder block I was preaching from. I walked over to Sister Elizabeth who was surrounded by about 25-30 students asking her all kinds of questions.
COOLING THINGS DOWN
This gave the crowd some time to cool off and get rid of some of the students who were making trouble. After a few minutes I walked back over to the cylinder and sat down to teach, discuss and answer questions from the students.
For the next two hours Sister Elizabeth and I were surrounded by small groups of 10-25 students asking questions. We were able to teach and answer their questions effectively.
We met a male student, Brother T. who attends one of the churches in the area where I preached last year. He seemed supportive of the preaching and helped some in witnessing to the students.
It was almost 5:00 PM when we left the campus.
HATE CRIMES
Many people believe we are no longer allowed to speak out against the sin of homosexuality but each day I preached no different than I ever have as this subject comes up often while preaching on campuses.
To my knowledge the hate crime bill has not even passed yet and if it does it does not mean we can no longer speak out against homosexuality.
Do not back down and keep preaching strong against all sin.