Post by messengermicah on Sept 15, 2009 18:24:07 GMT -5
Tuesday September 8, 2009: It was raining today when we woke up and was still raining as we headed to campus. We took care of some business around town and gave the weather some time to clear up. We began driving toward the campus but it began to rain. It was an hour drive to the campus, the visitor parking is costly and we did not want to get rained out. We decided to wait until tomorrow.
That evening I preached in a church for about 50 minutes from the text Luke 24:47-49.
Wednesday September 9, 2009-George Mason University-Fairfax, Virginia: Sister Elizabeth and I arrived on campus just before noon. Last year, when I preached here I was never able to use the free speech area since it was taken up each day with other events going on.
CROWDED BY THE CROWD
Thankfully, the area was available today and I began preaching around 12:10 PM. I soon gathered a large crowd of around 150-200 people. I was able to preach for about 20-30 minutes but then the large crowd began to move in around me.
I moved around and tried to keep a distance from the crowd for a few minutes but as they continued to try to crowd me in I moved over to where the steps were and stood on the steps and faced the large rowdy crowd of 150-250. The campus police showed up and stayed around the rest of the afternoon.
I preached for some time and it seemed they settled down and listened well for some time but soon became rowdy again. I had many hecklers all day long who would move in close to me, blow cigarette smoke in my face, make accusations, profaned the Holy Name of the Lord, threaten and yell at me.
ANGRY MOB DEMANDS I LEAVE
At one point the crowd seemed to dwindle down to around 40-50 but soon it grew right back up to around 200-300. I had some good times of preaching where the crowd seemed to listen fairly well but at other times they were very hostile. The students continued to crowd in around me, blow cigarette smoke in my face and scream at me to leave the campus.
At one point, I moved off the stairs and walked around while continuing to preach. The mob followed me around and crowded me. One young man followed me around screaming at me to leave the campus while making threats at me because I was “hateful”. The average college student has been so brainwashed that if a person opposes lifestyles (or should we say death styles) the Bible declares sinful then it is considered “hate”.
This same student told me later in the afternoon that he did not hate anything (even though he followed me all over the free speech area hollering at me, making threats and telling me to leave). I guess his opposing my lifestyle is not hateful even though my opposing sinful lifestyles is hateful.
CAMPUS POLICE HELPFUL
Throughout the afternoon, there were several police officers on hand and at times they would intervene and make the more rowdy students give me some space. While the mob crowded in on me as I kept moving around and preaching the officers intervened and told the crowd to give me some space.
I returned to the steps, faced the mob of 250-300 and continued preaching. I preached a while but soon the crowd became irate again and began screaming for me to “Leave the campus we don’t want you here!” (Matthew 8:34)
Around 2:55 PM, I announced my future visit to the campus (I did not tell them which day) and came down from the stairs. Much of the crowd dispersed but many tried to follow me. I walked over to a bench and sat down and a group of about 20 students gathered around to ask questions.
I sat and answered the students’ questions for about 30 minutes. The crowd grew to around 35-50. I became stirred again (Acts 17:16) and so I stood on the bench and preached for about 10 minutes.
Around 3:40 PM I decided to call it a day. Sister Elizabeth and I were escorted to our vehicle by a plain-clothes police officer.
Thursday September 10, 2009-George Mason University-Fairfax, Virginia: It was somewhat overcast as Sister Elizabeth and I drove to campus but the weather cleared up in the afternoon and it ended up being a beautiful day. We arrived around noon and I began preaching in the free speech area around 12:15 PM.
I soon gathered a crowd of 30-40 and they tried to move in close to me but I kept moving and kept them at a distance. As far as the preaching and the questions went it was going very well. I was getting some good questions and most of the students were attentive.
The crowd grew slightly larger and soon it was necessary to move to the stairs and face the crowd of about 40-60. It stayed this size for some time but soon it grew to around 200-300. At times the crowd seemed larger than the previous day.
LARGE ROWDY CROWD
I was able to preach effectively and control the crowd until around 1:40 PM. At this point the crowd became much convicted, the hecklers seemed to come out of the woodwork the students became more angry and rowdy. Several students kept moving in around me, blowing cigarette smoke in my face, cursing and screaming in my face.
I moved to the other side of the stairs and tried to continue but soon the situation was the same. My wife and I were surprised at how poor the behavior of the crowd was even with police presence on hand each day. Usually, the police presence helps the crowd behavior.
NO SMALL STIR
I asked the police if it was ok to stand on a planter above the stairs to elevate myself above the mob. The police had been very helpful and professional but they told me not to for safety reasons. Soon a student stood there and kept screaming at me. With a rowdy crowd of 300 or more and now a student standing above me screaming at me it was very difficult to do much preaching. Each time I tried to preach the crowd would begin chanting or they all would throw questions at me at the same time and demand I answer them yet give me no opportunity to reply.
I asked an officer if it was okay for me to stand on top of a cement ledge on the edge of the free speech area. She replied it would be okay. As I walked out of the crowd, the students all began cheering because they thought I was leaving. I walked down and stood on the cement ledge, faced the crowd and began to try to preach.
VERY DIFFICULT CROWD
The mob came around me and I continued to try to preach as best as possible. This location kept me elevated over the mob but with many students screaming, making accusations, asking questions simultaneously it was difficult to do much with them. At one point, I was able to get them settled down enough to read the story of Richard, Jane and Sally and this went fairly well. Most of the large crowd sat down but it was still difficult to get through it.
I hardly remember dealing with a more difficult crowd than this one. Around 3:00 PM, I decided to just sit down on the cement ledge and talk to students. I sat and answered the students’ questions until 4:00 PM and then left the campus for the day.
Friday September 11, 2009-George Mason University-Fairfax, Virginia: The weather today was very overcast and it was raining as Sister Elizabeth and I arrived on campus.
There were much less cars in the parking garage than other days indicating less classes going on today. I arrived in the free speech spot and began preaching around 12:15 PM.
I immediately had several hecklers and the crowd quickly grew to a fairly rowdy 75-100. The rain began to come down but it made no difference. In fact, it seemed the crowd grew larger during the rain.
VOICE TROUBLE
My voice was not in good shape today as it kept breaking up and cracking while I was preaching. It was just one of those days where my voice had not fully recovered from the previous day’s exertion. This certainly made the preaching more difficult but none of the students seemed to notice.
Since the students kept crowding me in, I moved to the cement ledge of the previous day. The crowd of 75-110 moved in around me but soon settled down. For some time it went very well as the crowd was civil and listened well. Soon the campus police officers arrived.
Around 1:30 PM the crowd began to become rowdy and less attentive. I believe they can only take so much Bible truth before it begins to convict them and usually they resist the conviction by acting up.
I preached until 2:00 PM and then announced I planned to return Monday. On stepping off the cement ledge and walking away many students followed me and surrounded me wanting to ask more questions. Sister Elizabeth and I stopped about 50 yards away from the preaching spot and answered their questions until around 2:30 PM. This seemed to be an effective time of teaching.
I agreed to do an interview with a student for a class on Monday.
Monday September 14, 2009-George Mason University-Fairfax, Virginia: Weather was sunny and somewhat hot. Sister Elizabeth and I arrived on campus and I was in the free speech area around 12:05 PM.
INTERVIEW
I told the journalism student on Friday I was going to arrive around noon and I think they thought I was going to do the interview with them at noon. Since they were waiting for me and thought I was going to do the interview with them at noon we did the interview then. I would much rather have begun preaching around noon because it is usually the best time for foot traffic and easier to grab the attention of the students and get a crowd.
We did an interview that lasted around 20-25 minutes inside the student union and I then headed over to the free speech area to begin preaching.
IN THE NEWS
The weekly newspaper at this school comes out on Monday and there was a picture of myself preaching along with an opinion article about the preaching written by a professed homosexual. On the same page there was another article written by another homosexual titled “What Freedom Means to Me” and the whole theme was linked to the writer’s “coming out” or confession of homosexuality.
I began preaching in the free speech area where it is made of concrete with shade surrounding the outskirts and sunny weather in the mid 80’s. A few students were sitting and waiting and soon a few more came to stand or sit and listen but did not say much.
EFFECTIVENESS OF PREACHING
A few hecklers showed up here and there after some time and soon a nice large circle of around 150-200 gathered all around me. The crowd was much more civil and attentive than the previous week. This is evidence the preaching is having an impact as the students begin to contemplate what is preached after we leave and take it more seriously.
I was able to preach and answer questions effectively for some time as the large crowd of 150-200 kept their distance asked many good questions and listened well.
ATHEIST HOMOSEXUAL WITH BULLHORN
The police were once again on hand but soon a professed atheist homosexual showed up with a bullhorn. Most students on college campuses believe homosexuals are born that way but the Bible is clear that homosexuality comes in after someone has made a decision to reject the true knowledge of God (Romans 1:18-28). It is a downward spiral like the Bible teaches and not anything anyone is born with.
This atheist homosexual began to ask me question after question using the bullhorn without ever giving me a chance to answer. While he began to do this much of the crowd began to disperse. The police on this campus have always been so professional in the past and have never let anyone use amplified sound without a permit.
I walked over to the police and told them someone was using a bullhorn without a permit. They replied it was acceptable because they could not hear it, no one was complaining, and they were students. I asked if it was acceptable for me to use my bullhorn. They said I was not a student.
I went back and continued to try to preach but the atheist homosexual had raised the volume on his bullhorn and kept firing questions and accusations at me without giving me any chance to respond. The once civil, large crowd continued to dwindle down. I thought the officer was not being honest about not being able to hear the bullhorn before but now it was obviously much louder.
After they gave me the same reply, I asked to speak to their supervisor. I told them in all the other times I have preached on the GMU campus this was never allowed. They said, I could call their supervisor and gave me his phone number.
I walked over to my wife and gave her the phone number to call while I proceeded with the open-air meeting. I then walked back to the free speech area, stood on the stairs and began preaching as best I could over the homosexual atheist using the bullhorn.
OFFICERS SHUT DOWN BULLHORN
The crowd was now dwindled to around 20-25 but began to build back up gradually. I saw the officers in the background making phone calls. Soon I saw them come over and make the atheist homosexual turn off his bullhorn. Praise the Lord!
GREAT TIME OF PREACHING
At this point the meeting really began to take off again. The crowd grew to around 150-200 as the students kept their distance and asked many good questions and listened well. Many of the students were sitting on the hot concrete area in the sun. I continued preaching until around 3:00 PM and then announced I would be moving to the cement ledge to answer questions.
CROWD STEALER
I walked over to the cement ledge and much of the crowd followed. I sat down and answered questions. One professing Christian male student jumped on the ledge after some time and began trying to preach to the crowd. In our discussion he kept admitting we needed to repent of our sins but yet we could not stop sinning. He also kept insisting God has to call us first. I agreed with him on that but did not understand why the adamant insistence. He also said we could not resist the Holy Ghost but I quoted him and the crowd Acts 7:51, Ephesians 4:30, 1 Thessalonians 5:19.
After he kept contradicting himself and could not defend his points he became frustrated and jumped on the ledge and tried to steal the crowd. I walked over to the other nearby cement ledge knowing soon the crowd would follow me.
For a few minutes the crowd cheered as I left and acted as if they were listening to him just to spite me but I ignored them and several students followed me to ask questions. The group of students listening to him swiftly dispersed but mine quickly returned to its former size.
GOD DOES NOT SEND HIS CHILDREN TO HELL
One student asked me if I had any children and would I ever burn them forever to punish them. I pointed out to him that God sends sinners to hell, not his children and sinners are not God’s children (Matthew 25:41, John 1:12, John 8:44, John 9:31, Romans 8:14, 1 Peter 4:18, 1 John 3:8). One point that needs to be continually addressed on campus is that all people are God’s creation but not all His children.
It was a great time of discussion and answering questions although many did not like the answers. I could see several though who agreed with me nodding in approval at my answers.
I left this area and tried to leave around 4:30 PM. I walked over to Sister Elizabeth who was surrounded by a group of students asking questions. She was engrossed in the discussion. At this point two young men with sincere questions who were very open came to ask me some questions. We sat down and were soon joined by several others.
Sister Elizabeth and I departed from the campus around 5:30 PM.