Stone the Preacher

Christine Brown has a good job,
a great boyfriend and a bright future.
But in three days,
she’s going to hell.

That’s the ad line for “Drag Me to Hell,” a new horror flick that opened last weekend. I thought of the great irony that I was standing in line to purchase tickets for “UP”, the awesome, wonderful, creative—clean—adventure from Pixar that also opened the same weekend. I made the right choice.

Others in line had the same choice: “UP” or “Hell.”

I asked the usher if he was going to see “Drag Me to Hell.”

“Probably,” he replied.

I offered him a Gospel tract. “Here. Take this. It can keep you out of Hell.”

After the movie my kids and I stood outside the doors of another theater handing out tracts to all those exiting the latest action adventure: “Terminator Salvation.”

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

You’re going to have to wait until next week for the exciting story because I have run out of time… But! Here are some teaser photos:

Tom Nance-Uhlrich, myself, Ed Lee and “Righteous Richard” Chavarria
crashed the semi-finals of American Idol.

Former Idol, Jason Whatever-his-name-is (I’ve never, ever, seen the show) got a Giant Money Gospel tract, but was very cautious about posing for a photo, so he skimmed the message on the back. If you know this dude’s name, leave a comment.

“Righteous Richard” did some illicit red carpet preaching (this was a new idea, never before tried), and was soon visited by Security.

The Red Coats are coming! The Red Coats are coming!

We also had visits with the LAPD and every 21-year-old Paul Blart-mall-cop-wannabe.

So what else is new?

And we were joined by some very helpful “EX-es.”

Now read the details of what happened by clicking here for Part 1!

Read about the incredible opportunity we had last year by clicking here! 

Yesterday I asked you to explain the interesting scenario that happened recently on a college campus when we set up our evangelism table. A young man named Leland was upset. Our evangelism leader, Bob Johnson, was on Leland’s cell phone talking to Leland’s Mom. I asked you to explain what you thought may be happening and I got some great responses to the photo on the right. (Read the original article here.)

Here’s what happened: Bob offered Leland $20.00 if he could pass the “Good Person Test.” He was excited to try. Bob took him through the 10 Commandments.

“Have you ever told a lie, Leland?” Bob asked.

“Nope,” Leland confidently replied.

“Stolen anything?”

“No.”

Bob persisted. “Have you ever looked with lust, taken God’s name in vain, or hated anyone?”

Leland denied ever doing any of those things. In fact, Leland always put God first, always honored his father and mother, never desired anything more than God, and never coveted anything.  And I’m sure, if asked, he never missed a Sabbath rest. Yes, Leland was the perfect man. 

Bob gently tried to demonstrate that no one could keep the perfect Law of God, but Leland insisted that he had never sinned.

I stepped in, explaining that if we say that we are without sin then we make God out to be a liar. I also instructed him that the Psalmist says “all men are liars.” “So, Leland, who’s lying? You or God?”

“God,” Leland insisted. Frustrated, I told Leland that he had just blasphemed, that he wasn’t getting the twenty dollars, and passed him back to Bob.

That’s when Leland called his Mom in Washington State to complain.

Bob took the phone and patiently explained the situation to Mom. Fortunately, she was a Christian and agreed with Bob, telling her son to listen to him.

Leland still wanted the twenty; instead, Bob gave him a stuffed animal.

Then his sister walked up to the table and I took her through ”The Good Person” test. But that’s another story.

Don’t get me started…

*****

Yes, in retrospect, we should have just given Leland the twenty. Oh well, live and learn.

*** The winners of the creative scenario contest, those who came closest to the actual event, were…Tom Nance-Ulrich and Paul Latour. May you be blessed with many Lelands in your evangelistic endeavors.***

It happens to everyone who shares their faith on a regular basis…. You’ve scheduled an exciting time to go out and hit the streets to evangelize, you’ve got the plan, the tracts, you’re prayed up… then on the day of the event, no one shows up. It’s just the two of you: God and yourself. What do you do?

Go out anyway.

“Righteous Richard” Chavarria led our “team” last Saturday to the Hermosa Beach St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Though he went solo, he had an army behind him.

Has this ever happened to you? What did you do, give up or go out? What advice do you have for those in small churches that encounter this obstacle regularly?

NEXT: A RADICAL ANTI-WAR PROTEST. CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT IT.

I’d like to share with you all the exciting things that happened at The Oscars last Sunday, where a team of 22 evangelists shared their faith by handing out tracts, open air preaching and talking one-to-one, but not much happened. No one yelled (except a hate church from Kansas), no one threw anything, no one got mad, and as far as I could tell, no one made any professions of faith.

So what’s the use? What purpose did our seven hours of work make?

The day after, in my regular morning time with the Lord while reading through my One Year Bible, I was encouraged to read this confirmation in The Word from Psalm 40: 8-10—

I desire to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.

I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly;
I do not seal my lips,
as you know, O LORD.

I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I speak of your faithfulness and salvation.
I do not conceal your love and your truth
from the great assembly.

So what difference did our witnessing make?

The word of God was preached in obedience to His command. We’ll have to leave the results up to Him.

Can I hear somebody say “Amen?”

Two eggs, two slices of bacon, two sausage links and two pancakes: The Grand Slam breakfast, and it was free from 6AM to 2PM, Tuesday at Denny’s, America’s favorite health food restaurant.

That’s right, 795 calories and a whopping 50 grams of fat—all for free!

I didn’t go for the breakfast, I went for the diners. And nearly everyone got a Giant Money Gospel tract telling them about another free opportunity: eternal life.

I’d greet the eaters with a cheery, “Free breakfast and free $100 bills!”

They went like… hotcakes! 

42 evangelists handed out 25,000 tracts in Chinatown on Saturday! This was one of our most successful parade adventures ever!

The police were near as we preached to the crowds before the parade started, and I was assaulted by a spectator in a strange way. There are a few funny stories to tell and one sad one as well.

***Read part 2 here!***

I was on a bike ride this morning when a police officer stopped me. “Shhh… they’re filming.”

“What are they filming?” I asked.

“CSI: Miami. It will only be a few minutes.”

CSI: Miami fans, I hate to break it to you: They film a lot of the episodes in and around the area where I live, Redondo Beach, Ca., not Miami.

Sorry about that, Chief.

I waited patiently, remembering that I had about 15 Million Dollar Bill Gospel tracts with me. I jumped off my bike and “mingled” with the crew. “Here’s a raise for you!” I said cheerfully, handing a grip a tract. “You work hard; here’s a bonus!”

The Hollywood crew’s response? “Thank you.” “Thank you.” “Thank you.” Only one man grouchily refused me.

Go ahead, punk. Make my day.

The scene was filmed and I hopped back on my bike, completely out of tracts. Who knows? Maybe a crew member would get saved and a revival would take place in Hollywood. Yeah, right.

Riding off, I had a Coulda had a V-8 moment. There, big as life was David Caruso, the star of the show, huddled in his CSI: Miami jacket.
And I was outta tracts!!!

Book ‘em, Danno.

I received this anonymous voicemail from a lady who was not too happy about receiving our “Happy Holidays!” tract, but nevertheless, understood the message all too well:

“Hi. I just wanted to say I got your guy’s flyer. It says ‘Happy Holidays! Have you been naughty or nice?’ and [has] survey questions to see if you are going to Heaven or Hell. And for every single [one of the] eight questions it says, ‘You will go to Hell.’

“…I think that it’s very wrong for you guys to pass this out. You guys are a church. [You are] trying to tell me that I would go to Hell for any one of these, even if I lied one time?

“You are not practicing that God forgives people and I think that’s what you should try and do for the holidays.”

Before hanging up she wished us a sarcastic “Happy Holidays.” Hmmm… think she understood the message?

(Read the irritated response I got from a cashier before Christmas a couple of years ago here.)

Last Saturday was the last USC home game against Notre Dame and we were there with our video camera.

You, too, can experience first-hand the wackiness we encountered including: The “Hail Mary Heckler” (Notre Dame is a Catholic school), “Righteous Richard’s” Porta-Potty Preaching Debut (with a very different type of, uh, heckler), an interview with a very drunk, very profane, “God-fearing man” (his words), and a brand new technique we developed, a type of mobile church that allowed many hundreds of people to mock us on the go; it’s called “Church on Your Way.” As soon as my video helper edits the footage, it will be up.

And yesterday at The Hollywood Santa Parade, we tried out an effective method we call “Pre-Parade Preaching.” I’ll let you know the reason why the LAPD stopped us mid-sermon!

Stay tuned. And tell a friend.

We just got back from the campus of USC. What happened?

Surprisingly, not much. The educated students at this prestigious university had no better arguments against God than your run-of-the-mill atheist, or beachbum on the pier. Go figure. But, there are a few stories to tell, and we did shoot some video, but you’ll have to wait until next week to see it all.

(Read part 2 here.)

Or you can check out Tony Miano’s blog; he was there too, and has already written something profound. Click here to read it.

What outrageous and hypocritical reason did the LAPD give for threatening me with a citation if I continued preaching?

Why was this 6-foot-five, 280 pound behemoth of an SC fan so angry at Alfy, our 5-foot-eight, 160 pound open air preacher? And what creative methods did we come up with that allowed him to continue to preach in the face of certain doom?

How did I combat the shouters at the Porta-Potty line, and how did President-elect Barack Obama help us hand out more Gospel tracts than ever?

Find out all this week as I report about our experiences at last Saturday’s USC vs. Cal Berkley football game. This was an outrageous adventure…

We had to use blood to stop the teenagers. Lots of blood. And a dead body….

Desperate times require drastic measures; I read about that somewhere or saw it in a movie. Nevertheless, we put that sentiment into practice at our corner in Lawndale, where hundreds of kids from Leuzinger High School cross the street when class ends. That’s where we set up and preach the Law and Gospel to those who have no standard for living, no boundaries, and no understanding of what God requires.

One problem: When we placed our preaching dummy on the sidewalk at the traffic signal—sans blood—the kids walked right over it and crossed at the light with nary a look or listen. But with the blood liberally placed on the head of the dummy, the kids slowed enough to hear a little of our preaching.

Indeed, there is power in the blood.

It was my wife’s turn to lead the lesson at our girls’ monthly club, “Keepers at Home,” a wonderful organization that teaches little girls to be Christian women, with Biblical values that help a family stay together for life. I was more than happy to be the guest instructor. The subject this month? Evangelism! (Of course, sometimes their brothers are dragged along, too.)

After teaching them the 10 Commandments in 5 minutes, I explained the use of the Law in a Gospel presentation, and why tracts are so useful in sharing our faith then… I let them loose at the Redondo Beach Pier. In about a half hour’s time, hundreds of people were exposed to the Gospel. The kids had the time of their lives handing the Giant Money and Million Dollar bill Gospel tracts.

If only their parents would develop the same type of zeal…

This Saturday we will trek to the easiest fishin’ hole around: The Redondo Beach Pier. On a scale of 1 to 10 it’s a zero. No kidding. People are friendly, kind, nice, and will, on occasion, applaud a preacher’s open air sermon!

Below, my 9-year-old daughter D.D. makes a very confident open air preaching debut, mic and all.

 
“Are you a good person?” Look at all those hands shoot up!

This man introduced himself as Lukas Rossi, a Canadian rock musician and the winner of the CBS Television reality series Rock Star: Supernova, a televised audition contest to become lead singer of Rock Star Supernova.

He stopped by to take the “Good Person” test at our open microphone.
It turns out he was interested in turning over his life to Christ… just not then. Oh well, it’s easier to be a rockstar than to follow the bright Morning Star.

Join us for a great adventure. Meet at noon at Hope Chapel.

Sara Palin was in town at the Home Depot Center. USC was to play Oregon at the Coliseum. The Dodgers were to battle the Cubs in Dodger Stadium, and UCLA was at the Rose Bowl. Not only that, Neil Diamond was at the Staples Center, and one block over on 2nd Street, there was a fundraiser for Barack Obama with Hillary Clinton scheduled to attend. In addition, we had an evangelistic booth set up at a local street fair. All of these were scheduled for last Saturday and I couldn’t go to any.

I was sick. It was just a stupid cough. I was a little tired.

A still, small, voice in my head: He makes me lie down in green pastures.

Then my voice: I can do it, I can do it; I can, I can.

I didn’t.

I was on the phone to an evangelism leader at our booth in the fair. “You need to rest, Steve,” he counseled. “We’ve got it covered.”

I called another man who was leading a team to USC. “You need to rest, Steve.”

A third call to another man yielded the same loving response.

But Sara Palin was just down the freeway! And I just read in the morning newspaper that there were going to be Democrats protesting across the street in the Kentucky Fried Chicken parking lot! Who would preach to them, Lord?

On the phone again, I persuaded two men to change their plans from USC to Palin. I told one of the men that I wanted to be there, that it was a marvelous opportunity to preach to thousands, but I was sick with a little, stupid, minor, irritating cough.

What did he tell me?

“Steve, he makes me lie down in green pastures…”

I stayed home.

And rested.

(Thursday: Anti-Christians at the Palin Rally…)

BAM! BOP! KA-POW!

A melee broke out among the students of Leuzinger High School, in a gas station lot right across the street from where I was preaching, at the corner of Rosecrans and Prairie yesterday.

No Sheriffs were around, so the kids had free reign to punch each other in the jaw and foreheads. One after another, a new kid would join the fracas, some being pulled to the ground, others being pulled into the pile, swinging, swirling.

What did I do?

I stopped preaching… and started praying. Loudly. “In Jesus’ name I pray for the fighting to stop,” I shouted into my microphone (our speaker is loud enough and big enough to be heard across the street). It worked. As I prayed, the fights died down, then just as suddenly, another skirmish would start up. I prayed and the scuffles would fade, but then a new one would break out.

Then the real danger began. Sheriffs’ cars plowed through the kids walking in the sidewalks, neary hitting some. Other vehicles ran red lights, or drove down the wrong side of the streets. Everyone scattered; a couple of ruffians were grabbed by the collars, and just as fast as it started, it ended. I noticed a sweaty kid with a cauliflower ear rubbing his face.

I resumed my preaching knowing the Balm of Gilead can salve all wounds.  

Read about another incident where I found a guy who just got beat up by gang bangers here.

It is always a treat to see new evangelism students in action, especially when they get picked on by angry sinners….

In Huntington Beach last Saturday, one newbie, Jay, ran up to me and was very excited. “I offered a $100 bill Gospel tract to a surfer,” he said, ”and he shoved it back in my face!” Alphonso, another student, got the F-bomb dropped on him. I gave them an extra point each on their grade card—for righteous suffering.

At an upscale shopping center on Monday I got a piece of the angry action when I offered a Gospel tract to a pre-homeless looking lady, y’ know, older, hardened with a scowl, wearing sunglasses, heavyset. She needed a lift in her spirit—and the Lord. I plucked out my crisp Giant Money and asked, “Hi! Would you like a $100 bill?”

“Get that out of my face,” she growled.

Whoa! That took me by surprise. I tried again. “Are ya sure you don’t want a $100 bill?

“GET THAT OUTTA MY FACE!!!” she spat.

How else can anyone experience such excitement and receive so many blessings from the Lord except when sharing your faith?

I hear a lot of sad stories on the streets while sharing my faith; this is one of them:

I met Mike on a recent excursion to the Redondo Beach Pier. He’s currently homeless, but a few years ago he wasn’t. In fact, he was a pastor of a church until his wife suddenly left him.

Disillusioned, he gave up. It’s been many years since he’s been involved in fellowship; he doesn’t have a job, and he gets stopped frequently by the police because of his rolling suitcase. He told me that it carries his car detailing equipment, but the suitcase makes him suspicious to the police.

After giving Mike a $100 bill Gospel tract I encouraged him to come to my church where he can get some food and some help. I haven’t seen him yet. Pray for Mike.

(Note: Mike gave me permission to take his picture and to ask all of you to pray for him.)

We head to the Redondo Pier this Saturday. Meet at Hope Chapel at noon. Click here for more details.

I’m ready to be demoted.

The lady who schedules the invocations for the City of Torrance told my administrative assistant that I would not be able to pray in the name of Jesus, and that if I did, I would not be asked back again. She scheduled my invocational slot for this evening.

I thought back to my conversation with the very friendly City Clerk last year before I was to pray: “We ask that the prayer be non-sectarian” she said. (Read an earlier article about this).

“I’m sorry; I can’t do that,” I replied. “I will be praying in the name of Jesus.”

“That’s okay, but we’ll probably not be able to ask you back. We don’t want people to sue the Mayor.”

Despite assurances from the Mayor (pictured) a few months ago that I could pray in the Name of Jesus, the iron-clad, politically-correct posture of the city was still in place. Again, I remembered the solemn warning from last year’s pre-prayer chat with the City Clerk after telling her that I had to pray in The Name: “It’s okay,” she said calmly. “We’ll just put your name on the bottom of the prayer-person list from now on.”

No problem. I won’t pray in His name. Really. I won’t pray in Jesus’ name.

Here’s what I plan on saying after considering some sage advice given by Greg Koukl, President of Stand to Reason, a wonderful apologetics ministry.

“Thank you for the honor of being able to give the invocation at this Council meeting. I understand that I am not allowed to pray in the name of Jesus. I will honor that request, but want to let everyone know that I will be praying to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who saved me from Hell by dying for my sins on a cross. I don’t want anyone to be confused on whose God I’m praying to.”

I will offer my prayer, then close with something like, “And I pray this in the Name that is above all names, the King of King’s and Lord of Lords, Amen.”

I emailed Ray Comfort to solicit his advice on the matter; this what he suggested: “[Add this]: ‘the One who rose from the dead on the third day. Amen.’”

And so it will be.

What do you think will happen? Find out tomorrow….

It wasn’t as epic as the struggle between Esau and Jacob, but two brothers, fraternal twins no less, fought to the very end to see who who would score the highest in the latest evangelism class that just ended.

Timothy and Peter Johnson added up their score not knowing who had the highest tally, and at the climactic finish, Timothy won: 168 to 166. Timothy was also born two minutes ahead of his younger brother, so there was something very special—and uncanny—about the number two.

The twins now hold the distinction of being the youngest high-scorers—at age 16—of the Hope Chapel evangelism class. The competitition, with 49 people starting the class, ended with only 22. But they stuck it out to the finish. At stake for the winner was a stack of books, tracts, posters, and Ray Comfort CD’s… OR… a Veg-o-Matic!

This is the Veg-O-Matic, the world-famous food appliance, “. . . the only appliance in the world that slices whole, firm tomatoes in one stroke, with every seed in place. French fries? Make hundreds in one minute! Isn’t that amazing?!”

And now Timothy Johnson is the proud owner of this ’60’s gem.

Won’t Mom be proud?

BUT WAIT! THERE WAS A RECOUNT… AND ANOTHER WINNER! CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT WHO!

What’s this scoring business about anyway? How did Timothy score those points? (more…)

At a recent Street Fair in Palos Verdes two young ladies took our Intelligence Test. After answering the majority of the questions incorrectly, they were sad. After hearing that they had broken God’s Law they were bummed; and when they found out that they were headed for Hell they were downright depressed. Hopefully, the Good News of Christ will lift their spirits—and their souls—because eternity will be here sooner then they think and there is no time for clownin’ around!

Well they’re some sad things known to man
But ain’t too much sadder than
The tears of a clown when there’s no one around
Oh yeah, baby baby, oh yeah baby baby
—Smokey Robinson

I know that a lot of people think that the Million Dollar bill Gospel tract does nothing; they don’t have enough faith to see how God can use those silly little evangelism tools. But God does indeed use them…

A woman told me that she tried to hand this tract to a man in the mall the other night, but he was reluctant to take it. She didn’t give up and insisted. He took the tract.

Last Sunday morning, when I gave the altar call after delivering “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” to the congregation, she looked up to notice that the very same man who tried to reject her tract, was now walking down the aisle to accept His Savior.

Funny how God uses the foolish things of the world…

(Read part 1 here.)

The irony was delicious. Over the weekend “Bam Bam” Bentley was preaching “another Gospel” to the snookered minions believing that they were attending an actual real revival, while 20 miles to the south, the sermon that actually brought about a true revival, The Great Awakening 267 years ago, was being read.

Taking my cue from Max McLean and his rendition of “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, I chose to preach it with a calm intensity. (I had heard that Edwards read his text as a monotone; I didn’t do that.) Still, I didn’t want to be overly dramatic or theatrical, wanting to let God do the work in the hearts of the listeners without any manipulation on my part. My text was an easier to read version translated by John Jeffery Fanella.

What would the result be? I made no promises of healing. No assurances of wealth. Nor did I offer anything in this life that would make anyone happy, happy, happy—apart from forgiveness of sins through trust in the Savior. That’s all.

That’s all Jonathan Edwards promised in his sermon when he preached it. That, and the promise of Hell for anyone who would reject this truth.

“The wicked deserve to be thrown into hell. God is not unjust in using His power to destroy them. No, on the contrary, justice calls aloud for an infinite punishment of their sins.”

At the first of our four services for the weekend, our Friday night service, I approached the pulpit with fear and trembling; I actually had to read for 45 straight minutes. Would there be anyone left to hear the call to repentance at the end? During the entire time, you could hear the proverbial pin drop. No one got up to go to the bathroom; no one left their seat for a cup of coffee. Unfortunately, after a near hour of fire and brimstone and threats and warnings—from the pen of Edwards—only two walked to the front to repent and trust in Christ. Salvation is of the Lord, I reminded myself. Maybe Saturday night would be better.

“Nothing keeps wicked people out of hell for a single moment except the mere pleasure of God. By the mere pleasure of God I mean His sovereign pleasure, which is not hindered or restrained by anything. It is only the sovereign will of God that preserves the life of a wicked person. Nothing else preserves the wicked for one moment except God’s mere will.”

Saturday night: Same stillness in the congregation. Same attention paid. Different results: No one came forward at the end to have their sins washed away. Maybe the 8am Sunday morning service would yield better results.

“The wrath of God is burning against them; their damnation is not sleeping; the pit is prepared; the fire is already made; the furnace is hot and ready to receive them. The flames, even now, rage and glow. The shiny sword is sharpened and held over them. The pit has opened its mouth under them.”

Sunday morning, 8am: I used a bit more inflection in my voice. I was now familiar enough with the text that I only had to glance down every now and then. I took pregnant pauses; I looked into people’s eyes at various intervals. Two more came forward and passed from death unto life. There was still one more service to go…

“There can be no other reason given why you have not gone to hell even while sitting here in this church provoking His pure eyes by your sinful, wicked manner of participating in His sacred worship. I declare to you, there can be no other reason why you do not fall into hell this very moment. O sinner! Think seriously about the fearful danger you are in.”

I know that God is in control of whoever comes to Him. I’m well aware that His words never return empty. I’m okay with the fact that I water and sow, but God causes His seed to grow, still…. Why weren’t people fleeing from the wrath to come? Those words of Edwards were immensely frightening and persuasive. His logic in the natural progression of thought concerning the justice of God were flawless. More than all that, these were the very words of God! These were His sober warnings to all those who would die in their sins.

What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? (Romans 9:22)

I changed nothing in my rendition of this classic piece of American literature for the 10:45am service; I entrusted myself to the One Who judges justly. It had nothing to do with me; it was all about Him. I made my appeal at the end of the sermon, explaining that all who broke God’s Commandments were culpable. I warned one more time about Judgment Day and Hell. Then I explained the provision that God had made through His Son Jesus, for all who come to him in humbleness of heart.

“Now, with all the lights on and everyone looking, if you want to repent and trust in the Savior, raise your hands and come forward,” I pleaded. “I know it’s embarassing and a little uncomfortable, but I’d rather you be a little uncomfortable now than for all eternity.” I waited.

One hand, then two went up. They rose from their seats and came forward. The congregation started to applaud, but I asked them to stop and wait. Three hands, four hands… five… eight… twelve… fifteen… sixteen… Nineteen came down to the front of the aisle, some weeping loudly. Weeping?

“For now, God stands ready to have pity on you; this is a day of mercy. Now you may cry with the hope of obtaining mercy. But once the day of mercy is past, your most serious and desperate cries for mercy will be in vain. You will be forever lost, and God will throw you away, no longer giving thought to your welfare.”

God did this for me. He didn’t have to, of course, but in His kindness, and favor, He chose, for this time, to show me a little fruit. He knows that we all want to see something; that we all would like a little verification that what we do—by faith—for Him has merit. Although I know that the work I do for the Lord is not in vain, still, I want to see something, sometimes. But even if I don’t, even if I never did, I would still do what I’m doing, that is, preach the Gospel. I believe God did this for me.

And for His glory.

“Now let everyone who is still without Christ and hanging over the pit of hell—whether old men or women, middle aged people, young people, or children—answer to the loud calls of God’s word and providence. This acceptable year of the Lord, a time of such great blessing to some, will surely be a day of remarkable vengeance to others.”

Read part 3 by clicking here!

The podcast and online version are available here.

What’s it like to preach the most famous American sermon, written nearly 300 years ago, to a contemporary congregation of about 1200 people? What would the reaction be? How many would walk out? Would anyone repent and trust in the Savior or would they fall asleep in their chairs? Might they even stone the preacher?

The results were both disappointing and immensely satisfying as I preached “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” over the weekend to four different services.

I didn’t know what to expect. Could this be the start of another Great Awakening, as happened when Jonathan Edwards himself preached this message in 1741? I’m sure every preacher over the last 260 years had hoped as much…

Well, I’m way to bushed right now to give you the details, astounding as they are, so you will have to wait till Tuesday. But my wife did say that after hearing this hellfire and brimstone message, she was heading straight to the store to get some chocolate—to lift her spirits.

Another woman, Elizabeth Hughes, got the point of this terrifying sermon, then wrote a poem after hearing Edwards “speak”:

The Lord has kept my life afloat.
My life’s not mine, I may not gloat.
He may take my life when he sees fit.
My days have been numbered as I sit.

I can’t save my life by my own power.
I don’t know the minute, or the hour.
It’s only by Jesus I may be saved.
For it’s only Heaven that I have craved.

By God’s grace, I may not go to hell.
This is why everyone I must tell.

If only every Christian took to heart this holy and horrible sermon…

Read part 2 by clicking here to find out what happened next …
The podcast and online version are available here.

Oooooo… I can’t stand it. Ooooo… how frustrating…

Three—count ‘em, three—missed opportunities for preaching to organic congregations in the last week or so: First, there was the iPhone that went on sale here locally at just one outlet. One outlet! I heard that people were lining up hundreds deep for hours on end. Think of all those ears that could’ve heard, the hearts that might’ve opened, the minds that… Oh! Never mind. A friend said, “I wanted to call you, but…” Please call me! Yes! Calllllll meeee! I’m not a techie, but I love techies, and the techies need to hear about their lost condition and the hope that they have apart from some electronic, portable, cool, thinga-majiggee. Was it even an iPhone, or something else?

My second missed opportunity was the IndyMac bank fiasco. All those people waiting in line outside the bank and just up the street from me, waiting to withdraw their loot, their mammon. I just wanted to tell them about the inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade—kept in Heaven for them—if they would only repent and believe.

Thirdly… and this really rankles, the largest movie opening ever! EVER! And I missed it. What was I doing anyway?

Holy Gospel tract, Batman!

This Welsh rugby team generally mocked and ignored me as I tried to engage them in eternal things while they sat at an outside patio of a local beach bar. These mates were too taken with Richard Dawkins and his atheistic take-over of Europe to pay any attention to a guy who gently explained that they should flee from the wrath to come. I’m part Welsh, but that didn’t impress these sons of Belial.

The only Welsh Revival these guys will encounter is awakening the next day with a hangover.

We had quite a team of evangelists go to the third game of the Lakers finals at the Staples Center yesterday.

My version of what happened (including my being pulled off forcibly from a three foot ledge by an angry Security guard) will come later. But please visit Tony Miano’s blog to read his version of this exciting event by clicking here!

Evangelism students from across the nation got an eyeful on Hollywood Boulevard. When they signed up to be a part of the Ambassadors’ Alliance evangelism bootcamp, a new ministry started by The Way of the Master, I’m sure they never expected the wide array of interesting characters they’d see while practicing their evangelistic chops.

Student Jennifer Good dared to give Rambo a Million Dollar Bill Gospel tract, and he didn’t even try to kill her.
Our hope is that this Stallone-wannabe would repent, turn to Christ, then get a better job after reading the Gospel presentation on the back of the bill.

The everpresent homeless also heard the Good News.

As did an orthodox Jewish man, who listened intently to “Righteous Richard” Chavarria as he revealed the identity of his Messiah.

But the strangest being on the Boulevard was this guy.
What guy? Exactly. Look carefully. It’s the Demon Tree Guy, a man standing on 5-foot stilts, waiting silently, sneakily, for passersby. As strollers walked past him unaware, what do you think he did?

GOTCHA!!!

That’s right. He stands next to a tree, looking like a tree himself, then steps out and scares people—all day long! Why? I don’t know, but it sure was funny. One of the evangelism students, Michael Chamberlain, after preaching boldly in front of Grauman’s Theater, screamed like a little girl when the Demon Tree Guy stepped out in front of him.

Another group of men were so startled that they swore up and down at him. The Demon Tree Guy’s response? “Hey! What do you expect on Hollywood Boulevard?”

I was so impressed—and entertained—that I tipped him with a giant Hundred Dollar Bill.

I love to reward creativity.

READ PART 5 HERE!

One of the benefits of sharing our faith on Hollywood Blvd., like we did as members of the Ambassadors’ Academy last week, was that we had the opportunity to meet up with some very strange characters—and sometimes they even wear costumes!

An evangelism student from Texas, Alan Lee, tried to salvage the little green soul of Shrek!

The amazing thing was, he came back to Alan four times, wanting to know more about the way of salvation.

Can’t say the same for Freddy Krueger…

Watch an interview with Freddy Krueger here.

READ PART 3 HERE!

Read about another time, when I tried to give Mickey Mouse a gospel presentation at Disneyland by clicking here.