Seriously. This is part of an email I received as SPAM from the Woman’s Media Center in regard to the 30 second spot sponsored by Focus on the Family: “With 200,000 of your letters in hand, the WMC is not backing down. Join [us] as we continue to hold CBS and the NFL accountable for their biased policy reversal in favor of Focus on the Family’s anti-choice, anti-woman, homophobic agenda.”
Now watch the video and see what the fuss was all about. Any explanation would be helpful.
A great opportunity will avail itself Tuesday morning in the States at Denney’s Restaurants. A free Grand Slam breakfast will be served from 6AM to 2PM. If you are an open air preacher, you will know what to do. And if you do, and you get a photo, send me a link and I’ll publish it here! Click here to read what happened last year.
Ordained as ministers last year, Stephen Ocean (23) and Tite Sufra (24) spent most of their time preaching to troubled youths in the streets before being gunned down Saturday night by an 18-year-old man named Jeriah Woody. According to police reports, the ministers had been preaching to Woody for about 15 minutes. Woody walked away, then inexplicably turned around and came running back to kill both men. Woody surrendered to Boynton Beach police this morning.
Ocean and Sufra are not the first men to be attacked while preaching in the streets. Several months ago, Justin Eiland was charged with battery after lashing out at street preachers in downtown DeLand, Florida. Eiland said they had made him feel guilty about going out for a drink. There are countless other examples of verbal and physical assaults against people preaching in the streets. Click here to read the rest from examiner.com, “Teenager kills two ministers preaching to him”
A few months back I posted a picture of the prize (see it up close here) that the top kid evangelist would win if they scored the most points in my Kid Evangelism class. All they had to do was hand out one Gospel tract a day, then write one paragraph about each experience. The winner, Cherish, never missed a day, completely blowing away the competition.
She is now now enrolled in my adult class (along with her whole family), and has her eyes on a new prize: a hand-carved, hand-inscribed Ten Commandments plaque.
Congratulations, Cherish!
In addition to learning about evangelism, the kids get to rehearse and perform a little humorous skit dealing in some way with the Christian life. Here’s a skit called “Mrs. No” that Cherish was in. Feel free to use it for your own kids’ evangelism class.
Mrs. No
Cast: Angel #1, Angel #2, Mrs. No, Homeless Girl, Old lady,
Muslim Man, Ex-convict, Louie the new Christian
(The skit starts out with a lady sitting in the middle of the stage on a stool. Two angels stand stage right and observe Mrs. No.)
Angel #1: Who’s that lady?
Angel #2: Shhh… You’ll disturb her.
#1: Well, who is she?
#2: She’s your average Christian and she doesn’t want anybody to bother her. We call her Mrs. No. She’s having her own time with God. Read the rest of this entry »
Almost three years ago, when I first started interviewing people on camera, I ran into a colorful cowboy named Lightning while strolling along the Redondo Beach Pier. I think you’ll enjoy this.
(I’d appreciate your prayers as I prepare to give four sermons this weekend on the wrath of God from Romans 1:18-32)
We discovered a new place to preach when visiting Venice Beach: the Kush Clubhouse.
We are there to preach the gospel, not to make a statement about medical marijuana, though the term “medical” is highly doobie-ous. One of our evangelists asked the proprieters if he would be able to buy some hemp because his elbow hurt. They said yes. “How about a headache?” Yes again. (No he didn’t buy any.)
The guy pictured on the left is a street performer. No one bothered him when he spoke.
The guy being confronted below by two security guards from the pot house er, dispensary is one of our open air preachers delivering the message in front of the Clubhouse. For some reason, people get all worked up when the Word is delivered in front of this place. But it’s just what the (good) Doctor ordered.
Want to join us for some fun this Saturday? Meet at Hope Chapel at noon to carpool.
Since I am getting a fair number of atheists and materialists to this blog as of late, I thought this article, written by my friend Tony Miano from his blog The Lawman Chronicles, will answer the myriad questions that are posed by them about what I believe and why I believe it.
But I’m almost positive that I’ve opened a whole new can of worms.
I’m a Herald, not a Negotiator
by Tony Miano
God exists. I know that God exists. How do I know? He has revealed Himself to me by the power of His Holy Spirit, and through the sacrificial death and glorious resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ. He has caused me to be born again, resulting in my repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He has given me spiritual eyes to see, the desire to know Him and obey Him, and the ability (although I still have much to learn) to understand His Word.
Whether you or I believe God exists is utterly irrelevant. One’s belief in God has no impact, positive or negative, on the existence of God. God is God. He always has been. He always will be.
I’m a herald, not a negotiator.
The Bible is true. How do I know? Read the rest of this entry »
Sacramento, CA - The California Court of Appeal is considering the constitutionality of a Sacramento-area shopping mall’s attempt to prevent adult patrons from talking to each other about hot-button topics such as religion and politics.
The case arose after a youth pastor, Matthew Snatchko, was arrested at the Roseville Galleria Mall in 2007 for striking up a casual conversation with two other shoppers about faith. Although Snatchko had first obtained the shoppers’ permission to broach the subject, a nearby store employee disapproved and called mall security guards, who arrested Snatchko. Criminal charges were later dropped, but attorneys with Pacific Justice Institute filed suit to challenge the mall’s tight restrictions on speech.
Under the mall’s rules, shoppers are not allowed to engage in conversations about potentially controversial topics like religion or politics, unless they already know the person they are talking to. Another mall rule bans the wearing of any clothing with religious or political messages. Read the rest of this entry »
The #1 reason I get from people who are reluctant to join The Everyday Club is this: “I just can’t get out the house (or office) everyday.”
Fair enough.
What if I gave you three ways that you could share your faith even if you’re a housebound mom or CEO? Would you be more willing to take a leap of faith and join the Club? Here they are:
#1: Take those credit card applications that inundate your mailbox and use the postage paid envelope to send a tract. Read more about this idea here.
#2: Next time one of those pesky telemarketers call during dinner time, give them the Gospel. I’ll bet they will never call back again. Read the strategy for this technique here.
#3: Break out your phonebook and randomly pick someone to share your faith with. They won’t know who you are, and you will be giving them the best news ever.
Okay. no more excuses. Sign up today!
*****
This is the opportunity for you to make an evangelistic commitment and report on it twelve times a year. (I post each report at the beginning of each month and send you an email reminder.) You can sign up by clicking here.
As the lid of his coffin was about to be sealed, Josef Guzy’s grieving widow made one last request for her late husband’s necklace.
The 76-year-old Polish beekeeper had collapsed earlier in the day and been pronounced dead at the scene by a doctor.
When the undertaker reached into the coffin for the last time, he thought that he detected a faint pulse. On closer inspection, Mr Guzy was still breathing.
The same ambulance that had been called to the pensioner’s home near the southern city of Katowice and found no sign of life now raced to the undertakers to discover that their patient was still alive. Read the rest from The Times of London here.
Have you ever wanted to preach in the open air but were too afraid to give it a whirl? This short 2 1/2 minute video will prepare you to “break the sound barrier” for the very first time using a proven 2,000-year-old method. It’s so simple that even my then 7-year-old daughter Laurel did it. You can, too.
Watch as two guys perform a seemingly impossible task. Their undaunted courage in the face of a fearsome foe will absolutely take your breath away!
Camera and edit: Peter Johnson
If you do get “up on the box” as a result of this video, please let me know. And send a picture!
Another part in a continuing series on how I discovered my “gift” of evangelism, met Ray Comfort, and had my boring Christian life changed forever. (You can start at part 1 by clicking here.)
I had been sharing my faith for over a year without much success. My daily evangelistic goal seemed fruitless; my witnessing method weak. My Pastor had asked me two questions: “Are you having any conversations? Is anyone getting saved?” Both were answered with a resounding “No!” Then he offered a suggestion: “You may want to get a hold of a man named Ray Comfort. I think he preaches up in Santa Monica each week.”
Who’s Ray Comfort? I mused. How can he help? I promptly wrote his name in my planner with the intention to call him immediately, but forgot about it.
For six months.
I plodded on with my daily goal, continued to write my E-vangie Tales, and considered teaching some sort of evangelism class. I was very zealous for the Lord’s cause, but extremely frustrated that no one would listen to me, at least to the point of making a decision for Christ. Didn’t they know that I had the words of eternal life? Didn’t anyone care? Was no one concerned that they may end up in a fiery Hell for eternity?
Then our church web design guy dropped a name. Read the rest of this entry »
The Redondo Beach Pier is generally a safe place to share your faith. We will be going there this Saturday, January 30. If you’d like to carpool, meet at Hope Chapel at noon; we’ll return by 4PM.
I say the Redondo Beach Pier is “generally a safe place” because, on occasion, there have been interesting incidents.
Mike, a former member of our evangelism team, had one of those incidents happen to him a couple of years ago. Here’s an excerpt from his story:
It was a Friday night and I went out alone to evangelize on the Redondo Beach Pier. I met another small group of believers and we went out together to share our faith. I gave a Gospel tract to a guy who had just come out of a bar. “What is this?” he asked.
“It’s from my church.”
“It’s about God?”
“Yeah,” I replied.
“Let me tell you something about God,” he said putting his face into mine, nose to
nose. “I am God!” He started talking about how rough his life was. The more he described his past, the angrier he got.
Then he hit me right in the chest! Read the rest of the story by clicking here!
Now see a pastor get punched after talking about peace and love! Whew! Preaching the Gospel isn’t pretty… or easy!
Next week: Venice Beach!
EDINSON, N.J. — A court has issued an order dismissing criminal charges against a New Jersey
man whom police arrested after he shared the Gospel on a sidewalk outside a public high school after the end of the school day. At the request of the principal of Edison High School, Robert Parker was taken into custody after his toe touched the grass on the school’s side of the sidewalk. He was charged with trespass and disorderly conduct.
“Christians shouldn’t be arrested and charged as criminals for expressing their beliefs on public property. They have the same First Amendment rights as anyone else in America,” said ADF-allied attorney Demetrios Stratis of Fair Lawn. “A person cannot be charged with a crime just because a school official has a complete misunderstanding of the First Amendment or doesn’t like what that person has to say. We are pleased that we prevailed in court in getting these unwarranted criminal charges dropped.” Click here to read the rest from the Allied Defense Fund.
Spiderman, Batman, and two, count ‘em two Supermen(!) were all asked about eternal things—on camera—when we visited Hollywood on Saturday. One Superman said he was a Christian yet didn’t go to church; the other couldn’t even remember the name of his church. Batman was a good person/believer and Spiderman swore and shoved my cameraman. These guys, so used to saving the world, had no real understanding of their need to be saved themselves. “Holy False Converts, Batman!”
Oh! I forgot to mention that The Joker believed in Jesus but not in God.
No jokin’. Stay tuned….
In a desperate attempt to conceal evidence, a man panics, then perishes…
The horrible video of the tragic event described below is a grim reminder that sudden death can overtake anyone at anytime. Are you ready?
From WJHG.com: Deputies attempted to handcuff Andrew Grande and were able to place a handcuff on one wrist. During the struggle, deputies observed Grande was attempting to place something in his mouth. Grande managed to free himself and stand and deputies deployed a taser in an attempt to gain control. Grande was able to pull the taser probes from his body. Shortly thereafter deputies observed that Grande seemed to be choking and attempted to use the Heimlich maneuver on Grande but were unsuccessful. Deputies continued to provide aid until EMS arrived at 2:26 am. EMS was unable to gain a clear airway on Grande until, using a pair of forcepts, they pulled a large bag of marijuana out of his airway. Grande was transported to Bay Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.— 12/12/09, “Suspect Attempts to Swallow Bag of Pot, Dies at Hospital”
(Thanks to Mark Phillippo for this.)
And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
—Matthew 24:14
Here’s the first evangelism class of 2010. Out of 16 students, who will continue to the end?
Every third week I’ll bring this post back to the top of the blog. Remember students, you get one bonus point for every three sentence adventure that you write about.
Even if you are not in my class I welcome you to share your own evangelistic adventure in the comments section.
My teaching notes are now available online by clicking here. I can also mail you a hard copy for FREE, compliments of Hope Chapel. Send me an email at PastorSteveAtHope@yahoo.com if you’d like them.
Disregarding the foreboding weather forecast, fifteen evangelists faced a torrential downpour at the 25th annual Kingdom Day Parade in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.
Take a look at the images and see if you’d be foolhardy enough to witness in this monsoon. Read the rest of this entry »
I received an interesting email with a video attachment from a friend the other day. This is what he wrote:
“Steve,
“Look at this video [of the Martin Luther King Jr. Parade by ABC News]. From 1:06 to 1:16 there is a man who runs up to the car that is following the band; he hands the occupants of the car some literature, and he is followed by a cameraman. Who is that man that is passing out the literature?”
Just who is that guy handing a Giant Hundred Dollar Bill Gospel tract and Presidential trillion dollar bill to Celebrity Grand Marshall Marc Brown from our local ABC Eyewitness News program? Here’s a closer look from a different vantage point:
I tell ya, a guy can’t get away with anything in this YouTube culture….
***Want to know my rationale for running out into parades and handing celebrities Gospel tracts? Click here to find out.***
Tomorrow: Raining on our Parade
If it isn’t pouring down rain we will be headed to Hollywood!
I read this interesting article from the L.A. Times about Spiderman, one of the many characters who panhandle for change in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater, getting arrested. Click here to read it.
The schedule when heading to Tinseltown goes something like this: Our first destination is always Pink’s World Famous Hot Dogs, where we preach to the hundred or so people standing in line. Next we head up to Hollywood Blvd. and set up shop in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater and preach to the people in the forecourt while handing out hundreds of Gospel tracts. We also do Stop Light preaching on the corners of Hollywood and Highland Blvds.
We pack up about 4:15, and time permitting, stop into IN N’ OUT Burgers and let Val Scott preach a mini sermon inside (he originated this technique). Next, we finish up at Pink’s again, where a brand new line o’ sinners is just waiting for an open air preacher to give them an eternal perspective.
Meet us at Hope Chapel at noon to carpool, or at Pink’s about 1:30, or Graumans about 2:00. If it’s raining, there is a Plan B.
Sharing Your Faith Without Fear,
our six week evangelism training class,
starts on Thursday, January 21.
Cost is only $10 and includes all materials.
