September, 2016 - Stone The Preacher

Rock’n Rollen’s Ridiculous Religion

Sep 27, 2016Steve SanchezEvangelism Gone Wrong, Pastor's P.O.V.john 3:16 guy, rock'n rollen stewart, the rainbow man

WEARING A MULTI-COLORED AFRO WIG AND HOLDING A JOHN 3:16 SIGN, Rock’n Rollen Stewart was a constant fixture at sporting events in the late 70s and early 80s.

Have you ever heard of “The John 3:16 Guy” also known as “The Rainbow Man”? His goal was to be famous and he got his fifteen minutes by doing some highly unorthodox shenanigans.

Carrying a battery-powered television to keep track of network broadcasting cameras, he would time his antics perfectly and jump into the frame giving a thumb’s up and a cheesy smile. He thought he could parlay his underground celebrity status into a way to get rich, but it didn’t happen.

After the 1980 Super Bowl he watched a television preacher to help with his depression and gave his life to Jesus, apparently. With a renewed sense of passion, he now showed up at events with “Jesus Saves” T-shirts and held up placards with Bible verses, most notably, John 3:16—”For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Working twelve sporting events a month, Rock’n Rollen got the Word of the Lord out in his own unique fashion.

My Strange Dream (came true)

Sep 13, 2016Steve Sanchez2 CommentsABOUT ME, MY BLOG, MY CHURCH, Community Church of the Hills, Hope Chapel Hill Countrycommunity church of the hills, hope chapel, Jesus, pentecostal

I’m re-posting this article from September 13, 2014, originally called, “My Strange Dream,” because today, I realized, the dream came true. See the postscript at the bottom of the post.

I have a new Pentecostal friend who has proven to me that he walks with the Lord.

I met Amalio a few weeks ago when I was searching for a contractor to help put in new flooring in our church building due to a flood from a neighboring business. Also, I needed some minor remodeling done.

The first contractor I met gave me a quote of $12,000.00, a bit more than I could afford. The second man surveyed the space, wrote down some figures but never got back to me. The third also had a quote that was too high.

I did not know what to do so I called a former congregant who was a handyman and he suggested Amalio. When I met him he made me an offer I couldn’t refuse: He would provide me with two days’ free labor if I purchased the materials at Home Depot.

DEAL!

“But why would you do this, Amalio, you don’t even know me!”

He looked at the walls of Hope Chapel Hill Country, smiled, and said, “It’s for God’s Kingdom!”

“Let me pay you, though; what is your daily rate?”

“No, I can’t,” Amalio insisted, “I believe God wants me to do this for free.”

Answering the UT Skeptic’s Email

Sep 13, 2016Steve SanchezStupid Million Dollar Tracts, TRACTSgospel tracts, ray comfort, trillion dollar bill gospel tracts, trillion dollar bills, University of Texas, way of the master

I finally answered an email from a University of Texas student who complained about finding a Teddy Trillion Dollar Bill Gospel tract on the ground. He had numerous concerns and questions about using these Gospel tracts. You can read the original post here, but his entire email is italicized in this post with my answers in red.

Hi Robby!

My name is Steve Sanchez and I’m a pastor at Community Church of the Hills in Johnson City, just up the road from y’all about 90 minutes. That trillion dollar bill probably came from one of our evangelism team members because I encourage all Christians everywhere to pass them out. That website on the back was from my former church in California where I used to be an associate pastor. One of the pastors there received your email and forwarded it to me so I could respond to your questions and concerns. I’d be happy to do so. Please read my answers in red.

Hello! I’m a student at UT Austin, and I was walking around the library when I saw a dollar bill on the ground with Teddy Roosevelt’s face on it (obviously fake, because he’s never been on a bill). Curious, I picked up the bill and saw it was a Trillion Dollar Bill (wahoo, I’m a trillionaire!), with a statement on the back about the trillion dollar question being “Will you go to heaven when you die?”. That is the most important question you can ever answer!

If I had not seen a similar thing before this would have just seemed like an odd outreach program by the church to get people’s attention, but sadly I’ve seen bills like these be put in tip jars, used as a tip for waiters, and given to homeless people in lieu of valid tender. Yes, that is true sometimes. That is totally wrong. Here’s the advice I give to those who attend my evangelism classes where I teach how to properly hand these trillion dollar bills out:

Those Dang Intolerant Liberals!

Sep 9, 2016Steve Sanchez11 Comments50 Million+, PERSECUTED!abortion, democrat, liberal, pro choice, protest, tolerance, women, women's rights

In light of all the political goings-on these days and the absolute division in this country, I was reminded how intolerant the left really is when you try to present ideas that are contrary to theirs. At the “Violence Against Women” protest in Hollywood several years, I had a very heated “discussion” with Michael, who

Evangelistic Tipping or Giving Gospel Gratuities

Sep 2, 2016Steve Sanchez2 CommentsEV Articles, Ev Tips/Tools, TRACTSevangelism, gospel, gospel tracts, gratuities, kirk cameron, living waters, million dollar bill gospel tracts, ray comfort, tipping, trillion dollar bill gospel tracts, University of Texas, UT, way of the master, way of the master kirk cameron, witnessing

I received an email from a University of Texas student who complained about finding a Teddy Trillion Dollar Bill Gospel tract on the ground. Here’s what he wrote:

Subject: Fake Trillion Dollar Bills

Hello! I’m a student at UT Austin, and I was walking around the library when I saw a dollar bill on the ground with Teddy Roosevelt’s face on it (obviously fake, because he’s never been on a bill). Curious, I picked up the bill and saw it was a Trillion Dollar Bill (wahoo, I’m a trillionaire!), with a statement on the back about the trillion dollar question being “Will you go to heaven when you die?”.
If I had not seen a similar thing before this would have just seemed like an odd outreach program by the church to get people’s attention, but sadly I’ve seen bills like these be put in tip jars, used as a tip for waiters, and given to homeless people in lieu of valid tender.
Seeing this, I have to ask, what is the reasoning behind using these bills? It’s definitely not going to get any converts.
A waiter/waitress whose just spent 30 minute waiting on a table that didn’t even pay for the service definitely isn’t going to appreciate what would seem like a snide comment from a holier-than-thou person.
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