SO, ARE THEY REALLY SAVED?

Evangelism Gone Wrong, ,

It would have been my dad’s 91st birthday last week and it caused me to reflect on my Dad’s profession of faith in Jesus Christ, as well as my stepmom Judy’s, two years ago. Their turning to the Lord were the results of thirty years of praying. Plus, there was a bonus: my dad’s hospital roommate also confessed Jesus as Lord. Not only that, I was able to baptize all three of them.


At the time my concern was that they would not be discipled, that is, taught about the things of God nor read the Bible, nor go to a church, nor experience Christian fellowship. That all proved true. They both died last year and as far as I could tell, there was no discernible growth. In fact, my father was downright hostile to the Gospel the last time I saw him, a year after he “became” a Christian.

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The Horrible Incident at Stripes

Evangelism, Evangelism Gone Wrong, PERSECUTED!, , , , , , , ,

SOMETHING HORRIBLE happened at our local Stripes convenience store: I gave the Gospel to three teens.

One of the teens went home and told his mom that I said he was going to Hell. This is something I rarely say, and I didn’t say to these teens. 99.9% of the time I ask this question: “If you died today, would you go to Heaven or Hell?”

Here is a similar conversation I had with a gaggle of giggling girls a few years back:

Well, the mom got mad and posted my name on Facebook saying that I told her son that he was going to Hell,  among other untrue things. Locals in our small town read the post and made all sorts of false accusations against me. Here’s a sample:

“He told me the same thing, too.”

“He doesn’t like gays.”

“He hangs out at the high school three or four times a week and evangelizes.”

“He scolded me for wearing my cheerleader outfit, saying that men will lust after me.”

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Arresting Truth

Evangelism Gone Wrong, Open Air, PERSECUTED!, , , , , , , ,

A FRIEND OF MINE WAS ARRESTED IN ENGLAND AND FOUND GUILTY for a heinous crime. Was it robbery? Assault? Murder? Nope. None of those. Mike Stockwell got busted, along with his compatriot Michael Overd, for speaking the truth!

I met Mike Stockwell back in 2008 when I was leading a team for  The Ambassador’s Academy,  an evangelism ministry started by Ray Comfort that teaches normal Christians how to share their faith simply and biblically by handing out Gospel tracts, having personal conversations and by street preaching.

I didn’t know it then, but Stockwell would continue to preach the gospel in streets around the country and the world as a calling and vocation for the next nine years. Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the good news”—and he obeyed!

Now he’s paying the price.

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Rock’n Rollen’s Ridiculous Religion

Evangelism Gone Wrong, Pastor's P.O.V., ,

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.

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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.

rainbow-man1

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.

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