Evangelism Adventures: “Day of Silence” & Long Beach Grand Prix

26 CommentsAA- EVANGELISM SCHEDULE

This Friday take advantage of students not saying a word and preach the Gospel to them at the annual Day of Silence.

If you’re not familiar with this event here is how Randy Thompson, of Save California.com describes it:

Craftily packaged as “tolerance” and “sensitivity,” the so-called “Day of Silence” is sponsored by the “Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). It targets impressionable children each year in California government-run schools. This Friday, April 15, many public high schools and a growing number of junior highs will permit confused and rebellious boys and girls to disrupt the entire school day by “remaining silent.” Students participating in the “Day of Silence” will wear pro-homosexuality T-shirts, buttons, and stickers, refuse to answer teachers’ questions in classrooms, make it difficult for other students to concentrate, and generally take over school campuses for the entire day.

He urges parents to have their kids stay home that day, punishing the schools with loss of income for each student. As for the evangelist, go before school starts and preach the Gospel. Go during lunch and preach the Gospel. Afterschool? Preach the Gospel.

On Saturday we will be heading on down to the Long Beach Grand Prix to again, preach the Gospel. Meet at Hope Chapel at noon to carpool. Or, meet at us at the Willow St. Metro Rail parking lot (879 spaces) about 1:oo-1:15, then take the train to the end and we’ll walk to the races.

Did you know that Living Waters sponsored a car at NASCAR a few weeks back? Here’s their report. Maybe the same will happen to us:

Our NASCAR experience was wonderful! Our sponsored car, driven by Kevin Lepage, came in just seconds behind the leader, beating out 15 cars (actually, he was 28th). More importantly, between the Speed Channel and ESPN, a national TV audience of millions saw LivingWaters.com and NeedGod.com on the car.

At the track, we gave out thousands of tracts and preached open-air three times, with no harassment from authorities, possibly because NASCAR opens in prayer and is congenial to the gospel.

At the end of one open-air session, as a man walked away he looked back and said, “I am repenting right now, even as I’m walking…” and the woman with him shouted, “I love NASCAR now!” while she was giving hugs to everyone in sight!  We will definitely be using footage of interviews with drivers and fans and the open-air segments in the “Henry Ford, God, and the Bible” episode of Season Five. I was delighted to see our car was a Ford, and we didn’t plan it that way.

We’ve not yet reached our goal to cover the entire cost of the sponsorship.  If you are one of those who made a pledge, but have not yet made your gift, or if you can help us with a gift, we welcome your support.  For an update on our NASCAR experience and further details, please visit our NASCAR page.

Comments (26)

  2. BathTub

    Reply

    “Damn those kids being silent, pull yours out of school in protest!”

    Seriously, if we made this stuff up, people wouldn’t believe us.

  3. Garrett

    Reply

    Nothing more disruptive than t-shirts.

    I’m sure the 15th will be a day of chaos. But at least it’s quiet chaos.

  4. John "The Baptist"

    Reply

    We are sponsoring our second annual ” Day of Proclamation” . The official tagline is that “All over the world, Christians are forced to be silent on a day to day basis. Whether they are in persecuted lands where the name of Jesus on their lips will bring a beating, Jail time, or a death sentence, or here in America where Christian speech is some of the only restricted free speech in the country. Seen as intolerant, the Christian Gospel Message is silenced in schools, government, and in many businesses. This is our day of proclamation, where we will fear God rather than man. Join us at a Campus near you!

  5. BathTub

    Reply

    Remember folks this isn’t about being silent during class time and disrupting class, it’s about not speaking on your own time. And this is made very clear on the Day of Silence website.

    That’s what Steve and his fellow fundies are protesting about. Kids being silent during playtime and lunch to highlight bigotry.

  6. vintango2k

    Reply

    This is a real head scratcher… so you are pro-bigotry when it comes to homosexuality Steve? I mean would you rather kids who are gay just pretend not to be gay? Not try and be who they want to be? I mean I understand your stance on it, you think its an abomination even though it occurs absolutely everywhere is most living creatures, hasn’t stopped in the past and will not stop in the future. I would think you’d be pro homosexual rights as an American who’s pro freedom of speech and rights and all that stuff (as you highlighted in your tour of duty at the Anti-War march). I mean do you think highlighting the fact that gay kids get bullied and singled out in school is wrong?

  7. Garrett

    Reply

    Christian speech is some of the only restricted free speech in the country
    You cannot be more incorrect. Christianity enjoys very high protection in the America, and the only reason you feel persecuted is because Christianity finally has to let other beliefs and ideas in the limelight. I guess you would get too comfortable with the over-attention, wouldn’t you?

  8. Christopher

    Reply

    According to the Save California organisation students being silent will “make it difficult for other students to concentrate, and generally take over school campuses for the entire day”.

    Reality check please. How in the world can silent stuents make it difficult for other students to concentrate? Are they implying that the noise in US schools is so constant that when it goes to a lower volume the poor little dears can’t concentrate anymore?

    And how do students being silent equal taking over campus’ for a day? Boy drama queens have nothing on Save California do they?

  9. Christopher

    Reply

    @ Steve and John

    Allow me to tell you a true story from my country.

    There was one young kid in a christian school. The kid was 14 and gay. He was often beaten up, some times while the teachers were watching. The teachers did NOTHING. One day the kid comes into class and the entire class, teacher included, looked out the window to avoid facing him.

    The kid went home and committed suicide.

    Now my question to you both is do you honestly believe that such bigotry should be tolerated?

  10. BathTub

    Reply

    Quick quiz: One group is protesting against bigotry, the other group is protesting the protesting against bigotry. Which group is likely to be christian, which group isn’t? Who sounds more loving? Which worldview seems to be more kind?

  11. perdita

    Reply

    “He urges parents to have their kids stay home that day, punishing the schools with loss of income for each student. ”

    And what do you hope will be achieved by this? How do you think the schools should handle it?

    You act as if this is some sort of official school function. As has been pointed out, this is not the case – there are some students who wish to participate in this, there are others that do not.

    You act as if classes are disrupted. Again, students who choose to remain silent are to do so only between classes and during lunch.

    If schools cracked down on students for remaining silent during their non-classroom time, wouldn’t this violate their right to free expression? Would you be willing to muzzle a Christian student the same way?

  13. perdita

    Reply

    Wow, Steve. You seriously can’t see how you slanted your article?

    You posted lies about the Day of Silence (kids will refuse to answer teachers’ questions, etc.), quoted someone calling kids “confused and rebellious” because they don’t want their gay friends beaten up, and seem to endorse keeping kids home in order to “punish” schools for allowing those horrible, horrible kids the same freedom of expression you expect for Christian kids.

    You really can’t imagine how that would come across as bigoted?

    • Steve Sanchez

      Reply

      Of course it’s slanted.

      What do you think would happen if Christians decided to do the same thing? Think the response would be different? Of course it would.

      Is it probable that kids will not answer questions directed to them by teachers? Would that be rude, rebellious and confusing?

      Do you not think that men who think they are women and vice versa are confused?

      Do you think that I, as a Christian, would support this Day of Silence supported by government schools? And do you really think that this is about bullying only? Of course, everyone is against bullying.

      No, me thinks there is an agenda here, an agenda I will not, cannot, support.

  15. perdita

    Reply

    Steve, for your edification I’m copy/pasting this from the Day of Silence blog. It is written by Chris Hampton of the ACLU and answers some of your questions. I’m copy/pastaing to show you that the Day of Silence organizers are very explicit on what sort of behavior is expected from participating students. Bolding is mine.

    —
    The only way to be sure that your school will respect and uphold your legal rights is for YOU to educate yourself about what your rights are and hold your school to its responsibility to protect and enforce them.

    That’s never more true than during the Day of Silence, an annual event designed to bring attention to the bullying, harassment, and name-calling LGBT students often experience in school. Here are four things you need to know about your rights as you mark Day of Silence this year on Friday, April 16.

    1. You DO have a right to participate in Day of Silence and other expressions of your opinion at a public school during non-instructional time: the breaks between classes, before and after the school day, lunchtime, and any other free times during your day. If your principal or a teacher tells you otherwise, you should contact our office or the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

    2. You do NOT have a right to remain silent during class time if a teacher asks you to speak. If you want to stay quiet during class on Day of Silence, we recommend that you talk with your teachers ahead of time, tell them that you plan to participate in Day of Silence and why it’s important to you, and ask them if it would be okay for you to communicate in class on that day in writing. Most teachers will probably say yes.

    3. Your school is NOT required to “sponsor” Day of Silence. But Day of Silence is rarely a school-sponsored activity to begin with – it’s almost always an activity led by students. So don’t be confused – just because your school isn’t officially sponsoring or participating in Day of Silence doesn’t mean that you can’t participate.

    4. Students who oppose Day of Silence DO have the right to express their views, too. Like you, they must do so in a civil, peaceful way and they only have a right to do so during non-instructional time. For example, they don’t have a right to skip school on Day of Silence without any consequences, just as you don’t have a right to skip school just because you don’t like what they think or say.
    —

    “Do you not think that men who think they are women and vice versa are confused?”

    What has that got to do with what Thompson said? Thompson called every single student participating in the Day of Silence “confused and rebellious.” Here, let me reprint that part:

    …will permit confused and rebellious boys and girls to disrupt the entire school day by “remaining silent.”

    • Steve Sanchez

      Reply

      If they stick to the guidelines great!

      Thompson did not call EVERY student confused and rebellious; he stated that it “will permit” those who are that way.

      Bottom line: I’m calling people to preach! This blog is about evangelism.

  16. perdita

    Reply

    How is that bigotry?

    Of course it’s slanted.

    You knowingly print a slanted article disparaging students participating in Day of Silence and you don’t know how that’s bigotry?

  17. vintango2k

    Reply

    “Do you not think that men who think they are women and vice versa are confused? ”

    Confused? Yeah its terrible, as someone who has known a few people in this ‘alternative’ crowd yeah I can empathize with their plight. There are plenty of scientific studies that show they’ve gotten sort of a raw deal during crucial development stages that make ‘being normal’ difficult. They don’t deserve to be bullied for it, I fail to see any real ‘agenda’ here worth speaking out about.

  19. Garrett

    Reply

    What do you think would happen if Christians decided to do the same thing? Think the response would be different? Of course it would.
    Christians in this country are not treated even remotely as poorly as LGBT people. The response would be mixed, but a lot of people would not understand why the most privileged group in America is organizing a day of silence.

    Is it probable that kids will not answer questions directed to them by teachers? Would that be rude, rebellious and confusing?
    Yes it would be rude, but teachers deal with worse on a regular basis. There’s also plenty of advanced warning about the day of silence, so it’s not like any teacher would be left wondering why a student isn’t saying anything. Though, bare in mind students were not told to refuse to reply to teacher instruction.

    Do you not think that men who think they are women and vice versa are confused?
    Yes, there are, and that’s kind of the point of this day of silence. Gender confused kids need support too.

    Do you think that I, as a Christian, would support this Day of Silence supported by government schools? And do you really think that this is about bullying only? Of course, everyone is against bullying.
    Of course not. You’re a bigot, and I don’t expect bigots to support what they hate. Is it about bullying only? No, but bullying is a big part of it. Kids have killed themselves, Steve. You try to hide it as much as possible, but you teach that being gay is evil. Tony had a nice rant about a lesbian being part of a church’s administration. That evil was gives other kids the impression that they can mistreat the queer kid cuz the homosexuality is a sin.

    Your evangelism stunt here is not a coincidence, and you’re indirectly supporting continued bullying. So I guess not everyone is against bullying, Steve. How often does your troupe speak out against the bullying of gay kids? Don’t answer, I have a feeling I know already.

    No, me thinks there is an agenda here, an agenda I will not, cannot, support.
    And what is that agenda, Steve? I have a feeling your explanation will be very illuminating.

  20. vintango2k

    Reply

    On a side note its always good to see Living Waters giving money to needy Nascar rather than the poor especially during these hard times, for blessed are the race car drivers for they shall inherit the Earth… or something like that. =)

  21. Jon Eby

    Reply

    Hey I would like to say I am a Christian and gay, I have participated in GLSEN’s DOS (Day Of Silence) for over 7 years I am now 21. I do not like people taking things I know out of context and using it against the LGBTQ Community. After a study I did in my senior year of high school most teacher/parents/students do not mind DOS and most participate in it. At my high school alone over 50% participated and only 10% were of LGBTQ orientation and 20% were active Christians. I am now a Junior at VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University) and participate with a group called QA (Queer Action) we were close with local government to get rights that most Christians are against because the bible says its wrong. According to the bible “A male should not lie with another man as he lies with a female Lev. 18:6” but if you keep reading Lev. you can’t have round haircuts, tattoo’s, work on the sabbath, wear garments mixed with other fabrics, eat pork or shellfish, etc. I am just saying why does being gay be the one thing everyone is against we did nothing wrong we are like other humans but we love the same sex, love is from GOD! not humans he made me the way I am and he loves me no matter what!

    thanks again

    Jon M. Eby

    • Steve Sanchez

      Reply

      Jon,

      Thanks for writing and for giving me an update on how your participation panned out. And by the way, I love gay people! If you’d like to see how I (and our evangelism team) reaches out to the gay community, please click here.

      Thanks! Please visit again. Jon.

  22. Christopher

    Reply

    I can’t help noticing you haven’t answered my question Steve. Since you’re so against bullying maybe you can condemn it in ANY form. Yes even when it’s against gays.

    Over to you Steve. Time to put your money where your mouth is and show that you condemn bullying no matter the victim.

    • Steve Sanchez

      Reply

      Did you not see my previous comment? Well here you go: I condemn bullying of any kind against anyone.

      I hope that helps.

      May God bless you with the saving knowledge of His Son.

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