Anniversary of the Origin of Species

On November 17th, 2009, we are holding a special event, an open forum that has the goal to present both special creation and evolution that coincides with the anniversary of the publication of the Origin of Species. To this end, I sent the following letter to local science professors:

Dear Professors,

I would like to take this chance to personally invite you and your students to a special event celebrating the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species. This event will be held on November 17th at 7:00 PM in the upstairs of the SMSU Student Center, the main lobby area.

This will be an open forum ‘Town Hall’ style discussion. It will focus on the continuing debate between those who believe that an Intelligent designer created not only humankind, but all the creatures of the earth, and the earth itself and those who hold to the theory of Evolution and/or the appearance of the universe from another set of circumstances. I do not know personally what view you as scientists hold to, but we have also invited and confirmed a scientist who holds to a special creation point of view. It should be a vibrant and interesting discussion. In the town hall style forum, there will be no view that is held up as ‘right’, rather, we will have the opportunity to discuss our points of view as well as scientific facts and allow our audience to make up their own minds concerning the topic.

Topics will include, but are not limited to:

* DNA
* macroevolution and microevolution
* old earth vs. young earth
* the Cambrian Explosion
* Social implications of special creation vs. evolution
* Scientific method
* the missing link/transitional forms

This will be a great academic opportunity, with students, professors, doctors, and curious community members who are trying to form an opinion about this discussion, and the implications of it to the way in which they view the world. It is our hope that you will not only come and participate, but that you will encourage your students to do so as well. The first 100 audience participants will receive a FREE special 150th anniversary edition of The Origin of Species. For your participation, we will also provide you with a copy as well.

We hope that you will honor us with your presence, and that you will encourage your students to come and participate.

Sincerely,

John B. Chisham
Campus Leader, CCNSMSU

Today, a letter was published in our local editorial section, in response to the invitation:

To the editor:

Monday, I received an email inviting me to a “celebration” on campus of the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species”. Reading further through the email, I realized this upcoming event will NOT be a celebration of Darwin’s painstakingly obtained insights into how the biological world works. Rather, it will be a celebration of ignorance cloaked in a veil of dishonesty – a Creationist event sponsored by professional Creationists.

My evidence for this is my history observing Creationists and the publicity email’s advertised gift of a “FREE Anniversary edition of THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES.” From the picture in the email, I see this is not the official Anniversary edition of Darwin’s book, no, this is the Ray Comfort (a professional Creationist) butchered edition of Darwin’s book. The Amazon.com reviews of Comfort’s “work” indicate that these “Celebrations” and free book give-aways are occurring on campuses across the nation.

Apparently, the professional Creationists are hitting the road with their traveling medicine show of ignorance and lies. My experience with these shows is that there is a canned sequence of canards thrown out in quick succession. Here is a summary from Kent Hovind’s (another professional Creationist) “show”: the information in DNA cannot have evolved, therefore Jesus. Microevolution is only change within kinds and macroevolution has never been observed, therefore Jesus. “Belief” in evolution is the root cause of all societal ills, therefore Jesus. There are no transitional fossils, therefore Jesus.

In response to the myriad court cases that have been lost by professional Creationists, telling them repeatedly that they cannot teach their religious beliefs in public schools as “science,” a new tactic has been advocated: pretend they are not talking about God and instead speak of an “intelligent designer.” (Have I mentioned the dishonesty of professional Creationists?) Here is my prediction about what anyone attending the upcoming “Celebration” is likely to hear: the information in DNA cannot have evolved, therefore, Jesus intelligent designer. Microevolution is only change within kinds and macroevolution has never been observed, therefore Jesus intelligent designer. “Belief” in evolution is the root cause of all societal ills, therefore Jesus intelligent designer. There are no transitional fossils, therefore Jesus intelligent designer.

Anyone wishing to attend the “Celebration” feel free to use the above as a checklist. If the professional Creationist also mentions the Big Bang or the impossibility of the origin of life, feel free to yell out “Yahtzee!”

As for me, I will be doing something much more productive with my time; contemplating my navel lint springs to mind.

Note: In the interest of full disclosure, I am submitting this this letter to the SMSU Spur. Also, in response to the inevitable criticism that I am “anti-Christian”, I want to note that I am a volunteer scientific consultant for the Clergy Letter Project (www.butler.edu/clergyproject/rel_evol_sun.htm). I am NOT anti-Christian, I am anti-”liars-pretending-to-be-Christians.”

Vaughn Gehle

Marshall

This website that he writes about refers to a group of liberal, mainline churches who do not believe that the Bible is the Word of God, especially that the Genesis account is anything more than a morality poem, with characters that never existed. They celebrate Darwins Birthday and try to line up the Origin of Species (false science) with the Bible.

My response to said letter:

To the Editor:
Recently, you published a letter in response to an invitation to celebrate the anniversary of the publication of the Origin of Species. As the organizer of the event on Nov. 17th at 7:00 PM at SMSU, I would like opportunity to retort this letter:
1. Sir, your evidence is as botched as science that says that the complex living organisms we see today sprang from non-life.
2. Ray Comfort did not edit the book, it is printed in its entirety. It is not butchered, unless the original author did so.
3. We are not hitting the road. All scientists are local, and have been invited despite their views, including all science professors at SMSU and at MHS.
4. Your summary of Ken Hovind lacks credibility. The dismissal of scientific work, just because it includes God proves that you are not a true scientist, rather, it is you who are intellectually dishonest.
5. While you are picking your naval lint, people in the community and from SMSU will be having an open forum to discuss both points of view; special creation and evolution. Facts will be presented from both sides, and audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions, and give input. In the end, everybody will make up their own mind. That is what an open forum is all about, which is how it differs from a classroom where only one point of view is accepted.
Ultimately, It is evolutionists who do not want a dissenting point of view, because when true science is used, Evolution is exposed for the fairy tale that it is.
John Chisham
Marshall

Pray for this event, that God is glorified, and that people will consider the truth of the Bible. The Genesis account is crucial to an understanding of our need as humans. Adam, our federal head, broke covenant and sinned against God. As a result, sin entered the world and death through sin. But immediately after the curse, the promise was given in Genesis 3:15- that sin and death would be crushed through the seed of the Woman. This seed- Jesus Christ- was fully man and fully God. His substitutionary death on our behalf gave us the ability to be forgiven of our sins, indeed to be made righteous in Him.

Video- USD Preaching by The Volante

The Volante – VIDEO: Preaching and Protests.

Week 2 With Shawn the Baptist

I had the privilege of joining Shawn the Baptist in South Dakota at two Universities. On Monday, we travelled to USD in Vermillion, and on Wednesday, to SDSU in Brookings. These were campuses where Shawn was forcibly removed from last year, even spending time in Jail after being arrested in Vermillion. We went there, permits in hand, to ‘redeem’ these campuses to the glory of God.

At Vermillion, we met a lot of people who identified themselves as Athiests, but many more who identified themselves as Christians who lived as though Christ did not exist. I think the latter is far worse than the former, as far as dealing with them. At least the Athiest is wrong, but intelectually honest. The Christian is wrong, and dishonest. There was one young lady in particular who said she was born again, but she was a lesbian. She did not agree with the teaching of the Bible in that area, to say the least. She was very proud of her otherwise moral lifestyle. She had ( according to her) really done nothing wrong. She had been saved, according to her, but it seemed like just an add on to her life, a label she kept for herself. Other Christians argued that they could live in a variety of other lifestyles of sin, and still be a Christian. We preached the gospel while we responded to questions with answers from the Bible.

This guy hated our preaching so much he wanted to steal our sign.

Friends, God does not want your morality, he wants your heart! God will give you a new heart and a new nature, and morality will follow. It will not save you, but a Christian looks like and acts like a Christian.

All in all, the day at Vermillion was filled with typical things. Christians who objected verbally to our method of preaching the law, warning sinners of a wrath to come. Honest questions, as well as some mocking ones. People who stayed to watch the spectacle, others who listened and learned. I am praising the Lord because the following day, Shawn found out that all the classes were talking about what went on the day before. The fascinating thing is that a professor brought his world religion class to come out to ask questions. Shawn, of course, preached the Gospel while answering their questions. Isn’t God good? Also, there were some Christians who came around and were built up and encouraged in their faith. This letter from a Christian reflects on that:

Hi,
I just wanted to write you and kind of say thank you in a way. I am a born again believer too.. and the last six months or so I drifted away from God and His ways.I feel like this was God at work in my life. When I got into the conversation with you at first I was defensive and wanted to argue with you, but as soon as I heard what you were saying I agree with what you were saying. The feeling I got from listening to you was warmth, I felt like I was back in My Fathers arms again. I just wanted to thank you for relighting that fire inside of me. I may not agree with your approach of sharing the gospel, but you are speaking truth, which is great! I have been praying for you through out the day and the students that you got a chance to talk to. I pray that God will give you the words and wisdom, and that the students would have an open heart to what God wants them to hear. Thanks so much!! I just want this email to be an encouraging email and an email that glorifies God!!! God bless.

When we preach the Gospel, we do it for the glory of God, humbled by the responsibility and the privilege to preach. It is nice to hear from these students, and encouraging to hear how their walk has been challenged, but whether or not people enjoy what we say, we are ultimately there to give glory to God.

I had the privilege of rejoining Shawn in Brookings on Wednesday, and we preached at SDSU. It was COLD! For a long time, we preached and handed out tracts as students few and far between stopped and listened. Finally, after a long period, we got a crowd, and it kept on growing! This crowd could be characterized as a lot of very religious people who called themselves Christians. What blows me away is how many of these young people give Satan a foothold by justifying and defending their pet sin. Why do we not go to Jesus, and ask him, and plead with him to SAVE us from sin? We had one young man, as a claimed Christian who boasted in his porno and masturbation. His justification? God will forgive him, after all, we all fall short. I wasted my time for YEARS with that justification in smoking pot and committing sexual sin (among others). We can be saved from that by the Gospel! Now, we will never be sinlessly perfect (until heaven) but we will be sanctified and progressively look more and more like Jesus.

It was cold, but we got a crowd!

Again, after a long time of preaching, Shawn spent time afterward addressing questions from a large crowd and ended up encouraging Christians to be strong in their faith. You should go to his site and see some of the amazing letters he has received from believers who have been challenged in their faith.

Shawn the Baptist doing a forum with those who claimed Christianity.

Continue to pray for Shawn the Baptist as he travels across the country, but also pray for us as we go to our local campus and continue the work there for the souls of this generation.

A week (so far) of Campus Ministry

It has been a busy Summer and Fall.

I have had the privilege of spreading the Gospel at Lifelight

Reading from and Preaching 1 Timothy at Lifelight

They really didn’t want me there, because I had not been through the evangelists training. I can understand that, obviously they desire for the message to be the true Gospel. There is hopes of an open air campground where preachers can preach that is right on site next year.

I have also had the privilege of reading scripture and preaching in the open air at several different locations; most recently outside Christianity?21 where I read and preached through the first three chapters of Romans, 2 Timothy, and John 3. We have also done this Project Ezra outside of the college fair in Minneapolis, and on the local street corner of Main and College.

This week, I have had the distinct honor and privilege of joining up with my good brother Shawn (the Baptist) Holes and his family. The week for us began in Mankato

Shawn preaching his guts out in Mankato

Mankato is a small University in Southern Minnesota, but the crowds were very large. We had a very vocal Muslim student leader heckling, who drew a very large crowd. Also, he called security to have us thrown off campus. He was very discouraged when he found out they could not do that, and, in fact, the security was there to protect our rights! One young man was ticketed for smashing snow and dirt on Shawn’s head. Later, there was a group of homosexuals who showed up while I was preaching, and they also drew a large crowd for people to hear the Gospel. God orchestrated groups of counter-protestors that continually drew more crowds to hear the Gospel. We did not know it, but there were several people in the crowd praying for us. Shawn also ministered to several young people who were broken by the Spirit of God and the preaching of the Word. Praise God!

On Tuesday, we had a public forum scheduled called the Big Question at our local University. Of course, we wanted to preach there. Big Mike, the security head at the school, had in the past given me the rules concerning preaching in the open air, and explained that we were welcome there. Now SMSU is much smaller than Mankato, and is mostly contained inside. There is one courtyard where students gather to smoke or to pass through, kind of a short cut. Shawn and I set up shop there. Early on, there was a young lady who asked if Jews were going to Hell. Shawn responded by saying that we all deserve to go to hell, a statement he repeated several times. She responded by running inside and reporting us to somebody that we were offensive and downplaying her faith by telling her she was going to Hell. This one complaint magically morphed into several, and this eventually brought my friend Mike out. Mike moved us out of the area to a less conspicuous spot where fewer people were likely to be offended (and less likely to hear) Knowing we had a presentation later, I did not want to fight with Mike. We continued, and our little crowd followed, including Matt- our friendly Athiest. Matt is a big guy, and commands a presence around the campus. He and I have had several conversations, but this one centered on a little athiest tract he had printed. Funny, the contents sounded like Rob Bells latest ‘The Gospel according To” video. As it was getting bitterly cold outside, and we were losing our little crowd, I invited Mike and all of his friends to THE BIG QUESTION later on that evening. They agreed to come, and, as I found out later, they invited friends!

At THE BIG QUESTION, we only had a turnout of about 30 people, but it was a very vocal group with a lot of questions and comments. Shawn and I tag teamed in a public forum feel. Every answer to every question ended in the Gospel. I introduced this evening in that explaining that we all have worldviews, and that mine is shaped by the Bible, which I believe to be the Word of God, and authoritative. As we had invited philosophy majors, I explained that I believed that there was absolute truth, and that it was founded in God and manifested in Christ.

THE BIG QUESTION at SMSU

Following my introductions, the questions came fast and varied around religion, wars, politics, philosophy, and science. Every answer was founded in Christ. By the end of the evening Matt, who had refused my offer several times for a Bible, came up and asked for one. Then two more young people asked for one, one of whom follows Eckankar, and asked if I would help her in the study of the Bible. Praise the Lord.

To finish this fast and furious week, I got to travel to Minneapolis with Shawn and his family to the University of Minnesota. We set up shop in Northrup Mall, an excellent open air forum with great acoustics. We had several waves of class changes where hundreds of students stopped. We also had a small group of about 20 that pretty much hung around the entire day.

Preaching at the University of Minnesota

This was a funny day, because in between the large groups, Shawn and I would have these small groups hanging around us that wanted to discuss what had been said before. There was some genuine curiosity out of them! It was a beautiful thing to have one to one conversations with others standing around to hear the responses.

My family picked me up for a planned retreat up north to the family cabin, and Shawn travelled on to St. Cloud. However, we met up again at the University of Minnesota on Friday, and our good brother John joined us. The funny thing is, Friday was also his wedding day. He preached for about an hour, and had to leave. I know who he loves! I was a wreck on my wedding day, but he was out sharing the love of Christ on His. I pray that his marriage will also speak volumes about the love of Christ! If his single life is any indication, I have a feeling it will.

Next week, we will spend time in South Dakota where Shawn was arrested last year. Pray for us!

The Parachute

The parachute is a popular illustration among open-air preachers and one-to-one witnessers alike. I make no claim for it myself, but have enhanced its use from the basic ‘put on the parachute to be saved’ comparing it to the word belief in the greek (pisteuo). This illustration is especially helpful if your crowd includes those who consider themselves to be Christians.

The basic illustration goes something like this: Imagine you are on a plane, and the captain comes on to say that he has good news and bad news. The good news is that there is a parachute underneath each seat.

I add this here: If the pilot started and stopped here, you would say ‘how nice, there is a parachute. now let me go back to sleep!’ This is the shortfall of the modern gospel presentation- they tell the good news without the bad news, or they share the good news without stating that there is bad news. Jesus loves you, and he wants to save you! Save me from what?? Everything seems fine…

….the bad news is that we have lost all of our engines and we will soon crash.

My comment? The Bible tells us that it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this comes judgement. It tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and that the wages of sin is death. We are all in this life crashing and burning because we have all sinned. By the way, by the time that I get to this illustration, I have already gone through the law with the individual or the group.

Now what must you do to be saved in this scenario?

Does knowing about the parachute save you? Does believing that the parachute exists underneath your seat save you?

My comment here is that many people know about Jesus, especially in America and western Europe. They may know quite a lot about him, they may know why he came. They in essence have a mental assent, a knowledge of Jesus and believe He is a historical figure. Is that what the Bible means by belief? Partially.

The illustration continues…no, you must take action. You must get up out of your seat and put the parachute on, strap it across your chest, make sure it is secure and ready. But does adding the parachute to your back save you? Will you be saved from the fall to come just by putting on the parachute and remaining in the plane?

My comment is…of course not! You will die parachute or no parachute if you remain in the falling plane. Many young people go to events, crusades, concerts, evangelism services, and they go forward and pray a prayer and mark a piece of paper and they believe they are now Christians. Then, they go back to their daily lives, their messed-up homes, or hard school or work situation, or they just continue in their sin. I mean, they believed in Jesus from a mental standpoint, acknowledging his existence. They emotionally believed in him, and accepted his message as presented. What is the problem? That is only two thirds of biblical belief-pisteuo. If you remain in the plane with the parachute on your back, you are still going to die.

Matthew 7:21-24 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

No, in order to live, you must believe the parachute exists, place the parachute on your back, and then jump out of the plane. You must change the way you are going (crashing and burning, on your way to death)- this is called repentance-and jump out of your way of life (the plane) placing your full trust in your salvation to that parachute (which is an picture of Jesus).

Belief-pisteuo- in the scriptures is an mental ascent, an emotional response, and a volitional turning from and turning to. It is a belief that encompasses your life, changing it. It is knowing who the Savior is in truth, placing your trust in him, and submitting your will to that Savior.

I always finish this off with a question about where people are in the process. Did you know you were crashing and burning? Did you know about the parachute? (Jesus) Have you put on Jesus, but you didn’t change your lifestyle? Have you placed your full trust in Him by repentance (jumping out of the plane, trusting alone in the parachute?)

I pray that other Evangelists can mold this and use it in your own way to share the good news. Sola Deo Gloria!

Methodology of Urban Missions: Reading Scripture open-Air

I am a member of a group called Project Ezra, which has the goal of reading the scripture in the open air. So this is not a new method, but I have found it to be an excellent method to help people break the sound barrier, to draw a crowd, start a conversation, and to launch into an open air message based on the scripture.

Reading John 1 at Penn Station

1. Reading Scripture: Anyone can do it!
Last year in New York, my wife broke the sound barrier by reading John 3:16-19. She was very against open air preaching, and said she would never do it. But she agreed to read the scripture, and she launched right into a short testimony afterwards. It was a touching and incredible moment for me, and for the crowd which had gathered. This year at the Repent and Witness Camp in New York, I had two fellows on my team Ryan and Bryce who desired to preach in the open air, but they had never done it. I suggested that they would come up with a chapter and read it open air.

Ryan read from John 3

Ryan is an awesome talent music wise, but was a bit shy about breaking the sound barrier. With a little encouragement, he read John 3 in the open air at Penn Station. When he was finished, I went to pray with him, and he was shaking like a leaf. This approach to reading God’s word should be an example to us all. We should take the word seriously, and should tremble before God as we approach his holy Word. (Like in 2 Kings 22, Ezra 10)

Bryce read and preached from Psalm 23

Bryce is also very shy, and being a real techno- gadget guy, he had the scripture on an I phone and some notes so he could share with people about the good Shepherd, Jesus. Both these guys from NA-VAH-DUH really stepped out of their comfort zone to honor God and proclaim His Word.

2. Reading Scripture draws a crowd!
I use lots of different methods to draw a crowd; my favorite is trivia. In urban settings, you just have to go to a crowd. This was true in Panama City Beach, New York City, and at the Sonshine Festival where we have preached this year. There are natural crowds all over. The best one was at Battery Park, where THOUSANDS of people lined up for hours to go on a boat to see the Statue of Liberty. There, we opened up the Project Ezra prescribed reading of Romans 5.

James reading and proclaiming the Word

Reading and Preaching from Romans 5

Kris reading the Scripture

We also read the Word as we were waiting underground for the Subways, and even sometimes as we preach walked!
As far as drawing a crowd, we experimented at Union Square Park trying to draw a crowd so that many could preach. Debra, a fellow Ambassador, stepped up and read Romans 5, and this drew some real interest. We then began preaching the good news of God’s great love and the crowd grew larger. I wonder if the strangeness of reading the Word of God in the open air has something to do with it? I think that for some, it was a very unique and curious thing. For some, they were convicted and we had instant hecklers! Whatever it was, God’s Word was read and heard all over Manhattan.

3. Reading Scripture Starts a Conversation!

No, I am not talking about this type of conversation

I am not speaking about an emerging conversation. When you read the scripture in the open air, often times someone will stop you and want to talk about the scripture you had read. In Union Park, this meant the ‘Black’ Jewish people (Its a real strange cult), the Jehovahs Witnesses, some Catholics, and even the Rastafarians got involved.

Reading the Word.....

...sometimes leads to great conversations.

Many people, even people who claim to be Christians, have never really read the entire Bible. In many churches, the Bible is an afterthought. To actually hear it read is a shock to the system, and it confronts beliefs that people have about Jesus Christ and their faith! This is why so many wanted to have an in-depth discussion over the scripture, because of their tightly held beliefs that the scripture refutes. I personally have had some awesome discussions directly after reading the scripture in the open-air.

4. Reading the Scripture naturally launches Preaching
When I read the scripture aloud, I love to exegete it aloud. The urban setting allows for this to happen, as did the Panama City Beach setting. You can literally preach a Sunday-like message (gospel centered, of course) to the crowd which has heard the reading. We had a stack of Gospels of John and Romans which we distributed to the crowd and we invited them to follow along as we would read and preach from those books.

Preaching on Romans 5

This is not a new method, nor one that I can claim that I started, or have even perfected. And though I have written this from an urban perspective, wherever you are you can read scripture in the open air. It does not matter if you are the only one listening! I encourage you to find a place where people are, like a park, a movie theatre line, a main street, wherever. Just open up a chapter of the Word and read it. You will see some incredible changes in yourself and the people who hear you.

Real Christianity 21

Doug Pagitt and Tony Jones want you to know about ChristianityPsuedo-Christianity 21 being held October 9-11th in Edina, MN:

innovative.
Living as we are in the Creative Age, we want to take advantage of the new ways to learn, exchange ideas, explore and grow. We are committed that Christianity21 utilizes the most effective adult learning practices available. To that end, Christianity21 will use an innovative format, ensuring unprecedented access to the rich resources of presenters by utilizing 21 presenters, with 21 ideas, in 21 minutes each.

Christianity21 is more than just a set of presentations. The entire experience is designed to create value for the participants.

holistic.
Christianity21 is designed as an entire experience. Toward this end we are providing on-site, free-of-charge personal coaches in the areas of Spiritual Direction, Natural Health, Sexual Health, Professional Development and Job Pursuit. Also available are group sessions of yoga and a publishing seminar. In addition, the facility will serve as a living Art Gallery.

communal.
Christianity21 is intended to be more than a conference; it will be a communal gathering — that means connecting with old friends and meeting new friends on a common journey.

We have removed the limitations and distinctions between “presenters” and “participants.” We have incorporated the hotel and meal times into the event. And we invite all participants to create this event–we are not looking for mere attendees, but full participants.

This is a conference that is as misnamed as Planned Parenthood.

So, an idea hatched in my head, something I announced as I initially responded to this when I first heard of this. I announced this idea to Tony Jones when he was on my One One Radio Show.

I am going to be there. Outside the Church. At the hotel. I am going to engage these hyphen christians where they are face to face. I am going to try to engage these speakers as to what real Christianity is.

I propose this: Are there 21 Open-air preachers out there in Minneapolis/St. Paul who would be willing to hold a shadow conference outside of the Church? Are there 21 Open- Air Preachers that would be willing to stay at the hotel and engage these folks in conversationdialogue about their need of being born again? Are there 21 who would be willing to stand outside the 21 churches where the false gospel is being preached by these 21 women and preach the Biblical Gospel outside of these churches?

Are there those who would be willing to come and hear these preachers outside of the conference? 21 Preachers with 21 minutes each who will talk about the Biblical doctrines of salvation, sanctification, reconciliation, holiness, fear of God, sovereignty of God, Biblical marriage, church discipline, repentance? Who would be willing, in the likely cold, to hear the Biblical doctrines and then be moved to share with the participants in the conference as they leave and go to the hotel and at the hotel and in the places they eat?

We will not charge $195 for registration, and what you hear and do as a result will last for eternity.

Will you join me to contend for the faith that was delivered to us? Is there 21 Pastors, Evangelists, Christians who would be willing to join me? Are there a couple hundred who would be willing to join us outside the church where it is being held? at the hotel where they are staying?

I invite you to join me. Register here by commenting below. I will be there. I hope you will be there also for one or all three of the days. I know there are real believers in the Minneapolis St. Paul area. Join me and make a stand for the Gospel!

Methodology of Urban Missions-Preach Walking!

We tried some cool new stuff this past week. Maybe you can try or change it a little bit so that it can help you in your ministry context. This first method is called preach-walking!

Alfred preach-walking

Here is the situation: New York city is extremely busy and noisy! People are walking to and fro very quickly. We travelled by subway, and when we did, we would preach in the terminal and in the subway car. But we found that walking from location to location was also very effective with a microphone and a speaker! We used our half-mile hailer turned down a bit as we walked. We had a ‘John the Baptist’ go out ahead with a sign, and we had others handing out tracts to those who walked by. It was especially great when we had a traffic signal stop us, because the gospel was preached while people actually would stand in one location!

We would preach modified stop-light preaching, in that the messages were longer than that, but shorter than a typical open-air message. We would rotate law and Gospel within 2 1/2

Preaching through Times Square

minutes, and start again, reviewing for those who had heard, and starting again for those who had not. We found out that, without a permit, we could not stand in one location, but, as long as we kept moving, nobody bothered us.

We used this method throughout the camp, testing different things that would be effective. We would read scripture (this weekend for project ezra, we read Romans 5), find crowds already gathered like in lines for other events (dancers in Battery Park, etc.)

A Dancer speaks after we spoke to his crowd at Battery Park

This method was great in Battery Park, because without a permit, we could not use the speaker. As long as we kept moving, however, we could use it. We preached all over Battery Park, the Staten Island Ferry Terminal, and all points in between.

Monday morning, My friend Kris and I started at Rockefeller Plaza (the Today Show) and walked all the way up 5th avenue to Central Park, across the south side of Central Park, over to Broadway, down to Times Square. We then got on the train to lower Manhattan, and preached at the World Trade Center, and all over the financial district, most memorably in front of the NYSE, and the ‘Bull’, where hundreds line up to get pictures. Thousands of people heard Bible preaching that day throughout Manhattan, due to the effectiveness of preach-walking. Try it if the context of your ministry allows for it! As Alfred said- It is exhilerating!

Recap of CCN Repent and Witness- Our Purpose!

4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way  you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you j wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

I am writing this on the tail end of the trip to New York City for the Repent and Witness Camp, for Change Collegian Network. This was an excellent camp! As my wife says, when it comes to New York City, I am like a kid in a candy store. There are SOOOO many people and so many opportunities to preach, to share, to hand out tracts, just to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. What a privilege! But, a close second is the fellowship of believers who are united in faith and in purpose to win the lost for Jesus Christ to the glory of God the Father.

My Team

The Men- always prompt and ready to preach

My team was made up of awesome believers from around the country. Kris from North Carolina, Ryan and Bryce from Nev-ah-da, Al

Pastor Al was always sharing and praying with people

and Aaron (father and son) from Connecticut, and Jack Suehiro from California (fellow ambassador) This team had two associate Pastors, which means that my prayer is being answered that pastors would get out from behind the pulpit and preach to the lost who will never come into a church.

As we discussed goals, we had two who had never broken the sound barrier, both from Nevada.

Bryce from NAH-VAH-DUH breaking the sound barrier with Psalm 23

They both desired to get up and preach, but were tentative. They were both obedient to the Lord and proclaimed the Word with boldness on the very first day. I only had to do my Steve Sanchez (the Pusher) impression once. When Ryan

Ryan breaking the sound barrier

got up and read John 3, he was shaking. When he got off, he was trembling. It reminded me, as I prayed with him, that we should all tremble before the Word. We should be reminded of Ezra and other prophets being undone as they read it. Both of these men were very humbled as they read the Word.

All the other members of the team had experience in the open air, but with the exception of Kris, who was with us last year, none had really done it in an intense urban setting like New York City. These guys all desired to get out and preach. Specifically, Aaron

Aaron Preaching @ Battery Park

and Jack wanted to speak with doubter or atheists and practice with their apologetics, and to learn how to turn back to the law and the Gospel effectively. Both got their wish as we traveled to Times Square on that first night. Immediately after preaching the Gospel, conversations broke out. Aaron got the French athiests, and Jack

Jack sharing with NYC's finest

got the wider grace Catholic. They did excellent work in both these situations. It was very cool to see these men obediently be stretched with no real coaching on my part. As we headed back late to our location the excitement was palatable and the fellowship was very sweet.

The Teaching
The teaching was focussed on training and motive for Evangelism. From our first joint devotion time, which was on Unity, or how to extend grace to team members who are from different denominations which may have different focusses on issues not central to salvation or faith, because we were all in NYC to win the lost for Jesus Christ using Biblical methods. So, as we broke into small groups and studied, we solidified our bonds as brothers (and sisters) in the Word, and we prayed together for one another and fort the city as we went forth.

Shawn Holes then gave us an excellent teaching on counting the cost of being an evangelist. What we do and how we do it, as we know, is very opposite of what the world system recognizes as acceptable. It is really counter- cultural! Unfortunately, it is also counter church culture as well. Shawn shared that some of our worst criticism

Shawn bringing the teaching

may come from within the walls of the church and family! He encouraged us to not to look back once we began the mission which God had sent us on, so to count the cost before we would become an evangelist.

Pastorboy (Me) gave a message about our motive for preaching to the lost- the love we have for God. We should love God with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind. Because we love God, he is an easy subject to speak about, and we ought to love Him and obey His commands.

Love the Lord- Our Motive

Because we love Him, our fear of man is suppressed, and we preach to honor God. But we love mankind because we love God, so we preach so that man might be saved, and that God might receive the glory above all else.

Ministry

The focus, or purpose was very clear for us. We were not here to build a missions house or to do art projects with kids, or to paint homes. We were here to preach the Gospel. Many trips and much money is spent every year to give young people a ‘missions’ experience, but it has nothing to do with evangelism, that is, proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. The things are good works that we ought to do because we love people and want to help them out, but it is not really missions. These are things we should do for our neighbors year round to show them love (as we preach the Gospel) The Great Commission is that we would preach the good news to every creature. Well…there are a LOT of creatures in New York City from all over the planet. Literally thousands of people heard the Gospel call in the 4 days of the camp. There are many stories, but in my dispatches that follow, I will try and detail some of the more unique ways that we did it.

I would encourage everyone who wants a Missions experience to get trained in Biblical Evangelism and make plans to attend either the Ambassadors Alliance, a Transformed Conference, a Crash Course, or a Basic Training Course, and then to make plans to come next year to New York City to get your Masters Degree in Evangelism. Because as the old song says- if you can makepreach it here, you can makepreach it anywhere.