"And others save with fear, pulling
them out of the fire..."
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November 24, 2006 - Stacie, Emily, Sara and I headed out around 6:00pm to meet the rest of the team at the Oxmoor Mall at 6:30pm. We met Danny, Robin, Katie, Matt (Danny's Son), Jerry, Sylvester, JK, Matt and Mark in the Food Court on the mezzanine level of the mall. We prayed, broke off into teams and distributed tracts to each team member. Jerry, JK and I formed one team. Danny and Mark formed a team and Sylvester and Matt formed another. Stacie and Robin talked and hung out in the food court while Emily, Sara, Katie and Matt just hung out in the mall doing some window shopping. When we witness in the mall, we still have teams, but we witness individually. We just try to stay in the same "zone" as our partner and try to keep an eye on one another. Jerry, JK and I decided to work the center court and I side entrance by Dick's Sporting Goods. I had done a few One-2-Ones when I noticed a few guys sitting in the center court area next to the large CHRISTmas tree on display. I approached them with the Curved Illusion tract. They loved it and I had a chance to share the Good News with the three teens. A little while later I was walking near the same area when I was stopped by one of the kiosk vendors. He asked, "What were those "pink and blue" things you were showing those guys earlier?" "Oh, you mean these?" As I held the Curved Illusion tract up. It's always great when a person stops you and you get a chance to share Jesus with them. The vendor, John, listened intently. During our 20 minute or so conversation I noticed that Mark was standing in the main aisle handing out tracts. I didn't think too much of it, but was thinking, "I hope he doesn't stay in that one spot too long." It was too late! Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a police officer (not a security guard) making a "bee-line" (no pun intended Mark!) for Mark. The police officer's partner was not too far behind. I couldn't hear the conversation, but I knew what they were telling him. I finished up my conversation with John and gave him the "Are You Good Enough To Go To Heaven" tract and wrote down directions to my church and invited him to church on Sunday. I thought that it might be a good idea for the team to move just down the street to the Mall-St. Matthews. We all razzed Mark, jumped in our cars and headed to the other mall. We arrived at our usual meeting spot just before 9:00pm. Because of Thanksgiving, the mall was open until 10:00pm. Matt decided he needed to head out. He does have about a 45-60 minute drive home! Now that's faithful street witnessing! The rest of us broke off and headed back out for the last hour the mall would be open. As I was walking to a "fishing spot" in the mall, I was stopped by another vendor! WOW! Twice in one day! She was selling some sort of skin care product and said, "Excuse me sir, can I ask you a question?" I replied with, "Of course, as long as I can ask you one in return." She said, "Sure!" Well, I guess we all know where that conversation went. She was a Jewish woman from Israel. I used the Law along with Day of the Atonements (Yom Kippor) and the Passover Celebration to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with her. I explained that Jesus Christ paid the penalty for her sins once and for all. He was the only way. I also gave her the "Are You Good Enough To Go To Heaven" tract. After I finished, she continued to try to sell me the "Dead Sea" skin care products until the end! I was able to do a few more One2Ones before the team met back up. We then decided to grab a bite to eat as is our custom. We were burned out on Frisch's so we initially decided to eat at Papa John's, which was closed. We then were going to try Burger King, but it was closed as well. Someone mentioned White Castle...can you say "Slyder"? After wishing we would have stopped at Taco Bell, we finally ended up at McDonald's. We had a great time and, with much thanks, we had the opportunity to be faithful witnesses for Jesus Christ. November 24, 2006 - The alarm awoke me (and probably my wife) at 4:00am. I jumped out of bed to silence the alarm, got dressed, brushed my hair and teeth, re-read the scripture that my wife and I had discussed the night before, prayed, grabbed tracts and the PA system and headed out into the cold November morning. My destination was the Wal-Mart Super Center on New Cut road. Danny and I were going to meet up at 4:30am to hand out tracts to those waiting in line and also do some Open Air (OA) preaching. I had not heard from anyone else on the team, so I figured it would be just Danny and I. I pulled into the Wal-Mart parking lot at 4:30am and noticed that there was no line and the store was already open. Of course it was! This was a 24-hour Wal-Mart! DUH!!! I quickly called Danny (who was already in the parking lot) to tell him. We quickly decided to head toward the Target/Circuit City by the Jefferson Mall to see how the lines were there when my phone rang. It was Mark True. Mark said, "Where ya'll at? I'm in the Wal-Mart parking lot." I explained the situation to him as I continued toward down the Outer Loop towards the Jefferson Mall. As I was about to pass Best Buy I noticed a HUGE line of people waiting in line to get into Best Buy. As I pulled into the shopping center, I called Danny and told him that we should hit Best Buy. It was packed! We ended up having to park in the Tumbleweed parking lot and then walk to Best Buy. My phone rang once again. It was Matt Gibson. He and I had about the same conversation as Mark and I had earlier. I had never dreamed that Matt would come out this early in the morning considering the "haul" of a drive he would have to make. Well, praise God, Matt was on his way out to meet us at Best Buy! Danny, Matt (Danny' son) and I met up in the Tumbleweed parking lot. We were overwhelmed by the line. I told Danny that I didn't think I had enough tracts to cover the line. By the way, I brought about 400 tracts! Danny reached into his truck, pulled out a bag of tracts and said, "Don't worry, we've got more!" The line was snaked from Best Buy all the way down the sidewalk of the strip mall, took a curve and continued back toward the Outer Loop and ended by the Tumbleweed restaurant. It was crazy!!! Here was the plan...Danny was going to begin handing out tracts at the front of the line and work his way back as I Open Aired. I brought the PA system, but Danny recommended that we not use it because we were already pushing it just being there. That made sense to me! We prayed, loaded up with tracts, grabbed the Open Air step-stool and headed toward the massive line. I began surveying the line and the overall atmosphere. I was on the lookout for police and security. After all, this was private property that we were advancing upon. There was one Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) cruiser and one Sherriff's SUV cruising the parking lot. I decided that I my safest bet would to not OA at the very front of the line in front of Best Buy. I decided to set up the OA step-stool more near the beginning of the, now closed, strip mall stores. I literally placed the step-stool in the Fire Lane in the road and begin to OA. I had prayed about a good springboard and decided to use the common quote, "Shop 'til you drop" to my advantage. I stepped up, drew the crowd's attention and proceeded to present the Biblical Gospel. I thanked the crowd for listening and stepped down. Surprisingly, some people in the line even clapped! I grabbed the step-stool and begin walking towards the end of the line. I was trying to "guesstimate" how far down I would need to go where the people had not heard me. I ended up down to the curve in the line and stepped up on the step-stool. I was attempting to gain the crowd's attention when a lady said, "We've already heard you..." The man next to her said, "Yeah, you can move on down that way, we don't want to hear what you are saying." There was no way they had heard my earlier OA, they were too far away. So I just said, "Folks, there are some people who may not want to hear what I am saying and may even want me to move along, but I must take a few moments to tell you something very important. Even if you have already heard me, please listen again." Again, I presented the Biblical Gospel and thanked the crowd for listening and stepped down. I grabbed the step-stool and proceeded further down the line until I was near the end of the line. As I was preaching, I noticed this red-headed guy talking to people and handing out tracts. It was the one and only, Mark True! I presented the Gospel for the third time. When I was finished, I decided that I was going to go hit the front of the line. I ran into Matt Gibson on my way back to the front. As I began to get closer to the front of the line, I began to recognize some of the faces and outerwear of the patrons. To my knowledge, most everyone (except for the front of the initial line) had heard the proclamation of the Gospel. I turned to see Danny and Mark heading my way. Danny said that everyone in the line had gotten a tract. Danny estimated that close to 500 tracts were given out! We decided to head over to the Target by the Jefferson Mall. We arrived at Target to find a line, but it was significantly smaller; maybe 75 to 100 or so. There was also two key problems: 1) An LMPD SUV parked right next to the line and 2) A Target security guard at the front door. As I was waiting on Danny, Matt and Mark, I noticed the security guard go into the store and a Target employee come out and stand in her place. Considering security was so "in your face", I called Danny and told him the situation. We decided that I should let the police officer know what I was doing before I began. I walked over to the police car and he rolled down his window. I told him that I was going to stand on the "corner" of the line and address the crowd for a few minutes. I said, "Is that okay with you?" He said, "It's okay with me, but this is private property and you are going to have to clear that with Target. There's the manager over there." I thanked him and headed towards the manager who was standing outside in front of the store. I approached the manager and explained what I would like to do. He initially told me no because there was no solicitation allowed on the property. I told him that I didn't want to solicit anything, but just address the crowd. He said, "I wish I could, but that's our policy." I told him that it was no problem. As I was about to turn around and head back to to the rest of the team, the manager said, "Go ahead. You can do it." I was shocked! I made a bee-line for the LMPD SUV and informed the police officer that I had clearance from the manager. He said, "Go for it." I set the step-stool up and "climbed aboard". I began addressing the crowd, "Hey, how's everyone doing? Did you have a great Thanksgiving? Are you ready to do some serious shopping? Are you ready to "Shop 'til you drop?" Wait a minute...What if you do drop? What if you died right inside the store while you were shopping? What would happen next? Where would you spend eternity? Would you go to Heaven or Hell? It's something that's very important to think about. Let's take a..." "Excuse me sir, you must stop speaking and come down...this is a warning." the security guard exclaimed. I responded with, "It's okay, I've been given permission by the store manager." The police officer even interjected, "Yes, he has permission." The security guard acted as if she never heard a word and proceeded to say, "Come down this is your final warning." I stepped down and further explained that I had been given permission. She said, "I've just gotten word that I am to stop you and you can't do this." Hmmm. "Okay." I said. I grabbed the step-stool, walked over to the police officer and said, that's weird, but at least we tried." He smiled. Mark then boldly walked up to police vehicle and asked the police officer if he had been "washed in the blood of Jesus Christ". I chuckled inside and began to head back to my car. Looking back, one can only wonder if the store manager told me to "go ahead" only to call security on me after I walked away. Danny's son, Matt had the idea to try Toy's R Us. We drove around the corner to the location only to find that they were already open. We decided to rejoice in the seeds that had been planted and go enjoy a hot cup of coffee together at Jerry's on Preston. The five of us sat and enjoyed each other's company and fellowship for over an hour. What an awesome opportunity to communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ to this world. I'm already looking forward to next year! November 21, 2006 - I rarely, if ever, Blog my daily witnessing encounters. However, I figured I would Blog this one and share some thoughts I had during the opportunity that I had. My youngest daughter and I hopped in my car to drive up to the store. As we were driving down the road, I noticed a stalled truck in the middle of the road with the driver straining to push the vehicle. I quickly pulled into a driveway, jumped out of my car and proceeded to help him push his truck onto a side street. I learned that he had run out of gas so I offered to take him up to the corner gas station. Sara moved to the back seat as he grabbed a gas can out of the back of his pickup and got in the passenger seat of my car. I thought to myself, "witnessing opportunity!" GULP! Fear rushed over me. The gas station was only one literal minute away. We just had small talk on the way to the gas station. We arrived at the gas station and he got out to put gas into the container. As he was pumping gas I thought, "I'll just give him a tract when I drop him off." I patted my pockets and feverishly looked in the glove box of my wife's car. AHHH! I didn't have any tracts on me. I didn't have time to think as he opened the door and stepped back into the car. I silently said a prayer and decided to speak. I said, "Um, I know this might sound kind of unusual, but do you have a Christian background?" He said that he did. I asked him what church he went to and he said the name of the church, but admitted that he hadn't been in a while. We were about to pull up next to his truck. I proceeded to tell him that he should get right with God and get back into church. I told him, "you never know when you are going to die. It could be today, it could be in twenty years. You just never know. Please think about what I'm saying, it's very important." He thanked me and then stepped out of my car. A couple of things that I thought about afterwards were:
November 18, 2006 - The Allen Family hosted our monthly "Home Team". You might be wondering who was there. Let's see...Danny, Robin, Katie, Katie's friend Courtney and Matt Allen. Me and my wife Stacie and our daughters, Emily and Sara. Matt and Laurie Gibson. Jerry, Michelle, Jeremiah and Jonah Dorris. Mark, Jill and Jillian True. We also had an opportunity to meet two students from Boyce College that we have been trading EMails with, Jeremy Shelton and his wife Destiny and Ryan Travis. Needless to say, we had a houseful! We all talked and got to know each other better with evangelism being at the forefront of each conversation. We threw in the "Fear of God" WOTM DVD. We also gathered around Danny's laptop and watched "The Evangelism Linebacker" and "Eight Reasons I Don't Share My Faith". They are hilarious! We celebrated Robin's birthday, which was actually on Sunday. I think I might have gotten in trouble by announcing her birthday and having everyone sing "Happy Birthday" to her! We also did a fun activity where I gave each person a piece of paper and they had to write down an interesting fact about themselves that no one else in the group would know about them. Here are the facts:
Hmmm? I wonder which fact goes with what person? If you don't know, I guess you'll have to ask everyone in the group if you weren't there! We continued to talk about what we can do to get the WOTM training "out there". We are tentatively looking to help Jeremy and Ryan do the One-Day WOTM course at the seminary. Additionally, we want to help them get Biblical evangelism tools in as many people's hands on campus as possible. It was so exciting to link up with other Christians who are solid and serious about Biblical Evangelism. We are looking forward to laboring in the harvest fields with Jeremy and Ryan! The last of us didn't leave Danny's house until after 11:00pm! We're looking forward to the next "Home Team"!!! Check out the pictures here! November 17, 2006 - Emily, her friend Leah, Sara and I headed out around 5:25pm to pick up Sylvester for our weekly witnessing outing. We picked up Sylvester and headed to the Mall-St. Matthews. We arrived at the mall about 6:20pm. I grabbed the tracts out of the back of my car that I had previously placed in a Victoria's Secret shopping bag and....WHAT? "John, did you just say you were carrying tracts in a Victoria Secret shopping bag?" Yes! Okay, here's the deal. Two weeks ago I took my usual "over-the-shoulder" bag loaded down with tracts into the mall. It was very conspicuous! Security is usually swarming all over the place so we need to be as discreet as possible. I thought, "Hey, I'll put the tracts in a shopping bag." I looked around the house and all I could find was a Victoria's Secret bag. Can you just imagine me walking into the mall with a pink Victoria Secret bag? It was kind of funny! Anyways...Emily, Leah and Sara decided to look around in some local stores while Sylvester and I waited for other members of the team to show up. Jerry showed up first, followed by Daniel and then Mark True and his wife, Jill. Around 7:30pm we loaded up with tracts, prayed and paired up into two teams: Jerry and Sylvester on one team with Mark, Daniel and I on another. Jerry and Sylvester decided to work the Food Court area. Mark, Daniel and I split off to try some discreet One2Ones. I must admit that, at first, I wasn't seeing too many opportunities. OR...maybe I was just too fearful to approach someone in the mall. I finally decided to just go for it. I walked over to three teens sitting by the water fountain/pond area, pulled out a Million Dollar Bill and asked them, "Did you get one of these yet?" They chuckled and took the Millions. Ten minutes later I had taken them through the Law, then grace. I immediately walked around to the other side of the fountain and sat down with 52-year old Davis. I found out that he had retired from the Army. I think he retired from the Lord's Army, too because he said he wasn't really living for God, but had lots of relatives who were. He even said that he had a few relatives that were pastors. I went through the WOTM with him and then proceeded to tell him that he could not ride the "coat-tails" of his family members, but have to give an account to God all by himself. He was very receptive and thanked me for talking to him. From that point on I probably did five or more One2Ones. It was amazing! You see, initially I had been walking around the mall looking for opportunities. I think I was just walking in circles, looking suspicious and getting tired. Instead, I decided to just stand/sit in one place and wait for people to walk by or sit down in my general area. I would then approach them. I think the most amazing One2One I had was with a couple that was sitting near the same place as the first One2One I had this evening. I walked over, handed them a Million Dollar bill and said, "I know this seems a bit unusual, but I'm in the mall tonight asking people "Million Dollar" questions like what happens when you die. They both said that they believed in reincarnation. I asked them, "What about God?" They said that they did believe in God. I said, "What about Heaven and Hell?" They said that they believed in Heaven and Hell. HUH? I said, "Wait a minute. You can't believe in reincarnation and also believe in Heaven and Hell." The guy looked at me with this perplexed look and said, "You can't...can you? I guess I've been wrong about that!" How refreshing! There are so many people out there who believe in things that they have no idea as to why they believe in those things. With only a slight bit of reasoning, they saw that something must be wrong with their beliefs. I took them though the Law then grace. They were very interested in what I was saying and they each gladly accepted the "Are You Good Enough To Go To Heaven" tract. I did some sleight of hand with a Ten Commandments Coin and gave the coin to their son. They were amazed! Well, that led to me showing and giving them the Curved Illusion tract. We talked a bit longer, I shook their hand and they thanked me for talking to them. A few moments later I saw four or five teenagers hanging out by the Lids store. I walked up and handed each one of them Million Dollar bills. They were all dressed in the urban/hip-hop style and were all about the "scrilla/cheese/paper/Benjamins" (okay, I'll stop). I asked them if they thought they would go to Heaven. As I was finishing asking the question, one of the guys, who was "grilled out" on his lower teeth, started reading the tract out loud. He was doing Open Air in the mall! One of the Lids employees (who I found out later to be his girlfriend) walked by and he said, "Hey, come here, I need to see if you are going to go to Heaven." She came over and he began reading it out loud again. She explained to me that she was Catholic (he said he was Catholic, too) and that Catholics believe that if you have asked for forgiveness of your sins than you are assured of Heaven regardless of what you do. I used the good old, "If I robbed a store and stood in front of Judge and said, "Will you forgive me?" would the Judge let me go example." Of course not! I explained the WOTM with the group and "grilled out guy" said, "Man, that's deep! I need to really think about this because I don't think I would go to Heaven by what you are saying." I told them to please consider what I was saying because it was very important. I finished talking with them on a light note by showing them the Curved Illusion. I gave everyone their own set. I also did some coin sleight of hand. The vendor in the booth behind me was watching us and wanted to see some sleight-of-hand, too. Of course, he and his co-worker got witnessed to and were given the Curved Illusion tracts. As I was walking back toward our meeting location, I asked the Lids employee if she had read the Curved Illusion I had given her. She said that she had given them to her boyfriend and he was blowing everyone's mind with it. I asked her co-worker if he had gotten one. He hadn't so I gave him a set and told him to make sure to read the back. It was almost 9:00pm, so I decided to walk back over and meet back up with the rest of the group. We were all talking for a moment when Douglas came walking by. I stopped him with a Million Dollar bill and the Million Dollar question. As I began going through the WOTM with him I could tell he had a Christian background. I asked him, "If you were to die and Jesus asked you, "Why should I allow you into Heaven?" what would you say?" He responded with the wrong answer, "If I live my life to the best of my ability." I explained that nothing gets us into Heaven except for the grace of Almighty God. As we talked further, Douglas had this perplexed look on his face and told me that he had fallen away from the Lord. He said that he had been asking God to "do something" in his life to get him back on track. He then said, "And here you are, in the mall, talking to me about Jesus!" He began to ask me about The Jude 23 Network and what church I went to. I told him and then explained that we all went to different churches. I began to rattle off the names of the different churches. When I mentioned the church that Sylvester attends, Evangel , he said that he was supposed to be going there this Sunday with his brother. I immediately introduced him to Sylvester and then the rest of the guys. We talked for a few more minutes and he then thanked me and left. As he was leaving he was saying, "Thank you...and you know why, you know why." I pray that Douglas repents and commits his life to Christ. As not to break tradition, the team decided to head over to the local Frisch's and grab a quick bite. As usual, we had a blast. Mark kept us laughing with his "True Stories" (Hey! That's a new phrase!) As we left, we gave multiple people in the restaurant tracts. I took Sylvester home and called it a night. We thank God for every opportunity that he gave each team member tonight to be a light in this dark world for Him. I still find it truly amazing that He allows sinful men to be His Ambassadors to carry His message to a lost and dying world. November 17, 2006 - Rodney Shelby called me today and asked me if I wanted to have lunch with him and his friend Brother Corley. We met at the Frisch's on the corner of St. Andrew's Church Road and Dixie Highway at 12:30pm. We had a great time eating and talking about the Lord. I gave him a DVD set of Hell's Best Kept Secret and True and False. I also gave him a copy of Mark Cahill's "One Heartbeat Away", "One Thing You Can't Do In Heaven" and "George Street". After we finished eating they headed back out to the street corner to preach. I took more pictures of them. I also recorded just a little bit of audio. I am so encouraged by their zeal and compassion for the lost. I pray that God continues to encourage them and the Holy Spirit continues to provide them the strength to continue to "...go into all the world and preach the Gospel...". November 10, 2006 - The weather was unseasonably warm so the team decided to head back out to the streets. Danny, Mark, Eric, Sylvester, Daniel, Nate, Natalie, Matt and I met in the Highlands on Bardstown road. I arrived a little before 6:30pm and set up the coffin and strobe light display. Matt showed up as I was finishing setting up the display and laying out the tracts for the team. Mark called and said that he wasn't going to make it because he was feeling ill. Sylvester called and said he wasn't going to make it because he didn't have ride. Danny showed up not long after Eric arrived. We were all waiting around for the others to show up when Daniel showed up and asked Matt what we were doing. Matt had never met Daniel before and was playing the role of an Atheist. Matt did an awesome job of presenting the Gospel and handling all of Daniel's questions and objections. We finally let Matt off the hook and introduced Matt to Daniel. Eric had already started a One2One with a young lady hanging out by Ear X-Tacy. We decided to go ahead and pray because there were lots of opportunities for One2One all around us. I had the tailgate of my car down and had my leg against it while we were praying. In the middle of Eric leading us in prayer, a car that was parallel parking hit the front of my car and nudged my car backwards. It was very slight, so I decided to just continue praying. I figured whoever hit my car would be standing there whenever we were finished praying and we could talk about what had just happened and also talk about eternity. After praying, we looked up and looked around...they had walked away! There was no visible damage to my car so I backed my car up (to give them room to leave) and put a Million Dollar Bill in the car door. I couldn't believe they just left without saying anything! Oh, well...I turned around, and to my surprise, I saw Mark crossing Bardstown road. He said that he just couldn't stand being at home and had to come out to seek and save the lost. We all gathered around Mark and prayed for him to get well. Sylvester called back and said that he got a ride and was on his way! Nate and Natalie showed up around 7:20pm and Sylvester showed up about 7:35pm. We split up into teams: Danny and Eric / Matt and Daniel / Sylvester, Natalie and Nate / Me and Mark. Mark and I decided to stay by the coffin display and the other three teams headed down the sidewalk. We decided to meet back up at 9:45pm at the coffin display. Mark and I did more One2Ones than I can remember! We were using the Big Money tracts and the Curved Illusion tracts to stop passers-by. We would then direct their attention to the coffin display and say something like, "We are all going to end up in a coffin one day. What do you think happens after you die?" There was a man and a woman sitting on one of the wall near Ear X-Tacy and Mark directed my attention to them. I walked over to them and broke the ice with the Big Money tract. I asked them both what they thought happened after they died. The woman said, "Nothing...you just go in the ground and take a very long nap." The man thought that there was some form of afterlife, but wasn't sure. I came to find out that the woman was the daughter of an associate pastor at a local church and that he tried to witness to her all the time. She said that she was raised in a Christian home, but considered it all foolishness. I remembered her saying this and her boyfriend looking at her in shock and disbelief. His attitude was one of almost, "No, you don't really mean that, do you?" I talked with them both for about 30-45 minutes, interjecting the Law, the Gospel and Apologetics along the way. I told them to please consider what we had talked about because there was nothing more important than their eternal salvation. Before I left, I turned to the woman and said, "We are just a couple of the people that your parents have been praying for to cross your path. The reason why your father is telling you about Christ and His gift of salvation is because he loves you. Please consider it." With that, I walked away. Mark and I continued to do many One2Ones. I would say we only had a couple of minutes between One2One conversations. Again, the weather was nice and there were people everywhere! The rest of the team re-joined us and I decided to snap a few more pictures. Daniel and Matt had been doing a One2Many with some teenagers over on the same wall I was at earlier. A man walked by on the sidewalk and overheard some of the witnessing conversation. The man made some comment about how there was no God and some other anti-God slurs. Let me pause for a minute to note how interesting it is to find people who would more than likely be screaming at the top of their lungs for tolerance....being intolerant. I guess they just don't have to be tolerant of Christians! I snapped a picture of the man (who was now in Daniel's face) and walked over to the "situation". As I started to put my camera in my front right pocket the man said, "Are you taking pictures?" and began to slap at my hands, the camera and hit on my leg as I was putting my camera in my pocket. I immediately grabbed his hand and pushed it away from me. I explained to him that while he had the right to voice his opinion on the city sidewalk, but he did not have the right to place his hands on anyone. I explained that while we were Christians, we were not pacifists that could simply be pushed around. He immediately calmed down and I could smell the heavy odor of alcohol on his breath. I noticed that the man had drawn a crowd of about fifteen people around us and everyone was watching to see what was going to happen next. It seemed that the main point of his aggression was my camera. I told him that I had the right to take pictures on a public sidewalk, but I would respectfully delete the picture I took of him. I pulled the camera out and deleted it in front of him. He then said that he would be happy to talk to me. I answered one or two Apologetic-style questions of him and then proceeded to attempt to take him through the Law. As each questioned hammered away at his self-righteousness, the ally of his consciene along with the convicting power of the Holy Spirit seemed to be too much for him. He made another derogatory comment towards Matt and I and then turned around and walked away. I immediately turned to Noel (who had been watching the whole event take place) and asked him what he thought about the situation. He said that he was surprised at how well we handled the situation. I found out that Eric had witnessed to him earlier. I picked up where Eric had left off and confirmed with him that if he died tonight, "Where would he spend eternity?" He said, "Hell." I told him to please consider what Eric and I were saying. It was so important. He asked me a couple of other questions about smoking, drinking and cussing as a Christian. After 30 minutes of trying to persuade him, his friends came up to tell him that they had to go. Eric had given him a copy of "One Heartbeat Away". and I told him to think about what we talked about and to be sure and read the book. By this time it was about 10:30pm and we decided to wrap it up for the evening. Robin, Matt (Allen) and Katie showed up and were hanging out by Ear X-Tacy. We were going to grab a bite to eat and fellowship at a local restaurant as we normally do. Just then, John (not me!) walked by. John was wearing a hat cocked to his left, was wearing a long diamond necklace that hung down to his sternum, he wore an over-sized coat, jeans and finished out his wardrobe with some Timberlands (John was "rockin' Timbs!") I noticed an "Are You Good Enough To Go To Heaven" tract in his hand. Sylvester had given him the tract earlier, but didn't get a chance to talk to him. I asked him what he thought would happen after he died. He said that he honestly did not know. I took him through the Law and, with wide-eyes, he saw his need of the Savior. I asked him what, if anything, would keep him from repenting of his sin right now and putting his faith and trust in Jesus Christ to save him. He said, "Well.....drugs." I just looked at him for a moment and asked him when he was going to die. He (obviously) said he didn't know. I said, "So you could die at any moment and end up in Hell? Doesn't that concern you?" He just looked down and shook his head. He looked up at me with what appeared to be eyes on the verge of tears and a contrite heart. I didn't say anything for what seemed like minutes as we just looked at each other. I was trying to allow the reality of the situation sink in. I told him that he needed to get involved in a local church. I asked him if he knew any "sold out" Christians that faithfully went to church. He said, "No." I asked him where he lived and he lived closest to Danny's church. I asked him if he would go to church on Sunday. He said that he would. I asked him if he was serious because if I had a dime for every person that I had invited to church and did not show up, I would be a millionaire! He assured me he would be there. I drew directions to Danny's church on the back of one of our business cards and gave him Danny's contact information. He also gave me his name address and cell phone number. I then asked him if we could pray for him. Danny and I prayed for him. We each hugged him and he stepped off into the night. I looked at my watch and it was 11:30pm! Wow, time had really flown by! Because of the time, we decided not to go out to eat. I dropped Sylvester off at his house and headed home. There were many other stories out on the streets that night. Be sure and read the SynoptiBlog for other stories! I thank God for every opportunity that God gives each member of our team to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with people. UPDATE! Danny called John on Saturday night to see if he was going to go to church. He said that he would. John did NOT show up to church that Sunday morning. We are going to send a letter to John and call him again. God gives each of us a free will and the repentance must come on our own. Christ does not want anyone to have to be pushed, pulled, dragged, coaxed or coerced into the Kingdom. Please continue to pray for John. November 10, 2006 - My wife called me at home around 2:20pm and told me that I had to get in my car and go up to the corner of Dixie Hwy and St. Andrews Church Rd because there was a man standing on the corner preaching the Word of God. I said, "You're kidding, right?" She said, "No, just go up there!" I grabbed some tracts, business cards and my digital camera. I hurriedly drove to the location anticipating seeing this man proclaiming the Word of the Lord. As I got closer I noticed a man in an orange shirt with a microphone in his hand preaching. He had a Bible laid out upon a small stand and a two-foot tall speaker system next to the stand. I pulled into the Frisch's parking lot, jumped out an immediately snapped a picture with my camera. I was so excited! I made my way towards the man and stopped to take another picture. He immediately turned to me and said, "What are the pictures for?" I told him that I was very excited about what he was doing and wanted to take pictures. I introduced myself to him and he told me his name was Rodney Shelby. He said that he was a fairly new Christian and attended Fairdale Church of God. He said that the past three or four services had focused on "...Going out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in.." and that he could not sit back any longer. Rodney said that he had to go do what God has called us to do! We talked for about thirty minutes or so and exchanged how good God is and what God is doing in our lives...as well as phone numbers. I told him that members of The Jude 23 Network went out the streets weekly to do the same thing he was doing. I invited him out on the streets with our team. He said he would love to link up with us sometime. In turn, he invited my family over to his house for the weekly Saturday services that he has at his house. He said that there are usually 30 to 40 people in attendance! He even told me to come prepared with a 15-minute message when I come! I also found out that his mom and dad are part of a Gospel group called "Once Misfits". I love that name! I guess we were all "misfits" in the eyes of God while were living a life of sin. We are now also "misfits" in this world because this world is not our home. I was so encouraged by Rodney and thank God for him. I hope to stay in contact with Rodney to watch how God uses him in a mighty way. November 3, 2006 - Emily and I headed out to meet the team at the Mall-St. Matthews. It was going to be the first time we had ever met the newest member of the team, Matt. I really needed to be there on time. HOWEVER, the traffic wasn't going to allow that to happen! The traffic was crazy! As it got closer to 6:30pm, I was calling the other team members to see if anyone had made it to the mall yet. Everyone was fighting the traffic. Danny and his son, Matt, made it to the mall about 6:50pm. Although we didn't know what Matt looked like, I told him to be on the lookout for someone standing around at our meeting spot. Emily and I rolled up around 7:00pm. Mark, his wife Jill and their daughter Lillian showed up shortly thereafter with Sylvester. While we were all standing around talking, Matt walked up to us and introduced himself. We talked for a few minutes and decided to pray. As not to look too suspicious to the mall security, I decided to lead the group in prayer with our eyes open. How untraditional! It was kind of unusual, but not a big deal. Jill, Emily, Matt (Allen) and Lillian headed to the Food Court. Mark and Sylvester headed out into the mall and Danny, Matt and I found a table in the middle of the mall to sit and talk more. Danny and I thought it was very important to spend time with Matt and get to know him better. He asked us lots of questions and we had a great time! We headed back over to meet back up with the rest of the team at 8:45pm. Danny and I met Matt's wife, Laurie. Everyone else showed up and we all stood around and talked until around 9:15pm. Needless to say, Mark kept everyone entertained with his ACT stories. We call them "Mark Truisms". Mark and Sylvester handed out lots of tracts and Sylvester said that he was able to do a One2One. We had a great time. We thank God for Matt and Laurie and the opportunities that were given to spread the Gospel that evening. Matt and Laurie had to leave, but the rest of us met at the Frisch's (we just can get away from that place!) on Shelbyville road to eat and hang out. We had a great time of fellowship!!! |
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