Charles was an evangelist, according to the media anyway. Formerly he was a pastor of a 12,000 member Baptist church in Dallas, Texas. He started a radio ministry that moved to television and then to his own cable network. He preached hellfire, authored books and had Presidents seek his friendship. Then while driving to New Orleans to speak at a conference titled Grace Without Works Is Dead, he was searching the radio dial and tuned in to a broadcast of a small Louisiana preacher that had 15 minutes to proclaim the gospel on Saturday mornings. Charles listened and was compelled to pull off the road. He buried his head in the steering wheel and cried. This country preacher, who could not even pronounce Biblical names correctly, had brought a message of grace that Charles had fought his whole life. He went to the conference and preached "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves." Barely a hand was offered to him as he left the podium and returned to Dallas.
In the ensuing years, he kept a low profile, then emerged preaching a message of law and gospel. Thinking his fame was over, and welcoming the loss of that dung heap, he found himself called everywhere to preach. The media was likening him to the 18th century English preacher George Whitefield. Some fundamentalists did not appreciate him for he heavily preached grace. The evangelicals were not thrilled with him for he called people out of a world, they were calling people to join and change. He travelled mostly from one small church to another, that bore all the signs of failure to the world but did not have the hindrance of seeking success the larger churches had. The churches overflowed when he preached. He moved to auditoriums and then stadiums, with no advance work, or advertising. The people searched him out and came to hear him preach Christ and Him crucified. He had preached in Miami's Dolphin Stadium, Denver's Invesco Field and Atlanta's Georgia Dome to tens of thousands with a message that was not sitting well with the owners. He called for Christians to "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy."
The media, predictably, criticized and ridiculed him for this, but quite remarkably many people listened. The New England Patriot's American Football Conference playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers had ten thousand empty seats. Pittsburgh won that game. Coincidentally, the conference title game was in Pittsburgh where Charles was preaching at their Mellon Arena. Now you don't tug on Superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind and you don't mess with Steeler football fans in Pittsburgh. The venders, the bar owners, the media, the city council, even the churches were in an uproar. Charles was speaking the Saturday night before the big game. A crowd estimated at thirty thousand people gathered to demonstrate against his appearance. He was preaching Christ, but they saw only "Sundays."
Two of Charles friends and associates arrived at the arena and were encircled by the people. They were jostled and cursed. For two hours a pep rally had taken place forcing cancellation of Charles preaching. He wanted to go anyway but the police chief advised him that they could not guarantee his, or others safety. Pittsburgh Mayor Smith was called to the arena and he spoke on the right of this evangelist to preach, that he had done nothing wrong. One rabble rouser had stood up and yelled that the NFL was in financial trouble and it was getting worse because of this man's preaching. The mayor responded with "The Steeler game was going on Sunday anyway and the stadium will be full and the Steelers are going to the Super Bowl!" The crowd chanted "Here we go Steelers, here we go!" This little story is loosely based on Paul's experience with Demetrius and the artisans that made idols to Diana at Ephesus (Acts 19). Any message that is perceived to threaten the objects of our hearts desire will be renounced. I don't have this particular problem with sports on the Lord's Day but I have my own idols and can be as equally sensitive to have them questioned. We need a healthy dose of introspection in America and I pray that it would start with me first.
In the ensuing years, he kept a low profile, then emerged preaching a message of law and gospel. Thinking his fame was over, and welcoming the loss of that dung heap, he found himself called everywhere to preach. The media was likening him to the 18th century English preacher George Whitefield. Some fundamentalists did not appreciate him for he heavily preached grace. The evangelicals were not thrilled with him for he called people out of a world, they were calling people to join and change. He travelled mostly from one small church to another, that bore all the signs of failure to the world but did not have the hindrance of seeking success the larger churches had. The churches overflowed when he preached. He moved to auditoriums and then stadiums, with no advance work, or advertising. The people searched him out and came to hear him preach Christ and Him crucified. He had preached in Miami's Dolphin Stadium, Denver's Invesco Field and Atlanta's Georgia Dome to tens of thousands with a message that was not sitting well with the owners. He called for Christians to "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy."
The media, predictably, criticized and ridiculed him for this, but quite remarkably many people listened. The New England Patriot's American Football Conference playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers had ten thousand empty seats. Pittsburgh won that game. Coincidentally, the conference title game was in Pittsburgh where Charles was preaching at their Mellon Arena. Now you don't tug on Superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind and you don't mess with Steeler football fans in Pittsburgh. The venders, the bar owners, the media, the city council, even the churches were in an uproar. Charles was speaking the Saturday night before the big game. A crowd estimated at thirty thousand people gathered to demonstrate against his appearance. He was preaching Christ, but they saw only "Sundays."
Two of Charles friends and associates arrived at the arena and were encircled by the people. They were jostled and cursed. For two hours a pep rally had taken place forcing cancellation of Charles preaching. He wanted to go anyway but the police chief advised him that they could not guarantee his, or others safety. Pittsburgh Mayor Smith was called to the arena and he spoke on the right of this evangelist to preach, that he had done nothing wrong. One rabble rouser had stood up and yelled that the NFL was in financial trouble and it was getting worse because of this man's preaching. The mayor responded with "The Steeler game was going on Sunday anyway and the stadium will be full and the Steelers are going to the Super Bowl!" The crowd chanted "Here we go Steelers, here we go!" This little story is loosely based on Paul's experience with Demetrius and the artisans that made idols to Diana at Ephesus (Acts 19). Any message that is perceived to threaten the objects of our hearts desire will be renounced. I don't have this particular problem with sports on the Lord's Day but I have my own idols and can be as equally sensitive to have them questioned. We need a healthy dose of introspection in America and I pray that it would start with me first.
