Friday.....America.....Street Preachers

I related this story somewhere in a past blog. a former pastor was excited about a new movie that came out, The Winslow Boy, a British produced David Mamet film. My wife and I travelled quite a ways to the only theater showing the film. It was definitely my kind of film and every bit as wonderful as described to me. About half-way into the showing, the film broke. After about a twenty minute delay the projectionist announced that the film strip could not be repaired that night. Someone in the theater yelled out well tell us how it ends anyway. I immediately jumped up and returned with the shout don't anybody say anything! Well that's just me. I had a similar situation this evening. Williamsburg, Pennsylvania was the location. A young man had brought a step stool and rose slightly higher than the shoppers as he proclaimed the gospel...a street preacher. We've all seen them at one time or another. My main disagreement with this method is that it is so impersonal. One might as well just carry signs. My wife and I watched for a while and walked off. When ready to leave the shopping district we passed the young street preacher again and this time two other young men had positioned themselves, on stools also, about twenty yards in front of him. They were hecklers, or maybe just challengers....no, they were heckling! I jumped in and shouted something in support of the street preacher. After a little bit, we walked on a ways but it occurred to me that these hecklers had given the street preacher a voice beyond the shouting of Bible verses. There were many more people watching this exchange than when we previously stopped to watch. The street preacher was forced out of his script and people were listening to what he had to say. My theology would certainly be very different from this young man and also my method of evangelism but there is a similarity in that we both attempt to proclaim something in our own way and I am very willing to give him credit for having more gumption. Unlike the Glen Beck situation of the March 29th blog, one is more likely to err in softening the message than turning off listeners in a world that already either seethes with a passion against the gospel or actually applauds a "gospel" with no fallen condition therefore no need of a Saviour.