Comments on 'Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season': Street Preaching: Still effective in this culture?...

I'm in San Francisco and I can write with real aut...

2008-08-12T12:19:00.000-04:00

I'm in San Francisco and I can write with real authority that street preaching does absolutely nothing to spread the word. In fact, in a city where men dress like women amongst other thing, street preachers, and fundamentalist christians are seen as just another group of looneytunes!
In addition, people are so busy about thier daily lives they easily disregard the person carrying a sign or preaching on the street, especially when it is seen as condemnational.

Gordan,Great idea! Thanks for the advice.Tim,That'...

2007-03-29T13:59:00.000-04:00

Gordan,
Great idea! Thanks for the advice.

Tim,
That's true too. It doesn't have to be on the streets; preaching can be anywhere--Church, radio, TV, Internet. My whole point is, that dialogue, discussion, and debate, although they have their important place, are not the same as "preaching/proclamation" of the gospel as seen in the NT.

Nathan,
Amen to that also!

Amen!

2007-03-29T07:28:00.000-04:00

Amen!

Great comments, all of you. I agreed with just abo...

2007-03-29T00:16:00.000-04:00

Great comments, all of you. I agreed with just about everything.

I certainly didn't mean to imply that preaching was 'out' or that we are to pragmatically determine what is most 'effective'. I simply meant to convey what Tim expressed in his last comment: that there is a stigma with street preaching because of the fundamentalists, and we wouldn't want to offend anyone with anything but the gospel.

So, Paul became all things to all men. To the Jew, he obeyed the law. The the Gentiles, he did not place himself under the Jewish customs.

Thus, I think great discernment is needed in approaching this practice, but I certainly don't think that it should be frowned upon every time without exception. We just need to make our message CRYSTAL CLEAR, and present it in a loving and level-headed way. Amen?

There is some wisdom there Gordan. Let's define p...

2007-03-28T23:28:00.000-04:00

There is some wisdom there Gordan. Let's define preaching/proclamation. Does that mean it must come as a street preacher? If our offense must be, then let it be with he gospel, not the approach to the proclamation of the gospel.

Though I haven't done street preaching, I have don...

2007-03-28T08:28:00.000-04:00

Though I haven't done street preaching, I have done quite a bit of "public preaching," where my cohorts and I set up a make-shift chapel in a public place, like a park, and basically conducted a worship service there. Or, a local truckstop allowed us to do so right in the middle of his gift-shop on Sunday mornings.

To me, this is the better way to go. When you bring your own small "crowd" and just do your thing, then you become very difficult not to see. Tough to ignore. We had quite a few people hang around close enough to listen for a while and then finally take a seat.

In five years at the truck-stop preaching like this, we didn't even have a single instance of the sort of confrontation that the street preachers seem to feed off of.

This is just my own experience. Glean from it what you will.

BTW,In 1 Corinthians 2, I find it very interesting...

2007-03-27T11:21:00.000-04:00

BTW,

In 1 Corinthians 2, I find it very interesting that Paul, although very well studied in rhetoric, says that he purposefully rejected the culterally accepted rhetoric of the day, as a means to preach the gospel. He did not employ the pursuasive tactics in order to make it more palitable to the people.

Should we not think the same way today? Why are we trying to think about the most effective ways to preach the gospel? The power is not in our various methods, but in the gospel itself! It is impossible to make the gospel more effective by empolying different means.

Paul did not try to come up with neat ways to deliver the gospel, so that more people would be receptive to it. He just preached the gospel. Let us do the same, wherever it may be!

Question: "Is street preaching still an effective ...

2007-03-27T10:36:00.000-04:00

Question: "Is street preaching still an effective means for sharing/preaching the gospel?"

Answer: It is, if we still believe that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation.

Of course street preaching is effective! Anytime the true gospel is preached, it is effective--that is, if we believe the Bible! God has ordained the PREACHING of the gospel to save them that believe. I take the word, "preaching" very literally. Although there is a place for discussion, debate, and other means, God has especially ordained the "preaching/proclamation" of the gospel.

If we truly believe in the sovereignty of God in salvation, then we ought not to pragmatically weigh its legitimacy by the results it brings. Our goal is not to bring people to church, or see people make decisions. Let the Arminians do that. Our goal is to bring God great glory by exposing the glorious, unadulterated truth of the gospel of Christ to the ears of unbelievers.

God gets great glory when people hear the gospel, because it will do either of the following: furthur their condemnation or further their salvation.

As other have said already, it is imperative that holy men be filled with the Spirit of God to preach the true gospel.

I tend to agree with MDM: ie. if it is Spirit led...

2007-03-27T07:23:00.000-04:00

I tend to agree with MDM: ie. if it is Spirit led.

However, most would tie street preaching to the apostle Paul on Mars Hill. But we must remember that was the arena where ideas were presented, so it was not the venue that street preachers use today. Today it would be via media, books, talk radio and in personal relationships. But we all know that conversations regarding the gospel can also occur with a complete stranger. In all of these areas, we must remember that God's Word will not return void, BUT WILL ACCOMPLISH WHAT IT IS SENT FORTH TO DO.

"Is street preaching still an effective means for ...

2007-03-27T00:43:00.000-04:00

"Is street preaching still an effective means for sharing/preaching the gospel?"

I guess my answer to this and the subsequent questions would be a resounding "It depends."

If the street preacher is truly being led by the Spirit into that form of ministry then it will absolutely be effective. Possibly not measurable from the point of view of the flesh but the Lord works everything for His own Glory. It is the Spirit of the Lord and not the street preacher who brings a new soul into the fold no matter the eloquence of the street preacher involved.

That said, without the Spirit leading the way, directing the Believer, and quickening the heart of the unbeliever no form of ministry will yield real fruit.

MDM

I read this blog of a street preacher from time to...

2007-03-26T23:07:00.000-04:00

I read this blog of a street preacher from time to time. In the 7-8 years of street preaching and coming into contact with thousands upon thousands of people, the number of souls he's been able to bring into his church is about nil. His signs generally just contain Scripture verses and, although he's not the most charismatic or caring personality, he's not a shouter either. He does tend to be confrontational in his approach, however.

There's something very intimidating about carrying signs, whatever is on it. Even if the signs are generally harmless, they seem to be designed to bring more attention to the person carrying them than the words themselves. Of course, the statement is even more powerful when they contain something like "Thank God for Hurricane Katrina" or some other such nonsense.

Just my 2 cents.

- James