Seems Like "Christians" are the worst hinderance...

[Guy4God]

I do street evangelism on Fridays and/or Saturday nights down in Santa Monica, CA and it is awesome and incredible to see God's grace and mercy fall on some, and His sovereign conviction of sin fall on others.

Understand that what we do is have a mic set-up for people to debate with the main minsirty leader (used to be WOTM, but Kirk and Ray left it to him; Luis). Luis will challenge people ala Acts 17 style, and Elijah/Mt. Carmel fashion. It is charged and exciting, people get angry, others will break and cry when faced with the Truth of the Gospel...it is a new night every time. Incredible! While this is all going on, myself and several others cruise through the crowd (sometimes up to 150 people at any given point) and simply strike up conversations, one-on-one, with those who are lingering and often we are spiritually led to some folks. This is where the real deep ministry happens.

Anyway, something that I have really noticed as becoming a bigger and bigger issue is when so-called "christians" come up and start arguing about what we are doing. Friday night this one gal just went into a tirade about how unloving everyone is and how we are offending people and turning them away from Christ, etc. This she was doing on the debate mic. Luis simply challenged her with a few questions and she just about lost it in tears...he asked her,

1) What is the Great Commission...to which she replied, "I don't know, why don't you tell me..."

2) What is the Gospel...to which she replied, "well...Jesus taught peace..." He asked her several times to define the Gospel and she side-stepped it every time with the same rhetoric.

to which Luis replied...

3) What would you like me to do? How would you like me to share the Gospel with the lost?

This is when she really just broke down, crying...saying he was hateful, "how dare you impose your interpretation of the Bible on people who were raised in other religions and that's all they know...how can you tell them they are going to hell, etc.

Here's the thing...she was not a false believer, I believe that she was a Christian, albeit and very misled and immature one. But it just really made me think...what is wrong with people in the CHurch today? Surely Jesus has to be coming soon or there no longer be anyone preaching the Gospel, and those of us who do will be persecuted by the "church" more than to wicked. Just wanted to get some thoughts, insights, etc., from you all who are evangelism minded.

[Ulua]

Since you mention WOTM, perhaps all you have to do is reference the basic course, Lesson 6, where Ray talks about the breaking of the second commandment. It sounds like the person has created a god within her mind. She has reshaped God in her own image - a god with whom she feels comfortable...

The God of the Bible is holy and just, and will by no means clear the guilty. God is merciful, however, and extends His forgiveness to all who repent and trust in His Son, Jesus Christ.

[jean]

We must expect this.Jesus exprienced it,remember JUDAS?who murmur that the perfume put by magdalene to his feet is better to be sold and in HYPOCRISY,better be given to the poor?

We notice also that in church history it is the christians
also who detroyed the faith of some,and thought another gospel,different from what Jesus teaching is.

In the parable of the sower and the weeds,after sowing seeds as Jesus returns,the angel and Jesus talking,saw that weeds also grow along side the wheat.But were not allowed by Jesus to be reaped right away,but is rather made to stay and wait upon judgement to be burned.

I do street evangelism on Fridays and/or Saturday nights down in Santa Monica, CA and it is awesome and incredible to see God's grace and mercy fall on some, and His sovereign conviction of sin fall on others.

Understand that what we do is have a mic set-up for people to debate with the main minsirty leader (used to be WOTM, but Kirk and Ray left it to him; Luis). Luis will challenge people ala Acts 17 style, and Elijah/Mt. Carmel fashion. It is charged and exciting, people get angry, others will break and cry when faced with the Truth of the Gospel...it is a new night every time. Incredible! While this is all going on, myself and several others cruise through the crowd (sometimes up to 150 people at any given point) and simply strike up conversations, one-on-one, with those who are lingering and often we are spiritually led to some folks. This is where the real deep ministry happens.

Anyway, something that I have really noticed as becoming a bigger and bigger issue is when so-called "christians" come up and start arguing about what we are doing. Friday night this one gal just went into a tirade about how unloving everyone is and how we are offending people and turning them away from Christ, etc. This she was doing on the debate mic. Luis simply challenged her with a few questions and she just about lost it in tears...he asked her,

1) What is the Great Commission...to which she replied, "I don't know, why don't you tell me..."

2) What is the Gospel...to which she replied, "well...Jesus taught peace..." He asked her several times to define the Gospel and she side-stepped it every time with the same rhetoric.

to which Luis replied...

3) What would you like me to do? How would you like me to share the Gospel with the lost?

This is when she really just broke down, crying...saying he was hateful, "how dare you impose your interpretation of the Bible on people who were raised in other religions and that's all they know...how can you tell them they are going to hell, etc.

Here's the thing...she was not a false believer, I believe that she was a Christian, albeit and very misled and immature one. But it just really made me think...what is wrong with people in the CHurch today? Surely Jesus has to be coming soon or there no longer be anyone preaching the Gospel, and those of us who do will be persecuted by the "church" more than to wicked. Just wanted to get some thoughts, insights, etc., from you all who are evangelism minded.

[HeIsEnough]

Here's the thing...she was not a false believer, I believe that she was a Christian, albeit and very misled and immature one. But it just really made me think...what is wrong with people in the CHurch today? Surely Jesus has to be coming soon or there no longer be anyone preaching the Gospel, and those of us who do will be persecuted by the "church" more than to wicked. Just wanted to get some thoughts, insights, etc., from you all who are evangelism minded.

Oh I don't know about all that. There are lots of people preaching the gospel. Thinking you're the only ones has some bad effects. For your own sake, try not to go there...

[Glory in print]

I do street evangelism on Fridays and/or Saturday nights down in Santa Monica, CA and it is awesome and incredible to see God's grace and mercy fall on some, and His sovereign conviction of sin fall on others.

Understand that what we do is have a mic set-up for people to debate with the main minsirty leader (used to be WOTM, but Kirk and Ray left it to him; Luis). Luis will challenge people ala Acts 17 style, and Elijah/Mt. Carmel fashion. It is charged and exciting, people get angry, others will break and cry when faced with the Truth of the Gospel...it is a new night every time. Incredible! While this is all going on, myself and several others cruise through the crowd (sometimes up to 150 people at any given point) and simply strike up conversations, one-on-one, with those who are lingering and often we are spiritually led to some folks. This is where the real deep ministry happens.

Anyway, something that I have really noticed as becoming a bigger and bigger issue is when so-called "christians" come up and start arguing about what we are doing. Friday night this one gal just went into a tirade about how unloving everyone is and how we are offending people and turning them away from Christ, etc. This she was doing on the debate mic. Luis simply challenged her with a few questions and she just about lost it in tears...he asked her,

1) What is the Great Commission...to which she replied, "I don't know, why don't you tell me..."

2) What is the Gospel...to which she replied, "well...Jesus taught peace..." He asked her several times to define the Gospel and she side-stepped it every time with the same rhetoric.

to which Luis replied...

3) What would you like me to do? How would you like me to share the Gospel with the lost?

This is when she really just broke down, crying...saying he was hateful, "how dare you impose your interpretation of the Bible on people who were raised in other religions and that's all they know...how can you tell them they are going to hell, etc.

Here's the thing...she was not a false believer, I believe that she was a Christian, albeit and very misled and immature one. But it just really made me think...what is wrong with people in the CHurch today? Surely Jesus has to be coming soon or there no longer be anyone preaching the Gospel, and those of us who do will be persecuted by the "church" more than to wicked. Just wanted to get some thoughts, insights, etc., from you all who are evangelism minded.

I have met Christians like the one you described...Its very annoying when you are witnessing to a non believer telling them the full counsel of God, then have someone who says there Christian say that you are turning people away by telling them the truth...I had someone who I also believe was a real Christian tell me not to mention the negative things like Gods judgment, the healthy fear of God, hell , repentance, but only tell sinners about the love of God, that person told me that I should not try to get people to fear God...I rebuked that person, and said the scriptures says that the fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom..And I also asked them if Jesus ever mentioned things like repentance, and hell, the person had nothing to say after that...

[Guy4God]

"those of us" means all those, myself included, who are preaching the Gospel. I would never presume that I am the only one still doing it...of course the laborers are few, but I am blessed to know that many are fighting the good fight.

I guess when you come down to it, a lot of folks (christian and non) just want the "No Justice, All Peace" Jesus. I think I am going to bring a bag of cottonballs with me and everytime I hear someone lament about how Jesus only taught love and peace, I am going to give them one. Jesus Cottontail...nice fluffy, cottontail Jesus...

[seeHimsoon]

Hey Guy, Just wanted to say hi from up here (SF area) and say that I hear you. My friends (that I have gone out with on the street Fri and Sat's) and I have also experienced supposed or actual (?) Christians coming up to us when we are preaching the full gospel (wotm style) or sharing the gospel 1 on 1, and rebuking and criticizing us for being "like that", etc. It is bewildering. I think some are not true but false Christians, some are ashamed of the gospel, and some, like the gal in your story, are likely very much influenced by the mantra of our culture which incessantly preaches the gospel of the one world religion ("kumbaya, world peace, we are all one, we are the Earth" etc). This false gospel of universalism (all paths lead to god etc) is shoved down everyone's throats and is a huge part of the spiritual war we are in. The forces of darkness which disperse this paradigm come into the church or 'Christian culture' and disseminate this new religion. It is taught in all the secular schools & liberal Christian schools.
A war for the mind. She is probably hearing all this in college. There is a huge movement by the New Agers (the New Spirituality) to "transform" Christians into believing the New Age paradigm (the belief that she was expressing). They may need to hear the true gospel. I have personally experienced serious discouragement from evangelism and teaching/proclaiming the actual, real gospel, and other truth (fear of God etc). In church! By leaders!(a while back...) She may be a true Christian in a "happy- fluffy" church where it is only the positive, inspiring things that are taught and none of the uncomfortable, negative sounding truth that is in the Bible. These "easy" churches do not necessarily teach false teaching- they do teach Bible- But! they leave out a lot of stuff- never teach all the other stuff that is also God's Word. They discourage evangelism and tell the people to "Bring them ("seekers") in to the church building, and get them plugged in" - that is supposed to be the evangelism. Actually sharing the actual gospel is not only discouraged, but seen as "inappropriate". There are several articles on this situation here at this site, fwiw,
you can go to the "featured posts" about this subject.
http://witnessingencouragement.wordpress.com/
I'll also send you links to some articles in your mail box- hopefully you will not feel alone or bewildered because there are other believers who have also been dealing with just this issue. My thoughts for you are to 1. gently educate your uninformed Christian detractors of what the Bible teaches about the command to preach and declare (tell) the gospel, as well as what the gospel actually is. 2. Continue on, brotha, preaching it, in love, respectfully, in Spirit and in Truth, and do not stop.

[HeIsEnough]

but I am blessed to know that many are fighting the good fight.

More then we know. It is far better to just do. Then, let the chips fall where they may. You see the danger in what I said, and that is enough. Its meant for us and what we allow to ponder in our heart. It is that important for us on a personal level, imo.