'Tis the season...
The swine flu has been getting people fired up across the world. Some here at Ohio University have found another reason to freak out- the open-air preachers!
They come every spring, yelling about hellfire, homosexuality, drunkenness and fornication (among a host of other sins) and commanding repentance. Every spring they are met with students yelling right back at them.
I'm convinced that a lot of the people who stop to listen to these guys are searching only for an argument. They fire questions at him with no interest in an answer. They are more concerned with making noise. The thing is, no matter how much either side yells at the other, no one's mind is getting changed. The "sinners," as the preachers less than affectionately call them, are put on the defensive and will not react with repentance and the preachers, if they have an authentic faith in Christ, will not be swayed from their beliefs.
True, Christ is being preached, but I seriously question the effectiveness of their evangelism. "You watch Hollywood movies, you're going to Hell" is probably not the best way to lead people to a saving faith in Christ. I'm just sayin'...
Something that gets me is that even when these guys preach about grace, they sound so angry. How can you be angry when you're talking about grace?!?
Colossians 4:5-7 says, "Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your words be full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."
Salt is used to season food, to make it taste better, right? I think these guys could use their salt much more effectively.
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