Fun at the Dentist’s Office

If you’re anything like me even the thought of the dentist’s office is enough to make your stomach turn, and your brow sweat…no…OK…it’ just me then… really I’m bad. Even your standard cleaning appointment is enough to make me white knuckled in the chair. I hate the dentist’s office! The one positive is that everyone there is pretty cool.

Well Thursday I had my 6 month check-up…about 2 years, late (but that’s beside the point) and they were running late. I sat in the waiting room for a half an hour before they even called me back. Then after 16 or so x-rays gagging on the film that they cram into your mouth, my hygienist scraped and polished my teeth…what fun! As she had both hands in my mouth she asked your standard “chit-chat” questions like “what do you do for a living?” How old are your kids?” and in between mouthfuls of sharp metal hooks I was able to tell her about school, and my desire to go into the ministry. She continued scraping and prodding and polishing, and humming to herself between questions, and in a few very long minutes I was done. So I thought…

After the cleaning the Dentist is supposed to come in and look at the x-rays, and inspect my mouth, and give me the future game plan, but he was in the middle of a procedure, so we had to wait…and wait…but anyways. My hygienist asked me why I was going into the ministry, and that allowed me to explain to her my testimony about getting saved in September of 2000. After I gave her my testimony she asked, what made me come to decision to be saved! Wow! My hygienist opened the door for me to witness to her for over a half an hour! It was fantastic! I was able to share with her my love for Jesus, and His love for me. We talked about sin, and the cross, and salvation. Glory to God!

Here is the part where I’d love to tell you that she saw her need for the Saviour, and we both bowed at the dentist chair and prayer, but that’s not what happened. All I know is that I was able to do what the Lord commanded us to do. I’ve been reminded many times. It’s not my job to win them, it’s my job to tell them, the rest is in God’s hands.

I wonder what (if any) questions popped in her mind after I left? I wonder if she has thought about what I said?

Thank God, I probably need a root canal, and some teeth fixed so I will be able to see her again pretty soon, and maybe have further opportunity. Pray for Maria! Now if you don’t mind I’m going to go and cry and tremble in fear that I may need a root canal.

The Sixth Love Language

I just wanted to quickly share with you about the "sixth" Love Language - Food!

I LOVE my wife, and she loves me. One of the ways she demonstrates this is having me come home to this. This my friends is Aussi Chicken, a copycat recipe of Outback Steakhouse's Alice Springs Chicken. It's cooked in a honey mustard sauce topped with bacon (and bacon only makes things better) and then smothered with colby jack cheese, and garnished with green onions. Yes, She loves me! All this after taking care of the house that all eight of us live in, and doing the laundry for all eight of us, homeschooling two kids with an infant crawling around trying (like it's treasure) to get into the toilet, or into the dog dish. What a woman!

I appreciate my wife. She is better by far than I deserve, and I after dinner I spoke to her in the sixth "female" love language - Dishes! ...take note men.

Memoirs of Black Friday Blitz 07’

I don’t even think the leftovers had a chance to chill in the fridge and the alarm was going off. It was 2:45am which is a painful time for your alarm to go off, but even more so when your 8 month old keeps you up until 12:45am… kids are so cute….(when they are sleeping!) Anyways, I was up and out the door by 3am and ready to head out and face the greatest shopping day of all year…

If you’re shaking your head in disbelief thinking that’s too early to shop, I agree! We were heading out for our second annual Black Friday Blitz. As hundreds upon hundreds of people line up to wait for the doors of their favorite store to open up, we sow the seed of the Gospel with Little Red Books and a smile. If you’re shaking your head saying that’s too early to go out tracting, Shame on you! People trying to get their hands on earthly treasures were out far earlier!

Anyways…

3am - I drove to Tim Horton’s and found to my great dismay that they had yet to reopen after their Thanksgiving break… Didn’t they know we’d all be up way too early? Anyways I drove to Hess for a Cappuccino, and did a quick drive through the Super Wal-Mart parking lot to see if my prediction was true…Sure enough about 30 people lined up in the cold, and snow with only 2 more hours to go before the doors opened.

3:15 - I drove the Tim’s house and we caravanned to Kohl’s to see a beautiful sight of about 200 people lined up ready to shop. We loaded up with tracts and together handed out about 150 before 4am. People were very nice for waiting in line since 1am and most people took the tracts with a smile.

4am – Tim and I arrived at Church to meet Derek, and wait to see how many responded to my request for soldiers. Aaron showed up to pick up some tracts, and even though he wasn’t going out with us and had to go to work he passed out about 250+ out at the Henrietta Toys-R-Us. Praise the Lord! Alex and Peter showed up, and then Rachel, Christina, Jordan, their cousin, and Kim, and we were set to go.

4:30am – Sent out the teams. Kim took Rachel, Christina, Jordan, and their cousin to cover Wal-Mart, Sam’s and Office Max. Alex and Derek went to Toys-R-Us, and Peter, Tim, and I went to Best Buy.

4:45am – Tim, Peter, and I arrived at Best Buy to see tons and tons of people lined up almost to K-Mart. It was wonderful! The cops were there to keep the crazy shoppers under control, the Best Buy guys were out there pleading with the people to be civil and try to not kill each other…it was a sight to behold. I went up to the front of the line and started wishing people a Happy Holidays, and putting a tract in their hand. People were pretty tame, but all of a sudden I hit an area of people that already had tracts. It was the Mission’s Pastor from another church, Charlie. Amen! He was going shopping, but he brought tracts with him! If only the many other brethren I met in line had done the same.

Anyways…

We finished off tracting the line, and moved on to Circuit City. Alex and Derek had finished Toys-R-Us, and the other group had covered their stores. We all headed to the mall, and covered Circuit City, and left to head back to K-Mart. Kim, Rachel, Christina, Jordan, and their cousin stayed to cover the growing line at Target.

5:30am – We all met up at Denny’s for some breakfast and fellowship. In all there were more than 1000 tracts passed out before breakfast. All Glory and Praise to God, it was a wonderful morning!

Some Concluding Notes:

Timing is everything! We missed the first line at Circuit City because we were a few minutes late. That may have represented over 300 tracts

Next year we meet somewhere with a bathroom before we go out. Old church parking lot may be strategically ideal, but Hess has a toilet!

If people had committed ahead of time we could have covered more ground. Apparently the words “Please…no seriously, Please respond and let me know if you can come” just doesn’t have enough umph!

Best Rejection Line: “Oh No, get that thing away from me” said a female in the line at Circuit City, as if the Gospel tract was a pit-bull with AIDS.

If you are a Christian and a brother tries to hand you a Gospel tract, just take it, and say thank you! Please don’t refuse it and try explaining to me that you are already a Christian, JUST TAKE IT! People who pass out tracts will all agree as soon as you get someone who refuses a tract, you get about 10 more who will not take one. TAKE THE TRACT, AND EXCLAIM “WOW I REALLY NEED THIS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR CARING ABOUT MY SOUL!” You will do more for the cause than if you say no, and then you will have an extra tract to pass out, we all win!

I never thought I’d say this…

I’m going to give Bill Hybels and the staff at Willow Creek a big thumbs up!

The guru of the “Seeker Sensitive” movement has come to the unsettling conclusion that their methods (although great for getting numbers) have utterly failed in developing people into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. Ouch! Millions and millions of dollars spent to draw seekers, and make them feel comfortable has left many growing Christians feeling unfed and stalled in their walk with God. Worse yet, hundreds and hundreds of churches that have adopted the seeker sensitive methods have been doing the same thing…so why am I giving them a big thumbs up? Because they are admitting it! They are coming out and declaring “we were wrong” and they are going about trying to fix it. Now the question is will the hundreds of churches following the Willow Creek methods change their direction?

You know this confirmed something that I have always believed about the “seeker sensitive” crowd. I believe that they truly and sincerely love Christ. It’s a matter of questioning the methods not the motives. Uzzah learned good motives do not always yield positive results. (2 Samuel 6:3-7) Sometimes we got to carry the ark God’s way even when statistics and surveys say it’s smarter to put it on a cart.

God said - For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

I’m not sure about how Willow Creek is going to go about trying to fix the problem that they have discovered, and I don’t know how much they can. This philosophy of ministry has penetrated so deep, but I’m glad they are going to try. I can’t make up for a lot of things I’ve done in the past either, but Jesus has forgiven me, and washed me clean, and allowed me to serve him still.

I pray that this is indeed the wake up call that this movement needed to get back to the Bible. Here is a link to their site that they devoted to thee findings. If you have 13 minutes to watch the video by Greg Hawkins it is worth it! http://revealnow.com

Afterthought: Hybels and Willow Creek are coming to the same conclusion that Bible Believers had been shouting since this movement began. Why is it that it took so long for them to come up to speed? Could it be because that while we were criticizing some of their new methods, we were employing others in our own churches? I don’t have an answer for that, but perhaps Bible Believers have been guilty of throwing the ark on a cart a time or two also, while preaching “carry the ark” This is a good wake up to all of our churches to get back to The Book! *

After Afterthought: When is Rick Warren and Saddleback going to come to the same conclusion?

Psalm 119:59 - I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies.

“The Book” is referring to the King James Bible

“The Book” is not referring to the following “Your Best Life Now” “Purpose Driven Church” “Purpose Driven Life” “Becoming a Contagious Christian” “Self-Esteem the New Reformation” “Beyond Church Growth” ect…

This Isn't What It Looks Like

NO, NO, NO, We do NOT Celebrate Halloween in this Family! I know a few of you guys just have written me off as a backslidder, Two Baseball post, and now this? NO, I want to be clear my family does not celebrate Halloween...We just carved these to scare off wandering spirits.

OK, now that I've lost most of my readers, please forgive the sarcasm. We sell Pumpkins, so of course my girls were just dying to have Daddy carve them, and Daddy caved. Well, it's not that I caved, but I decided that we were going to carve pumpkins this year. We have never done it, because as a family we do not celebrate Halloween. We don't...really I just wanted to roast the seeds...you had to know it had to do with food, right?

Really I'm not for Halloween, and I know plenty of reasons not to celebrate it...I even know there are some good reasons not to carve jack-o-lanterns, that's why I just carved a silly face into a pumpkin, It was just a special time for Daddy and His girls, and it made a cute photo.

Weeping may endure for a night

...but joy cometh in the morning!

That is, when you wake up and hear the Yankees lost again! Hahaha, I knew the post-season wouldn't be a total waste. Indians leading the series 2-0 , and with Thursdays score 12-3 you would have thought that they had Glavin pitching! My favorite is A-Rod, You can always depend on him doing that thing he does during playoffs (see above picture)

Oh I know it's wrong to get so much joy out of this, but it will only be for a little while...besides, it's not like most of my readers are so spiritual that they don't like this stuff. Ghetto Chicken probably canceled his HBS to watch his beloved : ) just kidding!

I know, I know "it aint over till it's over" but with my Mets out, I only have the simple joy of knowing the Yankees are losing.

Bad Mets, No Playoffs!

We interupt this normally spirit filled, Christ-centered, edifying blog to bring you todays sad, sad news...The New York Mets season has come to a horrible and painful end.

The Florida Marlins destroyed the Mets in an 8-1 blowout crushing thier playoff dreams, and my dreams of sitting on the couch watching the post-season with my beautiful wife. I love to hear her root against whoever the Mets are playing. She's sooo cute when she yells at the TV with me. (secretly I know she doesn't care, but she pretends to because she knows I like it)

Well...there's always the Yankee's to root against.

Anyhow I know that none of my five readers care about this stuff. They are all far to spiritual to watch any sports. They could care less about this stuff, but I had to pout a little.

In all reality I don't care all that much. I have way too much work, homework, lesson prep, sermon prep, daddy stuff, hubby stuff, ect... to care all that much. I actually think it may be the Lord's way of making sure I don't get to distracted this semester.

OK...I'm done! Forgive me for such an unspiritual post, I will try to be more edifying with the next post. Oh did I mention there's still the Yankee's to root against?

Just Some Family Pictures

Daddy and Jut-Jut

We are some happy guys!

Justin - My Little Man or Baby Jut

I think he's praying right there.

Grace - My Gracie Bear

Odd picture I know! I think it was an advertisment for boxer puppies : )

Taylor - My Little Taytor Bug
Is that not the cutest smile?

OK so in my laziness I decided just to post pictures of my family. I see all these other blogs with family pictures, and I was feeling left out. I'd put pictures of my beautiful wife up there, but she's always the one taking the picture, and therefore we never have any pictures of her.

Chinese Pizza

Ever wonder why they have pizza at the Chinese Buffet?

That’s easy, to get more people to come and eat there…

I don’t know about your kids, but you set Moo Shu Pork in front to your average five year old and they will turn their nose up like it was lima beans, on the other hand you set pizza in front of them and they will scarf it down like it was going to be a while before they get their next meal. Chinese restaurants know this, and that’s why you’ll always see Pizza on the buffet table.

Mom and Dad may want Chinese food, but since the kiddies won’t eat that, the Chinese folk bring stuff into their restaurant that really doesn’t belong. Pizza for those of you who don’t know is not Chinese, but lots of people like it.

Good strategy right?

I mean it’s not like Pizza is wrong or anything, its just food. It’s not Anti-Chinese, it’s just Not-Chinese. It may confuse people when they are reaching for their Fried Won Tons to see a Pizza sitting next to the Egg Rolls, but they get over it pretty soon. I mean they don’t have to eat it; they can eat their Sesame Chicken and allow the less discerning palettes eat the Pizza, all are happy.

Sounds like a good strategy to me…

Let’s say though that this Chinese restaurant is really starting to generate business. Lots of Moms and Dads bringing their families so that they can eat Kung Pow Chicken and the kiddies can fill up on Pizza, and every once in a while Dad grabs a slice too.

That works right?

Now Mom wants some Chinese, but Dad’s in the mood for some Pizza, where can they all go to get what they want? You got it, the Chinese Buffet! Now the Chinese Restaurant is selling so much Pizza that they need to get rid of some of the Chinese Food to make room for all the different Pizzas that they are selling. Everyone’s happy now!

The Chinese Restaurant is always busy and more and more people are coming to try the Peaking Duck, but hey, if they don’t like it, no problem, they just grab a slice of Pizza and all is well. New Pizzas are being introduced to the Buffet, and more Chinese Menu items are being removed to make way for the different Pizza types. Now it’s not just the kids eating the pizza, Moms and Dads are eating it too. (With their Chinese food of course)

Now what would you think about this strategy if over time more and more people started coming to the Chinese Buffet for Pizza, and less and less were coming for the Chinese Food, I mean people are still coming right?

Still more and different Pizzas are added, and more Chinese items are removed, but the people keep coming, the problem is they aren’t coming to the Chinese restaurant for Chinese Food anymore; they are coming for something that really didn’t belong there in the first place. They want Pizza!

Is that really a good strategy? Perhaps, I mean lots of people are coming, but lets not fool ourselves, at that point it’s not a Chinese Buffet that serves a little Pizza…It’s a Pizza Buffet that serves a little Chinese, which is fine…

Unless you really want some good authentic Chinese food!

I need your prayers… I think I have breathed my last relaxed breath for the next several weeks. Sunday I started my new role as fifth and sixth grade Sunday school teacher, This Friday I begin to lead a new home Bible study out here in Brockport, Institute begins next Monday, and I am taking four classes (Greek III, Church History, Life of Christ, and Daniel) which wouldn’t be so bad if one wasn’t Greek III and another wasn’t Church History. We will be hitting the streets Saturdays and the nursing home on the third Sunday evening, all while trying to work 40+ hours a week, be a good husband, and a good daddy...Ok let me clarify...I do need your prayers, but more to the point, I NEED GOD! I really see no way of doing this well, except by the grace of God, and the prayers of others, so even if you accidentally stumbled across my blog please pray!

I was reading “The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit” by R A Torrey and he was comparing the Spirit to the wind. "The wind bloweth where it listeth" John 3:8

Torrey says “While you cannot dictate the wind while it blows as it will, you may learn the laws that govern the winds motions. By bringing yourself into harmony with these laws, you can get the wind to do your work. You can erect a windmill and so that whichever way the wind blows from, the wheels will turn and the wind will grind your grain or pump your water. Just so, while we cannot dictate to the Holy Spirit, we can learn the laws of His operations. By bringing ourselves into harmony with those laws, above all by submitting out wills absolutely to His sovereign will, the sovereign Spirit of God will work through us to accomplish His own glorious work by our instrumentality.”

I find comfort in Torrey’s words here. This semester is going to have to be a day by day attempt of harmonizing myself with the Spirit and allowing Him to work His will through me…there is no other way to do it. I think this may be one of God’s ways of getting me desperate…that seems to be the way He works best, not because He needs it that way, but because in our arrogance and self-sufficiency it’s the way we allow Him to work best through us. It seems to be we strive less when we don't have anything left in ourselves.

So…( (holding a delicious cup of black coffee high into the air) Here’s to another semester of too much to do, not enough time to do it, and a great God that can accomplish great things regardless of the circumstances.

2 Corinthians 12:9 - And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

A Little Something to Chew On

Sorry, I've been insane the past few, and have not had the diligence to post, but here's a little something to chew on from A W Tozer, as you read it, remember that it was written in 1966...and yet, it's as fresh and relevant as could be.

The Old Cross and the New - A W Tozer

ALL UNANNOUNCED AND MOSTLY UNDETECTED there has come in modern times a new cross into popular evangelical circles. It is like the old cross, but different: the likenesses are superficial; the differences, fundamental.

From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life, and from that new philosophy has come a new evangelical technique-a new type of meeting and a new kind of preaching. This new evangelism employs the same language as the old, but its content is not the same and its emphasis not as before.

The old cross would have no truck with the world. For Adam's proud flesh it meant the end of the journey. It carried into effect the sentence imposed by the law of Sinai. The new cross is not opposed to the human race; rather, it is a friendly pal and, if understood aright, it is the source of oceans of good clean fun and innocent enjoyment. It lets Adam live without interference. His life motivation is unchanged; he still lives for his own pleasure, only now he takes delight in singing choruses and watching religious movies instead of singing bawdy songs and drinking hard liquor. The accent is still on enjoyment, though the fun is now on a higher plane morally if not intellectually.

The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist does not demand abnegation of the old life before a new life can be received. He preaches not contrasts but similarities. He seeks to key into public interest by showing that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers the same thing the world does, only on a higher level. Whatever the sin-mad world happens to be clamoring after at the moment is cleverly shown to be the very thing the gospel offers, only the religious product is better.

The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner and jollier way of living and saves his self-respect. To the self-assertive it says, "Come and assert yourself for Christ." To the egotist it says, "Come and do your boasting in the Lord." To the thrill seeker it says, "Come and enjoy the thrill of Christian fellowship." The Christian message is slanted in the direction of the current vogue in order to make it acceptable to the public.

The philosophy back of this kind of thing may be sincere but its sincerity does not save it from being false. It is false because it is blind. It misses completely the whole meaning of the cross.
The old cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. The man in Roman times who took up his cross and started down the road had already said good-by to his friends. He was not coming back. He was going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromise, modified nothing, spared nothing; it slew all of the man, completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no more.

The race of Adam is under death sentence. There is no commutation and no escape. God cannot approve any of the fruits of sin, however innocent they may appear or beautiful to the eyes of men. God salvages the individual by liquidating him and then raising him again to newness of life.

That evangelism which draws friendly parallels between the ways of God and the ways of men is false to the Bible and cruel to the souls of its hearers. The faith of Christ does not parallel the world, it intersects it. In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a higher plane; we leave it at the cross. The corn of wheat must fall into the ground and die.

We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.

God offers life, but not an improved old life. The life He offers is life out of death. It stands always on the far side of the cross. Whoever would possess it must pass under the rod. He must repudiate himself and concur in God's just sentence against him.

What does this mean to the individual, the condemned man who would find life in Christ Jesus? How can this theology be translated into life? Simply, he must repent and believe. He must forsake his sins and then go on to forsake himself. Let him cover nothing, defend nothing, excuse nothing. Let him not seek to make terms with God, but let him bow his head before the stroke of God's stern displeasure and acknowledge himself worthy to die.

Having done this let him gaze with simple trust upon the risen Saviour, and from Him will come life and rebirth and cleansing and power. The cross that ended the earthly life of Jesus now puts an end to the sinner; and the power that raised Christ from the dead now raises him to a new life along with Christ.

To any who may object to this or count it merely a narrow and private view of truth, let me say God has set His hallmark of approval upon this message from Paul's day to the present. Whether stated in these exact words or not, this has been the content of all preaching that has brought life and power to the world through the centuries. The mystics, the reformers, the revivalists have put their emphasis here, and signs and wonders and mighty operations of the Holy Ghost gave witness to God's approval.

Dare we, the heirs of such a legacy of power, tamper with the truth? Dare we with our stubby pencils erase the lines of the blueprint or alter the pattern shown us in the Mount? May God forbid. Let us preach the old cross and we will know the old power. (A. W. Tozer, Man, the Dwelling Place of God, 1966)

"From the Hip"

1 Peter 3:15 - But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

One of the most intimidating aspects (for me) when witnessing is not knowing what question I will be asked. I know that may sound silly, but when you get caught off-guard with a question you can stumble around and lose the opportunity that’s in front of you.

How well can you answer spiritual questions “from the hip”? I mean when someone asks you a spiritual question, can you give a biblical answer…even if your Bible isn’t handy, and you can’t do a word search? Can you answer?

There are people who have questions, and are looking to see if we have answers. I recently talked to an old friend Carl and when he saw that I was reading my Bible he started asking questions that I know have been bothering him for some time. For example: He asked “How can you believe that God literally created the world in a week?”

How would you answer?

Would you just say “Because the Bible says so!”? I mean, that’s good enough for me, but for someone who has no faith in the Bible? His question led into a very good opportunity to explain some of the evidence, and myths that he had been taught. He asked about the dinosaurs, and I got to show him Behemoth in the book of Job, He was astonished!

I say all this to ask my readers (all 5 of them) what questions you have been asked that may have caught you off-guard, or what questions would you predict someone asking in a spiritual conversation. I would like to hear (or read) them so I can examine my preparedness to answer. My idea is to take some questions and try and give my “off the top of my head” answer as if I was answering someone out on the street, and post them so you can in turn criticize me, I mean to make me better not to damage my fragile little emotions : )

So anyways….it’s a cheap way to get comments and material for future blog posts all in one…not bad huh?

Another Step Toward Ecumenicalism

Anyone see this coming?

Dutch bishop: Call God 'Allah' to ease relations

Roman Catholic leader stokes already heated debate on religion

AMSTERDAM - A Roman Catholic Bishop in the Netherlands has proposed people of all faiths refer to God as Allah to foster understanding, stoking an already heated debate on religious tolerance in a country with one million Muslims.

Bishop Tiny Muskens, from the southern diocese of Breda, told Dutch television on Monday that God did not mind what he was named and that in Indonesia, where Muskens spent eight years, priests used the word "Allah" while celebrating Mass.

"Allah is a very beautiful word for God. Shouldn't we all say that from now on we will name God Allah? ... What does God care what we call him? It is our problem."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20279326/?GT1=10252

My Public Apology

Greetings,

First – I would like to publicly apologize for the biggest mistake I made in sending out “My Plea to the Street Preachers”, and that was using an “open cc”. Never in a million years did I think that it would have had everyone questioning why they were on the list, or why so-and-so was on the list. I was wrong, and if I sent it out again I would have used a “blind cc”.

To answer why you were on the list you only need to look at the following link http://www.preachtruth.org/fellowlabors.html after meeting Larry Keffer I visited his website, and found this link from there. The others that were on this list are people I know, sites that I had visited in the past, or people who I have looked up to in regards to street ministry. It really was not personal, I just looked for the active street preachers, and your names came up.

Second – I would like to publicly apologize to anyone who either was offended or felt targeted on this list. I got many positive replies sent to me, but as many of you have read, I received a certain amount of replies that were less than favorable. Many viewed this as a public rebuke, and I want to clarify that, that was never my intention. I viewed it sort of like a sermon, you preach and hope to encourage as well as challenge. I did not follow the outline in Matthew 18 as many of you pointed out, and here was my reason why…

Matthew 18: 15-17
15: Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16: But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17: And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

I did not feel that anyone had trespassed against me. I was not personally offended by anyone. I did not feel as that this was dealing with sin in the body, but rather methods in a movement. Not one of us would agree with Bill Hybel’s methods of ministry, and some of us have even preached against such drivel, but we do not go to him personally because he is not trespassing against us personally. We criticize the methods of the emergent church, as we should, but have any of us sat down with Rob Bell or Brian McLaren?

Third – I’d like to publicly apologize for any sarcasm I used in my replies to any of you. I got in the flesh with a few responses, and I was wrong. I wrote most of my replies with a smile, but tone is rarely conveyed correctly through e-mail.

Fourth – I’d like to publicly apologize for the barrage of e-mails many of you have received because of being on my “open” cc list, again this was a mistake on my part, and I am sorry for bringing you all into this.

Fifth – I’d like to publicly apologize for pointing out the motes in my brother’s eye, and neglecting the beam in my own. If I failed to act biblically in sending out my “Plea” it would be in this area. You guys are out there all the time and have been for many years. For various reasons I am not out at all the events I’d like to be, and I do not face the same crowds as you. I do not know how I would react, only how I would like to.

Finally - I would like to close by saying that what I do not regret is opening up the dialog. I think I learned from this, and have been profited by the whole ordeal. I regret upsetting people, and looking divided.

I still believe that calling people names out of spite is wrong, (even if it’s a name used in the Bible), but I will not pretend that I know your motives, and I will make it a point to always try and assume the best.

I still believe that intentionally provoking the police is wrong in regards to Romans 13, but I will try and always assume that when I see this you are obeying God rather than man, and are justified. This is not said with sarcasm; I know that if we just were to roll over that eventually we’d have all our rights taken away in this arena.

I have said from the beginning that our ultimate goal is the same, to see sinners come to repentance toward God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I will do what I can to accomplish this the way the Lord has me do it, and I will pray for your ministries as you do what you can to accomplish this.

I would ask that we end the mass e-mails. If anyone would like to respond please do it in private, or limited to those you are addressing. I will only answer questions or charges that are sent to me. Also if anyone would like me to remove their e-mail off my blog, I will do so at their request.

God Bless you all, and your ministries.
In Christ, for His Glory
Shannon Young,
2 Tim 2:24-26, Eph 3:8

Wow...now my friends are getting publicly spanked.

This is from James Lyman. (see Photo) He's the one dressd up like the devil dressed up like the angel Maroni

Dave,
You do not seem very tolerant of us streetpreachers Dave.
These are not hypothetical situations, we were accused by this Shannon Young-(I have never seen him-perhaps he was off giving donuts to the Mormons or something)-of specific acts. As well, no one has answered hatefully in these letters. Why does truth sound so harsh to the soft Christians. Certainly you have been blessed by Young's repsonses-you are probably as watered down as he is.
Remember some of these men may have displayed little grace because frankly, we are tired of attacks from the "brethren" about what to say, how to say it and what to do to preach more effectively. If you or Young are around Buffalo tomorrow come on out-I would love to hear you preach to the sodomites, fornicators etc. as they are spitting at you and possibly swinging. If you are not interested in that perhaps you can bring some stuffed animals and do some trivia quizzes.

WELCOME FRIENDS

Since Bro. Ruben Israel just invited everyone to my blog to be an encouragment, I would just like to extend a hardy welcome to all first time visitors. Enjoy!

This may be what pushes me above my 5 readers...lol.

Thank You Sir May I Have Another pt. 5

After writing my "Plea to the Street Preachers" I was given godly counsel to send it out to as many street preachers that I could. I knew there was a chance that some would take it the wrong way. I am posting the responses to my plea, so we can all learn from the street preachers where the flaws in my plea were. I want to say this...everyone of these guys has been doing it longer and in more places than me. They make some good points, so I want to share the responses from those that thought I was wrong in saying what I said.

This one is from Ruben Israel again...http://www.officialstreetpreachers.com

I have been in San Francisco this past weekend working with ‘the discoverychannel’ for a film that will be ready early next year. Thursday morning Iwill be leaving for South Dakota ‘Sturgis’ for about 5 days. Withthatsaid,I had not had time to respond to a reply by Shannon Young who posted back tome in private. But since this was done with an unasked cc list, I will respond in kind when I return from S.D. For those of you that wish to view this person, click the link below.

http://shannonyoung.blogspot.com:

I think if Shannon really heard the voice of God, he should have taken thismatter a different avenue, one that supports sound Biblical teaching.

Take this offence to that brother in question.

Take witnessesThen, take before the church.

But since he has cc’ed this list, I will ‘out him’ and place Shannon on the‘hot seat’ for a cluster of questions that he needs to answer, lest his name be tainted among us.

1) Have I ever preached with you?
1a) give dates, city, location1b whom on this cc list have you preached in public with?
2) Was your information regarding the mormnons given from God, someone elseor an article?2a) IF from God, please give me details
2b) words heard, dream, feeling, etc.
3) Have you every seen anyone on your cc list call a women a ‘whore’ just because she was a sinner walking?
3a) give me the name or names.
3b) what was the context of that conversation you overheard while callingsomeone a whore.
4) Have you ever seen anyone on this list wipe their back part with a mormon garment?
4a) please give a name/names of those that have done this
4b) or who told you this happened and did this person give you a name of whohe saw, heard or read about?
4c) what city did this happen?
5) Do you believe the Father/Holy Ghost/Jesus would have someone do or saysomething that contradicts the Bible?
6) You seem to make time and find email addresses of many active preachers, please give your reason why on each name/email you chose that person
7) How long have you been preaching in public?
8) How often do you travel outside the state in which you live to preach?
9) What were the names of those ‘godly counsel’ people that encouraged youto send your email? Names please.
10) Since a person REALLY has a ‘broken heart’ that would make it easy tosay ‘I’m sorry, I made a mistake’ I put the cart way before the horse, no?

Ruben Israel

(my reply is in the comments)

Thank You Sir May I Have Another Pt. 4

After writing my "Plea to the Street Preachers" I was given godly counsel to send it out to as many street preachers that I could. I knew there was a chance that some would take it the wrong way. I am posting the responses to my plea, so we can all learn from the street preachers where the flaws in my plea were. I want to say this...everyone of these guys has been doing it longer and in more places than me. They make some good points, so I want to share the responses from those that thought I was wrong in saying what I said.

This one is from a Rochester standard - Kevin Deegan

Shannon

A number of folks on this list have wondered who you are. I see your domain is based in Rochester NY. Having preached on street corners and events in Rochester for 25 years I wonder why I nor any of our group of Street Preachers know of you. Could you introduce yourself?

Reading the responses to your plea seems it was not received as a encouragement as you intended. I am not surprised since Street Preaching is a difficult ministry at best and surely not a popular ministry within the church. Having served with many of these men for a number of years I am intimately aware of the victories and of the disappointments/struggles some of these men have endured! A number of the men I have mentored in this work have endured all manner of attacks and discouragement.

From reading your plea, I would contend that when you "heard preachers move from preaching to name calling" that would be the proper forum and the proper time to deal with the issue!

Would you agree that the scriptures give clear direction in dealing with an erring brother?
MT 18:15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

Or is your intent that there are many on this list guilty of such behavior so you went directly to verse 17?
In addition such a generic plea leaves one wondering just who on this list is the target.
I find many items in your plea, that are difficult to deal with being without specifics.
If fact such statements as "I am not trying to get anyone to tone down their message…I begging some of you to change" seem to indicate you are throwing charges about hoping that some will stick. Why wouldn't you simply send an email to the individuals that you see as the problem rather than to a list you assembled from the internet? A shotgun plea rather than specifics must scatter aspersions upon all on this list.

Since you brought this topic to this forum is your intent now to shrink from it?

Thank You Sir Can I Have Another pt. 3

After writing my "Plea to the Street Preachers" I was given godly counsel to send it out to as many street preachers that I could. I knew there was a chance that some would take it the wrong way. I am posting the responses to my plea, so we can all learn from the street preachers where the flaws in my plea were. I want to say this...everyone of these guys has been doing it longer and in more places than me. They make some good points, so I want to share the responses from those that thought I was wrong in saying what I said.

This one is from James Lyman from http://www.revivalneeded.com/

Shannon and whoever else is interested,
In response to your email I would like to add a few comments.
1. Certainly as representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ we need to examine our actions and words on the street and keep ourself in check as we preach the word.
2. Brother Ruben brings out a very valid point as to specifics regarding dates, events and individuals.
3. I am curious as to what signs and banners you think should not be lifted up. Again, please be more specific.
4. How do you suggest that we preach to the sodomites and exactly what words "do you believe" would be inappropriate. Sodomite, effeminate, female-looking, confused, wicked, pervert, ungodly, abominable-what do you think of those?
5. Regarding the Mormons, I have never seen anyone utilize the backside technique that you are speaking of but I would like to add that as a former LDS member, some may respond with the compassionate plea to "consider the real Jesus" but most have already been well-versed on the "anti's" and need a direct and straightforward approach. Regarding the Moron issue (in contrast to the word Mormon) at the Hill Cumorah this year one of the head security gentlemen inquired about one of the streetpreachers calling them morons. Certainly unless something was stated that was extremely inappropriate, I am going to defend a streetpreaching brother when dealing with a lost individual. I do not believe that I have ever called a Mormon a moron, however after being approached by this LDS leader I had to ask him the definition of a moron and then asked if someone who believed in Kolob, supernatural undergarments, eternal progression, the moon being inhabited etc. would fit that definition. Is it not "idiotic" to believe such nonsense?
6. While having never carried a toothbrush preaching, I usually am ready for a confrontation by the police. While I do not jubilantly look forward to it, I believe that being prepared is both wise and scriptural. "A prudent man forseeth the evil and hideth himself, but the simple pass on and are punished."
7. Regarding calling someone a "whore" or a "harlot" I have been , preaching on the streets for about 20 years and full time for 4 1/2 and have directly called someone by these words no more than three or four times. About the same amount, perhaps a few more times, I have stated that someone was dressed in the attire of a harlot or that a harlot 100 years ago wore more clothes than the individual was at the time. Last week in Buffalo at the rock concert, a woman, already barely dressed bent over and lifting up her dress, exposing her underclothes (which my wife stated were barely underclothes). This she did in front of young children as well as many men. I told her that she was a whore. Do you believe that was wrong? I say it was not! Again keep in mind that in preaching thousands of times publickly over the last 20 years I have only used that word directly 3-4 times. Here we have a woman exposing herself to children and men in a publick setting! Another woman opened her jacket to completely expose her bra and made every attempt to rub against me! If not for my wife "bodyguarding" me, she would have! What do you recommend in this scenario? Weeping and pleading with her to come to Christ? I say not!8. You mention the Cross of Christ being the offense and surely many times it will be. But so is preaching against sin! Should I preach only the cross and not against sin-I do not believe that would be scriptural. Also I would say it is safe to say that many were offended by Elijah's mocking in 1 Kings 18:27.9. Understanding the intention of your letter to mainly be encouraging us to "weep" "be prepared " and "preach with a broken heart" I certainly can say that we always should be as spiritually prepared as possible, and that weeping and having a broken heart is SOMETIMES and MANY TIMES a factor in our preaching. My disagreement with that statement is that at times the LORD has us go and rebuke and warn without the emotional attachment. Look at how Paul dealt with Elymas in Acts 13. There was no gospel witness, he was warning as he called him a child of the devil etc. Certainly I and most or all of the others on this list grieve much over those that we witness to and warn. My God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but there are times when we are called to just warn. I have a message called Warning and Witnessing that I preached some time ago and I would be glad to get a copy to you. Let me add also that as I began going around the country, I got more acquainted with other preachers and at times questioned their words or methods. But the Lord has taught me many lessons as I have grown. I will not always agree with every streetpreachers message, words or methods and surely many will disagree with mine. Unless they are outrageously unacceptable and I can prove from scripture that they are wrong, I will keep my mouth shut. If they were to ask my opinion I would tell them. I also need to be scriptural and go to them personally. I wonder if John the Baptist, Elijah, Stephen and Enoch would have had some differences, even disagreements, about methods and exact words each other used if they were to preach side-by-side. OR WOULD THEY HAVE RECOGNIZED THAT BECAUSE THEY WERE GOD'S MESSENGERS AND ALL ON THE SAME SIDE THEY NEEDED TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER! I leave you with these things and pray that you will take them in the right spirit.

Thank You Sir May I Have Another pt. 2

After writing my "Plea to the Street Preachers" I was given godly counsel to send it out to as many street preachers that I could. I knew there was a chance that some would take it the wrong way. I am posting the responses to my plea, so we can all learn from the street preachers where the flaws in my plea were. I want to say this...everyone of these guys has been doing it longer and in more places than me. They make some good points, so I want to share the responses from those that thought I was wrong in saying what I said.

This one is from Ron McRea from http://www.streetpreachersfellowship.com

Brother Young, "open rebuke is better than secret love", and that verse is just aaccurate towards open air evangelists as to the world. Young man, quit talking in generalities and have enough courage to point a finger at who you are talking to and tell them what is on your heart. Lay aside the liberalwritings of Sutek and Mormon newspaper reporters [I have personally preachedat SLC, and questioned every street preacher there about your false statement of street preachers wiping their backsides with their religious material, which you borrowed from the lying news reports...I have yet to find one preacher that has ever done that or saw anyone do it]...and Sutek's illustration about preacher's carrying their tooth brushes was a nameless reference to this preacher, taken out of context and cowardly applied to excuse Gerald's cowardly belief that preacher's should never go to jail forrefusing to quit preaching. Shannon, if you are going to "plea", name the person you are aiming at or just shut up until you have talked to the preacher you are referring to. You are not helping yourself, or any of us. I know a lot of the men on your Cc list, and most have proven time and againt hat they have a broken heart. But a broken heart and a contrite spirit, doesn't fake spirituality, and it doesn't dodge the person's face while pleading to everyone else about him. I agree to a large extent on some of your views, but they are easily gleaned from watching the wrong crowd, who think a loud mouth is a calling from God, and a raging countenance is zeal for the Lord. But no soldier ofthe cross fires buckshot accusations at all street preachers, when God has given you a sword. If you do not have the courage to stick the person you have described, or at least speak to them personally before you plead with everyone about their problem and you are the only one without it, you do noone a favor including yourself with a general nameless plea, howsoever humble. This old man has learned that "voluntary humility" (see Colossians2:18) and hyper zeal are just two ends of the same stick called "fraudulent spirituality". Most of the older men on your list have said and done things that we would never do again on the street. But Shannon, you learn to use good judgment many times by using bad judgment, and where the Spirit of the Lordis, there is liberty. And often times more than we care to repeat, that isthe liberty to make a mistake and learn from it. Howbeit, cowards teach noone wisdom. They only make more cowards. But allow me to teach you a truth about open air evangelism that you can take to stake with you. The love of Christ mixed with experience and a desire to train men for God can always teach a street preacher wisdom, either in word or experience. But you cannot give him back his zeal, once you take it from him, or put it out with the admonitions of a coward's heart to tone it down, because you do not like what he says or how he said differently than you would say it, when you cannot or will not tell him that to his face. God and experience will teach you how to preach to the strong and to the weak. But you take zeal away from a street preacher, and I have found no remedy to give it back to him! A fool despiseth instruction (Proverbs 15:5). However, street preaching is foolishness to them that perish. That alone makes open air preaching a very good place for fools to hide from their secret lives by going overboard in their show boat zeal for God. You will never change that kind of'street thug for Jesus', who for the most part preach in the open against the sins of the private lives. Some of the men on your list, like myself have learned to leave those Rambo's for Jesus alone....they make the rest ofus look better, and they have a tendency to flush out the sissies and cowards, and spiritual fakes, so we can identify both groups! Becauseneither will be around very long. Steer clear of both ends of that bamboo stick and thou shalt do well. But do not throw smoke grenades back into our ranks because you do not have the courage to sit down and face the person you are whining about, or because your voluntary humility moves you to think you're spiritual enough to generalize the sins of men more zealous than you at certain moment. Shannon, sometimes the reason God allows certain men to be overly boldand zealous around you, when it doesn't seem to bother other men more experienced than you, is because He cannot get you to do it, so He has to use the likes of others you now plea against, when Christ said, "forbid himnot, for he that is not against us is for us" (Luke 9:50).

Thank You Sir May I Have Another pt. 1

After writing my "Plea to the Street Preachers" I was given godly counsel to send it out to as many street preachers that I could. I knew there was a chance that some would take it the wrong way. I am posting the responses to my plea, so we can all learn from the street preachers where the flaws in my plea were. I want to say this...everyone of these guys has been doing it longer and in more places than me. They make some good points, so I want to share the responses from those that thought I was wrong in saying what I said.

This one is from Ruben Israel from http://www.officialstreetpreachers.com

Me - We can preach to homosexuals without calling them names, and you canpreach sin, righteousness and judgment. I have no qualms with telling themthat unless they repent they will likewise parish, but I don’t need to callthem fags! I was once told to preach to them like they were lost familymembers.
Ruben - Who on this list calls them ‘fags?’ I mainly use the word ‘sodomite’ or 'abomination’ as most on this list do. Whoever told you to preach to sodomites as lost family LIED to you. See the word ‘abomination’ for details, if you wish to speak as an Ambassador for the kingdom of God.

Me - We can preach to Mormons without calling them Morons, or pretending towipe our backsides with their religious material, and still in compassiontell them that the Jesus they worship is not the Jesus of the Bible and willtake them to Hell.
Ruben - I have been in Salt Lake City for years, and Mesa/hill cumorah this yearwaving the mormon garments but I have never seen anyone wipe their backside.I have heard the mormons accuse us of that and blowing our nose with their undergarments. Is this your source? Please produce names and have you personally seem this done?

Me - We do not need to see just how far we can push the police every time.Though there are times when we need to protect our unalienable rights, we doActs 5:29 as well as Romans 13:1-3 as best we can. If you bring yourtoothbrush street preaching you are premeditating your clash withauthorities.
Ruben - Do you know of anyone that packs a toothbrush with their Bible or are you stretching the story? I think most in this list try to avoid jail as preaching is the main goal. But produce names, dates, events please whereyou have witnessed it.

Me - The lost girl who is dresses immodestly, does not need to be called awhore…she is lost! How do you expect her to dress? What rules is shefollowing without Christ in her life?
Ruben - When someone on this list addresses a girl as a ‘whore’ on the street, eventor campus there is a reason, no one on this list just uses that word, just because. But again be more precise on whom and where.

My Plea to the Street Preachers

How do I do this? I want to preface this letter with my most earnest plea for it not to be taken the wrong way. I know some of the things I’m going to say in it are not going to be well received, but there is a burning in my heart to make this plea to the street preachers of America. Please as you read these know that I am prayerfully and carefully writing this to promote street preaching and not to counter it in any way, I want us to continue to preach the gospel in the open air, I just want to see us do it better.

Better? What do I mean? I know right here would be where you would check out and dismiss me as one of them liberal Christians, who are ashamed to lift up their voice like a trumpet, please...I am not! God had graciously saved me, and called me to preach His Word, and that is inside, outside, in the pulpit, or on the street corner. I’ve done parades, pageants, bus stops, festivals, and more, and God has always blessed, not because of me, but because His Word is quick and powerful.

Every time I do one of these events there are other street preachers who are trying to do the same thing I am. They are trying to turn people from their sins and turn them toward God. I have no misconceptions about why they are there, and I love these folks in Christ. They are there to preach Christ and Him crucified! Amen! They are my brothers and sisters in the Lord, and this is not meant as a rebuke, but a desperate plea from the heart of one of your fellow laborers…Preach with a Broken Heart!

I’m not asking anyone to tone down their message;
I’m begging some to change their tone!

We all agree that we are out there primarily out of Love and Obedience to our Saviour, and secondly we are out there out of concern for souls. Are we on the same page?
If so, can I implore you to preach to them like you are concerned? Too many times I have heard preachers move from preaching to name calling, too many times I’ve head a preacher almost sound glad that a sinner is headed toward Hell, and that ought not to be the case! I’ve seen good signs, and bad signs, I’ve heard people who know how to use a bull horn and others who are so shrill that you want to plug your ears. Please guys…Preach with a Broken Heart!

I know Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and all the prophets preached hard, about sin, righteousness, and judgment, but something tells me it was with a broken heart. Jeremiah we know as the weeping prophet, and my guess is that the others wept as they preached as well. George Whitefield was wet with tears as he preached, but when he preached God came down!

Now I’m not saying that we should work up some emotion and try to cry like them TV preachers, I’m saying we need to take time to prepare our hearts for street work. I have never found it so easy to get in the flesh as when I’m doing street ministry, but when I have prepared myself by spending time with the Lord, and in His Word, I can feel the compassion that I don’t have when I go unprepared.
I know it concerns you that people without Christ go to Hell! I know it does, but sometimes I can’t hear it. I think we ought to tremble as we preach Hell, it’s unimaginable, and lets face it as street preachers most of our audience is headed right for an eternity there. Doesn’t that Break your Heart? Then Preach with a Broken Heat!

We can preach to homosexuals without calling them Sodomites, and you can preach sin, righteousness and judgment. I have no qualms with telling them that unless they repent they will all likewise parish, but I don’t need to call them fags!

We can preach to Mormons without calling them Morons, and still in compassion tell them that the Jesus they worship is not the Jesus of the Bible and will take them to Hell.

The lost girl who is dresses immodestly, does not need to be called a whore…she is lost! How do you expect her to dress? What rules is she following without Christ in her life?

Do you hear what I’m trying to say, or have you written me off as a compromiser?

Please understand my deep respect for all who stand out on the “front lines” I really believe that God has given us a high calling in Christ Jesus to preach the Word. Also I know we don’t preach out in public to be popular; we do it to be obedient.
(If you’re upset I didn’t spell “public” with a “K” right there, check your heart! You’re trying to find fault)

All I’m saying is that each one of us will give an account for every idle word, moreover we will be accountable for what spirit we preached in, and for who we were trying to please when we did preach…again I am not trying to get anyone to tone down their message…I begging some of you to change your tone!

Consider this quote from Henry Scougal and with an open heart examine yourself…

“There are but too many professing Christians who would consecrate their vices and follow their corrupt affections. They pass their ragged humor and sullen pride for Christian severity. They call their fierce wrath and bitter rage against their enemies, holy zeal. Their distain toward their superiors and rebellion against their governors they call Christian courage and resolution.”

This quote weighed on me and made me stop and examine myself, will you allow it to do the same for you or will you just try and look up how you can dismiss Scougal’s words by examining the flaws in his theology…come on…be real, and ask God to show you where you may be getting in the flesh, it only hurts until you repent.

Like I said this is not a rebuke, it’s a plea from the heart of a fellow laborer…I’m nobody special, and I do not even have the credibility to make this plea, but God had burdened me with this and I must be obedient and encourage you all to Preach with a Broken Heart! Don’t tone down your message, just examine your tone, and we’ll continue to call sinners to repentance together.

Psalm 126:5,6 - They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

Boy that was great...What did he say?

Ezekiel 33::31-32 - And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not.

I wonder how frustrating it was for Ezekiel given the circumstances in this verse. I can see him at the gate of the city preaching to the people…preaching hard, preaching sin, righteousness, and judgment, and I see the people. I see the people nodding their heads in agreement. Some of people yell “Amen” at just the right time, and when Ezekiel starts to get on their sin they yell “Amen” a little louder as to make sure no one thinks that they are feeling any conviction. A little later on that night those women that were nodding their heads are weeping for Tammuz, while the men are off in their chambers imagery. The same people who sat and listened at the gate are out sacrificing on the high place, practicing their divination, and Ezekiel the great prophet is to them nothing more than an entertainer…a great orator…a good show.

This passage stuck out to me because as I have had opportunity to preach to people, and teach people, I have seen the same thing. You can be preaching away and thinking that the people are getting it, and that they are with you, and then months, or weeks, or days later you realize by something that they say or that they do that you were just a pleasant voice, or an obligation out of the way. It is frustrating!

Then I think of my Pastor, or other men who have preached to me, and I’m sure I’ve been the one nodding my head and saying “Amen” Think about some time when the preacher was getting all over a topic and you were slapping the back of the pew to encourage him…but really you just watched a movie that had the same stuff he was preaching against. I’ll admit it…it’s happened to me. I’ve been all revved up at a sermon about witnessing, and I did some shouting, and went to an altar, and a few days later here I am…I heard the words, but I did them not.

I love good preaching! I remember Sam Gipp saying one time, “Liking good preaching may not be sin, but it could lead to sin.” And after reading this passage I see the sense that makes. Each message we hear we are accountable for. Preaching is done to lead us to change or decision, and if we just harden up and sit through the sermon enjoying the preacher’s alliteration and antidotes we turn him into an entertainer and that’s not what God calls preachers to be.

Ecclesiastes 5:1 - Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.

Rochester's Proud Mayor

Mayor Bob Duffy is a professing Christian...

Here he is marching with pride in Rochester's Annual Gay Pride Parade

He Looks Happy

He Should Be Ashamed!

Isaiah 5:20 - Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Where Were You July 14th?

I was out at the Gay Pride Parade...I know that doesn't sound good, but I was there to let these people know that Jesus Christ died to save them from their sins, and also to let them know that despite all their rhetoric about tolerence, God does not tolerate sin. For my next few posts I will share some interesting photos from the parade...My hope is that it will motivate some people to come out next year and stand up for Jesus.

Let this break your heart!

Why would this little girl have a dollar?

Oh......her two mommies brought her to see the cross dressing stripper...

Yeah...that's the kind of stuff that goes on at these things...

What are you doing next year?

Busy, Busy, Busy

I don’t really know who I am apologizing to, but I’m sorry that I have been such a lazy blogger. I see that it has been like two weeks since my last post, and that’s just ridiculous! But allow me to make excuses and share with you very briefly what has been going on. July 14 was Rochester’s annual “Gay Pride Parade” and I had the opportunity reach out to these homosexuals with a few Christian brothers. It’s never a fun event, but I will do what I can every year to let these folks know that Jesus Christ can save them. He can save them from their lying, their addictions, their homosexuality, and He can save them from an eternity in Hell. It’s not hateful to say that…it’s hateful not to, that’s why I go. I left the next morning after church for my first family vacation. We went camping out in Old Forge and had a great time…except for the bear incidents…that will have to be it’s own post. After I got home from camping I went back to work during the day and went out to the Hill Camorah Pageant at night to work with CRC reaching out to Mormons. That was interesting on a whole other level, and will have to be it’s own post as well. Now things have just about settled down and I hope to get a little more blog active. I will probably share some stories from the past two weeks, but I just don’t have time to type them out now, but please visit, read, and comment. It’s always an encouragement to see that someone reads these.

Fear Not...

I just want to share an answer to prayer today. I don’t know what had happened over the past few months but my youngest daughter Taylor developed a fear of…well…pretty much everything, especially her Uncle Daniel’s dirt bike, which was parked in the back yard. This wouldn’t have been so bad, but Taylor has been so scared that she would not even play in the back yard. She would literally tremble if I took her out there; regardless of it was running or not.
During the summer, the back yard is supposed to be the center of all kid activity! There is no way a child can spend the summer in the house attached to Mommy’s hip. The other fear that developed is the fear of the pool…the only other place where kids should be (with parent supervision of course) when they are not in the back yard. This was making things very difficult for Mommy.

I asked Jen if she talked to Taylor about why she has been so afraid, and she had many times. She went through all the different questions, and tried to reason with her.

Is the bike running? – No!
Can the bike hurt you? – No!
Then go out and play – No!
Why? – I’m scared.
Can the bike hurt you? – No!
Then go out and play? – No!
Why? – Because I’m scared!

The same conversation took place about the Pool.

Come in the pool – No!
Why? – I’m scared.
Is Daddy going to let go of you? – No!
Is your life jacket going to let you go under water? – No!
Then come in the pool? – No!
Why? – Because I’m scared!

Well after our efforts to help Taylor overcome her fear failed, I did what I should have done from the very beginning. I took it to God. Now, I pray for my kids, and I thank God for them everyday, but for some reason I had not taken this issue to God, so I prayed for her while I was at work, and on my break I began to look up verses about fear, and I began putting together a little family devotion on “fear”. I preach that God’s Word has the answers, and yet for too long, I was trying to reason out Taylor’s fear, and give my answers to it…I say this in shame, I should have listened to my own preaching. God’s Word has the answers! The phrase “Fear Not” appears 62 times in the Bible, most of those times, it’s directly from God, and other times it is someone saying based on what God has already said. “Fear Not!”

Well I got home that day, with my little devotion in hand, and as I approached my front steps Taylor came running at me yelling “Daddy’s Home!”…from the back yard. What a God! I asked Jen why Taylor was in the backyard and she just shrugged her shoulders, and said “I don’t know, all of a sudden she was just ok with it” Thank You Lord!

Now we’ll see about getting her into that pool.

Another Story from Life…

This Saturday I was able to see God’s mighty hand once more. I was visiting a new establishment and as I browsed through I recognized the owner. Now I knew this person in a former life (my BC days), and I only knew her because her son was a good friend of mine. I really did not know how to say hi because I knew her back in the day. She worked nights and I’d party with her son in the evenings after we got home from school. She didn’t “let” us party there, but it was sort of a “she didn’t try and prevent us” thing either. I remember times when her son stole her pot, so it wasn’t like she was your average mom.

Her son and I were close for a time, but we lost touch when I moved away, and from what I had heard his partying got worse. I still would see him, but we just didn’t hang out. I knew he got bad, because he was in AA before he got out of High School. I remember him telling me a story after he was sober, about draining his savings the night he discovered crack. It was a hard thing to hear, even way back then. Well from what I know now he is sober, and I ran into his mom Saturday.

I said her name and she looked at me curiously…after I said “it’s Shannon Young” she gasped and her eyes got teary. She hugged me and started asking how I was, and praising God…what…that part threw me. I am usually the one looking for an opportunity to try and work that in when I see an old friend…She started testifying to the glory and grace of God in tears, rejoicing. She was unashamed and glowing with the peace of Christ…a peace I had never seen on her before. She began to tell me of her long trip off into drink and drugs, and how God reached down in His tender mercy, and saved her from alcohol and crack and all…WOW! She said “Shannon, when the Bible says that sin has no more hold, I want you to know it’s true!” Glory! What a God! I told her I got saved in September of 2000, and was preparing for the ministry. She hugged me again, and after chatting a little more I left, totally awestruck with God’s Goodness again.

Now my mind enquires about her son. He was sober after his exploits with alcohol and drugs just like his mom. Who saved him out of it, if he wasn’t a Christian? I really can’t answer that at the moment, but my mind goes to Matthew 12:43-45…I guess I can’t explain that right yet either, but I know this…

The biggest difference between a Christian and a lost person is not what we see in the temporal…but in the eternal. You see my friend’s mom was not just saved from alcohol and crack, like others have been. She was saved from her sin! She was not only saved from the big sins in her life like the parties, and the men, and the drugs, and the divorces…she was saved from what we could consider “little” sins. She was saved from the penalty of one lie…which is Hell. She was saved from the penalty of one time taking the Lord’s name in vain…which is Hell. She was saved from the penalty of not putting God first in her life for some 40+ years…that’s an Eternity in a Lake of Fire, and I know that just saying that rubs people…especially un-believers. They say “you can’t possibly think that one little lie could send someone to Hell for all eternity, do you?” and the answer perhaps uncomfortable really is “It doesn’t matter what we think, it matters, what God says.”

Proverbs 16:25 - There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof [are] the ways of death.

The Bible so closes the door on what men think…Men think that they have to have their good deeds outweigh their bad, and all will be well. In this they are totally ignorant of God’s perfect standard of righteousness.

James 2:10 - For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

One sin is too much in God’s presence.

Habakkuk 1:13a - Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity:

It’s not a matter of more good than bad. Many lost people have stopped smoking crack, and put away their cigarettes, and turned away from pornography, and I’m not sure but maybe they can say “I did it myself” and they can boast in their accomplishments, as I’m sure giving up these things is even harder without the help of the Holy Spirit, but there is not one that has ever entered into the presence of the Lord, and been able to say “I did it myself” not one…

Ephesians 2:8-10 - For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

I thank God that Jesus Christ saved my friend’s mom from all the drugs and alcohol, but more importantly I’m glad He saved her from the wages of her sin. There are many people who have stopped drinking, stopped smoking, stopped swearing, and yet, without Christ, they go to Hell.

You may have accidentally stopped here and started reading…I don’t assume most of my readers needed a gospel presentation, but you may have…I want to plead with you, regardless of how good you think you are follow this link and see what the Bible says about how good you are, or e-mail me, and ask the questions you have…Don’t let this go.

http://www.livingwaters.com/good

I’m Not Embarrassed…

All right…I know Mike, and Andy thought this video would embarrass me by showing this before I preached to the Jr. High class, but the fact is…I Love It! I love the first 15 seconds of it anyway…after that it’s just redundant…it’s just redundant…it’s just redundant…oh did I say that already? Anyways…I wanted more people to be able to enjoy it, so I am posting it again. You need to have the audio up (especially in the beginning), so if you’ve never seen it…enjoy “My King”

http://www.hindsfamily.com/andy/new.asp

Yes, I know this is just cheap blog filler, but I’m preaching tonight at Men’s Prayer Meeting, and thought I’d better devote my time to preparing for that. Come out if you can 9pm at the chapel of FBBC.

Pseudo-Christians

Plain and simple Mormons are Pseudo-Christians, just like Jehovah Witnesses and Oneness Pentecostals. I will give you this though the LDS Church has gone to great lengths to hide that fact that they are not really Christians. They will argue that they are to the end, but if someone has the wrong Jesus they are not Christian at all. Bob Lonsberry is a Mormon and yet asserts that he is a Christian, but the following statement is very telling…It’s rare that we hear Mormons be so open about their faith. Usually they are pretty tight lipped to us about their key heresies. Here's what Bob said in his column on 6/21/2007

“While it is categorically false that Mormons are not Christians and don’t believe in Jesus Christ, it is true that Mormon beliefs are very different from conventional Christian theology. It is also true that “the (Mormon) Jesus is not the same Jesus of the Christian faith.” – Bob Lonsberry
Full article here - http://www.lonsberry.com/writings.cfm?story=2176&go=4

Sure Mormons believe in “a” Jesus Christ, but even according to Lonsberry, his Jesus is not the same as mine. My Jesus is God manifest in he flesh, the second person of the trinity. This doctrine my friends is vital…so here’s the situation, if the Mormon “Jesus” and my Jesus (the one of the traditional Christian faith) are different one of us has the wrong Jesus.

The Deity of Christ is one of the Five Fundamental doctrines of Christianity, and cannot…cannot, again I say, cannot be compromised. Every year more and more unbelievers, as well as Christians are exposed to this cult through their “Hill Camorah Pageant” an outdoor drama outreach held in Palmyra, NY. People are shown what they may see as just a different Christian denomination with a wonderful emphasis on family values, and high standards, but this is not another denomination. The LDS church is a pseudo-Christian cult.

For a great artical about the Deity of Christ see this by Mike Barone
http://www.gloriousgrace.com/content/sermonsessays/MichaelBarone/DeityOfChrist.asp

To a “Born Again, Bible Believing Christian” a Mormon, even a Mormon carrying a King James Bible, MUST be considered lost and in need of evangelism. With that said, the Christian Research Counsel (CRC) does an outreach at the Hill Camorah Pageant, where they pass out literature explaining the differences between Christianity and Mormonism. This organization will be going down to Palmyra during the week of July 12th through July 21st to minister to LDS, and non-LDS people attending the pageant. The following is a description of what CRC does and what you can get involved with if you are interested.

DAYTIME ACTIVITIES AT MORMON VENUES

* At the Joseph Smith Farm, we'll have signs and T-shirts that read http://www.whichfirstvision.com/ and hand out the brochure titled "Documented History of Joseph Smith's First Vision" to cars leaving the parking lot. Typically, there will be few opportunities for direct dialog with people.

* At the Book of Mormon Printing House in the Village of Palmyra, we will wear T-shirts that say http://www.weusedtoagree.com/ and hand out our brochures "Which Scripture Has Been Tampered With?" and "We Used to Agree...What happened?." This will be pedestrian traffic and presents more opportunities for dialog, primarily with Mormons.

* In the Village Park we will wear T-shirts which say http://www.weusedtoagree.com/ and set up a canopy stand with free DVD's and literature. This will present opportunities for dialog with Mormons.

* If we have enough help, we'll have a few people milling around on Main Street in Palmyra, handing out "How to make sure you have eternal life." (In the past, this brochure has been titled "Heavenly Father's Plan for You."

You can read and even print these brochures from CRC’s web site http://www.whatmormonsdonttell.com/ If you're coming to the Pageant, please familiarize yourself with all the brochures, especially the ones you know we'll be handing out. they will do more to prepare you for dialog with the pageant visitors than anything else I can recommend. And they serve as a ready reference on the spur of the moment, provided you've actually read them and highlighted the points you want to recall while witnessing and keep them with you.

EVENING ACTIVITIES AT THE PAGEANT

From 6 to 9:15 PM every evening of the Pageant, we'll hand out literature and answer Mormon and non-Mormon questions about Mormonism on public property adjacent the Pageant. If the new parking arrangement is working for the LDS, our access to pedestrians will be stifled and we will depend on holding lightweight signs to draw people to the web page http://www.whatmormonsdonttell.com/ and to the canopy which we'll erect as close as possible to the Pageant.

There is a wonderful opportunity to come out and minister with CRC at the Hill Camorah Pageant this year. If interested contact Brad White WHITE94@aol.com He will get you all the details, and the registration form.

Prepare ye the way of the Lord!

Check out the new picture of me preaching in the wilderness around 30AD. Let me know what you think : ) It's at the bottom of my page.

Comedy of Errors

Ok so there is really nothing spiritual about this post, but it’s too funny not to share. Today is Mrs. Young and my 7th anniversary, She’s gotten prettier everyday, and her cooking just gets better…that’s probably why my pants have gotten tighter…oh well. For our Anniversary I decided to be the romantic and take her away to Niagara Falls for a night away from the housework and home school, and the kids and the parents ect… and stay in a luxurious hotel suite where we could relax and enjoy time together.
Ha ha ha…This trip turned out to be a comedy of errors to such a point that I had to write about it.

When you only have one night to get away you need to make it special, but when only one of the two draws a paycheck (and not a real impressive one) we need to be quite frugal, and creative, but being frugal and creative can have it’s drawbacks…here are some tips that will warn and alert you to such drawbacks…

Tip # 1 – When planning on a one night excursion it is crucial to get out of the house as early as possible. This will allow you to enjoy as much “vacation” time as possible. – We however did not get out with such luck. Mrs. Young’s Mom was our Babysitter, and had to work a full day, about the time when we were expecting her to be home we got a phone call saying that she was “almost” ready to leave, but had to finish up a few last things. We got a really late start, but finally she was home and we were clear to leave.

Tip # 2 – Having reliable transportation will make getting there and back a breeze – After finally getting into the van to go I turned the key to the sound of nothing…(turned it again) still nothing….Mrs. young pointed back to the back lights above where the girls sit, they had been on all night and my battery was dead! We had to take my mother-in-laws little Chevy Cavalier (powered by squirrels)

Tip # 3 - Just because a hotel is in the city of Niagara Falls does not mean that it is anywhere near the “Falls” or that it is in a nice area. – We were miles from the “Falls” and pretty much surrounded by the ghetto. (The American side of the “Falls” is horribly run down…It’s really a shame)

Tip # 4 – Just because the room in the picture online looks good does not mean the room you get when you get there does. – It was ok, but really it looked old, and not that well maintained. (I can’t complain really, I’ve stayed in worse)

Tip # 5 – Just because you reserve a Jacuzzi suite does not mean the people at the front desk are going to put you in a Jacuzzi suite…Upon getting to our room I quickly noticed there was no Jacuzzi. I went down to the front desk and told them someone had stole the Jacuzzi out of our room…she was not really impressed with my attempt at humor. She told me that she really didn’t think it would be important, so she switched our room to one without a Jacuzzi…um…er…really? So like when I specifically asked on the phone for the Jacuzzi Suite you thought I was just concerned with the suite part huh? Oh Well.

Ok we finally got checked in to a room with a Jacuzzi, and we getting all ready to go out to see the “Falls” I got directions from the lady at the front desk (I’m not sure what makes me ask the person who couldn’t figure out I wanted a Jacuzzi in my Jacuzzi Suite for directions, but anyways…) I started out and realized this was just a bad idea. It was light when I left, but it was getting dark and there was no way I was going to be able to get around down there in the dark with my eyesight and all those one way streets. So we headed back to the hotel area to try and find a restaurant.

Tip # 6 – Just because the restaurant is in the US doesn’t necessarily mean the people who work there speak English – This was actually one of the highlights of the trip. We ate at a place called “India Kitchen” but when we got there we were greeted by a very immodestly dressed blonde Indian girl (…um…) and she didn’t speak English. Luckily she figured out we wanted a table, and the manager (I think) came out to wait on us. He was great, and the food was spectacular. I loved it, and good food makes a good vacation in spite of all the little problems.

Tip # 7 – Using a credit card for purchases when on vacation allows you to travel without the worry of cash being lost or stolen… however… - We tried to pay with the card at the counter, the very polite man politely said “I’m sorry you’re card is declined” what? No way! So I paid with the debit card and we went back to the hotel. After calling the credit card company we discovered that earlier that day we had made a $475 purchase online to Sam Goody music, and $230 at familyancestry.com (you know anything about this Andy???) jk! Well someone had stolen our card number and they had to shut down our account and there went that!

Well dinner was excellent and we went back to our hotel and the rest of the trip went pretty good, but really it was a comedy of errors. We had a great time in spite of it all, and as much as I’d like to sound spiritual and say that at every trial I was asking “Lord what wilt thou have me to do” I really was just laughing at how everything was going wrong, and we were still having fun. I am blessed with a wonderful wife, and I’ve had 7 wonderful years married to her, and Lord willing I will have many more.

Ok that was my story… I will do my best to write posts with spiritual content in the future and I vow that I will never again post anything with the word “Jacuzzi” in as many times as it appeared in this post.