About a month ago I was in Washington D.C. with a few teens from my church. We were there to go to a concert and just hang out a bit in the nation's capital. We spent some time just lounging around on the National Mall area. We were playing 21. I was throwing a football when all of a sudden I heard the sound of a guy speaking through a bullhorn. Actually, the guy has some kind of portable PA device. He was just walking around with it spouting his remarks. He said, "It's time this country gets back to God. It's time we get back to the Bible. Don't you agree Mr. President?" He then went on to preach a sermonette through sound bites about sin and our need for repentance.
While I agreed with much the guy had to say, or at least I think that I did because he didn't really clarify his opinions much, for some reason the guy really irked me. I was almost ashamed to be called a Christian if that is what people thought of when they think of Jesus and His followers. Now, I have no room to judge the man. He may be doing exactly what God told him to do. But I do know that it turned me off and I was already on his side. So what then did it do to those who didn't really know God like I do? Did it send the wrong message? Is the road to hell really paved with good intentions?
Did the guy upset me so because I felt like a shy Christian by comparison? Should I be out doing what he is doing? Is he helping or hurting? Where is the line between hiding our light under a bushel and beating people over the head with the truth? What's love got to do with it anyway?
I am reminded of a recent Nooma video called "Bullhorn Guy." It captures much of what went through my mind as I thought about the guy on the Mall. Rob Bell, the narrator and author behind the Nooma video series, described a situation similar to what I had experienced. He said, "As I get closer, I hear the words 'sin' and 'burn' and 'repent.' And then I hear the word 'Jesus.' And he's got all these pamphlets, and he’s quoting these Bible verses about the anger and wrath of God, and how if I don't repent, I'm going to pay for it for eternity, and how I might dies, I might die tonight! This might be my only chance."
But does the sinners in the hands of an angry God approach really draw people to Christ. Maybe these type words should be reserved for those who have tasted of God's goodness and taken it for granted. Maybe it should not be used on those who already think of God as a cosmic kill joy, a stern taskmaster just waiting to hit the smite button. The world needs to hear about God's love, liberty and life. Many people already know that they aren't perfect they just have a hard time accepting the existence of perfect love...even from God. What really draws people to the message of Jesus? I think it is more than just fire insurance. Could it be assurance of a love and life beyond description?
The Bible says in Romans 2:1-5, "1You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? 4Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?
5But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
It is not God's wrath but His kindness that leads us to repentance. This makes me wonder why we throw the heat so often at non-Christians when they need to know that God accepts them as they are. In time, He will conform them to His image. But He never expects us to be perfect first before He will extend His hand to us. Perfection comes as we spend time with God, gazing at His beauty...from glory to glory.
Rob Bell said, "That's why the hellfire and brimstone stuff is so dangerous. When you tell me that I should follow Jesus so that I don't burn forever, it sounds like a threat. As if you scare people enough they'll all of a sudden magically decide to love God."
God isn't looking for us to play let's make a deal with Him. God desires our heart. He wants us to want to love Him. God woos never coerces through intimidation or threat. If we go to hell that's our affair not any fault of God. He never intended for any man to go to hell in the first place. Hell was invented for the devil and his angels. Man follows Satan into hell by sin, giving into his own lustful desires.
So is the bullhorn guy wrong? I don't know. There is definitely a place for public preaching. Jesus did it. Paul did it. So did John the Baptist and the disciples. Public preaching was just part of the gig for Old Testament prophets like Jonah, Jeremiah and Amos. Are some Christians being disobedient by refusing to speak out? Yep! Is there a wrong way to go about public preaching? You bet you. It's not even about making the message appealing or worrying about offending people. It's about misrepresenting the heartbeat of God and driving a wedge between man and God.
Jeff McBee, a friend and Christian brother at work told me that the word "broadcast" comes from the agricultural concept of scattering seeds in many different directions. The sewer never really knows which seeds will take root and grow into a fertile plant. But he still does his job knowing that someone else will come along and water his work. He takes his chances knowing that God brings the increase and causes it to grow. After reflecting on the concept, I think that I need to be less prone to criticize bullhorn guy. Instead in the future, I should learn from what he does right and wrong. I should be encouraged by his zeal and let it influence me to speak out to whomever the Spirit shows me to contact. But I should never feel guilty by it and try to do something that God never called me to do. It's not about earning brownie points with God. It's about being obedient, surrendered and yielded over to the work of the Holy Spirit. After all, I could scatter seed all day long, but if I am disobedient it will be hard for the Lord to use my labor to establish His kingdom on the earth.
