Hollywood, with it’s street performers and sidewalk stars, was full of interesting characters. Men dressed as fictional action heroes posed for pictures outside of Mann’s Chinese Theater. Women dressed as Disney Princesses or movie starlets and waved their hands like pageant queens while tourist snapped their cameras. In the mix of faces were homeless individuals, business men, families, and hustlers. It was truly Hollywood. The place of dreams.
I found myself on the corner of Hollywood and Highland this past Saturday. It felt wonderful to be back in Los Angeles and be in the mix of an eclectic gathering of people. But the nostalgia of past experience and the excitement of future memories was interrupted by a screaming voice with a bullhorn.
Several men wandering through performers circles and near tourists were shouting boisterously, interrupting and shocking those around. I guess that was their tactical ambition: interrupt and shock.
They yelled and protested and shouted. They said we all needed Jesus. They waved their fists in the air while their faces turned beet red from shouting down fire and brimstone. And I stared.
I wondered if the man shouting into the bullhorn cared about the homeless man who hadn’t showered in days. I wondered if the yelling men cared about the man dressed as a woman with fishnet stockings and patent leather heels. I wonder if the shouting and religious braggadocio drew people closer to the cross or further from the truth.
Shouting at someone and telling them they need Jesus is like telling a starving person they need food.
I wonder what witness they could’ve been if instead of shouting at the homeless man, they offered to wash his hair. Instead of yelling out the truth that we are sinners, I wonder how the man dressed as a woman might have felt if someone sat down and talked with him. I wonder how Jesus would’ve responded that afternoon on Hollywood and Highland.
I’ve read the prophets of ancient days who wandered the city proclaiming the day of One to come. But that day has come. And the One they foretold walked the proverbial streets of Hollywood feeding, healing, touching, and loving the broken, lost, and hurting.
Shouldn’t we do the same?
“Shouting at someone and telling them they need Jesus is like telling a starving person they need food.”
— SO true!
We are to “speak the truth, in love.” If a person is hungry for physical food we should feed them and THEN tell them about JESUS.
No one ever won me over by shouting at me and telling me I must do something or else.
Too often, the over zealous believers portray the gospel in an offensive and exclusive instead of an edifying and inclusive way. Jesus Christ never bulldozed his way into gaining believers when He lived and ministered on this Earth. He spoke the truth in love. Granted he got angry when necessary such as when the people tried to turn God’s house, the temple, into a marketplace but even then he spoke the truth in love.
So yes, agreed, we must be more like JESUS and less like ourselves! 😉
that makes me sad when i see things like that…what a difference it might have made if they would have been more like Jesus..
A group of people were doing this in our own small city earlier this year. I believe they shouted through their bullhorns every day for a good part of the summer.
I like the saying that “less is more” sometimes. Less shouting, more listening. Less demanding, more loving.
Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Wow… this is soo true!!!! I pray my life will be more than mere words, but actions put behind them. God bless!
yes – a year ago i was in new orleans and there were some who had megaphones, screaming at everyone walking down, then a lady challenged me to see if i was really saved. she pestered me and in front of my friend who wasn’t a believer. i could only imagine the impression she left on my friend. instead of speaking in truth and love, she and her posse came off very rudely and elitist. it saddened me at the missed opportunity they had that night to all of those who walked down bourbon street.
Hmmmm, Word!
Those people even scare me! Haha truth!
I remember that the prophets of old were hated by the religous insittutions of their day for proclaiming the truth. Look at Jeremiah and Ezekial for example. We are to warn others of the judgment to come. The day of salvation is now not tomorrow as this is promised to no one. I
The prophets of old were hated by the institutional religious of their day because they spoke truth andwarned people. The problem is these days is that people are not enduring sound doctrine and are gathering up teachers that are itching their ears. I submit to you that those who used bullhorns showed those people love by taking time out their day to warn them of the judgment to come. It’s very easy to stay within the confines of the four walls of the institutional church and preach to people who have heard the gospel but try going out to to where you will be hated for Jesus sake. Jesus said “”And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.” He also said “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets.” You pre suppose that those who were out there didn’t help those in need but maybe they did. jesus also said the poor will always be with us, we can’t take care of every need but the gospel should be preached to all. Jesus already came once but he will come again after the man of sin is revealed and there will be a great falling away first. Jesus also said””I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” We are at the doorstep of the last days, buold for yourselves treasuires in heaven and not on earth. Also remember 1 Titus 6:5 “useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.”
I guess some of your readers DO NOT READ YOUR BLOG CONTENT before commenting! “I’ve read the prophets of ancient days (e.g. Ezekiel and Jeremiah) who wandered the city proclaiming the day of One to come. BUT THAT DAY HAS COME. And the One they foretold walked the proverbial streets of Hollywood feeding, healing, touching, and loving the broken, lost, and hurting. THAT DAY HAS COME!
Wow. I love what you wrote. Though I am tempted to condemn the shouters, I don’t – because it’s entirely possible that one person needed to be shouted at to “hear” Jesus. But, as you said, it’s the feeding, healing, touching, and loving which speak volumes. It’s those actions that get attention, and change the hearts and minds of those who don’t have eyes to see and ears to hear. It’s those Jesus-like examples which cannot be accused of being hypocritical and are the most awesome, well lit, journeys of going where Jesus tells us to go.
When I initially read I was unsure what to think because when I think of street preachers I think of men like Ray Comfort (of The Way of the Master ministry) or Todd Friel (of Wretch Radio). After reading this I looked up a few of their videos to see if they were guilty of the nastiness you described in the street preaching you witnessed. After watching their videos, I am convinced that it is totally possible to evangelize out in the streets to strangers by simply sharing the Gospel without coming off as elitist, judgmental, rude, or hateful.
A few days later I went to Christmas in the Park in downtown San Jose and encountered the exact description of the “preachers” you wrote about. After seeing this for myself, I was shocked at how nasty and awful some people, who claimed to be preaching the Gospel, can be. The people I saw that night were shouting rather than engaging. One particular man was red-faced and violently screaming that all the people passing by him need Jesus and that they loved their pornos and perversion. It was disgraceful; I can’t imagine how they think that is going to reach ANYBODY. I even heard him tell someone to “Shut up and listen!” and to “Accept this gospel that I am preaching!” One woman nearby turned to her children and said “That’s why I tell you not to do drugs.” It was an upsetting experience for me.
So I better understood what you were going for with this blog now. Some people have no business getting on a soapbox to preach hate and call it the Gospel.
However I would recommend that you at least check out Ray Comfort evangelizing on youtube to see that with the right heart, motives, and approach it is possible to preach the Gospel in the streets to strangers, without the requirement that you must first meet all the physical needs of people first before you talk to them. Some people confuse social justice with actually presenting the message of Jesus Christ, when those are actually two separate things that should go hand in hand:
Romans 10:7 “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”
AND
James 2:14-26 (Paraphrased) Faith without works is dead
Of course I am not saying that those needs are not important but they shouldn’t get in the way of verbally sharing the Gospel or replace verbally sharing the Gospel. Just some thoughts I wanted to share. Thanks for writing this blog Bianca 🙂
Yasmin, thank you for your comment. I agree with you 100%. I do believe in street evangelism, but love always proceeds words. The people you encountered at the park and the people I encountered in Hollywood misrepresented the gospel.
Let’s share the gospel. And when necessary, you words. 🙂
People do that from time to time on my college campus. One time my friends (Christians) said something to them and got “condemned” as well. I’m thankful that I accepted Jesus early in life and it wasn’t because anyone was yelling at me. I was raised up in Christianity not beaten over the head with a bible. It’s embarrassing because it repels people from who my God really is and how he operates. And I know that if I wasn’t a Christian I wouldn’t be rushing to the altar after someone yelled in my face “You’re going to Hell!”
It’s upsetting to see because the people who do that clearly aren’t understanding that’s not how Jesus rolled. He didn’t preach hate and he wasn’t hot headed. Every time he dealt with the Pharisses he schooled them and showed them the error of their ways, but he never slapped them in the face and yelled “DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!” My peers see this behavior and think “If that’s what it means to be christian then I’ll pass.” Although the majority of us don’t share the gospel in that manner