Street Preacher’s Suit against S.F. Reinstated
from the San Francisco Chronicle (4/23/01)
Two San Francisco street preachers who say police hassled them for their amplified sermons and music, while leaving equally loud secular musicians alone, persuaded a federal appeals court to reinstate their lawsuit against the city yesterday.
In a 2-to-1 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals said Lawrence Rosenbaum and Eric Livingston were entitled to a trial on their claim that police selectively enforced the city’s noise ordinance against them. They want an injunction requiring equal treatment.
The two men said police frequently broke up their weekly street-corner gatherings and arrested them for using amplified sound that could be heard more than 250 feet away. The charges were invariably dropped, but the same ordinance was never applied to anyone else, said their lawyer, Russell Davis.
U.S. District Judge Charles Legge dismissed the suit without a trial. But the appeals court majority said further fact-finding was needed to determine whether the city treated the preachers worse than other small groups whose amplified messages had a different content.
What This Means
This is a big victory for us. In their unpublished memorandum, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with every major point we had argued. This opinion will be binding on Judge Legge and gives us an excellent chance of winning the lawsuit. My hope is that, as a result of this victory, we will be able to settle the lawsuit by getting the police to agree to end their harassment and to extend of the permit time we are allowed, at least at Powell and Market. Please pray that this will happen.
Witnessing Without Fear
By Bill Bright, Founder and Director, Campus Crusade for Christ
Have you ever felt hesitant to share the gospel because you thought the other person would not be interested? Or have you been slow to share your faith because you felt that you did not have the gift of evangelism, and that witnessing is better left to those with “the gift.”
These are emotions that practically every Christian has felt at one time or another. I certainly have struggled with them. To intrude into someone else’s life can seem not only threatening but also blatantly presumptuous. There is the fear of being rejected, the fear of doing an inadequate job and even the fear of being branded a ‘fanatic.”
So we remain silent and pray that God will use someone else to get His message to those around us who do not know Him. But we do not have to settle to silence. We can learn to share our faith successfully and with confidence…without alienating others or becoming someone we really do not want to be.
You may find this difficult to believe, but I have never found witnessing to come naturally. Initiating conversations with strangers is sometimes difficult for me. Even sharing the greatest news ever announced is not always as easy for me as you might imagine.
Maybe my reserved nature is my “thorn in the flesh,” because as several friends have told me, people often expect the founder and president of a large, international, evangelistic ministry to be especially gifted by God to be outgoing and gregarious, or a natural conversationalist.
Perhaps God knew that if He made witnessing easy for me, I might get the idea that it was my skill and not His working that brought people into His kingdom. This way, I have to be dependent on Him—and that is just the way He wants all of us to be, whether or not we are shy.
I surely had to depend on Him during my first witnessing experience, because I was scared to death. It was late 1945, and I remember it as though it just happened. Bob was an outstanding young businessman who had just begun attending church. As we became acquainted, I felt that the Lord wanted me to talk with him about his salvation, but I had no idea what to say.
At first I rationalized that maybe I could get my pastor or Sunday school teacher to talk to him. They were good at this kind of thing. I would probably blow it anyway.
But I could not shake the uncomfortable feeling that, for some reason, God wanted me—not my pastor or Sunday school teacher—to be the one to speak with Bob about his need for Christ. But he’s sharp, I argued, and he will raise questions I cannot answer. Or he will say “No,” and I will be embarrassed.
It is amazing, isn’t it, how logical we can make ourselves sound when we’re trying to justify our disobedience. These seemed to be good arguments at the time. But, as I was reminded of Matthew 4:19: “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men,” I realized that it was my responsibility to simply follow the Lord and obey Him. His responsibility was to do the inner work of changing human hearts.
So, with mouth dry and heart pounding, I spoke with Bob about his need for the Lord and encouraged him to receive Jesus Christ into his life as Savior and Lord. As we sat in his car, I told him my story and showed him some Scriptures that highlighted man’s sin and his urgent need for God, and how to receive Christ as personal Savior and Lord.
To my amazement and delight, Bob was as ready as anyone could be, and he prayed with me right there, asking the Lord Jesus to forgive him of his sin and come into his life. Shortly afterward, Bob resigned his position and entered seminary. He has been a minister for over 35 years now, helping others trust Christ and grow in their walks with Him.
SOS-San Francisco
June 22-30
How many people are there like Bob, who are waiting for someone to share the gospel with them so that they can be saved? We all have our excuses. We are too busy. We are afraid to witness. We don’t know how to witness. Or we assume people will reject the gospel so there’s no point in telling them.
For those who have disobeyed God by their failure to witness, SOS-San Francisco is an opportunity to repent—get right with God in this area of your life. You can set aside a week–or even a day or two–to share the gospel. You will receive practical training in evangelism. You will join together with Christians who can help you overcome your fear of witnessing and get started in a lifestyle of evangelism. It’s time to stop making excuses for disobeying our Lord’s Great Commission.
The SOS outreach begins Friday June 22 at 6 PM. Meetings will be held daily (except Sunday) at 9 AM and 6 PM at Temple Baptist Church, 3355 19th Ave. (near Ocean) in San Francisco. Parking is available at Stonestown Shopping Center, next to the church. Showers are available for $1 at the YMCA, right next to the church. Singer Chuck Girard will be ministering at this year’s outreach.
Talk with your pastor and Christian friends and encourage them to get involved. Set aside the week of June 22-30 to attend the SOS outreach and bring a friend.
On the Streets
This past month we have been blessed to have a team from Jews for Jesus join all our outreaches. They are conducting an evangelistic campaign called “Behold Your God.” This campaign begins in San Francisco but will continue in major cities around the world. They put together a band that played twice at Fisherman’s Wharf, at Washington Square, and in Berkeley. They also attempted to play on Union Street on April 27, but a police officer threatened to arrest us for “disturbing the peace” because someone complained.
On May 5, Last Days Harvest Church (Sacramento) played at Washington Square. Officer Crisp, the chief permit officer for the precinct, was present most of the afternoon. He pressured us to turn our sound level very low, but still we were able to minister to hundreds of people who were enjoying the warm, sunny weather that day. Neighborhood activists are seeking to stop our outreaches in this park. Please pray that we will be able to continue to minister here. Even Officer Crisp admitted that this park was the best location in his precinct for our outreaches.
On April 28, evangelist John Land brought a worship team to minister in Berkeley. The team consisted of two of his sons and a young man who was saved that week. They looked like 1960’s hippies and were well received in Berkeley. John witnesses to thousands of “hippies” at “Rainbow Gatherings” around the country. Recently, John and his family have witnessed at several of our outreaches.
Coming Events
Note: All outreaches are subject to change. Call (510) 531‑5325 or (510) 616-0712 (my pager number) to confirm outreaches or for more information.
Friday June 1 7:30-10 PM Witnessing in various S.F. neighborhoods. (Call for meeting location.)
Sat. June 2 San Francisco “Church on the Street” worship rally. 12-1 PM. Powell and Market St. 2-5 PM. Washington Square (Columbus and Union St.)
June 22-30 SOS-San Francisco 22nd Year. Special guest Chuck Girard. (details in this newsletter).
Ministry Needs
Thank you for your prayers and financial support for this ministry. Our expenses are always greatest in the spring as we prepare for SOS‑San Francisco. We are still trying to get 200,000 more tracts printed for SOS. Also, consider supporting a worker for SOS. Many Christians would like to participate in the SOS outreach but cannot afford to.
Our Tape of the Month is ABC’s of Street Witnessing by Ron Radachy. Ron is Director of The Oasis in Hollywood, CA and organizes the annual SOS-Hollywood outreach. Please continue to pray for us as we prepare for SOS‑San Francisco. We need God’s wisdom in putting everything together. Please pray that we will get permits for our daily outdoor outreaches. Pray that we will get new signs for the outreach. The evangelistic signs we now use on the streets are in bad shape. Pray that many individuals and groups will join this year’s SOS outreach—including you.
Please pray for those who have prayed with us on the streets and written us in response to tracts recently, including Denise (SF), D.H. (Baton Rouge, LA), and John (Plainfield, IN prison). Denise wrote “I would love to know more about Jesus and I would love for you to pray for me. I’ve been in Delancey St. Program for 19 months now and every day it’s a battle to fight against the disease of alcoholism. Since I’ve been in Delancey, I haven’t drank or smoked and it wasn’t easy. I’m hoping to turn my life around and to give my all to the Lord. Please send me more information. I would appreciate it so much.”
God bless you all. I hope to see you at SOS-San Francisco. This is the biggest outreach of the year. Don’t miss it!
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum