Click Here to View This Month’s Slideshow
Coming Events
Note: Outreaches are subject to change. Call (510) 282-5629 to confirm outreaches or for more information.
Friday February 1, 8, 15 7:30 – 10 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods.
Sat. February 2, 9, 16 11 AM -4 PM San Francisco Outreach, Fisherman’s Wharf (Jefferson St. near Mason)
Reaching the “Gospel Hardened”
Dear Christian friends,
Increasingly, the challenge of evangelizing in theU.S.is reaching people who have a distorted, cynical view of Christianity. Here are some misconceptions people frequently have of Christians, and how we can respond to them:
a. “Christians are unconcerned about the poor.” Helping the poor should not replace our evangelism, but should accompany our evangelism when possible.
b. “Christian ministers are greedy for money.” We need to live simply and be honest with our finances. We need to avoid manipulating people to give money and to stop supporting those ministries that do.
c. “Christians are ignorant of scientific proof that God doesn’t exist.” We should learn how to present the gospel in an intelligent way, giving a reason for our faith, avoiding religious jargon. In order to “prove” God doesn’t exist, a person would have to be omniscient. Otherwise, it is possible that God could exist, but we would not know it. One of the best ways I have found to show that the Bible is true is to use some of the Old Testament prophesies concerning the Messiah that were fulfilled by Jesus.
d. “Christians are narrow‑minded for thinking Jesus is the only way.” Part of the problem is intrinsic to our message, but we should do our best to explain our position in an intelligent manner.
e. “Christians are bigots‑‑anti‑black, gay, poor, women, etc.” We need churches that break ethnic, racial and class barriers. The church today is the most segregated institution in our society.
In regard to homosexuality, we need to be faithful to God’s Word, but we can emphasize the fact that everyone has sinned, including ourselves. We need to walk in humility and love, and not focus on a single sin.
f. “Christianity is a politically dangerous social movement.” We need to prayerfully consider our involvement in politics. Are we alienating the people we want to reach with the gospel? While we all have political opinions, we do not talk about them while we are witnessing.
g. Finally‑‑we need to walk in personal purity. We need to live what we preach. We need to show people that we are real Christians, not phonies.
Also, we need to be people of prayer. Only God can open the eyes of the spiritually blind. We need to ask God to confirm His word with signs following. While some people will not believe even when they witness miracles, God does use miracles and healings in the salvation of some people.
Ray Comfort Outreach
On October 13, I received an email from Ray Comfort telling me that he was planning to preach in Berkeley on Oct. 30. He asked me for suggestions about where to preach. I wrote him that SproulPlazais the best location. He obtained a permit to preach there using amplification.
About a hundred Christians joined the outreach, including Ray and six of his staff members. They set up a small amplifier with two microphones, one for the preacher and another for a “heckler.” Shortly after Ray started giving away dollar bills, a large crowd of about 200 students gathered. Students lined up to present their objections to the Christian message, and then Ray and his staff would respond.
It was very interesting watching Ray and the others deal with people’s questions. Many of the questions were quite challenging. One of the students, who said he was raised Christian, used a passage that he claimed suggested God promotes rape (Deut. 22:28-29). In this kind of situation, I think the best response is to say “I am not familiar with that scripture. If you give me your email address, I’ll do some research and get back to you.” But the preacher tried his best to answer him.
It turns out that the Hebrew word probably does not refer to rape but to consensual sex. Also, there is nothing in the passage suggesting that God approves of rape.
Another issue dealt with slavery. According to Old Testament law, anyone caught selling another person into slavery was to be executed. “He who kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or he is found in his possession, shall surely be put to death.” (Exodus 21:16)
The kind of “slavery” allowed in the Old Testament was a person voluntarily committing himself to serve someone else for a period of up to 7 years, in order to avoid starvation. The master was required to free such servants after 7 years or during the year of jubilee, which happened every 50 years. There were also laws regarding the treatment of such servants, in order to protect them.
The Roman Empire had a different kind of slavery, which was involuntary. The early Christians were not in a position to end slavery. The book of Philemon dealt with a runaway slave. Paul strongly suggested to Onesimus that he free him, and most likely he did.
Van witnessed to a student named Koren. He was an evolutionist who also doubts that the Bible is true. He shared some information with him, including a booklet titled “How a Jew became a Scientific Creationist” by Tom Cantor. It gives his story of how he studied and did research with Nobel scientists at UC San Diego who couldn’t answer his questions about the origin of life.
I spoke with a young man, Richard, who came to Berkeley because he had watched Ray’s videos. He has recently been saved, but had a lot of questions.
On the Streets
On October 19, we witnessed at Powell and Market St. I witnessed to two Muslims who were students at San Francisco State University. Saed was from Dubai. Omer was from Saudi Arabia. It was difficult witnessing to them because they didn’t speak English well. But both took a New Testament from me.
On November 2-3, we witnessed at Fisherman’s Wharf. Adrian Simila brought a group on 10 Christians with him from the Lord’s Ranch in Spokane, WA. It had been two years since they had stayed with us. On Friday night, Dave witnessed to Stephanie and Carlos. Both were Catholics who were quite receptive to the gospel and asked lots of questions. We also met Joshua, a Catholic from Utah, who had come here looking for work and had ended up homeless. He was invited to go to the Lord’s Ranch, and agreed to go. He joined us the next day, and went with Adrian’s team. [UPDATE:Adrianwrote me in December to tell me that Joshua gave his heart to the Lord and is doing well at the Lord’s Ranch.]
Adrian told me that four years ago, when he and his team were witnessing at Fisherman’s Wharf with us, he met Tim and took him back to their ranch. Tim is now married, living in Spokane, and serving God. Hallelujah!
Exodus From Exodus International
Thirty-five years ago, I met Frank Worthen while witnessing on Polk Street. He was witnessing with a group of “ex-gay” Christians. Frank was one of the pioneers of “ex-gay” ministry, reaching out to Christians who struggle with same-sex attraction. He helped begin a network of “ex-gay” ministries called Exodus International about 35 years ago. I serve on the Board of Directors of New Hope Ministries, which Frank founded and is now led by Ron Smith.
Recently, the President of Exodus International, Alan Chambers, has been making some statements that have undermined their ministry and confused many people. He believes that repentance from sin is unnecessary for salvation and has said that practicing homosexuals can be assured of heaven if they profess faith in Christ. I tried discussing this matter with him, but after our initial contact, he refused to discuss it with me.
As a result of his unscriptural positions, twenty Exodus member ministries have left that organization to start a new network called “Restored Hope Network.
Ministry Needs
Thank you again for your prayers and financial support for this ministry. We have two openings in our ministry house. We are looking for spiritually-mature Christians who are serious about evangelism.
I hope many of you will join us for an outreach this next month. If you don’t live in this area, please pray for us and ask God to give you opportunities to share the gospel with others in your own community.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum