An interesting site to see at almost any college are the preachers who stand out in a popular hang out place and preach to students. We have our own preachers in the Brickyard who are out there almost every day (or at least every time I pass through). Some do a good job in getting the Good News out, but others not so much. One famous preacher is Gary Birdsong, or the "Brickyard Preacher" as we like to call him. This guy is a fundamentalist Christian who takes an accusatory approach to lead others to Christ. In other words, he basically has that "everyone is going to Hell" mentality . I believe that he even yelled "You're going to Hell" to those who would walk by him and didn't stop to listen to him! He better hope he's never out there and says that to me if I pass by him. I'll say, "Actually, I am because I'm a Christian."
Just today, I witnessed another preacher who took almost the exact same approach. I think this guy, though, my have taken the cake. I was sitting on the picnic tables outside the Atrium listening to what this guy was saying. One thing that stuck out was his comments on going to football games. He said, "if you go to football games, you must repent." Are you kidding me? I have never heard that before in my life. I know a ton of Christian friends who go to football games. Heck, even Campus Crusade goes and tailgates at all the home football games here. He mentioned that we must repent if we've ever watched MTV or channels like it. Now, I know that's probably not the best channel to watch, but the fact of the matter is that I bet even Christians watch it anyway.
He also said "if you sin, you will go to Hell." I interpreted what he said as, if you sin, you will go to Hell no questions asked. I don't believe that fully. True, God does not let sin into his Kingdom, but we all sin. It doesn't matter if we're born again Christians or Atheists, we all still sin. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." And that is exactly why there is a religion called Christianity. Due to our sinful nature, God sent his only son Jesus to die on a cross for us. Additionally, when we sin, we can ask God for forgiveness and He will forgive us. Like I heard on K-LOVE the other day, when you repent, God will give you a second chance.
One of the biggest things that stuck out to me (in addition to the above) was that, "if you're a Christian, you do not sin." This is completely false! True, we all strive to not sin but we all do anyway (Romans 3:23). The only one without sin is God Himself, no one else! When He sent his son, Jesus, down to Earth, He led a perfect (sinless) life which no one in all of history can ever say they've done. That preacher is not honestly going to sit there and tell me he has never sinned in his life. Give me a break!
Unfortunately, the Christian religion is being plagued by people like these two. I'm sure his intentions were good, but he definitely needs some training on how to tell people about the Good News. Many Christians wonder why do people not join the religion. It's because of things like this. I know that if I wasn't a Christian and heard this kind of talk from preachers, I probably wouldn't want to be a Christian either. We all have to do a better job at spreading the Good News to those who don't believe it.
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