Judy, I appreciate you taking time to balance some of the Scriptures that Kevin shared with you. Nevertheless, I hope you keep in mind that what you shared BALANCES and does not NEGATE what Kevin shared.
Two points I would like to make quickly. 1. Kevin is a church leader. He has organized men from his church and others to carry the gospel to the streets and he has done a most excellent job. I realize that some of his writings appear somewhat caustic, but please do not cut him short of the honor that is truly due him. You have no idea of the sacrifice of love that this man has done. What is disheartening to him and others is when people who are not involved in this kind of ministry criticize it without knowledge of the people coming to faith in Christ through it. While I think you make some good points, there also is a message you need to hear from Kevin. Please try to hear it. 2. You have often brought up the importance of this ministry of rebuke being in the church. I agree whole heartedly, but I think you and I have a very different idea of what the church is. The Greek word for church is "ekklesia." I know that you know this, but for the sake of others, I need to be somewhat basic. The word "ekklesia" really means congregation or assembly. The Greek word "sunogoge" corresponds more closely to our English word "church" in the sense that it refers to an ecclesiastical congregation. From my perspective, which might be a little long to establish right now, the word "church" refers to the believers within our local community, not to the building on the corner that has a sign saying "First Baptist" or whatever on it. If you can understand my concept of the ekklesia, then you will understand that when I stand on the street corner and preach, I am preaching to the ekklesia. Sometimes I have critics say to me while I am preaching, "man, you shouldn't be out here preaching like this. Jesus said you are suppose to be in a church with a steeple on it preaching somewhere else." I often respond, "I do preach in church too, but you weren't there. Why?" Sometimes I just say, "I would be there but you wouldn't be there." The point is that the institutional churches have made it impossible to rebuke and correct sin within its structure. The prophets have been cast out, so we take the message to the streets. When I stand in a public place and preach, I truly see myself as preaching within the church because I view my community as the local church. A great number of those who hear us already attend a church. These are often the most vocal who argue against the rebuke of sin. I have preached not only to Christians, but to pastor's kids and also to pastors themselves. Even in the night club districts where people drink and party, I have met missionaries and pastors, and preached a convicting message of repentance to them. You have no idea the number of Christians rebuked in this way. I know one man, Patrick Johnston, who was once a member of this list, who was one such Christian. He thought he was a Christian and talked like a Christian but he lived in sin. In response to a campus preacher, he turned from the error of his sinful way and now preaches Jesus Christ. A link to his website is www.wherethetruthhurts.org. I encourage you to read a short story from a street preacher named Carl Giordano who mentions a Baptist preacher's son at Texas Tech. Carl called him a "little devil" because he bragged about drinking and having sex and being a Baptist Preacher's son and being saved. Visit the following link: http://www.bereanpublishers.co.nz/CarlGiordano.htm Try to have somewhat of an open mind and not read too much into the ruckus and riotous behavior that sometimes surrounds public ministry. People are affected deep down by this ministry, and it does bring forth good fruit. Peace be with you. David Miller, Beverly Hills, Florida. ---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed.
