I had the opportunity to witness at Super Bowl 45 this year as part of the Super Bowl Outreach. I went to Dallas with seven other people who are with Born of Him Ministries. We had a great time of fellowship, evangelism training and then actual evangelism. I made a lot of new friends, including two open-air preachers from Ohio, who were part of our group for the weekend. We witnessed at the NFL Experience at the Convention Center and it was great. People were receptive and we had a really good time handing out tracts and open-air preaching.
Super Bowl Sunday was a little different. We still did open-air preaching at Cowboys Stadium, but the crowd was a little tougher. A lot of people were already drunk when we got there at noon and we had a harder time handing out tracts. But I think our main problem was that our group was surrounded by Shock and Awe open-air preachers on both sides of us! After the crowds walked through abusive speakers, they weren’t willing to listen to us. It was really sad.
You see the Shock and Awe guys only yelled at people and worse yet, they called people names when they walked by. A lot of my friends think that I preach a “harsh” brand of Christianity. My friends, you haven’t seen harsh until you’ve seen and/or heard the shock and awe guys. They were so busy yelling at people that they didn’t give them the Good News, they didn’t give people the Gospel.
So I’d like to clarify that shock and awe preaching is harsh. Shock and awe should be used by the military, not evangelists. The evangelist involved with the Super Bowl Outreach preached the Law and the Gospel. The way we preach is very biblically based. We follow the way our master, Jesus Christ presented the Good News. To see what I mean, please read John 4:4-42. Jesus very much gave the woman at the well the Law. He pointed out to her that she had violated the 10 Commandments. In fact, he really only pointed out that she had violated the 7th Commandment: You shall not commit adultery. He did this by telling her that she had been married five times and that she wasn’t married to the guy she was currently living with. (Do you think at this point she was hearing “I have a wonderful plan for your life” or some type of prosperity gospel?)
I suspect that Jesus pointing out her flaw(s), pointing out that she had broken one of the 10 Commandments didn’t make her feel very good at that moment. We all have a God-given conscience. We know right from wrong. God gave each of us a conscience so we would know when we were doing something wrong. God did this to convict us.
Then notice after Jesus convicts the woman at the well about her actions, He then gives her grace, He gives her the Good News. In verse 14 Jesus says, “But whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Then in verses 25 and 26 the woman says that they are looking for the Messiah, the Christ. Jesus then reveals to her that He is the Messiah! Jesus gives her the Good News!
One of the things I love about this story is that once the woman realizes who Jesus is, she turns into an evangelist! She goes and tells the men of her city that she has found the Messiah. Then in verses 41 and 42 the people say that that they have heard Jesus themselves and they believe. They go on to say that He is indeed the Christ, the Savior.
If you think that I preach a “harsh” version of Christianity, please remember that I’m not a shock and awe preacher. I preach God’s truth (which isn’t always easy to hear and doesn’t always make you feel warm and fuzzy), but I do teach the same Gospel that Jesus Christ taught. The Law (10 Commandments) and the Gospel (Good News). If you are not a born again Christian, please turn away from your sins and put your trust in Jesus Christ to save you. There is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12). That’s not shock and awe, that’s simply the truth.