Duluth News Tribune Articles

The Duluth News Tribune printed two articles about this ministry. Both of the "articles" come from the READER'S VIEWS (opinion section). The articles follow.

Article #1 Friday August 15, 2008
RELIGIOUS ZEALOTS CHOSE WRONG PLACE FOR MESSAGE
Thousands of visitors lined up to enjoy the three replica sailing ships in the Twin Ports as part of the weekend Maritime Festival. Duluth could take a bow.
But on every parade some rain may fall, apparently. One this occasion, a couple of religious zealots were on hand with their soapbox and their repent-or-perish placecard. They stood on the walkway beside the Baltimore ship.
If people were searching for a spiritual message, they would have attended a Franklin Graham festival. People who braved freeway traffic, parking and prices were unlikely to have interest in a doomsday message, brandished by zealots taking advantage of a crowd with nothing to do but wait and observe and joke.
Ironically, as an evangelical believer, I will say there was truth in the sermon for the day - but it was at the wrong time and place. My scriptures tell one the wisdom from above is gentle, easy to share and full of mercy. It didn't come across that way from these sidewalk dudes.
But in spite of them, the sun was shining.
Allan Taylor (Bloomington, MN)

Article #2 Sunday September 14, 2008
LET'S PRAY THAT WORDS OF ZEALOTS REACH TARGET
In response to the Aug. 15 letter "Religious zealots chose wrong place for message," the core word in zealot, of course, is zeal, defined in my dictionary as "intense enthusiasm for a cause or person; a passionate ardor."
So a couple people were at the tall ships event this summer enthusiastically sharing a passionate message to a crowd of people who they may never see again, with a saving message they may never hear again, hoping they may save a few who would otherwise be lost to eternal damnation. Kind of sounds like John the Baptist to me.
I pray the words of zealots, whether spoken near a ship or on a street corner, or wherever, fall on some open ears and open hearts. The Bible talks about letting those with eyes see, and ears hear. Let it be so.
Paula Odegaard (Hibbing, MN)

End of Summer Recap - BAYFRONT - DRAGON BOAT - GBLA FESTIVAL

It has been a long while since I last updated this blog. The last month or so has been very busy with ministry and life. We were trying to get out on the streets and attending the last of the summer events before the snow starts to fly here in Duluth...which by the way was this time last year!!

We ended the summer preaching at the: Bayfront Blues Fest, Lake Superior Dragon Boat Races, and the Gay Pride in Duluth/Superior. These were the main events we preached at, however there were also several weekdays we were out in Canal Park and/or the Holiday Center Bus Stop.

The Duluth News-Tribune had an article in the paper tallying the final spectator counts at each main event. The events we attended had the following numbers:

Maritime Festival: 125,000
Grandma's Marathon: 50,000
Duluth Air Show: 32,000
Bayfront Festival: 20,000
Gaypride Festival: 11,000 (highly speculative - it did not seem like nearly that many)

FinnFest: 7,000
Dragon Boat Festival: 7,000

Obviously God didn't reach all those people through us with the Gospel, but the total number comes to: 252,000 people...that's over a quarter-million people! PRAISE GOD! Not to mention the many times we made it out to the streets during the week or on a weekend with no event!

Mark 16:15
And He [Jesus] said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

Praise God that He gave us the strength, boldness, time, and endurance to go to each of those events. To Him belong all the glory, honor, and praise!

The following is a quick recap of each event.

BAYFRONT BLUES FEST:
Bayfront is a 4 day event, with Friday, Saturday, and Sunday being the biggest days. We were able to preach for approx. 8 hours on the final 3 days. Steve, Josh, and Lori were the main "preachers" but Vincent came one day as well. We encountered the police the first day we were there and had to move off the premises to just outside the gates. This worked well for us because we set up in a great funnel area. Anyone coming into or leaving the park had to come by us, which offered us a great chance for conversations and open-air preaching. We did a little open-air preaching, but the majority was done via our signs. The crowds were pretty hostile towards us since a great majority of the people were drunk. By hostile I mean, they offered their 2-sec. conversation of obscenities, finger-gestures, and "I thought God was loving and forgiving." For those pastors out there, you might want to consider telling the WHOLE COUNSEL of God and educate the masses about the TRUE GOD.

Acts 20:26-27
Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.

LAKE SUPERIOR DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL
This event was held in Superior, Wisconsin. It was our first preaching on "foreign" soil! The ministry has now traveled to 2 of the 50 states!! The neat thing about being in Superior is they do not have a sound ordinance, therefore we were able to use an electronic bullhorn to preach. What an experience! This event was a 2 day event, Friday and Saturday. We set up friday afternoon and started preaching using the bullhorn. We were able to reach people from a good distance away as they approached us. By the time they got to us, they received the Gospel and then some. We, of course, we pretty concerned about the volume we could get away with and how tolerant the police would be. There were 2 police officers, as well as a bike-cop, that gave us NO problem what-so-ever. They never even talked to us once about the bullhorn! It was great. We preached all day Saturday as well, and as usual, we were in an area that EVERYONE had to pass through to get to the event. The crowd was pretty tolerant at this event, but we did have the occasional mocker and finger-jester, as well as solid, biblical conversations. We have no pictures of this event because Josh bought a new camcorder and recorded most of the preaching. We plan on making a website in the distant future and the videos will be accessible through YouTube.

Mattgew 28:19-20
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

DULUTH/SUPERIOR GAY PRIDE EVENT
This was the event we were looking forward to all summer - I say that with much hesitancy. The majority of preaching videos we have seen involving homosexual events have pretty heated exchanges, some violence, and often times brings the Police on the scene. Minus the violence, preaching at the DSGP - GBLA was no difference for us.

GBLA day #1
It started with a mayor reception at the Depot. Steve, Josh, Lori and Michael were at the event. We immediately were approached by the police and they tried to keep us out of the event, but we were prepared. We showed them document from the necessary powers-that-be allowing us access to where we wanted to be. The day was pretty uneventful but we did have a few great conversation.s The picture above is me preaching to 2 homosexuals. Another picture is the sign Michael made for the event, Lori is helping him hold the sign so the homosexuals can read it. They were asking me a lot of questions, trying to contradict the word of God with their "experiences" and "philosophy" but in the end they heard the Gospel and the consequences if the continue to practice this life-style. God did a wonder by breaking up this event. Notice in the picture the rain downpour! Of course we wanted to preach to them but a large storm came through with damaging wind and rain. The concert was cut short, the event was cut short, and in the end the decorations that were set up got demolished. Notice the rainbow picture above. You can see the GBLA rainbow destroyed by the wind/rain but God's rainbow banner fly high above. Was He once again showing His mercy sinners?

Gen 9:12-16
And God said: This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."

GBLA day #2
This was the BIG day for the GBLA event. It was an all-day festival at Bayfront Park. We got there about 10am and were immediately met by the police (2 of which were wearing GBLA ankle bracelets). They told us we were not allowed in the event. What followed was a 10-20 min dialogue between me and them. Josh taping it all. I had done my leg work contacting the necessary powers-that-be, I had more than enough Federal Court cases to show our rights, and letters from the Duluth City attorney. They did care about ANY of it. Finally, when they saw we were not budging and they had no lawful way of arresting us, they called their "superior", who I had talked to on Thursday at the Depot. Just before leaving however, one of the GBLA cops told Josh he could no longer tape the conversation at which point she grabbed Josh's camcorder, covering it up with her hands. She proceeded to say she would take the video and use it as evidence, calling it Disorderly Conduct for taping someone who wishes not to be taped. At that point, I showed her Federal Court Cases saying it is indeed LEGAL to tape ALL public officials (police being a public official). She did not care. Although it was pretty annoying to go through this process when we just came to preach, it is necessary so in the future we won't have these problems and our rights are being met. When the superior arrived, we discussed the situation, showed her where we wanted to stand, and got the OK from here. It was the BEST spot we could have asked for. Just off to the side of the main stage, yet behind the speakers so that the noise from the concert was not a problem

We set up one of our 4ft by 4ft signs. We started out in groups of 2 in two different locations, but it wasn't long before event security, not the police, started hassling Josh and Michael. So Lori and I packed up and went to Josh and Michael's area - which I described above. We did not have any more contact with the event "security" once all 4 of us were together.

The day was full of non-stop conversations. We got setup about 12pm and I was the last one to leave about 7:30. It was amazing how the homosexual community, esp. those who profess to be believers, twist the scriptures. I do not have the time to explain there interpretations, but it is as twisted as I've ever seen. We preached repentance and faith from start to finish. We told them the consequences of not repenting and not believing in Jesus. At times, there was up to 25 or more people gathered around us, asking questions, shouting obscenities, etc.

As the day wound down, as we were packing up to leave, I got into a great one-on-one conversation with a young girl. She had heard us preach several times throughout the day and apologized how the other homo's acted towards us. I let her know it's part of being a christian. She said she has never had a homosexual encounter and that she is struggling with what we were preaching and what she wants to do. She was crying and admitting she was very confused about her "feelings" and the biblical truth. I talked with her for well over an hour, having to call home to get a ride. In the end,she said she would consider what I said, but ultimately believes God will not punish her for her homosexual lifestyle if she chooses it. I ended telling her if the bible is true, she will forever burn in the lake of fire because the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God, but as long as she lives, there is always hope through repentance and faith. Please pray for Ashley.

Proverbs 24:25
But those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, And a good blessing will come upon them.

GBLA day #3
The final day of the gay fest was spent in Superior to preach at their parade and ended in Canal Park for general preaching. Being we were in Superior, WI again, the bullhorn was legal to use. We got to Superior around 11:30 before the noon start of the parade. We situated ourselves on a street corner where the parade turned, and preached REPENTANCE and FAITH for over an hour on the bullhorn. We warned ALL sinners, not just homosexuals, about the terror of the Lord and the forgiveness of sins through the Blood of Jesus Christ. Once again, the Police did not give us any problems. In fact a squad car pulled right up in front of us directing the traffic and the parade. He was within 20 yards of us. As the parade continued past him, the homosexuals were honking their horn at us, yelling, etc. to try and drawn out my preaching. I turned the bulhorn up as loud as it could go...and let me tell you...IT'S LOUD. The police never batted an eye towards us! PRAISE GOD!

During the parade, another gentleman, all by himself, was carrying two signs calling sinners to repentance and faith. He walked with the parade and through the crowds. May the Lord bless him for his boldness and faithfulness to call sinners to repent. We hope we have a chance to meet up with him again, unfortunately we did not get any contact information from him, just handshakes as he went by our preaching. We were able to engage in a few small conversations after the parade was over, which is always nice.

When the parade was done, we spent the rest of the day in canal park preaching to whoever would listen.

Acts 17:17
Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue...and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there.

I want to end with a quick thank you for all those who came out with us this summer. It isn't easy to do, but God gave you the strength and boldness to obey the great commission. I want to say thank to those who continued to pray for us while we were out battling. Just knowing others were praying for us, gives me strength...I thought about it on many occasions while preaching. I pray God would give all of us a desire to share the word more than we do, including us. The battle is raging all around us - preach the word, rebuke the wicked, call sinners to repentance. Now is not the time to become friends with someone just to get them to come to church. Now is the time to preach the word. There is no season for preaching. Preaching season is ALWAYS open (2 Timothy 4:2).

Now that fall has arrived, our efforts turn to the college campuses. As always, everyone is welcomed to join us. - even if it's just to be a "fly on the wall." Please consider helping us share the Gospel to the needed college communities. If nothing else, please continue to pray for the soldiers out on the battle field and those who "hear" our words. We, and they, need your prayers.

Proverbs 24:10-12
If you faint in the day of adversity, Your strength is small. Deliver those who are drawn toward death, And hold back those stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, "Surely we did not know this," Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?