{"id":1033,"date":"2010-11-04T12:30:39","date_gmt":"2010-11-04T17:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theamericanjesus.wordpress.com\/?p=1033"},"modified":"2010-11-04T12:30:39","modified_gmt":"2010-11-04T17:30:39","slug":"turning-the-tables","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/zackhunt\/2010\/11\/turning-the-tables\/","title":{"rendered":"Turning The Tables"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"\"$ <\/a><\/p>\n

<\/h1>\n
Students protest preacher on his turf<\/h1>\n
By Jenna Ross,<\/strong> Star Tribune<\/p>\n
He \u2014 or someone like him \u2014 is a fixture on a campus near you.<\/p>\n
The Rev. John Chisham, called \u201cJohn the Baptist,\u201d tours public colleges preaching, a Bible in one hand and a sign in the other.<\/p>\n
This fall, students at the Minnesota State University, Mankato, took offense at his words about gay people and women and decided to act.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a lot of nonsense,\u201d said Tara Mitchell, a 22-year-old sophomore. \u201cHateful stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
They knew they couldn\u2019t get Chisham kicked off campus; public colleges can\u2019t regulate who says what on their property. So after a conversation with James Dimock, associate professor of communications studies, the group decided to challenge Chisham on his turf.<\/p>\n
They attended his Sunday service in the YMCA in Marshall, silently carrying signs.<\/p>\n
Mitchell, a lesbian, held a sign with the name of Seth Walsh, a bullied gay teen who killed himself. Another sign quoted Chisham himself: \u201cWomen have small brains.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey wanted to look into people\u2019s eyes and make them see,\u201d Dimock said. \u201cThey wanted them to not be able to look away.\u201d<\/p>\n
On his website, Chisham argued that the students\u2019 move was \u201can inappropriate assault on the congregation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if the tables had been turned?\u201d he wrote. \u201cWhat if the Professor had invited me to his class, and I brought a dozen of my friends holding up signs of the Christians who had been murdered by Islam in the last year?\u201d<\/p>\n
Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n
Personally, I find this story both amusing and fascinating all at the same time. Mr. Chisham\u2019s ironic question \u201cwhat if the tables had been turned\u201d has been answered, although not in the way he would obviously like.<\/p>\n
I understand the passion of so-called \u201cstreet preachers\u201d. I just think both their methods and their ultimate goal are off. One of my favorite pastors is Rob Bell. The man gets a lot of flack from people who I\u2019m sure would be big fans of Mr. Chisham, but he makes a great point about the gospel that I think all street preachers would do good to hear. The truth of the gospel doesn\u2019t lie in an\u00a0elaborate\u00a0philosophical argument, \u00a0our ability to convince people that God exists, or even, and maybe especially, in our ability to convince people that they\u2019re going to go to hell. The truth of the gospel is found in our lives, in the transformation that occurs and is seen and \u00a0is shared shared with the world. Our lives are the good news. We are the gospel. (My paraphrase)<\/p>\n
The good news we are called to share with the world must be shared through more than a quick sales pitch and it must result in much more than a \u201cconversion.\u201d The good news must be lived out for all to see and experience, so that they too may be transformed by it and join us, not as converts, but as disciples of a living and loving God.<\/p>\n
If we really want to proclaim the good news, then maybe we should begin by putting down our signs, end our street side proclamations of hell fire and brimstone and instead learn to love and serve those people we have for so long hated and abused.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Students protest preacher on his turf By Jenna Ross, Star Tribune He \u2014 or someone like him \u2014 is a fixture on a campus near you. The Rev. John Chisham, called \u201cJohn the Baptist,\u201d tours public colleges preaching, a Bible in one hand and a sign in the other. This fall, students at the Minnesota […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3437,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,11],"tags":[8,14,239,242],"class_list":["post-1033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary","category-news","tag-commentary","tag-news","tag-rob-bell","tag-street-preacher"],"yoast_head":"\nTurning The Tables<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Students protest preacher on his turf By Jenna Ross, Star Tribune He -- or someone like him -- is a fixture on a campus near you. The Rev. 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