what happened to guts?

One of my good friends is a hero to me. He lives the passage about being “unashamed of the gospel”. He evangelizes and preaches in public almost daily (or nightly), alone and in small groups, and sends out email to keep his friends and supporters updated on what’s happening. I know him personally and have been out evangelizing with him, so I am familiar with his approach. It’s a casual, “Way of the Master” sort of evangelism. He just asks to talk with people (if they have a minute) and converses with them about Christ and the necessity of knowing and being forgiven by Him in order to be made right with God. His open-air preaching consists of reading the Scripture aloud to any who will listen (not to passing cars – at libraries, gas stations, parks, etc.). He is solid and I read constantly about very positive responses to his preaching and witness.

In his last email, I read something really disturbing. He and some friends went out to evangelize at a John Eldridge event happening at a large church in Atlanta (tons of people pour in for this type of thing, some of them certainly unbelievers), and the church asked them to leave. While I might be able to think of some mixed-up reasons to sort of justify that (though they really don’t work), what really bothered me was the next thing he said. My friend teaches at a Christian school, and he was called last week in to see the principal because parents are complaining that he’s hurting the reputation of the school and his own reputation. Apparently the principal (who has never heard him preach) told him that he was preaching a “condemning” and hurtful message and requested that he stop. Obviously the principal has not gone down to see the group of young kids that hang out regularly at the library to hear him read scripture and ask him questions. I was so infuriated about this that it was hard for me not to put the school’s name in this message and try to ensure that Christians stop supporting it.

My friend has no plans to stop preaching, for which I and many others are thankful, but what has happened to Christians in America? He tells me about more accounts than I would prefer to remember of persons claiming to be Christians telling him to stop what he’s doing when he’s evangelizing or preaching. A number of these “Christians” are drunk at entertainment events downtown, and they all make sure that my friend knows that they are “Christians”. One such “Christian” tried to get him kicked out of a public park (where he had every right to be) by calling the police! What is everyone afraid of? He’s not doing anything crazy – you know, chasing down people and beating them over the head with Bibles, or yelling obscenities, or any of that stuff (some of which, oddly enough, Christians sanction in our society). He’s just a real guy out there asking for permission to talk to people about Christ. Why does the majority of the persecution he experiences come from people claiming to be Christians and representing the church?