Battle Log
Friday 29 May 2020
Posted 30 May 2020, 1:23 PM by Glen Richards. Permalink
As I write this, I’m feeling really raw. I think I had two of the hardest gospel outreaches in my life - ever. Positions #1 and #2. And they both occurred on the same day!
And you have to expect it, so I’m not complaining. God is with us, even through the hard days.
But it still hurts. After the first outreach, the gospel + abortion outreach outside the hospital, I said I felt like I was lying on the ground with multiple bullet wounds, and I was bleeding out. That was the 2nd hardest outreach ever. You can read about it here
It was about now that I noticed my throat was very dry. After facing that. I felt like I could face anything. I was very keen to get to Cathedral Square for some open air preaching. I didn’t know what was coming.
Our usual gaggle of hecklers had gathered, and I gladly stood up to start proclaiming the good news of the hope for eternal life found in Jesus. I’ve decided I want to get better at addressing the hecklers, so while preaching, I kept one ear on what they were saying, and did my best to try to address them, without losing the flow of the law and gospel presentation I was giving. Marty preached after me. Andy decided not to preach today, and so we moved to Cashel Mall early to start reaching people in gospel conversations.
Roger joined Andy and I, and it was a bit slower than the first few weeks after lock down - back to a normal amount of people on the streets. But we still had many opportunities to talk to people about hope.
It was coming nearer to the end of the outreach than the start when we had a disturbance. I was talking to three guys from the USA when I noticed Andy was in a bit of an intense conversation. Next thing I notice is that Andy is walking away - always a good option when appropriate.
My conversation with the three guys ended and then I noticed that the guy that had been hassling Andy was now abusing Roger who was in a conversation with two high school students.
I pulled out my phone and started recording, and told the man to please leave us alone, and that I was recording him. It had the desired effect, he stopped disturbing Rogers' conversation, and started abusing me instead. He was drunk. It was worse than anything I’ve ever experienced. Even worse than the abuse hurled at us at the gospel + abortion outreach earlier in the day.
The guy made a real scene. I told Roger to calll the cops. Little did I know, Andy had already done that, and I’m sure others were too. People were stopping to watch this guy verbally abusing me and others. I’m sure many of them were hanging around to stop him if he started getting physical.
And that threat was very real. I remember a moment when he started pacing towards me. I was stepping back, so he stepped forward. I realised what was happening, and I knew I had to stop, so I did. I looked him in the eye and said not a word. He came right into my face. I tried not to flinch, but I knew there was a very real possibility that he was about to punch me in the face. He didn’t - thank God for that. But the verbal abuse continued to stream out of this man. He was angry that we tell people that they are going to hell - something we never actually do, we are always careful to present the truth of hell in such a way that they draw their own conclusions in relation to the logic and context we give. And we then share the amazing good news of how to go to heaven - which is a gift of God. We don’t want anyone to go to hell, and that is why we are there, desperately pleading with all to get on the ark of Jesus.
Members of the public started getting involved. I remember two ladies coming to my defence. One said she didn’t agree with my religious convictions, but that no one should be talked to like this. I did my best to keep them back (I failed). The best response is no words, or calm words.
Finally the Police arrived, and I could start to breathe again. I was in shock, and I wasn’t thinking straight, but then I calmed myself and started responding to the Police. I realised I was still recording on my phone. So I stopped it and managed to play it back for the Police. They arrested the guy.
The Police were wonderful. I’m so grateful for them. Thank you so much! And thank you to all the citizens that stopped and supported us. I appreciated your presence - thank you.
We still had about fifteen minutes of outreach left, and I refused to shut down early. This was not going to stop the gospel. So we kept going till the scheduled end. I noticed Roger had another conversation with an elderly couple.
After the outreach, we gathered around hot chocolate and coffee to discuss and pray. What a day!
But it wasn’t over yet. Mike and I had scheduled our first evening outreach post lock down. They say these things happen in threes. What was going to happen during the evening?
But thankfully the evening outreach was uneventful, apart from many opportunities to sow gospel seed. It was a successful outreach, with plenty of people out and about.
The highlight conversation for me was a follow up right at the start with two high school aged kids out skateboarding.
I also approached a guy who said, “I know you, you are my neighbour!” I was shocked. It turns out he was my brother's neighbour - I obviously look a lot like my brother! I got to share the gospel with him and a lady with him.
And I haven’t even had a chance to talk about the wonderful gospel opportunities from Thursday at the Eastgate and Northlands bus stops. The highlight was a conversation with a kid whose grandfather is a pastor. It was a wake up call he needed to hear. I also got to share with his girlfriend. So many other fascinating conversations occurred, where God’s providence was on display. But I don’t have time to write about them. I need to get back to the streets, where the harvest is ripe.
God is with us. With Him, we can face anything. Oh, may there be fruit to bring glory to God alone.
View previous Christchurch (NZ) report (27 May 2020)
Christchurch (NZ) Team
Weekly outreaches:
Tue 3:30pm - 5:30pm - Riccarton (corner of Riccarton Rd and Rotherham St)
Fri 1:30pm - 3:30pm - City (Bridge of Remembrance)
Sat 11am - 1pm - Riccarton (corner of Riccarton Rd and Rotherham St)
Sun 1:30pm - 3:30pm - City (corner of Colombo St and Cashel St).
Contact Glen Richards or Andy Barlow for more information.