Arrested for Street Preaching
Our church has been preaching on the streets since Autumn of 1991. Our ministry has involved handing out tracts on the street, holding scripture signs, and, of course, preaching. Besides the usual heckling and obscene gestures, we had virtually no trouble from anyone - until June of 1996.
What changed?
To put it simply, two things changed: the content of our signs, and the location where we hold them.
First, we changed the content of our signs. Instead of just having signs that said, "Jesus saves" and such (which are all very good), we added some new signs. They were these:
* If you died TODAY, would you be in heaven or hell?
* How can ye escape the damnation of Hell? (Matt 23:33) Repent ye, and believe the gospel! (Mark 1:15)
* Homosexuality is abomination according to God's Word.
* Three gay rights: AIDS, Hell, or salvation
* If a man lie with a man as with a woman, both have committed abomination.
* Is your sin really worth going to hell over?
* Pro-choice = dead babies
* Murder is not a choice.
As you can see, we increased the intensity of our message, and also began to touch on a few issues besides salvation. This drew great criticism from liberals and religious devils alike. Everyone wants you to deal with sin, but nobody wants you to name the sin.
Besides all this, we moved from the poorer sections of town to the richer sections of town. That was not to shun the poorer people, but to change our coverage area. We felt we might be more effective in a busier part of town. As it turns out, folks who used to ride by and encourage us suddenly felt compelled to rail against us since we were in their part of town. We know that this led to many complaints to the authorities by those who have the political power and influence in Newnan.
When we first started standing in the new locations, the city told us we needed a permit to stand there. So, we obtained what was then called a parade, or picketing, permit. Then, the more we thought about it, it became obvious that if they didn't want us there, they could refuse to grant a permit on any given day. This seemed to us to be giving them authority to dictate where and when we could and could not stand. So, we decided that soon we would stop getting them.
One day, my pastor and another preacher went to the city manager's office to get a permit for the day. As it turned out, only the city manager could grant one. Not his secretary, not the chief of police, not even the mayor. And the rules were such that, if the city manger was not present, that was just too bad. Since the city manager was absent that day, my pastor asked if we could be permitted to go anyway, and was flatly denied. He then said that he was going anyway and would face the consequences. Immediately after he left the office, they called the city attorney to ask his advice. He said to lock them up, so they arrested my pastor and another preacher and locked them up.
They told them to pay a $66.00 fine and they could go free and not have to go to court, so long as we continued to ask for permits. My pastor flatly refused, saying that would be the same as taking a license to preach on the streets. So, someone paid their bail, and a court date of August 26th was set. Upon examining the arrest record, we found that the charge was "pandering." That amounts to solicitation for prostitution. The police department said that it was simply a misspelling of "parading." You believe that, don't you?
After we contacted David Gibbs from the Christian Law Association, he contacted the city, and a game of "chicken" followed. They kept trying to pressure us into a deal, and Brother Gibbs kept reminding them that a case like ours has never been won by the government in any city. The city put the date off 7 times, and finally a judge said they could put it off no more. The final date given us was March 26, 1997.
The week before that, Brother Gibbs called us with some bad news. The city had decided once again not to go to court on the 26th. But he also had good news - it would not go to court because the city dropped the charges. Moreover, the city attorney had invited Brother Gibbs and his firm to come to Newnan to help them draft a new city ordinance concerning street preaching and street witnessing.
We praise God for how He can still touch the hearts of wicked men.
