Should “Bullhorn Guy” Really Shut Up?
Category: Faithblogs
Several years ago I was introduced to Rob Bell by way of his Nooma DVD’s. I must admit that when I first watched them I was captivated by Bell and hung on his every word. I’ll admit that I like his style of preaching and how he communicates – a definite gift from above.
Last evening I attended the weekly Bible study group at my home church and we watched an episode of Nooma to get things going. The episode we watched was Bullhorn. The first time I watched this, a couple years back, I thought it was a very good message that was very relevant. However, watching it last evening I wasn’t too sure about the underlying theme of the message. On the surface it seems that Bell is encouraging us to love one another as Jesus loves. But after the video was over and as I took the time to process Bell’s message I asked the question, could it be that Bell was bashing open air preachers? It sure seemed that way to me.
The video in question opens with a nerdy, poindexter type man, complete with comb over, photocopying something. Right away Bell begins his message by recalling a time when he and some friends were going to a concert and came across a bullhorn guy - a street preacher with a bullhorn. Bell recalls,
“As I get closer, I hear the words ’sin’ and ‘burn’ and ‘hell’ and ‘repent.’ And then I hear the word ‘Jesus.’ And he’s got all these pamphlets, and he’s quoting these Bible verses about the anger and wrath of God, and how if I don’t repent, I’m going to pay for it for eternity, and how I might die, I might die tonight! This might be my only chance!” -Rob Bell
He then goes on to say that he approached bullhorn guy and challenged him:
“Bullhorn guy, I don’t think it’s working. All the yelling and the judgment and the condemnation, I don’t think its working. I actually think it’s making things worse. I don’t think it’s what Jesus had in mind.” - Rob Bell
It isn’t working? Why isn’t it working? And how do we measure what does and doesn’t work? Here’s a thought, what if bullhorn guy goes out every night of his life and preaches the message of “sin and burn and hell and repent.” And what if in all that time just one person is reached and saved? I know Bell reaches thousands of people every week with his preaching and that his tours are sold out, but does that kind of success negate bullhorn guy’s ministry? Does any one of us really have the right to judge his ministry – is it any less valid than mine, or Bell’s for that matter?
In his message Bell urges the bullhorn guy to put down his bullhorn, to give up this ministry. What I find interesting is that Bell’s church in Grandville, Michegan is called Mars Hill after the famous Areopagus mentioned in Acts 17:19. Ironically, it was at Mars Hill that the Apostle Paul open-air-preached the following words: “Having overlooked the times of ignorance God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” Acts 17: 30-31
In his message Bell urges people to simply love. He reasons that it was Jesus’ love that draw people to him and that love will continue to lead people to him. I totally agree. But does this mean there’s no place for bullhorn guy?
We live in a day an age where we are taught by our preachers and pastors that God is love. Yes, God is love. The Bible confirms this over and over, but we get stuck there. Like a broken record we hear and say God is love… God is love… God is love… Let me ask you, when was the last time you heard a good wholesome “fear God” type message about sin or death or hell or judgment, all the things that, according to Bell, make bullhorn guy so infamous? And yet, the Bible, God’s Word, talks about these things over and over again. In fact, Jesus himself speaks about such things. And I know for a fact that putting the fear of God into someone does work – my wife and I are living proof of that!
So again I ask, is there no need of bullhorn guy? In his defense I say, if he reaches just one person then his ministry was successful. Maybe not by human standards of success, where oftentimes we measure success of a ministry by how many bums are on seats or how much the offering was. And let’s be honest here and say sure, bullhorn guy might upset some people and may not make many friends – let’s face it pointing out people’s sin’s has a tendency to do that – but again, what of the one. I’m somewhat of a realist and know that bullhorn guy is never going to reach as many people as Bell, per say, but listen to what the Bible says:
“I can guarantee that God’s angels are happy about one person who turns to God and changes the way he thinks and acts.” Jesus – Luke 15:10
Notice one thing, the Bible doesn’t say what form of outreach we are to use to reach that one person. And even Jesus is pretty vague as to what methods of evangelism and disciple-making we are to use when we “go and make disciples.” Matt. 28:19
I still like Bell as a preacher but I must admit, I kind of felt sorry for bullhorn guy last night, because maybe instead of bashing him and telling him to give up Bell could have simply encouraged him by saying something like, “if only for the one.”
Christian St John M.Div, BChM, ACS
May, 2009
Picture by Stefan Wagner
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While I agree that if even one person has reached salvation through a bullhorn guy he is a success, I disagree on the likelihood of the existence of that person. A lot of the bullhorns I’ve come across seem to be out there with a very angry, confrontational attitude which sours and sometimes poisons the message being put across.
They do serve the purpose of getting the seed of the Word out there (like in the parable of the various soils) but, again, their method leaves a lot to be desired. Instead of being more like a gardener, preparing the soil, caring for the blossom, showing that they (the evangelizer) and God care about the person and the result they just throw it there and walk away. Hopefully that wasn’t as convoluted and uncomfortable to read as it was to write.
In my experience, the bullhorn guys I have come across have been genuine believers with a heart for the lost. I remember one guy in Hyde Park, London, on a warm Sunday afternoon preaching perhaps one of the best messages of hope I have ever heard. In his message he spoke about hell, damnation, sin, darkness, and it would have been easy to listen to a couple of minutes of this and think, “wacko!” However, listening to more of his message he turned the whole thing around and spoke of heaven, salvation, newness, and life. Sometimes we cut people off mid sentence because we think we know where they’re going with their message.
With that said, I do agree that if someone is preaching from anger, fear or ignorance then it can be detrimental to the cause of Christ.
It’s funny but reading some of the old sermons by Westley, Edwards, Whitfield, and the like – they had no problem preaching hell, sin, wrath, and all that jazz. And what’s more, the people got it and were saved in their hundred’s if not thousands as a result. Reading some their sermons I would take a guess and say we would probably class them as bullhorn’s in this day and age.
What is more loving A.) To never speak of sin, the penalty of sin – death and eternal just punishment in hell; but be nice and “loving” to people so you can at some point share how Jesus will make their lives better…
or B.) Risk offending (the cross is offense) by speaking the truth in love that we are all under God’s wrath because we all sin and are considered sons of disobedience (John 3:36, Eph 5:6, Col 3:6) and that unless we recognize our sinful state, repent and put our full trust and faith in the finished work of Christ that we will reap the full reward of our disobedience by spending eternity in hell because we have sinned against a holy and just God or eternity in heaven because we are bad people forgiven by an amazingly good and kind God.
Bullhorn guy should never stop and more of us should find our voice to join him with or without a bullhorn!
Acts 4:19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge.
Acts 4:20 “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”
Jesus didn’t live a perfect life, die the death of the cross and rise from the dead to show us a better way to live and give us our best life now. He lived a perfect life to fulfill the requirements of the law that by our sin nature we never could, He died the death of the cross to pay the just penalty of our sin so that we might be forgiven and reconciled to God and He rose again that we might share in eternal life with Him. I do not find the command to make disciples to be vague I would say in reading the NT the how of Christian life and Christian discipleship is laid out. Preach the cross, see men saved, teach them the word of God and send them out to do preach the cross, see men saved, teach them the word and so on and so on. God through the NT writers has given us clear instruction on how to proclaim the Gospel, how to live the Christian life by the Spirit and not by our own strength and how to die to ourselves and live unto God.
I will end with this salvation is God’s work – proclamation is ours. Oh that we would all rise to the challenge and open our mouths one on one or to a crowd.
Hey Jackie, Thanks for your comment. Wow! You’ve really given this some thought. I love your interaction on this issue. I agree that just being nice to people can be a compromise… there has to be a time in our “being nice” where we share the Gospel with those we are being nice to. And therein lies the hard part as, like you say, the Gospel is offensive. Just look at Jesus – many found him offensive! And that’s what turns so many people away from sharing, because they want to be buddies with everyone and fail to realize that time is short and we are (to quote the Blue’s Brothers) on a Mission from God!
You are right in saying that God saves… we proclaim. Isaiah 52:7 says, “How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”” What a beautiful image and I’m sure it includes more than a few “bullhorn guys.”