But that’s the secular world. There’s not much desire to please the audience other than to make a paycheck and attempt to entertain their fans. Once that gets stale and the checks keep coming in no matter what, you’re left with a sixth season of Lost.

I remember back when I was first really into Way of the Master. Right around the time God saved me, I would spend time watching Way of the Master episodes on Google Video. I was quite simply addicted to them as I had never heard anything like it before.

But, let’s be honest, the first episodes of Way of the Master were not amazing technical achievements in the creative arts. For the most part, it was Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort standing in front of some rocks, or at the Golden Gate Bridge talking. The next scene would be their now famous interviews, then on to an awful looking graphic of the ten- commandments, swing back to Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort and it would repeat until the episode was finished.
It did not have much entertainment value.

In Christian media, the Glory of God is what we should strive for. We have this tremendous opportunity to glorify Christ, the Creator of creativity with the abilities he has given us, and Way of the Master constantly amazes me as an example of sanctification. This Christian Media is constantly doing the opposite of the world’s media, and in fact, Way of the Master is getting better and better.

Last week I was given a preview of Mission Europe: Paris, which will be available in a few weeks. If you have not already heard, the fourth season of WOTM follows the crew as they travel to 13 European countries in just 13 days in an incredibly fast-paced evangelism trip. It’s really different from the previous seasons that usually cover a single topic. This season is different because it tells the story of the entire fast-paced European evangelism trip, behind the scenes technical difficulties and all.

Likewise, editing of the show is equally fast-paced, to the point, and saturated with the Gospel. Also, Season Four is rooted in open-air preaching. The main point of every episode emphasizes the importance of preaching in the open air. Paris is no different, and it’s truly unique to see Ray Comfort, Mark Spence and Scotty preach the truth about the Love of God, in the city of love.

One thing about open-air preaching you hear all the time is, “This is not the best way to reach the culture,” or, “You’re not relating to the people.” But, what the forth season of Way of the Master demonstrates is that in every country, regardless of the different cultures, different people, and different languages, you see preaching in the open-air being used to bring glory to God. During the open-air preaching, crowds of people gathered together, hecklers included, and they all responded with the same flawed arguments as the people in America. There truly is nothing new.

But, there is something new about the Paris episode, Season Four, which makes it stand out from the rest; it’s the motion graphic work. More specifically, the key to all the special and crazy effects seen in Season Four are the result of the skills God has given to Dale Jackson. Dale is the special effects genius at Living Waters.

Instead of taking a normal, chroma keyed monologue from Kirk Cameron, Mark Spence, or Stewart Scott, and just placing something bland or a photo behind them, Dale Jackson and the others that help him, create these really intense, and dynamic typographies that really help keep your attention and highlight what’s important. Not every graphic that is on the episode is created by Dale Jackson, as there is clearly some stock mediaused as well. However, the in-house graphics and the stock

graphics are blended together so well, that it’s almost impossible to tell which graphics are store bought, and which are from the desk of Dale Jackson.

It’s exciting to see a show progress through the years with such a caliber of excellence and I really look forward to seeing how Season Five advances and improves in the entire production. Season Four really is a treasure for the Body of Christ to cherish for generations.

Be sure to purchase every episode of Way of the Master Season 4 as they come out by clicking here.

Were commanded to go and subdue the earth, but when it comes to Christian media, it seems as if Christians don’t even try. In the area of Christian television I can name two TV shows off the top of my head that are theologically sound and well produced. That’s it. Way of the Master and Wretched. Both Non-Fiction television shows from the same branch. When it comes to Christian media that’s not reality/news driven, were left to a movie every two years. The point is Christians are starving for creative out of the box media.

A while back ago I saw a trailer for a Christian sitcom called “The Adventures of Roman and Jorge”  (pronounced George) with two Facebook friends of mine that made me want to stick my head in the sand. “Here we go again, another sure to be disaster of Christian media. Solid Theology. Terrible Result.” It was just not a good trailer. I was not at all looking forward to it.

Remember the movie trailer for ‘Disney’s Enchanted?’ The first time I saw the trailer in the movie theater I looked over at my brother and said “Has Disney lost their mind? Their making a parody of their classic films?”

It was a horrible trailer…but the movie was amazing. I remember watching the movie enjoying every moment wondering what happened to the horrible idea that was the Enchanted Movie trailer. It was anything but a parody, it was a seriously well made movie.

The same is true for “The Adventures of Roman and Jorge”, the first Christian sitcom I can think of that is not animated like Adventures in Odyssey or partly animated like McGee and Me. Greg Elasser who plays Roman also writes, directs and produces the film along side of Dru Morgan who plays Jorge. The sitcom is about two best friends who start a journey as Evangelists while being followed by a reporter.

This is the first Christian program I have ever seen that made me laugh and not because of how terrible it was. It was genuinely funny and has very likable characters with a lot of depth. I watched the entire two episodes with a smile on my face. I was drawn into the dialog (which is very important, because the show is heavily driven on the interactions of the characters…thats all there is). It wasn’t incredibly deep or complex dialog, but it was just enough to keep me pushing through the frames.

The comedy is not cheesy. I can’t explain to you how much joy it brings me to type the words “the comedy is not cheesy.” The comedic interactions between Jorge and Roman are not out of the ordinary, over the top or filled with pie throwing, fart jokes or ridiculous prat falls but instead the well written jokes actually add to the development of the characters.

But with all the things I enjoy about “The Adventures of Roman and Jorge” there are some things that bug me.

First and foremost is the reporter format. It doesn’t belong. At all. The reporter asks questions that makes me wonder if she’s an undercover psychiatrist instead. I don’t understand how she got there, why she is there, or what she is doing. She’s just there, speaking in interrogatives over and over and over. Then she leaves and we get back to the heart of the story, the love of two friends starting out in evangelism together…But then she comes back and then magically disappears, then shes on a horse. Theres no way to distinguish what is and is not part of the journalist story. If it’s all part of it…well that just doesn’t make any sense and is just plain confusing adding to my point that she does not need to be there. It hurts the story because the cinematography is so good, every angle well placed and lit that your mind is constantly saying “This is not a local news story.”

Just as with every Christian endeavor, some of the acting falls short. This is to be expected as obviously this is always the most notable result of low budgets. However, thankfully it’s not so bad that it distracts you from the story and Greg Elasser who carries the weight of the show is great both in acting and facial expressions.

And finally, I believe the shows plot is a little rushed. Without spoiling anything, there are certain moments in peoples lives that need to be expounded on and hopefully future episodes will lend us to some flashbacks and help with deeper development.

But until then, for an independent attempt at creating something as large scale as a comedic sitcom, this is a win. If not now…it’s in the making. I am really excited about “The Adventures of Roman and Jorge”and I hope God blesses this endeavor because it’s Gospel saturated in every episode both in character interactions and the final moments when we hear a heart felt presentation of the Gospel from special guests such as Mark Spence and Tony Miano.

The Adventures of Roman and Jorge is a well made, funny and heartfelt sitcom filled wit the Gospel and portrays street evangelist as normal, slightly goofy, depraved people, saved from the wrath of God. What more could one ask for from a Christian TV show?

UPDATE: If you want to purchase the episodes/DVD’s you can visit “www.romanandjorge.com“

I got to speak to one lady not to long after the video below about her knowledge of the Love of God. She told me that God was “All Loving” and could not be Angry. To which I asked her is she would be angry if someone she loved was savagely murdered. She said “of course!” to which I replied “Well how then could you have any love, if you were angry?”

All this to say that Asheville is a great place to really expound on th atrributes of God and the completeness of Christ as shown on the Cross of Calvary.

Below a friend of mine, Andrew Burgess recorded this video of me preaching the Gospel and uplifting the excellencies of Christ at Bele Chere 2010 and below that is videos of other friends of mine preaching Christ this weekend as well.

Keith Higgins from “Saved From What”

Kris Estep Preaching.

Now if your even faintly aware with Biblical street ministry (or perhaps preached outside the Starbucks) that might seem like routine police reaction to preaching the Gospel. However the problem is that there are many people, especially among the Mark Driscoll, culturally hip, neo-calvinist who have never done one bit of Biblical street ministry and because of this they live in ignorance as to what’s going on outside the coffee bar.

Over the past few months, slowly, in small steps, there has been a rise in Christian persecution in the United States. Yes, I use the P word, because Christians have been arrested while passing out Gospel literature, arrested while having video evidence erased and even murdered while preaching the Gospel. (Click the links to be taken to the source news story)

So you might ask? What’s the deal? Well as Christians we need to know what our Christian rights are. We never are called to submit to any law that violates the laws of God. However with the rise of dispensationalism many in America have taken an completely unbiblical view of Romans 13.

I wanted to include this recent conversation I had with a guy named Joel Schafer whose twitter account is Airjomax21. This entire discussion happened as a result of one tweet of a request for prayer. The reason I am posting it (with my comments in Italics) is because I think it shows a horrible understanding and ignorance to Biblical Law, Constitutional Law and the role of Government as described by Romans 13. So this is a long post, so grab your coffee and sit back.

LawGrace:
Please pray for us as we preach at the Hampton Pirate Festival. Last night the Police were harassing us, and I mean harassing us.

Airjomax21:
@LawGrace. Sound like there is a need to submit to authority.

This is a completely inappropriate response to any Christian who asks for prayer. Notice how it’s built on false presuppositions about what street ministry encompasses. When most people refer to street ministry they automatically assume it’s a bunch of men name calling people and instigating arguments, trying to make people mad on purpose. We will see Joel’s false presuppositions about true Biblical street evangelism unfold as the conversation progresses.

LawGrace:
@airjomax21 If they are violating the US Constitution then they are not an authority. If their law violates Gods Law then there is no law.

I want to point out here that any law in the United States is under the authority of the US Constitution. If a law is in opposition to the supreme law of the land, then the lesser law is no law and you don’t have to follow it.  The problem is that people do follow unjust, unconstitutional laws while local officers enforce unjust unconstitutional laws and that’s how our freedoms deteriorate. Finally if a law violates God’s law, who is the standard and reflection of all moral and civil laws, then again it is not a law. If tomorrow the president issued a decree that Bibles were illegal, he would be violating the Constitution and God’s Law and therefore it should not be followed and the local authorities should not enforce it. Any official who enforces such laws are criminals.

Airjomax21:
@LawGrace. Hmm that’s a pretty arrogant approach to have.. Nebecnezzer was far from a Godly ruler and yet was authority. Saul was at times far from Godly and yet was Authority and even king david … Need I go on.

This is simplistic. Just because one is an authority, does not mean they have a right to be unjust and terrorize those who do good ala Romans 13. In the context of America, no man, president or congressman is a higher authority then the US Constitution. Tomorrow if the President decreed that he as an eternal king of the United States, and his Children would take over the office after he died then we would laugh at him, ignore him and continue with the election process. We would never just submit blindly because one is an authority.

LawGrace:

@airjomax21 shadrach meshack and abendigo did not submit to the unjust laws, Daniel prayed in the window unashamed.

Airjomax21:
@LawGrace. Actually they Are an authority. There is no interpretation other thAn that remember Daniel was sentenced. Shadrack meshack and abendigo were sentenced

LawGrace:
@airjomax21 LOL they were sentenced because they broke the ‘law’. Romans 13 restricts gov to terrorize those who do evil reward who do good

This shows a clear ignorance to what makes something a law. Daniel was sentenced but he did not violate a law. In the mind of God, any law that restricts the preaching of the Gospel or commandments of God does not exist and there is no accounting for breaking it when you stand before Him. Of course those who violated the (false) laws of the Old Testament, and the martyrs in the New Testament were sentenced, but it was unjust punishment. There is not one time, when a disciple refused to preach the Gospel because the local laws said it was illegal. Not once. They died at the hands of the State, tried as criminals for breaking a law, yes, but not one which God recognizes and not one we should recognize either.

Airjomax21:
@LawGrace hmm sounds familiar you have blogged about in the eyes of authority that you broke the law… And got cited for it. Here is a novel idea file for a permit (like for a rally)

LawGrace:
@airjomax21 1st Amendment is our Permit. You don’t understand constitutional Law and have never looked at free speech supreme ct decesions.

This is a common misconception. Anyone that requires you to have a permit to engage in public speaking is violating the United States Constitution. Now there are indeed many cities that require permits for things the United States has already granted, but they are not required. The entire land mass of the United States is a free speech zone. The Constitution does not restrict the time or location of where one can practice free speech. Therefore us needing a permit is not necessary, as were not selling goods or marketing a product or service for profit.

Airjomax21:
@LawGrace you can justify your actions anyway you want but your justification doesn’t make your actions right. You know this but are to stubborn to listen.

Well see this a lot. The number one sign of a failing argument is to resort to an Ad-Hominem attack or as we called it in middle school. Name Calling. Joel will do this a lot. In fact as the discussion continues, he will soon cease to even give the most simplistic rebuttals.

LawGrace:
@airjomax21 u don’t submit to abusive head of family institution, u. Don’t submit to abusive church inst, why submit to unjust govt?

Airjomax21:
@LawGrace cont.. If you were in Iran/China and explaining 2 them they r unjust or even talking bad about a figurehead would not be tolerated.

This is correct. There is no freedom of speech in these areas. However if a figurehead was speaking against the Gospel, or attacking Christ or his Church, then I would be obligated even under fear of death to preach the truth and to rebuke those who are in error. What Joel is implying here is a complete cowardice and complete lack of boldness in defending the Gospel. In Rome, when the early Christians confessed Christ as Lord…they meant it because it meant that Caesar was not. Confessing Christ as Lord meant death. But I guess Joel is one of those guys who would have kept silent out of submissive fear.

LawGrace:
@airjomax21 uh, so if I lived in China I shouldn’t preach the Gospel? Is preaching the Gospel illegal in USA?

This is a simple question. Joel’s Logic is quite simple. If something is illegal, then don’t do it. Submit to authority at all costs. It should have been a simple answer…

Airjomax21:
@LawGrace. Seriously stop playing dumb. You have the worst arguments. You are subject to punishment of the Authorities. Why am I even responding you have deaf ears.

Could Joel please explain to me how my arguments, which he refuses to respond to are the worst? I really would like to know. Joel, I ask you to answer the questions I posed to you. Is Preaching the Gospel illegal in the United States? If it is should I stop preaching because a self appointed hight authority says so? Should Christians in China stop sharing the Gospel, going to house churches, etc etc because the Government said so? Should wives submit to an abusive husband? Should congregations submit to an unbiblical, heretical pastor? Why is it then that when God has given limits to the powers in those institutions (which he ordained and is the standard of) that we should grant complete immunity to the last institution he ordained, the civil government?

LawGrace:
@airjomax21 one. You have not responded to a single argument I made. Two. My arguments didn’t require emotional rants via tweetlonger.

Airjomax21:
@LawGrace marcus again deaf ears. End of story.

It’s funny how the one who is asking for questions to be answered, the one who has asked for a consistent argument on the opposing side and the one who is continuing the discussion has the deaf ears, while the one who is not answering any questions and the one who is backing out is making the claim that I have deaf ears.

Joel. Defend your convictions like a tattoo wearing man you are. Stand on the courage of your convictions and answer the question or just admit that you are wrong. It’s OK to be wrong every now and then, I know I am.

Some might think that it is unwise to be charged with the same offense twice. I mean after all, shouldn’t one wait until one is found not guilty before violating the law he was originally charged with? It would be unwise, if what you were doing was actually breaking the law. I was not breaking the Law. In fact quite the opposite, we are granted exemption during the day to preach the Gospel with amplification.

There are two ordinances that are of importance.

The first one, and primary one is 23-69 of the Virginia Beach code.

Below I will post it in it’s entirety.

Sec. 23-69. Maximum sound levels and residential dwellings.

(a) Nighttime. No person shall permit, operate or cause any source of sound to create a sound level that can be heard in another person’s residential dwelling during the hours between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. in excess of fifty-five (55) dBA when measured inside the residence at least four (4) feet from the wall nearest the source, with doors to the receiving area closed and windows in the normal position for the season.

(b) Daytime. No person shall permit, operate or cause any source of sound to create a sound level in another person’s residential dwelling during the hours between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. in excess of sixty-five (65) dBA when measured inside the residence at least four (4) feet from the wall nearest the source, with doors to the receiving area closed and windows in the normal position for the season.

(c) Measurements in multifamily dwellings or mixed use structures. In a structure used as a multifamily dwelling or a mixed use structure, the police department may take measurements to determine sound levels from common areas within or outside the structure or from other dwelling units within the structure, when requested to do so by the residential occupant in possession and control thereof. Such measurement shall be taken at a point at least four (4) feet from the wall, ceiling or floor nearest the noise source, with doors to the receiving area closed and windows in the normal position for the season.

(d) Exemptions. The following activities or sources of noise shall be exempt from the daytime prohibition set forth in subsection (b) of this section:

(1) Band performances or practices, athletic contests or practices and other school-sponsored activities on the grounds of public or private schools, colleges, or universities.
(2) Athletic contests and other officially sanctioned activities in city parks or facilities.
(3) Activities related to the construction, repair, maintenance, remodeling or demolition, grading or other improvement of real property.
(4) Gardening, lawn care, tree maintenance or removal, and other landscaping activities.
(5) Agricultural activities.
(6) Church bells, carillons, or calls to worship by other sound-producing devices.
(7) Religious or political gatherings to the extent that those activities are protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
(8) Public transportation, refuse collection and sanitation services.
(Ord. No. 3082, 5-12-09)

As you can see there are two important things, this law is specifically tailored towards the use of noise for addressing the public. It has a specific audible level which must be measured and it gives specific exemptions during the day for those using free speech as listed in section D-7.

In other words, during the day, we are allowed to not only use amplification for the preaching of the Gospel, we are allowed to use it without fear of measuring how loud it is. We are a group of people gathering to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and because of that it is incredibly clear that we are allowed to preach the Gospel.

Well it would be…if that was the only ordinance. The problem facing the city of Virginia Beach is that they have another sound ordinance. A poorly written ordinance that actually limits free speech…but even then, these ordinances STILL protect free speech.

Both times, by the same police officer, I was charged with 23-71.

Ill post the full ordinance below.

Sec. 23-71. Specific prohibitions.
The following acts are declared to be violations of this article. This enumeration shall not be construed to limit, in any way, the general prohibitions contained in section 23-69:

(a) Vehicle horns, signaling devices and similar devices. Sounding any horn, signaling device, or similar device on any automobile, motorcycle or other vehicle on any right-of-way or in any public space continuously or intermittently for more than ten (10) consecutive seconds, except when the sounding of any such device is intended as a danger warning.

(b) Nonemergency signaling devices. Sounding or permitting the sounding of any amplified signal continuously or intermittently from any bell, chime, siren, whistle or similar device intended primarily for nonemergency purposes from any one location for more than ten (10) consecutive seconds in any hourly period; provided, however, that this subsection shall not apply to the sounding of such devices by religious uses or by public bodies or agencies for testing, traffic control or other public purposes.

(c) Emergency signaling devices, security, burglar and fire alarms, etc. Sounding or permitting the continuous or intermittent sounding outdoors of any emergency signaling device, or any security, burglar or fire alarm, siren, whistle, or similar device, including without limitation any motor vehicle security alarm, siren, whistle, or similar device, for a period in excess of ten (10) minutes in any residential area and fifteen (15) minutes in any other area, except in response to a burglary, attempted burglary, fire, or other emergency.

(d) Audio and audio-visual devices, musical instruments, etc. The playing of any television, boombox, stereo, phonograph, radio, tape player, compact disc player, MP3 player, video player, musical instrument, drum, or any other device that produces, reproduces or amplifies sound, including any such device in a motor vehicle, where the sound is plainly audible to any person other than the players(s) or operator(s) of the device and those who are voluntarily listening to the sound and is plainly audible and discernable at a distance of fifty (50) feet or more from the source of the sound; provided, however that the provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any outdoor performance, parade, gathering, dance, concert, show, sporting event, or other event sponsored by the city or for which the city has granted a permit.

(e) Noise-sensitive areas. The making of any unreasonably loud and raucous noise within two hundred (200) feet of any school, place of worship, court, hospital, nursing home, or assisted-living facility while the same is being used as such, that interferes with the workings of the institution.

(f) Construction equipment. The operation of any bulldozer, crane, backhoe, front loader, pile driver, jackhammer, pneumatic drill, or other construction equipment between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. except when operated in the course of emergency work or as authorized by the city manager.

I was charged with section D. Which shows that no amplification device can be heard within 50 Feet of the source. Imagine the absurdity of the distance! Cell phones ring louder then that, my natural voice is louder then fifty feet EVEN when using the amp with it.

Basically the law, by itself, is written to destroy freedom of speech, especially in areas where there is ton’s of background noise from cars, bands or a lot of people.

However if you notice 23-71 at the very top is very clear and it allows the religious exemption found in 23-69. So it still protects free speech.

However, the police officer who cited me, twice, decided that he wanted to ignore that important piece of information. I repeatedly asked him to explain what that first sentence (which references 23-69) means, to which he kept saying “thats for the Courts to decide.”

No, it’s not for the courts to decide. You can’t just interpret a law anyway you want, throw whoever you want in jail by your own vague postmodern interpretation of the law and leave it up to the courts. You, as an officer of the law are supposed to know it, fight for it and protect that laws which you enforce. God’s Law. The Constitution. The State Constitution and the City Ordinance. In that order.

The conversation continued, he stated quite clearly that it is up to the courts to explain and interpret the laws. Not him. I asked him “How is it possible that you can charge someone for a law, when you can’t explain it’s meaning?” his response was “The same way I can charge someone with murder.”

Clearly he can explain the meaning of murder.

Anyways, please pray for me as I got to court. The law not only allows us to preach the Gospel using an amplifier, we have been doing it all last year with no problem and have been preaching with great favor from many respectable, law abiding and Christian police officers in Virginia Beach.

I hold no grudges against this police officer. In fact I pray he repents, it is clear as of now that he is an enemy of the Gospel who rejoices in the persecution of Christians.

But, God saved Paul…and God saved me. So as long as he has breath, there is still hope.

However the other night was different. It may have been because we went there at night. We never go to Colonial Williamsburg at night. There really was no reason, other then in the winter it’s always been a great place to preach in the middle of the day.

But the Lord directed our steps and we ended up preaching as the sunset to many people on this beautiful Saturday night.

We started out preaching like normal. We started in the market square a busy area complete with a Barnes and Noble college bookstore and several restaurants all shaped like colonial houses. We preached for a while and we were about ready to pack up and move down the street in front of the courthouse….

Until the Open Air Hecklers came.

Two guys, Two stools. They stood about 100 feet away from us and they yelled about how we were disturbing people. We engaged them and challenged them and their false ideologies.

Every now and then a guy would get up on the stool and read his Blackberry as he Open Air Preached the current score of the college basketball game. The people standing around cheered or booed. Then he would get down and the other guys would get right back up.

Crowds gathered. It was causing a scene.

People hurried and finished eating their meals as they rushed out unto the streets of Colonial Williamsburg to see what was going on.

Then it hit me…

For the first time since the founding of our country people finished their dinner and as the sun set and the candle lights lit up the streets of Williamsburg, ideas were being discussed in public.

It was amazing. You had to be there.

People were lining the streets centered around the preaching of the Gospel and the occasional basketball score.

Sure some people were mad like always, some may have been drunk but others were Christians who were encouraged by us being out there.
I couldn’t help but to think that all of this was good.

Were so used to having Fox News and MSNBC discuss current events FOR us that we have forgotten that this nation was founded by individuals ravaging over ideas in the streets.

How should the government be run? Who in our town can represent us?
Did you hear that Mr and Ms Smith are getting married?

Since then I couldn’t help but think of how far our culture has come from the public discussion of worldviews. We have become so isolated we don’t even know the neighbors name across the street. Some of us don’t even care.

Bare with me for a moment and let’s take a trip to the future in the Imagination Station for a moment…

Imagine that one evening before the sun sets, you hear a commotion only to find it was the local suburban evangelist talking about Christ.

The kids run outside and gather around as the parents sit on the porch. One of the neighbors down the street get’s in his truck and cuts on the headlights and shines them on the preacher to help draw attention. An elderly couple comes out of their house and passes around some dessert that they made with expectation of tonight. This is not the first time…

After the Gospel is preached another man get’s up and starts addressing the neighbors about the city council meeting next week. They plan on raising property taxes. He pulls out his Bible and reads passages relating to why he believes high taxation is wrong. Another neighbor disagrees. The taxes would make a new playground in the park. The children cheer.

It gets a little heated and rowdy, but before it get’s out of control the lights of the truck flash. People settle down as the lights flash…this happens all the time.

It’s late, two more people speak, one person invites his neighbors to a Bar B Que saturday and another reminds all the parents of the neighborhood t-ball league.

The night wraps up with prayer for the community as parents on the porch signal to their kids it’s time for bed by flashing the porch lights and slowly the streets become silent.

Now back to earth.

Is this a vision of a utopia or is it something that could be the result of more and more open air preachers proclaiming the Gospel in public?

For some of you it might sound way to good to be true and for others, yes, there are a lot of dangers of making Open Air Preaching such a substantial part of culture. The more people use the method, the more it can become corrupted or used for something that has nothing to do with the Gospel.

But then again, those fears might be the same fears the reformers had in making the Bible wildly available. Thank God they decided that the more accessible the Bible is, the better off we are despite the abuse.

What happened to public discourse? Isn’t the public discussion of ideas a good thing? Wouldn’t this make neighborhoods safer?

Remember as Christians there is no topic we can or should discuss without the Gospel being at the center. Sports involve Christ and Biblical manhood. Politics require Christ and a standard of justice. etc etc.

The public discussion of ideas gets people away from television. It gets the neighborhood families meeting each other and providing for each other and it keeps Christ in the center of all conversations.

So Christian. I ask you.

What can be done to get people away from TV and get them in the streets wrestling over worldviews and Christ? Getting to know each other again and building community relationships that promote the Lordship of Christ in all areas of society.

Who is with me?

I praise God that there is a lot of talk about about the Constitution. People are carrying it around in their pockets, people are reading it and many people, for the first time, are learning of their God given rights and the restrictions of the Government. This is a very, very good thing. However by itself, the parties, the petitions, the flag waving, the protests, the signs, and the passion are meaningless with out the one thing the overwhelming noise of the Parties are silent about…

The Gospel.

Now don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that as Christians we should be absent from the political process and just preach the Gospel. I believe the exact opposite. I believe that as Christians, because we have the Gospel, we are the only ones who are capable of running and sustaining a Government.

Read the words of Noah Webster, the founder of modern American public education.

“In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instructed…No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people.” Noah Webster written in the preface to his American Dictionary of the English Language of 1828

Understand this point. Without Christ, men are wicked (Gen 6:5), they are born at enmity towards God (Rom 8:7), they hate God (Rom 1:30). They despise his wisdom (Pro 1:7), they despise the education that comes from his Word. Without Christ men are fools (Rom 1), and they seek after their own pleasure (Ecc 7:4), they are liars, thieves and adulterers (1 Cor 6). Everything about sinful man is in constant rebellion to God. (Rom 3)

Yet these men, year after year, election after election are ones we put on the ballot, we promote, we petition and we evangelize for these enemies of God. Be they Mormons, Catholics or Unregenerate posers, We give men who we would not trust five minutes alone with our wallets, control of our entire country.

We have come to the conclusion that we don’t need Christians in office, we just need people who resemble Christians. Great Moralist. Our perfect candidate is the perfect description of a wolf in sheeps clothing. We want someone who is politically correct, won’t talk about Jesus in public and reduces the slaughter of millions of Children a mere check mark on his election brochure. We want candidates who simply resemble Christianity. Be they any religion they please but true regeneration is of the least of our concerns.

However it should be the priority. It should be the very first question we ask.

I don’t want a candidate who can articulate the finer aspects of capitalism and the free market if he cannot show me in Scripture why this method is ordained by God.

I don’t want a candidate who is against abortion because it’s a moral tragedy. I want one who can articulate it’s violation of the sixth commandment, and testifies with authority that it violates God’s Law and forgiveness for this terrible transgression is only in Christ.

I don’t want a candidate who goes to Church, but I want a candidate who Loves the Church and would gladly risk persecution from terrorists or ecumenists to propose it’s truth.

Most importantly, I don’t want a candidate who is unable and unwilling to testify to the truths of his own salvation. If a Godly candidate has Christ as the center of all his policy, all other policies will fall into play.

But very little of this talk will be happening at the Tea Parties tomorrow and that is why the movements, if left to vain conversation grounded in the rambling reason and leadership of unregenerate men, will fail.

Christian. I urge you not to shy away from the political sphere but subdue it. Speak up, turn off Fox News, a network dominated by unregenerate Catholics and Mormons. Turn off CNN and MSNBC who promote unbiblical policies, and turn back to Christ as the source for all political knowledge and wisdom. Get involved locally. Share the Gospel at meetings. Run for Office if for no other reason but to proclaim the Truth of the Gospel and the sola source of true Freedom and Liberty.

Take this Nation Captive for the Gospel. First by Preaching it openly and publicly and second by overflowing with truly good works that are not only centered but dependent on Christ, for your Country.

I pray that as we head out to our rallies, while waving banners of freedom we realize that without Christ at the center all ideas are depraved vanities which will do the opposite of giving us true Liberty, but instead they will enslave us to damning moralism doomed by the depraved hearts of men to fail.

As Noah Webster said:

For the sake of restoring the Sovereign.

Marcus

Over the past few months I got a job working for an Indirect cell phone company. Over these few months I have had to get back in tune with my Geeky Gadget side. The side I used to be back in the days of working at Radio Shack through High School and my first years of College.

I have been reading all the hippest and coolest tech blogs as I needed to stay up to date on the products I am selling at work and the products of the competitors.

I began to realize that there are zero Christian blogs devoted to Glorifying God with technology. All that is out there, all the Bible apps, all the new technology that is coming out that can be used to bring Glory to Christ…and there was no one talking about it.

So I thought about making a new blog that would cover those things. But thought it would be wise to not make it because I tend to be the kind of person to do things and then not care after a while. So I wanted to make sure it was really something I wanted to do and not something that just popped in my head.

Well after a few weeks I couldn’t take it anymore. I gathered many ideas to blog about. What are the best iPod apps for Evangelism outings. What are the best blog readers on the Android phones for reading your daily dose of Challies and TeamPyro? What are the worst “Christian” apps on the iPhone…and on and on and on.

So I broke down and I made SolaGadgeta.

Over the past few days people have been really excited about it. I have gotten a lot of encouragement and it’s something I want to put more time in. I am not stopping Transplant Ministries. This is simply another facet of it. But I am going to be blogging less on here (which is really no big deal because my blogs on here were not that frequent anyway) and I am going to be blogging a whole lot more on SolaGadgeta.  Don’t worry there are ton’s of great discernment and evangelism blogs out there. I don’t feel like a lack of Transplant Ministries blogs will make a whole in the ozone of the Blogosphere. But I do think we as Christians need to think more about how we can use modern technology as a printing press…for the Glory of God Alone.

So welcome to SolaGadgeta. A Blog about Gadgets alone for the Glory of God.

Please update your feed readers. Tell your friends.

The new website to is:

http://solaGadgeta.blogspot.com

In Christ Alone for his Glory.

Marcus Pittman