Saying Good-bye to Europe

Fourteen years ago on a sweet, spring day in April, I landed in London and traveled to Oxford with my daughter BreAnna so that we could start work at a retreat house. It was the first stop on a journey of following the Lord to reach  the lost in Europe. After a year in Oxford, we drove to Berlin where we started a ministry called, "To The Streets" and did many years of street evangelism. 

Now, I am leaving and returning to my home-land which is bitter-sweet. The other day I walked through Alexander Platz and got a little choked up as I recalled the years of evangelism and wondered if I would ever return. Then I thought that I would write a blog and share some of the Highlights and some of the Hard times.

Upon our arrival in Berlin, (which was also in April) the Lord supernaturally arranged a meeting with a young man named Arnold Pust who was preaching the gospel every Friday night (mostly alone) at Potsdammer Platz. We joined his ministry and learned so much from Arnold. Our small team passed out hundreds of tracs and took turns proclaiming the gospel. We met Nari from Albania (who joined not long after we arrived). He had one leg, one arm and one eye but he never let his handicap stop him. He preached with us faithfully every Friday night and always drew a crowd. He was a great inspiration to me. We met Chuck & Della Magnet who faithfully came every Friday night with their four children in tow. Chuck went on to help start and lead the Burn 24-7 in Berlin which we also actively took part in. And we met another missionary, Rachel who was from our home state of Washington! She ended up moving in with Bre and I and we became life-long friends. 

One hot summer night, after sharing the gospel at Potsdammer Platz, Rachel, Bre and I jumped on our bikes for the ride home. It had been sweltering hot that day and we had summer dresses on. As we peddled along, rain drops started to fall which quickly turned into buckets of rain along with lightning and thunder. BreAnna suddenly started singing opera at the top of her lungs! She said, "I always wanted to sing opera in the rain!" Who could resist? Rachel and I joined in, singing silly opera and laughing the whole way home. That section of Berlin we always rode through is beautiful at night with the street lights shinning down on white statues and how I loved gazing at the Berlin Cathedral which was especially magnificent at night. It is a Berlin memory I will never forget.

                                        Some of our Potsdammer Platz crew from left to right:

                                                  BreAnna, Chuck, Arnold, Nari, Rachel and Viola

We also met Jeff Serio on those Friday nights at the Platz with Arnold. It was as if the Lord caused a perfect storm to converge with three American families ascending into Berlin at roughly the same time and each starting our own ministries. Jeff was like a father to BreAnna and I and took us under his wing. Once he started European Initiative, he began bringing teams from all over the United States to Berlin and our little cafe in Friedrichshain. Countless teams accompanied us to Boxhagener Park where we shared the love of Jesus to the drug-addicts and alcoholics who made the park their home. Jeff and Barb remain close friends to this day and we can't thank the Lord enough for sending them to Europe! 

Meeting BreAnna's future husband and evangelist partner was a highlight. Thilo brought worship to our ministry and became one of our biggest cheer-leaders as we struggled on to reach the lost. I will never forget some of our wonderful worship nights in der Garten, our cafe. We sang with local Muslim children who came in; we worshiped with Christians all over Berlin and we welcomed the lost hoping that the music would draw them to Jesus. 

                                                        Worship in der Garten (our cafe).

When the people who lived on the street where our cafe was located, had a festival to celebrate their years of Squatting, we decided to join the celebration. We moved all the furniture in our cafe out to the street (which was closed to traffic for the event) and we worshipped from morning to night, for two days, with different worshippers. I'll never forget when two men came walking to us from the festival and sat down to listen to our music. They had stunned looks on their faces and then came to me and said, "We see light here. We never felt anything like this! There is darkness down there (as they pointed down the street) and we feel as if we walked from darkness into light." And that was Berlin, a city of such deep darkness that the contrast of Jesus was often palplable. 

Traveling though Europe for two years in our tiny motor home was a highlight. Not even thinking or planning which month to go out on the road - it was another APRIL when we left Berlin to travel around Europe. I feel a deep stirring in my soul when I think of all the little churches we ministered to, full of people with hungry hearts. We made friends all over Europe, people that truly became family. Luke 18:29 was a promise that became reality to us: "Jesus said, I assure you that everyone who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the Kingdom of God, will be repaid many times over in this life, and will have eternal life in the world to come."

In Denmark we literally ran out of money. We went to a grocery store and spent the last we had on some milk and bread and when we came out of the store a clerk was hauling fresh fruits and vegetable out to carts for anyone to take because they were past the sale date. We had never seen anything like it, nor since! We loaded up with potatoes, broccoli, squash and apples! It was a Kings feast! And at the end of that month of not knowing where our next dime would come from a church gave us 1000 euros! We had not made our need known and that church was very small and no one was rich. It was our miracle from the Lord which humbled us and increased our faith exponentially. 

And lastly our prophetic post-card ministry will always be a highlight to me. BreAnna pretty much came up with the idea which was to ask the Lord what we should put on each card and then paint a picture or scene to go along with the words. An example would be: "I AM the river of Life and no man who comes to Me will ever thirst again." We might paint a picture of water pouring down out of heaven and then write the words on top of the picture. We would then lay about 10 postcards face down on a table, each card different and hang a sign to draw people to the table such as, "Free Post-cards with a word from Jesus for you!" It was so successful - the drawing of people to our table - and the open doors that the cards created to share the gospel. God revealed Himself to so many that we went on with this ministry for many years. I praise the Lord for His amazing initiatives and creativity to share the gospel.

                                            Prophetic postcard table in Denmark where it all began

Loneliness was one of the hardest battles I faced on the mission field. Sometimes darkness would overwhelm me and I would wonder what I was doing in Berlin and who did I think I was and I often felt so alone. It was hard being 50-something among a demographic of 20-30 year olds. But always and ever I pressed in to the Lord and He always encouraged and carried me when I couldn't walk. Later I would learn that when I was completely alone - He was most able to work through me and use me! When I was weak and alone, He somehow brought amazing evangelistic opportunities to me. What a great God! He uses everything in our lives to teach us.

Being misunderstood or even criticised by other Christians for doing street evangelism was hard. No one likes to evangelise. It is hard, but we believed (and believe) the biblical mandate is to be straight-forward and just share the gospel. We were seed-planters and planting is often hard as there is no visible reward (or glory) but it took awhile to realise that we deserve no glory and should not seek for glory - as that desire was hidden deeply in our flesh. Now, through His training we are happy for Jesus to receive ALL the Glory and to give that to Him who deserves it.

The death of my son in Berlin was the hardest struggle of all. He lost his battle with drugs and died from  an accidental over-dose. The "What - if's" were the hardest. What if I had never gone to the mission field; what if I had done this or that differently? Yet, the years in Berlin were honestly the best and closest that Bre, Gabe and I ever had together. Oh, the wonderful adventures that we had! The beautiful songs Gabe & Bre wrote together and the deep, intimate sharing of our lives together was the best gift of all. Those Berlin days, together, will always remain in my heart.

So, now on to the next journey which is now similar to the last and remarkably, it will be another April! When BreAnna and I drove in our little car from England to Berlin we had no idea where we would live or what kind of ministry we would embark upon. And now as I sell all my furniture and pack up boxes to ship to my next stop which is North Carolina, I once again have no idea what kind of ministry I will have, what I will do in the long term and where I will live.

I don't know what the future holds but I do know WHO HOLDS THE FUTURE!  And He says, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

WE ACT FREE BUT CONTINUALLY FALL INTO METHODOLOGY

More and more, I find myself bumping into Christians who say things like, “If we show them the power of Jesus, they will get saved!” Or, “If you have enough of the Holy Spirit, people will get saved,” and “If you make Jesus attractive enough, they will believe in Him.”

Will they? Do miracles cause people to fall on their knees in repentance? Does an attractive, loving Jesus cause people to want to become Christian?

These statements may be true in some aspects but are they truth? When I evangelize, my heart's burden is to pour the love of Jesus into the lost. I so desire that they see, feel and understand His love and I think, “If they can only experience His great love for them, then surely they will want Him in their lives,” but is that true?

Where were all the people who were physically healed during the three years of Jesus ministry when He was crucified? Where were they? Why weren't they there, protesting, “No! Don't crucify him!” Where were the people who saw bread and fish multiplied from 5 loaves and 2 fish?  Where were they when they were shouting, “Crucify Him!” Why were there only 120 believers in the upper room waiting for the Holy Spirit to come, when thousands were touched by Jesus?

We (in the church) today, think we are so free but we are STILL talking about methods. We are still putting Jesus into a box.

We've had waves of methods for evangelism. The circuit riders with tent revivals; the anointed men of God such as Spurgeon, Wesley and Billy Graham. We've done friendship evangelism and now we are talking about what I term, “power evangelism” which says if we can do enough miracles, they will be saved.

We are always being told that we are “doing it wrong,” and if someone sees a salvation, they package it and say, “This is the way to do it.”

Bethel Church and Todd White are teaching power evangelism – so the whole Christian world flocks to them and wants to be just like them.

“This way is right. That way is wrong...”

Did we ever stop to think that there is no right way?

What happened to abiding and walking with Jesus and allowing Him to guide us in each and every situation? Will we ever stop flocking to methodology and just look to Jesus and the Counselor, Guide who LIVES INSIDE?

If we are walking close to Jesus, He may have us come alongside someone in friendship evangelism one day and the next day use us on the street to do “power-evangelism.” He may challenge us one day to preach fire, hell and brimstone on the street and the next day, give food to the poor. Our God is a God of diversity and He is never locked inside of a method. He alone knows each individual intimately and He alone knows what will reach each person with His love.

We should be teaching ABIDING, not methodology. If we are all abiding in Jesus, falling in love with Him each day, and getting to know Him more and more, He will be our guide in evangelism.

“When the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own but will tell you what He has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever He receives from Me. All that belongs to the father is mine; this is why I said, 'The Spirit will TELL YOU WHATEVER HE RECIEVES FROM ME.'” John 16:12-15

What glorious words! We don't need prophets to tell us how to evangelise or how to live. We have the glorious counselor and teacher living right inside of us!

I fear that many Christians feel inadequate or not as powerful or spiritual as say, Todd White. I think Todd White is wonderful and I am not rapping him, I am just saying that the Lord works individually with all of us. I am also saying that I wish Christians would stop criticizing other's methods of evangelism. I fear that many criticize methods because they are afraid that a hell and fire street preacher will make all Christians look angry and intolerant. As well, the average Christian wants everyone to have “happy” feelings for God. “This Christian culture of positivity depicts a God who is so enamored by us that judgement is contrary to his nature. John Burton (http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/50630-is-it-time-for-hell-fire-preaching-again)

Is it true that we can present Jesus as so irresistible that sinners will repent? I don't believe so. Judas Iscariot is a prime example. He lived with Jesus as close as any man could. He saw (and felt) His love, he saw the miracles and he heard the teaching, yet he let sin have the upper hand in his life. Judas did not choose Jesus, he chose sin.

Take the words of Jesus, “You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for THE MANY WHO CHOOSE THAT WAY. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult and only a few ever find it.” Matthew 7:13-14.

Jesus made it very plain that many more would go to hell than to heaven. Sadly the soul of man is “the most deceitful of all things and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” Jeremiah 17:9

In conclusion, let's stop claiming we know the “right” way to evangelize. Even if we don't agree with another's method, let's encourage our brother's and sisters. Which is worse, a brother who sits and watches TV every night or a brother who stands on a corner compelling the lost to escape the fires of hell? If you believe the brother who speaks honestly about hell is worse than the TV watcher, I would suggest you need to “examine yourself to see if your faith is genuine.” 2 Corinthians 13:5. Also, if you are a successful evangelist, please don't assume that your method is the right one or the only way to evangelize. It's okay to teach your method of evangelism but it's not okay to criticize your fellow brother's and sister's.

We need to accept the sad truth that many, many people simply do not want to bow their knee to Jesus and make Him their Lord. It is hard to comprehend for those of us who love Jesus, why all the world does not love Him but they simply don't. Loving Him costs a lot. We have to die to our flesh, we have to accept His payment for our sins and we have to put Jesus on the throne of our lives and many are not willing to give up their throne.

HIS FACE IN THE CLOUDS

Tel Aviv

ToTheStreets International was on our second trip to Israel and this time around we were anxious to hit the streets hard with the gospel.  We knew someone who had freely preached on the streets in Jerusalem and so we knew that it was possible (to preach) despite all the protests from different people.

We arrived in Tel Aviv and planned to stay there for a few days before leaving for Jerusalem where we had booked two rooms in the home of a missionary.  We had met her two years earlier and had been exchanging newsletters from that time on.  I was relaxing on my bed in our hostel when I got an email from her which said,  "Kim, can you find another place to stay?  My current roommates do not feel comfortable with your coming.  I will be gone and they are afraid you will bring trouble through your evangelizing.  Thanks for understanding."  

To say I was shocked is putting it mildly.  I was hurt, puzzled and bewildered.  Before journeying to Israel, I had looked and looked for a place to stay in Jerusalem that was affordable for us.  Finally, I realized that her home was the cheapest for us (even though it too seemed expensive) and I was so thankful when she said we could come.  She knew that we do evangelism and she agreed to our dates and did not express any concern until just before we left Germany.   I responded back right away that we would respect her wishes and be extra sensitive.  She thanked me.  So, to have gotten that email from her just days before we were to leave for Jerusalem with no other place to say seemed just unbelieveable. I could have written back and said, "You made a verbal deal with me" but after prayer, we felt that we should respect her wishes and trust the Lord that He had something better for us.

The next day we took a walk down to the beach and were taken with its beauty.  The water and sand were clean, the sun was shining and the warm air gently wrapped her arms around us.  There was a row of huge, tannish-gold colored rocks on the beach, some of which were cut flat so you could sit on them.  I decided to lay on them, on my back so I could gaze up into the sky yet also turn to see the ocean.  The clouds in the sky were particularly stunning, large and white.  As I gazed up at them, they materialized themselves into the large form of a face - which looked just like the face of Jesus. I saw long hair, a beard, long nose and kind eyes.  While I was gazing at the face, Jesus spoke into my spirit and said, "I want you to enjoy my land while you are here. ENJOY MY LAND."

I turned to Thilo who was sitting next to me and I said, "Thilo, look up into the sky!  The clouds are formed into the face of Jesus."  He looked up and when I turned back to look up, the face was gone. No matter how I searched, I couldn't find the same formation.  I thought, "Oh, the clouds must have moved" but then I noticed that there was not a single breeze and not one of clouds was moving.
Then I knew.  It was truly Jesus.  He had spoken to me by showing me His face in the clouds.

I was still very upset about not having a place to stay in Jerusalem.  It was there that I really wanted to evangelize.  I knew from my previous internet searching that we could not afford the housing in Jerusalem and so we made the decision to go to Tiberias instead.  Yet my heart was unsettled.  "Why, Lord, why?" I was asking.  I knew we would want to explore all the footsteps of Jesus once we were in the Galilee region and that we might not make so much time for evangelizing.  Too often I find it hard to relax.  I want to work and work for my Lord and I worry too much about what our supporters think but He was not worried or wringing His hands wondering why we were not evangelizing.  He knew beforehand.  He understood and He was rejoicing that we had an opportunity to 'enjoy His land',  His beautiful Israel where He will one day return to rule and reign.

The next day we found a hostel in Tiberias and after our arrival, we rented a car and got to see Capernaum, the Jordan River, the Sea of Galilee and the Mt. of Beatitudes.  There were hardly any people where we stayed in Tiberias and it sort of felt like a ghost-town.  We passed out tracts and tried to have conversations with the cafe owners but it was not near my imaginings of what we might have done in Jerusalem.  If my Lord had not spoken to me and told me to "enjoy His land" I may not have not felt such joy in the beautiful flowers that were still blooming (in November) nor felt such peace in allowing myself to be a tourist.

Mt. of Beattitudes

I have to admit, I even failed at having perfect peace.  Now that I'm home and pondering on it all I wonder, why didn't I try and see more?  Why didn't I fully grasp what the Lord was saying to me?  He is so good and kind.  I can still feel the excitement in His voice when He said, "Enjoy my land."  Oh what wrong perceptions I have of Him.  How often I forget that He is living in complete joy and freedom.  How often I don't see His heart that longs to bless and give to me.  I am my own worst task-master.  He simply says, "Anyone who believes in me may come and drink!  For the scriptures declare, 'Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.'" (John 7:389).  All I have to do is look to Him, and allow that living water to flow out of me, whether it be sight-seeing or preaching on the street.  It can happen all the time, even when "enjoying HIS land."

The Sea of Galilee

Grief-bonding in Belarus

Bre, Thilo and I were privileged to visit Belarus last May and I most enjoyed the delightful villages which were so charming.  Alex (our host) drove us slowly through two villages while we, armed with bibles and tracts, hoped to find people to talk to.

We saw an old man limping along with a cane and Alex stopped the car to chat with him.  He had weathered, brown skin and white hair flapping in the breeze.  He seemed eager to talk and we listened and smiled while Alex chatted to him in Belarusian.  They talked and talked and the next thing I knew the car door was opening and the man was getting into the seat next to mine.  I felt a small hesitation in my spirit.  I saw the big bottle of alcohol he was holding and I momentarily felt fear until Alex said to me, "Kim, he has lost a son."  I looked into his beautiful, blue eyes and felt such compassion.  I said, "Alex, will you ask him if we can pray for him?"  It took awhile for him to stop talking so she could ask him and he immediately said, "Yes."

This is where we picked up the old man

He looked me in the eyes and I began to pray.  I prayed with all the hurt and sorrow in my own heart over the loss of my dear son and I prayed that the God of all comfort would be a comfort to his heart.  I prayed that he would see Jesus clearly and that he would come to know him as his Savior.  I prayed that deep peace would come into his troubled soul.  When I finished praying, I looked into his eyes and he had small tears and began to speak, with Alex interpreting, "That was the most beautiful sound I have ever heard.  Your voice was beautiful.  It sounded like fresh water pouring down or birds singing in the morning...." and as he talked tears of gratitude welled in my eyes and I knew that the Maker of heaven and earth had invaded our car and had come in a mysterious, supernatural way that transcended all language.

We drove the man to his home not far away and he got out of the car, clutching the bible we had given him and promising to read it aloud with his wife.  It felt like he was family as we warmly shook hands good-bye and promised to try and make a return visit.  He was all smiles as he ambled up his walkway and we drove away with joy in our hearts.


On another day while biking through a different village we came upon an older woman sitting on her bench just outside of her house.  She was portly with big, swollen legs and she had the cheeriest, warmest smile.  The flower garden, just behind her was beautiful and well-groomed.  I kept wondering how she did so much work with her stout body and I knew she had to haul water from the village well.   Sadly I did not get a picture but her home was similar to this house in the same village:

We began chatting, again through an interpreter and we learned that she too had lost a son!  I knew that it was no coincidence.  Suddenly, I was meeting people who had lost children.  Since, that time, this has continued in my life.  I don't recall that this ever happened to me before. Anyway, when she was told that I had lost a young son, she looked startled and she jerked her head to look at me.  She looked right into my eyes and both of our eyes filled with tears and we spontaneously embraced one another.  I asked if I could pray for her, she shook her head yes and we held hands as I prayed that she would know Jesus and that her soul would find comfort in His love.  She crossed herself after my prayer and we hugged once again.  She warmly invited us to return the next day and come into her house.  How I wanted to!  How I longed to see her again but it was not to be.

"Okay, Lord," I thought as I pedaled away on my bike.  "So, I know you use everything and now I see that you are using my grief as a link to others.  It is like a stepping stone right into their hearts.  For this, I can praise you."

Fresh tears pricked my eyes as I thought of my precious son and suddenly, I "saw" his joy and I knew that he was glad that his death could be used as a catalyst to draw others to his Jesus that saved him.

And all Nations will hate you because you are My followers. Matthew 10:22

Just before Jesus sent his best friends out to the villages of Israel He gave them instructions and told them to 'heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy and cast out demons.'  He instructed them to take nothing along on the journey, not even the smallest change.  I am reminded of a book I read by a guy named, "Brother Andrew" and how he too was sent out by his christian training school without any money.  Not a single coin.  He was instructed to depend on God alone for his needs and the results were amazing.  (You can read about it in his book, "God's Smuggler.")

After Jesus gave basic instruction to His friends, He then spent a lot of time telling them that they WOULD BE HATED.  He goes into great detail saying that they will be whipped, thrown in jail, and that "ALL nations will hate you because you are my followers".  He even said that their own families would turn against them.

 When I read those verses, it was as if I saw a huge collision on earth. When the truths about the Kingdom of Jesus are declared, there is a clash.  Light starts to invade darkness and the darkness reacts with anger.  It is almost a given.  Darkness cannot bear the light.

Matthew Henry has this to say about some of the verses in Matthew 10:  Christ foretold troubles, not only that the troubles might not be a surprise, but that they might confirm their faith. He tells them what they should suffer, and from whom. Thus Christ has dealt fairly and faithfully with us, in telling us the worst we can meet with in his service; and he would have us deal so with ourselves, in sitting down and counting the cost. Persecutors are worse than beasts, in that they prey upon those of their own kind. The strongest bonds of love and duty, have often been broken through from enmity against Christ. Sufferings from friends and relations are very grievous; nothing cuts more. It appears plainly, that all who will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution; and we must expect to enter into the kingdom of God through many tribulations. With these predictions of trouble, are counsels and comforts for a time of trial. The disciples of Christ are hated and persecuted as serpents, and their ruin is sought, and they need the serpent's wisdom.

I haven't heard the phrase 'counting the cost' in a long time.  When I was first saved in high school, during the Jesus Movement, hundreds were coming to the faith and we talked about telling new converts to 'count the cost'.  Christianity is not for wimps, it's for warriors!!  Now we say things like, "Jesus has a wonderful plan for your life" which is true and I say it all the time but we are often forgetting the other side.  "Are you willing to suffer for Jesus?"

In my mind, Jesus cannot be any clearer or plainer when He speaks about persecution to His disciples and there is no doubt in my mind that He was thinking of you and I when He spoke.  "Students are to be like their teacher, and slaves are to be like their Master.  And since I, the Master of the household, have been called the prince of demons, the members of my household will be called by even worse names!"  Matthew 10:25

A new religion is creeping into the world and it is called Universalism.  All of its members claim to be Christians and to love Jesus.  One common theme I have seen among all of them is that they long to be loved.  If they see a fellow Christian being hated, they will immediately blame the Christian and tell him that he is in the wrong.

Two glaring examples are Rob Bell and Joel Osteen.  Rob Bell was so embarrassed by street evangelists that he made a video mocking a Christian who evangelized with a bull-horn.  In my opinion, Rob just wants to be loved.  He couldn't bear that anyone would lump him in with nerdy, uncool, brash Christians.  I have to confess that I don't know a whole lot about Rob Bell or Joel Osteen but my impression with both men is that they long to be loved.  Joel takes it so far that he is afraid to even say what the bible says about homosexuality.

Don't get me wrong.  I want to be loved as well.  I can't stand it when people don't like me.  It hurts. However, I hope that I will never compromise truth for my own longings.  Fear stops me all the time from being bold in my testimony for Jesus but I want to be counted worthy to suffer for Jesus.  To be honest, I rarely suffer for Jesus and I do long to be loved when I am on the streets evangelizing.  I am sure the disciples were loved when they healed the sick and cast out demons!  So, maybe, for the Christian both sides of the coin will be true.  We will be loved and people will be grateful to us for helping to usher them out of darkness and into the light.  On the other hand, we will be hated and sneered at.  The worst I usually get is cursing, jeering and contempt and that is when I say things like, "Jesus is God" or "Jesus is the only path to salvation."  The light of my words hits in the darkness of others and demons rise up to the challenge.

To sum up:  If we are receiving no persecution for our faith, are we making our lives too comfortable? We should not be embarrassed of our faith or be afraid of being hated.  We should always stand up for Jesus and be true soldiers of the cross.

“I could not help but think that somewhere along the way we had missed what was radical about our faith and replaced it with what is comfortable.” 
― David Platt, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream


“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” 
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

Spurgeon talks of the perseverance of one open air preacher, John Furz, who encountered a bit of opposition when he preached.

“Once recommenced, the fruitful agency of field-preaching was not allowed to cease… The preachers needed to have faces set like flints, and so indeed they had. John Furz says: ‘As soon as I began to preach, a man came straight forward, and presented a gun at my face; swearing that he would blow my brains out, if I spake another word.
 However, I continued speaking, and he continued swearing, sometimes putting the muzzle of the gun to my mouth, sometimes against my ear. While we were singing the last hymn, he got behind me, fired the gun, and burned off part of my hair.’

“After this, my brethren, we ought never to speak of petty interruptions or annoyances.” 
—From Charles Spurgeon’s sermon: Open-Air Preaching—A Sketch of its History and Remarks Hereon