Render Unto God
Dear Christian friends,
In the book of Acts, the early Christians were repeatedly beaten, imprisoned, and put to death for preaching the gospel. Paul defended his right to preach the gospel in the Roman legal system, using his Roman citizenship and appealing to Caesar (Acts 25). While in jail, Paul’s greatest sorrow was hearing of other Christians who criticized him. They said he wasn’t really an apostle and was probably in jail for some wrongdoing. Actually, the opposite is true. God’s Word promises that “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” While our persecution is minor compared to theirs, God’s Word is true today as it was 2000 years ago.
There is much confusion in the church today concerning the Christian’s relationship to the government. In Romans 13, we are told to be “subject to the higher powers.” In this passage, Paul is commenting on Jesus’ teaching to “render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s (Luke 20).” Three chapters later, Jesus appears before Herod and “he answered him nothing.” He also refused to submit to Herod’s desire that he perform a miracle.
In Acts 5, when the Jewish high priest commanded the apostles to stop preaching Jesus, “Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.” Most laws are morally correct or morally neutral, and we should obey them. A law legalizing homosexual acts is morally wrong, but does not require me to act immorally. But when the governmental authorities tell us to disobey God’s commands, we must obey God rather than men. In many nations, it is illegal to preach the gospel. Yet, God has called Christians in these nations to risk jail and even death to obey Him.
In the U.S., we still have great freedom to preach the gospel. While freedom of religion has been greatly compromised by court rulings, freedom of speech and assembly are still very strong. But as our nation becomes increasingly wicked and public opinion turns against “fundamental” Christians, the rights of Christians have increasingly come under attack. I believe that we should use the legal system, as Paul did, to preserve our freedom to preach the gospel as long as possible.
I think the day will come when public outcry against Christian preaching will become so great that courts will ignore their own rulings and take special actions against Christian preachers, as they have against abortion protesters. When the two witnesses are killed in Rev. 11, “they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another, because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.” Ungodly people will not forever tolerate uncompromised Christian preaching.
Sometimes Christians ask me about the use of loudspeakers. After all, Jesus and the apostles didn’t use loudspeakers. Nor did they use automobiles, airplanes or printing presses. And they didn’t deal with the kinds of noises we have today on city streets. While a few preachers can preach effectively without amplification, most damage their throats by yelling and sound like they are angry at people. The U.S. Supreme Court has declared that “loudspeakers are today indispensable instruments of effective public speech.”
There is also the issue of loudness. In a big city, any kind of gathering that makes noise is bound to disturb somebody. People sleep at noon as well as at midnight. We picked a location at 5th St. and Market that is as far as possible from businesses and residences, yet having a lot of street traffic. We turn our speakers away from the two businesses that are near us. We believe the city has a right to establish a reasonable level of sound. But we think that it should be measured objectively by a decibel meter and that it should be enforced equally towards every group using loudspeakers (the Chinese New Year Parade, the Haight St. Fair, the Gay Parade, etc.) — not just against us. Enforcement based upon complaints discriminates against unpopular groups.
Freedom under Attack
On June 11, 1988, I was preaching the gospel in Berkeley with a loudspeaker permit when a police officer arrested me and put me in jail. He said I was being arrested for “disturbing the peace.” The arrest was based upon a citizen’s arrest being made by one person who opposed our preaching. I spent 12 hours in jail before being released. A Christian lawyer represented us and the judge dismissed the case without a trial. I was imprisoned one other time. We were cited and ordered to stop preaching several times, even though we had valid permits. We filed a lawsuit against the city of Berkeley and the University of California, which we eventually won. Since that time, we have had no problem getting permits or preaching in Berkeley. Those who opposed us thought they could force us out of Berkeley. But we continue to minister there freely, with little opposition.
I have been witnessing in San Francisco for 21 years. For 18 years, we have been getting permits for outdoor rallies. We never had problems getting permits until July, 1994, when we were denied three permits in Dolores Park after some complaints. At last summer’s SOS outreach, Officer Gallagher came to Washington Square while Chuck Girard was singing quietly, and practically turned the sound system off. Later we turned it up a bit and continued the outreach.
Finally, on March 9, 1996, our worship rally at 5th St. and Market was shut down by Off. Gallagher, 15 minutes after we started. The worship group from San Francisco’s Open Bible Church was ministering. Another worship group, from S.F.’s Shiloh Full Gospel Church, was scheduled to sing. About 80 Christians from three S.F. churches participated in the outreach, representing the African American, Caucasian, and Filipino communities. Eric Livingston was cited for violating the noise ordinance. Off. Gallagher measured the sound “with his ear,” not with a noise meter. We do not believe we were very loud, and were easily able to carry on a conversation with the officer ten feet from the music group, while they were singing. Since then, we have obtained one permit for April 6 but have not been able to get any other permits. We have sent two people to the permit office, and Off. Gallagher has been brutal with them. Unfortunately, Off. Gallagher is the only person who issues permits, and he also claims the right to shut us down at his discretion.
We have also had more problems on Friday nights, particularly on Haight St. Twice we were told to stop preaching and threatened with arrest. We were using a 9 watt Maximouse amplifier, which does not require a permit in San Francisco. On March 29, a single person complained about our preaching. The police officers told me I would be arrested for disturbing the peace under a citizen’s arrest unless I stopped preaching. While I was preaching that night, a man across the street yelled “I can’t hear you.” Apparently he couldn’t hear me, but I could hear his unamplified voice.
A Christian lawyer, Russell Davis, has agreed to represent us. Rutherford Institute will help with some of the costs, but we must pay some of the costs (but not attorney’s fees) up to $1000. He will be defending Eric in court and also filing a lawsuit against the city, so that we can continue to get permits and not get shut down. Please pray for our lawyer, that God would grant him wisdom in these cases. Please pray that we would be able to continue to preach and hold outdoor rallies in San Francisco.
We hope to be able to get permits for the week of SOS-San Francisco. Even if we can’t, we intend to witness throughout the city using whatever methods are available to us. Please pray that God will strengthen us and guide us during this difficult and stressful time.
Coming Events
(Events not sponsored by SOS in italics.)
Saturday May 11 12-4 PM. SOS Evangelism Outreach. S.F. Worship rally with Open Bible Church, San Francisco. Call (510) 531-5325 for location and to confirm.
May 2-4 National Street Ministries Conference-East, Jacksonville, FL. Contact N.S.M.C., Box 30642, Phoenix, AZ 85046, (602) 942- 6362.
Saturday June 1 March for Jesus. Five to ten thousand Christians are expected to join together–taking praise, prayer and proclamation to the streets. Call us for meeting time and place. Many such marches are scheduled the same day in cities around the U.S. and in 80 nations world wide, with over a million Christians participating.
June 21-29 SOS-San Francisco. Set aside these dates for our 17th annual week-long outreach to the people of San Francisco. Call (510) 531-5325 for more information.
EVERY FRIDAY 7 PM. (Note new time.) Witnessing in various S.F. neighborhoods. Meet at Vineyard, 7th St. and Harrison, San Francisco. Call (510) 531-5325 for more information.
EVERY SATURDAY Noon. San Francisco or Berkeley witnessing. Call (510) 531-5325 for more information.
SOS-San Francisco
June 21-29
Despite our legal problems, we are moving ahead with plans for our seventeenth annual SOS outreach. A youth group of about 80 from Cedar Park Church in Washington is scheduled to minister for three days. The “James Brothers Band” from Gospel Outreach in Eureka is scheduled to minister later in the week. About 20 Christians are planning to come from Gospel Outreach. We are blessed to have Chuck Girard ministering with us Wednesday and Thursday. And several churches are scheduled to sing, including Harvest Church (formerly Family Worship Center) and Open Bible Church (San Francisco). Regardless of the permit situation, I believe it will be a great outreach–an opportunity to reach many thousands of people who desperately need to know Jesus. While a few people are complaining, over 100 people have written us in the past year in response to tracts, saying they want to know more about Jesus.
We have printed 2500 two-color posters (much nicer than the one- color version most of you got last month) and 16,000 bulletin inserts to let Christians know about this outreach. Please help us get this literature to churches, Christian bookstores, and Christian schools in your area. You can give it out at Christian concerts and other events. Also, talk with your pastor and Chris tian friends and encourage them to get involved. Set aside the week of June 21-29 to attend the SOS outreach and bring a friend.
We have enclosed a registration form with this letter. Free housing is available during the outreach. Bring a sleeping bag and foam pad. If you prefer, we can send you names of hotels in the area.
Ministry Needs
Again we thank you for your prayers and support for this ministry. We still need to get a sound system for the ministry. Also, we hope to be able to in stall showers in the Vineyard church for our workers. (Hallelujah!) Also, consider supporting a worker for SOS. Many Christians would like to participate in the SOS out reach but cannot afford the registration and meal costs.
On March 2, New Life Christian Church led a worship rally at 5th St. and Market. Many people stood around and listened to the beautiful music, but a few complained. Several police officers stayed with us for hours, but did not shut us down. They even called the fire department about our canopy, but they said we weren’t breaking any fire laws! Afterwards, fifteen Christians from Cornerstone Church in Fresno joined us in witnessing at the Chinese New Year Parade. We preached and gave out many thousands of tracts in English and Chinese.
We continue to witness every Friday night and Saturday afternoon. We have several outdoor rallies planned each month, assuming we can get permits. Otherwise we will still witness on the streets. We must redeem the time, seeking to reach as many as possible for Jesus while we still have some freedom. The day may soon come when we will risk jail and death to do so.
Please pray for those who have written us in response to tracts this past month: Forrest (Castro St., SF), Alison and Miguel (SF), Linda (Berkeley), Judith (San Bruno) and Jan (South San Francisco–age 12, working on her fourth lesson of the “Mailbox Club,” a Bible correspondence course for children.
Our Tape of the Month is Legal Issues in Evangelism by Michael Imfeld. Michael is a Christian attorney who has been involved in several First Amendment cases. This is one of the best teachings I’ve heard about our legal rights when it comes to preaching the gospel. Also, don’t forget to order a copy of the SOS video.
Please continue to pray for us as we prepare for SOS-San Francis co. We need God’s wisdom in putting everything together. Pray that He will guide us in every area of the planning. Please pray especially that we will be able to get our permits. God bless you all. Don’t forget to order SOS posters and bulletin inserts, and to send in your registration form.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum