Generally, that individuals "Christianity" is only a fear of divine punishment. Therefore that is all they feel that needs to be preached.

some street preachers are crazy..period.



some are doing what they see as their mission to save ONE soul and HOPE to save 100
Christains are told to spead the gospel..some are more open in doing so...

bunch of tax collectors and government officials would argue that..

"I saw a man with tatt on his big fat belly
It wriggled around like marmalade jelly
It took me a while to catch what it said
Cause I had to match the rhythm
Of his belly with my head
'Jesus Saves' is what it raved in a typical tattoo green
He stood on a box in the middle of the city
And claimed he had a dream-DC Talk"

Some could be crazy some scammers/cult members some serious messengers of Jesus Christ.
It’s certainly not the way I would go about it…..but, at the end of the day, people do remember the seemingly crazy dude who tells people to flee from sin to Jesus because God’s Judgment is at hand.

For people who serve Jesus results as men define them don’t ultimately matter.

I'm sure they wonder why so many people make no effort at all to spread the Gospel.

In Nashville Tn during CMA Fanfest this year, there was a street preacher on 2nd and Broadway... the first two days it was him by himself... the next 2 days, he was joined by three other people. Everyone gave them a wide berth. No insults were shouted by anyone and they were left alone. A couple of cute Canadian girls my wife and I ran into were amused that the preachers were allowed to practice their craft... we explained it as part of our freedom of speech.

I never said that the only way to "spread the Gospel" was by preaching on a street corner. What I am saying is that we have more to worry about in the form of apathy by those who consider themselves Christians. It doesn't surprise me that "some of the best people you know" are Christians that have chosen to serve. But of their congregation, what percentage do what they do? 10%, 5%, my guess would be probably even less. I stand by my assertion that the deafening silence by so called Christians is much more troubling than the ramblings of a comparatively minuscule number of street preachers.

I'm not claiming every street preacher is doing it right, but if love is a verb, how does that make them self righteous?

We have two types here in NOLA. Type A strolls around Bourbon St. preaching through bullhorns (well, they used to, but the bullhorns got nixed, so now they just shout and carry huge signs describing how all non-protestants are hellbound,) and generally getting abused by the drunk passers by (especially around Mardi Gras when they come out in force,) and also trying to pass out pamphlets. Type B also is much more force for Mardi Gras, but they hand out bottles of water and pamphlets and arrange for clean restrooms on or near the route by using nearby churches or renting homes on the route or making arrangements with nearby business (whereby the religious folks will pay the business owner for use of the restroom on behalf of others.)

Guess which type has a mound of discarded and wadded up pamphlets surrounding them, and which type does not.

Pearl Buck grew up in China circa 1900. She relates how her father was a missionary and overheard something while doing 'street preaching' in China, it was something like: 'Don't be rude. This doofus thinks he will gain merit in his heaven if he does this so don't be impoite, just listen and humor him for a while'.

For you kids, that doesn't mean to tell him jokes but to pretend to agree or 'go along' with him.just to be polite. After overhearing that, he realized he needed a diferent approach.

Good answer

Preaching is by its very nature and intent a presentation of the word of God, not humanistic ideas of either love or threats. In other words, the natural man doesn't save himself vis a vis responding to some idea; rather the word of God enters the mind is acted upon by the Holy Spirit and regenerates the soul which responds in faith and repentance. "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Rom 10:17

It is not faith cometh of ones own decision to choose some idea because you want something or are afraid of something and then figure out how to hear. God is the one that saves, people don't save themselves. In other words, man isn't adjudicating his own sin in Christ; rather, it is by grace - but so many seem to be converting the Gospel into a work of faith that apparently they think activates grace. It's basically being presented that one adjudicates their own sin in Jesus, faith is the method of that adjudication, then God will give you Grace and save you. This isn't the Gospel.

Eph 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

Faith is just a conduit, it's not a lever. The Gospel is about the grace of God saving men, faith is the conduct of the gift of Grace, but it is entirely monergistic.

God loves you, choose him - is not the Gospel
God is going to judge you, choose him - is not the Gospel
God sent His Son that whoever believes on Him will be saved - is the Gospel.

I think rather than doing it completely wrong that it is in fact, in many instances, another Gospel. It is preaching the truth of God's Grace, not some mechanism of man's activity, that is the Gospel. It is not the Gospel of faith, but the Gospel of Grace.

There are many words of good counsel in this thread. All I will say is that the spreading of the Gospel is not selling a product, it is a supernatural work of God in the hearts of men.

If the speaker is preaching out in the open air because s/he feels convicted by the Spirit to do so, then nothing else matters, even if it doesn't seem like it's working.

If s/he is doing it out of vanity, ego, self-righteousness or a desire for attention, preaching a counterfeit gospel in order to entice and/or scare people into salvation, then all their work is vain either way.