This “Bullhorn” video is one in a series of nooma videos (www.nooma.com) created by a non-profit film company called Flannel, features pastor, speaker, and author Rob Bell. Rob Bell wrote the book “Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith”. In this video, Rob Bell suggests that old-church self-righteous style, yelling “you are going to burn in hell” from a bullhorn isn’t effective.
Whether you believe in “coming judgment” soap box preaching, street corner preaching, or bullhorn preaching or not, we must ask the question: Does it help bring people to salvation or does it turn more people away from us? Changing the Face of Christianity agrees with Rob on this point. We must engage with people in love (not hate or judgment) if we are to reach them. And we can’t love with an agenda…it must be authentic, real, and unconditional love.
And let me answer a common argument FOR the use of bullhorn tactics. Some people have commented that IF someone was about to fall into a hole and you didn’t yell at them to stop and try to save them, you are NOT being loving. Since we are playing hypothetical, imagine the person is deaf and blind (the reason they are likely to fall into the hole), you can use a bullhorn all day long, but they will still fall. Wouldn’t it be better to join them on their walk, hold their hand, steer them around such dangerous obstacles, feed them, care for them, and love them?
Watch the video and tell us what you think.
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