the work of the Lord, or the work of crazy?

how do you all feel about people who stand in the middle of the street/sidewalk/train and YELL about Christ's second coming?

working in this city, i see a lot of that, almost daily. i've seen folks walk up and down train cars preaching the Gospel during rush hour; i've seen folks standing in the middle of the sidewalk holding up Bibles and screaming about Jesus' return and how all should repent; i've seen folks do a lot of seemingly "weird" stuff while proclaiming Jesus Christ to the masses.

i always smile when i see/hear them on the streets because it lets me know that even in this corrupted world, there are still many out there who believe on the name of Jesus Christ and are unafraid to yell it to the world. yeah, they look (and sound) weird (some more so than others). but hey - people thought Jesus was weird right?? and they hated Him for it.

my only problem, so to speak, with the street "preachers" is that they not only come off as weird, but just flat out crazy. this one woman yesterday was standing on a very busy sidewalk at an intersection, holding up her Bible, and screaming at the top of her lungs that Jesus was coming soon (true), that everyone needs to give their hearts to Him before it's too late and they will be saved (true again).

while a very true message indeed (i didn't hear one false or contradictory word from her in the few moments i was near enough to listen), i wonder how effective it was? when people hear loud and "crazy" yelling, even if the message is positive, they will often shrink away and tune it out. and just to be real...it IS annoying, even to me.

i know and love Jesus, and i believe it's important to spread His Gospel truth, but let me tell you - when i'm trying to get to work early in the morning, or when i'm trying to get home late in the evening, and someone is standing near the escalator shrieking the Gospel, i feel annoyed (maybe that's yet another sign that i still have a lot of spiritual maturing to do). i don't usually feel compelled to listen to The Shriekers. and that's coming from someone whose heart already belongs to Christ.

so how do those who don't know Him feel when they encounter The Shriekers?

i wonder if these folks are called by God to "preach" in such a fanatical (for lack of a better word) way, or if they are operating on some other (crazy) level...? that is not to diminish the power of spreading God's word to ears who haven't heard, and that is not to say that we all should spread His word quietly.

the Bible is full of examples of people who honored and praised God in ways that made them look crazy. in 2 Samuel 6, David was so joyful when the Ark of the Lord came back into the City of David, that in the middle of the street, he danced before the Lord so hard that he danced right out of his clothes! even David's own wife told him he made a fool of himself, and she despised what he did. but he didn't care - he was filled with the joy of the Lord.

one of my favorite gospel songs ever is "Undignified" in which the lyrics proclaim that "i'll become even more undignified than this...," (which references that same story of David - that was David's response to his wife's chastisement, LOL - i love it!!)), talking about how praising God can make you look crazy but "nothing is hindering this passion in my soul." i LOVE that song. and i'm not afraid to be undignified for God.

God calls us to do different things for Him in different ways. and in defense of The Shriekers, the unsaved often are not coming to church to hear God's word. so the only place they may even hear Jesus' name IS on the street...right?

times are urgent and this world is coming to a close. people's souls are perishing every day. so, maybe The Shriekers shriek because they feel the urgency of the Holy Spirit.

but when Jesus taught the word of God, He attracted multitudes of people who came to listen. whenever i come across The Shriekers, no multitude is gathering to hear their teachings. sure, they might be speaking God's word, but people are trying to get away from them as quickly as possible.

so, are the ears who haven't heard the word of God even listening when a seemingly crazy woman or man is standing on the street screaming at passersby to repent and give their lives to Christ?

if it's the work of the Lord, is it working?