As Prophet Love, 86, wears his signature purple suit for 6 of 7 days a week, stalking the streets of Atlanta, he carries a sign that says," 'God' said 97 church folk out of every 100 will burn in Hell." While he is doing this, there are probably another 3 street preachers in Woodruff Park, and another mass, unknown in numbers barking at students, business men and homeless to either "Come to Jesus or Burn in Hell."

I have had the pleasure of speaking with Love, whose sign adorns his phone number for those who may have any questions about his motive or the message he presents, personally. He expressed to me, as I am sure he has to many others, how 'God' gave him this message prophetically to deliver to the world.

Don't get me wrong, I love Jesus and I love other people who love Jesus. Heck, I love people who don't love Jesus more than people who love claim to love Him in most cases, so I am not writing this out of distaste of personal character or with an aura that I have the right answers.

My problem roots from an abundance of passion and a lack in education on the Gospel. My problem derives from the point where arrogance and a false sense of exclusiveness fog up the hearts of Christ followers, causing us to do things that essentially drive people away from Christ rather than direct them towards Him. My problem comes from our unwillingness to progress because we are afraid that we will look too much like "the world." Be it street preaching, gospel tracts, or Christ-inspired billboards with messages like "Jesus is only a U-turn away", it pisses me off when we misrepresent Christ to culture in our attempts to promote Him.

So, what's not working?

• Street Preaching: The last thing people want is to hear a loud-mouth, judgmental, imperfect being yelling at them as they walk from work to lunch. As a Christ follower, I admit, it even chaps my behind to be walking to and from class, only to hear the cracked voices of men who don't have their lives together bashing me because my tattoos and earrings make me look like I'm a sinner. Let's face it, for a culture such as our own, this approach simply does not work.
• Gospel Tracts: I guess I do look like a sinner (and, yes, I am...thank you GOD for Your Son). Its time for me to face that cruel reality. Last Tuesday, as I was walking from 5-Points train station to my job, a young Mormon woman approached me with SEVEN FLIPPING GOSPEL TRACTS!! She must really have known how much I need Jesus! I'm sorry, but I hate to say that if your flyer isn't decorated with half-naked women, ads for $3 drinks, and a club party, I am afraid that your will end up in the garbage. Talk about going green when you kill thousands of innocent trees and print out tracts that will end up in a dumpster, if not in a gutter! With a generation that has such a connectedness to the visual, a 3-6 page pamphlet with nothing but words and scriptures will not suffice.
• Approaching People with the 10-Commandments: Dear Lord! Your Word is amazing and so relevant to me. My question is, Are the 10-Commandments relevant to Atheists, Buddhists, Hindus, or Deists? Is it plausible to to approach people with conviction from a scripture that they think is complete bologna?

Now, Why isn't any of this effective?

Its simple. We have an over-abundance of passion and no sound, Biblical direction. We do things that have been done over and over again, hoping that they work. We have used worn down approaches and have neglected to progress and be relevant. If you study Jesus, He lived in a time where the Roman Empire was EVERYWHERE....So, what did He do? He used culture as a tool to relate to the general populous. He exorcised a group of demons from a man who called themselves legion. Legion was a large group of Roman soldiers. The apostle Paul was the very same. While in Athens, he used poetry and other rhetoric to relate Christ to the culture. In our refusal to progress, the church has become a relic. If you are going to reach people who have not been reached, you must do things that have not been done(Andy Stanley). America has had its share of street preaching, gospel tracts, and so forth. It is not that people don't want truth, they would much prefer relevant-truth that is applicable to their lives and that they can understand. Jesus has that potential! His message was and REMAINS to be the most revolutionary message this planet has seen, but with a played-out approach, there will be no one to attest.

How do you feel we can present Christ to culture that would work?