A Bubble Zone for Preaching in Vancouver?
By Levi Minderhoud
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYdmxM5_pn0&ab_channel=christsforgiveness
David Lynn has come to British Columbia. Kicking off his national tour, the street preacher from Christ’s Forgiveness Ministries wandered the thoroughfares of Victoria and Vancouver last week, preaching the truth of Scripture with a microphone in hand and a stereo speaker at his side. A scene like this is bound to attract some attention. Sadly, the attention of our LGBTQ-fixated society has been universally negative. This reaction underscores the need for Christians to proclaim and live the gospel.
Last year on Fall Tour we touched on pastor David Lynn’s story, how he was criminally charged for preaching in Toronto’s LGBTQ2+ neighbourhood. Although the criminal charges were eventually dropped as unfounded, Pastor Lynn continues to face strong opposition today.
That opposition was made crystal clear by recent media headlines sparked by his preaching in Vancouver. Major news organizations – CBC News, Global News, CTV News, CHEK News, and News 1130 – all released headlines about how the “anti-gay” and “anti-LGBTQ2+” preacher was preaching “hate” and “anti-gay rhetoric.” Vancouver mayor Kennedy Stewart even proposed a “bubble zone” that would exclude street preachers from the city.
All of these articles lack any reference to what David Lynn actually preached. Not a single quote substantiates the label of “anti-gay” or the accusation that he is targeting LGBTQ2+ people. Not one. Each article simply repeats that label and that accusation, as if repetition makes it true.
Watch any portion of the video above. In most of his preaching, Lynn convicts both Christians and non-Christians alike of their sinfulness. In some instances, he identifies specific sins – such as drunkenness, idolatry, witchcraft, premarital sexual activity, orgies, uncommitted relationships – but his message is not exclusively directed any one of these sins. He preaches the necessity of being forgiven from all sins.
David Lynn’s true crime is not that he is anti-gay. His true crime is that he is a Christian preacher. He serves up a hearty bowl of the gospel, seasoned with passion and conviction. He declares that “all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God” and that the “wages of sin is death.” Society must “repent and believe” in Jesus Christ. In a society that is fixated on LGBTQ2+ issues, the comprehensive message of the gospel is indispensable for the forgiveness of all sins.
Our Canadian society is indeed transfixed on questions of sexuality and gender. A street preacher proclaims the gospel and what conclusion does society draw? “He’s spreading anti-gay rhetoric,” society claims. A politician refuses to walk in a pride parade? “What’s wrong with him?” our culture asks. Christian oppose the installation of a rainbow crosswalk or the flying of a rainbow flag? “Christians hate and oppress gay people” is a popular reply.
This reaction should not surprise Christians. Paul explains that the gospel is offensive to some, even the basic message that God loves you and came to save you. Paul outlines that the gospel is offensive to the world is that it sheds light on sin. Without the light of the law, people do not know their sin (Romans 7:7-10). In the video above, Lynn states bluntly that the world is afraid of the gospel, hates it, and opposes it at every turn. The fact that society reacts so strongly against the preaching of David Lynn is a tell-tale sign that Canada is a prime mission field in urgent need of the full message of the gospel! Christians, rather than being transfixed on these sexual issues, must fixate on the gospel and support preachers like David Lynn to boldly shed a light on a world bathed in darkness.
Levi Minderhoud is the British Columbia Manager for ARPA Canada
