Smackdown by Mall Security

Tonight when I got to the mall, the kids were in full force. The one conversation I got recorded was of David Banales with a group of guys. They repented and put their faith in Jesus Christ right there. All totalled, he witnessed seven people throughout the night who wanted to get right with God on the spot.

As I tried to get a good picture of David, mall security asked me to put away the camera. They told me there is a rule against taking pictures at the mall. I told them I was taking pictures of our friends telling people about God. He asked me if I believe in the Trinity. Wow, he was a Jehovah's Witness and wanted to actually witness to me. I felt he was open enough to hear why I believe that the Bible makes it clear that Jesus is Jehovah. I have experience with their beliefs and gave a concise explanation of the Trinity from the Bible. I said that more important than that was one question, "Would you consider yourself to be a good person?" He had had enough and said that he needed to get back to work.

So, I continued on and started to listen in on a conversation that Matt and Spencer were having with some kids. One girl, Mary, had some issues with the idea of forgiveness. She didn't really hear where Spencer had started, so I took her through the good person test. She was young, and compared to a lot of people I talk with, she actually was very good. But, still not perfect, as God demands. She was having a difficult time seeing herself in the light of God's Law. I felt bad trying to show her, but her friend Lindsey piped in and said that nobody is good compared to God's perfect standard. It turns out that we had spoken to Lindsey before and she still had one of the "Good Person" tracts in her purse. I left her with some more stuff to read and reminded her of the two things we need to do to receive God's forgiveness: Repentance and Faith.

Next thing I know, I was pulled aside by Mall Security. Evidently there is a rule I was breaking. We were not able to clarify what rule exactly it was, though. They said I was not to solicit people. I wasn't. They said I was not to approach people and talk. I pointed to hundreds of people talking with other people. Well, they said, that wasn't exactly it. They said, I wasn't supposed to speak to people who didn't want to talk with me. I said, I only talked with people that wanted to talk with me. Well, they meant that I couldn't talk about God. What??? Well, they said that if I talked to people and the conversation got to God, that was OK, but I couldn't just talk to people about God directly. What??? Is this actually written down? I asked to see the rules somewhere. They said it's a fine line and they are just enforcing the rules. I asked again to hear which rule exactly I was breaking. Well, they told me basically that we need to just stop for the night and on Monday we can talk with the company that owns the mall and clear this up. While they were trying to figure out the rule the two girls came back and asked where they could get some more information. I pointed them to Living Waters and to this website. Security said I couldn't talk with them. Even they got mad at this assertion. This was really absurd. So, we shook hands, complied with their wishes and we plan to speak with the management company on Monday.

Till then, please pray for us (BTW, there were almost 15 people out tonight, many I have never met before), and pray for all those that heard the Gospel preached tonight. Lord, these kids have such open ears and soft hearts, I thank you for being faithful in seeing your Word produce fruit.