musings on the madness and a missionary journey
There's been a lot for us to think about lately. I was thinking about it all at the base of this giant redwood just a few shorts weeks ago.
"America is an insane asylum run by the inmates."
These were the words of Lester Roloff, a well-known Baptist preacher who went home to be with the LORD back in 1982. I wonder what he would say if he could see today’s corona madness. Interestingly, there are Baptist preachers today who would disregard and disdain such words as mere political trappings that a missionary should not be preaching or repeating. But, I beg to differ, even to my own hurt.
Such an epitaph is, in fact, a very SPIRITUAL indictment not unlike that uttered by Ezra the Scribe (Ezra 9:7) and Daniel the Prophet (Daniel 9:8) in their day. Now, like me, I’m sure you have grown weary of hearing platitudes and mantras like Covid-19, quarantine, stay-at-home, social distancing, livestream, and “we are in this together.” So, the last thing I want to do in this newsletter is feed you more of that diet. There is another expression, however, that we haven’t heard enough, if at all. It’s a very biblical expression; it’s alluded to in those famous words of Brother Roloff; and it encapsulates everything we have seen and experienced these past two months in the United States of America:
confusion of face
God is not the author of confusion in the churches, my friends, that is clear (I Corinthians 14:33). But oh is He when it comes to nations and societies that once knew Him, or at least boasted to know Him, and have since turned their backs.
Eric Trent preaches at a stoplight during the lockdown and America's confusion of face.
I have been trying to finish reading the entire Bible in Spanish. If my family and I cannot go back to South America as planned right now, the reasons being obvious, why not do some language study and get better prepared for the day we can return? Anyway, I finished the New Testament a while ago and have been working chapter by chapter through the Old. I recently finished the Book of Job and started taking a Psalm a day while also a chapter a day in the Prophets, beginning with Isaiah. It’s amazing to see how these opening Psalms and the opening chapters of Isaiah describe the situation in America today, our own confusion of face. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting that we deny or forget the context of these passages regarding the people and the nation of Israel, the judgments and the promised blessings apportioned to her. However, as Israel and God’s dealings with that nation throughout history are a lesson for all the nations (Deuteronomy 4:4-8), we Americans would do well to abstain from judging Israel’s history and instead try to learn from it.
Isaiah 3 is an interesting chapter. It reveals two phases or hands of God’s judgment upon a nation. First, He removes or takes away His RESTRAINING HAND OF BLESSING. What results: security, supply, and sound leadership go out the door. And, in the place of statesmen, children rise up to rule. The people then turn upon each other, oppress one another; the base stand upon the necks of the honorable; and there is chaos . . . “because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD” (Isaiah 3:8). Is this not what is plain before us right now amidst this crisis, you know, IT (I won’t weary you with that word you are so tired of hearing)?
Regardless of what you think about IT and what IT has done to our way of life these past couple of months, it’s apparent that America hasn’t just forgotten God, we have PROVOKED HIM (Think about all those little unborn babies led as sheep to the slaughter, more each day during this crisis than before). And that includes Democrats & Republicans, liberals and conservatives, the churches and secular society. Therefore, God’s hand of blessing is removed and there is widespread CONFUSION OF FACE.
What we are experiencing now, I believe, is what happens when God’s restraining hand is taken away, the wrath of evil men and the devil. And yet, we haven’t even seen God’s SMITING HAND OF JUDGMENT (Isaiah 3:16-26). The judgment, His wrath, is not yet come and will surely make IT, you know the thing everyone is talking about, seem like a runny nose on a Fall afternoon. Judgment is coming, and confusion of face is but the prelude.
For some reason, the forest always reminds me that even in judgment, it will end well for the righteous.
Yet, right there in the middle of Isaiah 3, between the removal of His restraining Hand and the slap of His smiting Hand, the LORD pleads with His people to return unto Him (3:13). And, He promises amidst the confusion, on the precipice of His wrath, that IT WILL BE WELL WITH THE RIGHTEOUS (3:10). This is great comfort and encouragement in the darkest of times. I’m reminded of the character sketch of God in the Prophet Nahum. He is a furious storm, and yet He is also the shelter from that storm: “The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him” (Nahum 1:7).
Yes, America is an insane asylum run by the inmates. As it was for the unbelieving Israelites who eventually fell into the desert (Numbers 14:40-45); the people of Israel who had sin in the camp (Joshua 7:3-5); the Midianites spread out like grasshoppers on the valley floor (Judges 7:12-22); the Moabites, Ammonites, and the Edomites who turned upon each other (II Chronicles 20:22-24); and the people of both Ezra and Daniel’s day . . . SO IT IS WITH US. “To us belongeth confusion of face” (Daniel 9:8). And like those Midianites who fled before Gideon, we run and hide and devour one another (Yes, I am talking to the church too) at the breaking of pots and the tooting of horns. Now, more than ever, is a time for us in the American churches to repent and to pray earnestly for revival. WE NEED REVIVAL. If we don’t change our ways in this nation, it won’t be the fate of the Midianites, it will be the smiting hand of God’s judgment as it fell upon the Assyrians encamped about Jerusalem (Isaiah 37:36-38). The Angel of the Lord SMOTE 185,000 in one night.
Eric shared the Gospel with two Israelis at this spot a year ago. Out there on those plains, the Midianites long ago tasted confusion of face.
Now, I know a lot of people don’t like preaching like that. I’ve already lost friends during this current situation, you know, IT, over preaching like this. But, how can there be revival without repentance? How can we be made right with God and believe upon the Messiah unless we see why we so desperately need Him? How can America be great again unless judgment first begins at the house of God (I Peter 4:17-18)? We didn’t start this ministry back in 2003 to make friends; we started it to BE A FRIEND to both the church and to the lost, a friend that loves a man enough to tell him the God’s honest truth. And now, with everything going on, it’s the worst possible time for a preacher to back off from telling it like it is, be it on Facebook, on the street corner, or from behind the pulpit. Now is the worst possible time to stop being a friend in favor of making or keeping friends that perhaps never were that in the first place. As Keith Green, the beloved songwriter, once said, “True love bids a warning doom to children who play in the freeway.” We in America have been playing in the freeway for a long, long time. And, a loving voice of warning doom bids men repent and cries aloud for revival. WE NEED REVIVAL.
This was way back in 2003 when I fancied myself an artist with the hand-drawn preaching signs. I've been laboring to be a friend instead of making friends for a long time, don't suppose anything should change now.
Thankfully, two thousand years of church history teaches loudly that crisis presents a unique window of opportunity for revival, a unique opportunity where ears are more apt to hear the Gospel, even in an insane asylum run by the inmates. We saw and experienced this ourselves along a nearly 10,000-mile preaching and seed-sowing circuit that started back on March 2, before IT became a problem and things started shutting down. By the time we reached California, the shopping malls had slammed shut. But before that, as fearful talks of closings and shutdowns became commonplace, God’s Divine Hand of Providence put us in exactly the right spot at exactly the right time on numerous occasions. We were able to crumb 29 malls, starting in Chattanooga, Tennessee and ending in Boise, Idaho. TWENTY-ONE sets of Hebrew Scriptures (both Old & New Testaments) went into the hands of Israeli kiosk workers, as well as an additional FIVE Hebrew New Testaments. There were also some good divine appointments with Gentiles, both in the malls and through street preaching and evangelism along the way. This resulted in SEVEN English Bibles gladly received into Gentile hands as well as countless Gospel tracts. So, IT might have complicated some matters on the road, and IT might have closed a lot of malls that we had planned on visiting, but IT didn’t ruin anything. God was good, and thank you for your prayers. We safely returned home to greet a North Carolina “shelter-in-place order” on April 13th, one regrettably still in effect.
10,000 miles in 6 weeks!
Preparing Gift Bags for Israelis in Mall Parking Lots, Each One Containing the Hebrew Scriptures
I’m actually going to let Eric Trent share some details about this missionary journey. He was a faithful traveling and preaching partner, as was my daughter Bethany who flew out to meet us in Sacramento, California. He put together this little report that I pray will be an encouragement to you:
Shalom Brethren,
Jesse and I completed our long road trip out to California and back. It has been a refreshing time being home with my family these last couple of weeks, and I thank the Lord for the traveling mercies He gave to us and our work. God, in His faithfulness. gave many opportunities throughout the journey to proclaim the Gospel to the lost, even amidst a nationwide shutdown. It was impossible to have foreseen how ridiculous this situation in our country would become. When we first left North Carolina back in early March, the virus barely made headlines in the media. By the time we were halfway across the States however, panic came into full swing and businesses began to shutdown. I remember one night in Salt Lake City when we had difficulty finding food due to everything closing early for “mandatory cleaning.” Despite the fear and panic, however, the Lord orchestrated many divine appointments that I hope are edifying to any believer who reads this.
Jesse and I decided at the beginning of this trip to just be up front and honest with the Israelis that we encountered, straight to the point about who we are and why we want to give them a copy of the Holy Scriptures in their language. Neither would we mince words about what we believe concerning Jesus and why we believe Him to be the Messiah. By being clear in this way and presenting each Israeli we met with a gift bag containing the Scriptures, a nice pair of hiking socks, and some other goodies, the response we received was 100% positive! We met lost sheep from the House of Israel at a mall in Huntsville, Alabama, of all places. Joshua and Rose gladly received two gift bags with the Word of God and listened to the Gospel of Jesus the Messiah preached to them.
After this fruitful and encouraging encounter, it was Colorado before we had another encounter. In Sioux City, Iowa there was a mall with a booth clearly manned by Israelis, but they had gone home for the day. We left the Scriptures by the cash register and trust they were received. Anyway, there was a long stretch of “strikeouts” over many miles that tested our faith. Discouragement threatened to set in, but we were determined to press on and trust the Lord. Little did we know that God had our trip timed and mapped out perfectly. We hit the jackpot in Denver, Colorado and Salt Lake City, Utah. Almost all of the shopping malls in those greater metropolitan areas had Israelis, and all we met received a copy of God’s Word. A few times, and like in Sioux City, we even found kiosks with Dead Sea products on the shelves but no Israelis around. In this situation, we just left a small Hebrew New Testament along with a Gospel tract for them to find the next day. By the time we left Salt Lake City, the day of that earthquake that knocked the horn out of Moroni’s hand on top of the Mormon Temple in downtown, we had a supply shortage! Praise God!
We left this bag at an empty Dead Sea Products kiosk in Sioux City, Iowa.
Eric & Ken share the Gospel with a Mormon man at Temple Square in Salt Lake City. If you look closely, the horn is missing from Moroni's hand. It fell out during an earthquake just a few hours earlier.
The first mall we targeted in the greater Denver area was Flatiron Crossing. There was a young man in that mall who seemed to display a Mediterranean look. He was also manning a booth with product that the Israelis usually sell. I approached to speak with him while Jesse went to the car to prepare a gift bag. It turned out that he was an American who grew up in Florida. After conversing for a few minutes, I learned that he was married to an Israeli girl (He had met her working at a shopping mall kiosk in Montana) and had since become a Christian. He told us he was struggling with how to be a better witness to his wife. Jesse and I were able to encourage Wesley in his walk with the Lord, and Jesse took time to explain some ways Wesley could share his faith better with his Jewish wife. He took a gift bag from us to give to her after his shift was over. Wesley even helped us get an additional gift bag into the hands of a Jewish man from Ethiopia who worked at an adjacent kiosk. That day, it was his day off, so that booth was empty. Wesley assured us that he would give the bag containing God’s Word to this young man the next day. Sure enough, he did, and he sent me this photo of the moment. Praise God for the Wesley’s teamwork!
Wesley did his part. This Ethiopian Jewish man in Denver got his gift bag and copies of the Hebrew Scriptures.
Once we left Denver, the compass again pointed west, so we travelled up into Wyoming, across I-80, and down into Salt Lake, arriving one late afternoon. This place ALSO proved a gold mine for Israeli outreach. We first stopped at the Layton Hills Mall and found a kiosk manned by a Jewish young man and woman. She asked if we wanted a sample of the products they were selling, so we took the opportunity stop and engage in some conversation. After some time talking about the things of the Lord and what it means to have faith in the Messiah as opposed to worldly religion, Maya and her friend Aiden received God’s Word with open and grateful hearts. After that great encounter, we had no idea that we would see them again the next day. We got up in the morning and headed out to comb the remaining malls in the city. First, it was Fashion Place. Inside, we gave out four gift bags. Two bags went to some young Israeli guys tending a kiosk together. We then gave one to a Jewish girl from Bogota, Colombia. And the last one we gave out was to an Israeli girl working at a kiosk on the far end of the mall where Maya, who we met the day before, was also working! It was great for her to see exactly what we were doing for the rest of the Israelis working there. It was a joyful time to run all over that mall giving out bags and talking to these young men and women from Israel about the Lord. The two young men at the beginning were so open and friendly and even helped us locate their other Israeli friends. It was one of the most fruitful mall stops on the entire trip.
We hit the jackpot at the Fashion Place Mall in Salt Lake City. Just a few days later, all the malls were closed.
Throughout our mall circuit across the country, we had opportunity to preach open-air on several occasions. Street preaching is a healthy and important spiritual exercise for any pastor or missionary, despite the specifics of one’s calling. Despite unconstitutional orders from whimsical governors telling people to quarantine themselves, plenty of folk were still out and about. While we passed through Boise, Idaho, we preached on a downtown corner with a few other brothers in Christ. Plenty of people gave us flack for preaching the Word. Nevertheless, there were still many encouraging encounters with passersby, and many received tracts. One such encounter involved a group of teenagers who came up to ask some questions at the end of the preach. One of the young men in the group took a New Testament after hearing the Gospel.
These teenagers asked some good questions on the streets of Boise after the preaching.
Days later, after we had arrived in California, we did some “stoplight preaching” in Turlock at a busy intersection. We targeted this spot at least three different times. Plenty of people rolled their windows down to listen. We got quite a few obscene gestures and people demanding without authority that we stop preaching, but we also received many thumbs-ups and encouraging words from Christians who were blessed by our presence on that corner. One woman even pulled up and handed us $20 saying the Lord pressed it upon her heart to stop and give that to us. What a blessing! Our prayers were that the Christians who saw us out there those days were emboldened to get out of their homes and do more evangelizing at an opportune time amidst all the fear and panic.
Eric Trent preaches at a stoplight in Turlock, California.
I praise God for the time that we spent on the road traveling across America seeking to preach the Gospel to both Jew and Gentile. Time would even fail me to tell of all the divine appointments we had along way home from California back to North Carolina after all the malls had closed down. Rock climbers we met at various climbing crags received tracts telling them of Jesus. Many gas station clerks, national park employees, hikers, motel owners, and coffee shop employees also received materials and heard the Truth of the Gospel. During the shutdown, we were still able to find plenty of people to talk to in the highways and byways of America. This virus scare has opened doors for us that wouldn’t have been open otherwise, and people were willing to listen. Death is very near to people with all that is transpiring. You will be surprised at how easily they will open up and talk about spiritual matters. As governors continue to keep their states shut down, some foolishly declaring the churches to be “non-essential,” remember that the Great Commission will always be essential, at all places and at all times. The Gospel must be preached to this lost and dying world! In my opinion, the American Church has shown itself to be weak during this time of crisis. Let the remnant of Christ rally around one another (instead of devouring one another), assemble and worship together, and, if need be, defy wicked governments orders to stay home and instead proclaim the Gospel on the streets. May we be found faithfully laboring while our Lord is away! For soon, He will return. What will He find us doing?
God Bless,
Eric Trent
Like Eric said, my friends, time would fail us to tell of all the divine appointments. I remember Paul, a homeless man who took a Bible while we were preaching on a street corner in Fort Collins, Colorado. There was a Nepali student we met on a hiking trail in South Dakota’s Black Hills, of all places. I spoke with him in his language, and he, too, took a Bible. There was a lady from Peru at a truck stop in Wendover, Nevada; two brothers camped in a refurbished school bus in California’s Alabama Hills; Larry on the grounds of the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake; 3 rock climbers in Timpanogos Canyon; Bud at a dumpy little motel in northern New Mexico; Wilmer from Colombia; a couple of Mexican workers in Bryce Canyon; a barista in Grand Junction, Colorado; and some college students at Yellow Bluff, a roadside climbing crag in North Alabama.
This brother from Colombia was really encouraged by the preaching in Fort Collins, Colorado.
There was also another Israeli encounter I found most interesting and unexpected; and this was after all the malls had closed down. From Boise, we headed for California to take a brother home who had flown out to Denver to join us on the road. We promised to take him home, and even after Gavin closed the state, we aimed to keep our word. Late one afternoon, we traversed through Reno and decided to see, if by some chance, a mall might be open or if we could find some food. Mall wasn’t an option, and we ended up settling for rice and beans in a parking lot. Not in a hurry to keep driving, our brother asked if we could find an ammo shop where he could possibly stock up before returning home to California. “Sure,” I replied. “Let me look for the closest one on Google Maps.” As it turned out, there was one less than a mile down the road from where were were mindlessly driving around. Long story short, it was owned by a Jewish man who was former IDF special forces. This guy was hardcore and had that strong ruddy look that I imagine would have described King David, or even Saul. We had an interesting conversation in that gun store, and he gladly received a gift bag containing the Hebrew Scriptures. He heard from our lips that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah. That was the last gift bag distributed on this journey. And, it was meaningful, God’s Divine Hand of Providence. Please pray for Sharón and for all these others. Many of the Israelis we spoke to confessed real fear and uncertainly over IT, that phenomenon you are undoubtedly tired of hearing about. This was such an open door to speak about the peace that can be found in God, His Word, and in the Messiah. “We need a Messiah!” was our plea.
Who would have thought we could give away a gift bag in a "random" ammo store in Reno?
Upon our return to North Carolina, Eric and I have regularly gone out to preach at a busy traffic stop in Hickory at the corner of Lenoir Rhyne Blvd. and Hwy 70, like we did back in Turlock, California and at several other spots along that journey. Now is a time to preach, to call the nation to repentance, and to call the churches to revival. I believe many folks have been encouraged. And at least two Christian women have stopped to bless us, one with two ice-cold Gatorades, and another to hold a sign and stand with us for a few minutes. The local police have also been kind not to bother us, and a Captain even gave me his personal number, encouraging me to let him know if anyone made trouble. We live in a great county, Catawba County! Unfortunately, this preaching has caused a bit of fuss, and it has cost our ministry what had been faithful support. But, I cannot in good conscience apologize for acknowledging what Brother Roloff did so many years ago, that America is an insane asylum run by the inmates, and that the church is in desperate need of repentance and revival. That’s a message that steps on people’s toes and steps on their religion; it’s been that way since Jesus Himself walked the dusty roads of Galilee and the crowded streets of Jerusalem. Interestingly, we did something different than we have done before, we live-streamed some of the stoplight preaching. On one occasion, I noticed that an Israeli girl we met down in Argentina a couple of years ago, someone we also connected again with in Israel . . . she was listening in and heard the Gospel. I pray it drove her back to that New Testament she received from our hands long ago. I’ll probably be back out at that street corner again this week.
Open-air preaching in Hickory, North Carolina during the "Lockdown"
Please pray for our ministry. Obviously, our summer plans for the Hummus Trail in Peru and Colombia have been shelved. Everything is up in the air, and we are patiently waiting on the Lord to open a door and direct our steps. If these countries don’t open back up, we may just go back on the road here in the States, like we used to do when this ministry first got started. Even if Peru does open up, the typical flow of Israelis probably won’t be there in Huaraz, as those travelers were forced to return home and the annual flow has run dry. It most likely will not resume until next year. There is still some hope for Colombia, however, and we are praying the Trents can return there by the end of the summer to find the first of the next round’s North-to-South backpackers. The Lord knoweth. Again, your prayers and support are most appreciated.
Speaking of back when this ministry first got started, and I’ll conclude this newsletter this this: it was in 2003, and it all began with a coast-to-coast bicycle ride. Somewhere on that long journey, Jamie and I found ourselves discouraged, wrestling, and dealing with some persecution from professing Christians. One pastor in Washington State, whose church was supporting the work, didn’t like the route we had chosen and started complaining to me about our preaching and the nature of our outreach. He threatened to cut the church’s support and was just downright mean, even vindictive, in his communication. Needless to say, we were discouraged and dumbfounded. Anyway, we ended up at a couple of roadside picnic tables on the border of Oklahoma and New Mexico where a rusty old sign read “No Man’s Land.” It was definitely that, and we set up camp that night wondering what we were doing and even entertaining whether or not this pastor’s perspective rang of truth. We pleaded with the LORD to show Himself and direct our steps. Should we keep on or pack it up? The next morning, around dawn, I awoke dreading the day’s bicycle ride in the cold wind. It was overcast, and I heard the purring of an engine outside in the pull-off. A long-haired man from Iowa named Randy had tried to camp there but had to turn crank his car in the night because of the cold. These are the words I penned in my journal almost 17 years ago:
Today it was confirmed that once again, we were in the right place at the right time. It began early this morning with Randy, a man who had come out to the desert to die, sick of the world and running from his problems. As he toked on a joint, he wanted to talk about UFOs, but I talked about Jesus. He wanted to talk about that “tyrant” George W. Bush and Iraq, but I brought the conversation back to Jesus. He then wanted to talk about Jesus the Teacher, but I proclaimed Jesus the Christ, God of the Universe, and Saviour of the World. By the end of our fellowship, he had a Bible in his hand. May the Word of the Lord keep him awake in the desert tonight, wherever he may be . . . ’Twas a divine appointment, especially considering how much we had been wrestling. It was a miracle we ended up in that place.
Randy’s last words to me after I prayed with him were: “I drove down from Iowa to go out to the desert to die. I’m still going out to the desert, but perhaps now it is to read this Book you gave to me.”
No Man's Land with Randy (November, 2003)
As we drove home a few weeks ago, Eric, my daughter, and I ended up one blustery evening at that same roadside pullout. We had picked up dinner from a taco truck in Clayton, New Mexico, the only place open and that surprisingly so, and I knew this spot wasn’t that far out of the way. I thought of Randy and wanted to go back there. It was sad to see the “No Man’s Land” sign had blown away in that forsaken place, but we did devour those tacos at the old cement table a few steps from where Randy and I had our little Gospel pow-wow all those long years ago. I wonder whatever happened to him. If you are discouraged, my friend, if you are facing accusation or mistreatment, even from believers, who question and write-off your labors or decisions for the LORD (there is a lot of that going around these days), don’t dwell on such things. Keep doing what you are doing as it conforms to the Word of God, and don’t quit! You might just wake up to find yourself in a “No Man’s Land” with a Randy who needs to hear God’s Word.
The old "No Man's Land" sign has since blown away.
Let me bring this full circle and go back to that well-known statement by Lester Roloff--America is an Insane Asylum Run by the Inmates. This fiery Baptist preached a good message on repentance, I believe it was sometime during the 1960s. In fact, it's considered a classic, and I found a recording thereof just the other day. Perhaps you might find it interesting and edifying during these insane times. Join me as we pray for our nation and for true revival in its churches!
May the Lord bless you all and keep you healthy, safe, and obedient to the Great Commission.
Jesse Boyd,
Full Proof Gospel Ministries
P.S. While proofreading this newsletter in preparation to send it out, I got a message informing me that some believers I know and love in South Dakota hired a photographer to cover a small wedding tomorrow in Sioux Falls. We met that same young photographer on a trail in the Black Hills back in March while he was hiking down Black Elk Peak with his college roommate from NEPAL, of all places. Both of these young men, including the Nepali from Kathmandu, heard Word of God, and a Bible was received. Please pray as that seed will be undoubtedly watered tomorrow. The LORD is good :)