sinners – Jesus Preacher

by John McGlone

I have been blessed over the last month to develop with a few saints of God the Heartland Openair Preaching and Evangelism Facebook Group, H.O.P.E. Things have been going very well, making connections among the saints in our heartland region. In just a few short weeks we have made some great event coordinations as well. It’s been really good, peaceable, and simple. We are up to about 50 members now, a few outside our region who are checking on what we are doing so they may initiate such a group for their regions. Praise God, wouldn’t it be great to have different regional groups who help announce, coordinate, and work out strategies for the members?

That is the background for the story of a man I am compelled to introduce named Phillip Gage, from Holcomb, MO. who was invited to join our group. From the very first welcome post on the thread, it seemed Phillip made his motives known to correct certain methods and standards for our group. I decided to remove the thread from the board, as one of our tenets is not to bring doctrines to discussion but leave the board for coordination, recruiting, and brainstorming events. He had also used some very vulgar language which I didn’t have time to deal with as I was heading out the door to preach at WKU all day. I offered that he could discuss these things in PM for any members who were willing to do so. I quickly set that up for him to discuss these things with the membership. The thread got quickly out of hand while I was gone with Phillip taking authority where he had none, accusing members of sin, etc. I told the admins to ask Phillip if I could call him, then we would work it out. He agreed and I called him after our hectic day on campus. He seemed apologetic, humble, and yet passionate all at the same time. I agreed he could stay on. I returned home found the thread was much worse than I thought, and how many things that Phillip did causing so much discord and division in such a short amount of time. You dear reader may be wondering what was he so bent out of shape about? He heard other preachers using terms like; faggot, whore, etc and he was grieved in his spirit. I explained my/our view on what may seem like harsh corrupt language comes from a corrupt heart, not from what the culture or even what an individual deems is corrupt. We believe a curse word involves cursing in the heart toward the one whom it is directed. For example, a sinner may say, “F… you preacher go to hell.” We would reply, “God bless you sinner I don’t want you to go to hell!” The same ‘curse’ word hell is involved but where is the cursing in the latter example? Who has the impure or pure heart in these matters? Thus when the open air minister is calling the world to repent of all the filthy, wicked things they promote and love, he must be careful not to have reviling in his heart toward the hearers. These things we witness and see on the streets of NeoSodom are vulgar and a shame to even speak but we are called to expose them.

Eph 4:29-32 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Eph 5:11-13 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. 12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. 13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.

We can easily see there that we should not approve of, or have fellowship with sin. Even speaking of these wicked things sinners do is shameful. But, despite the fact that it is a shame, we have to reprove and expose these things which would mean we must speak of them…from a pure heart not defiled with reviling, hatred, and rioting on our parts. That is our position for the group.

I spoke with Phillip again for about an hour the next day and it became very quickly apparent, he had come to teach our group his arbitrary standard of what speech and methods of open air preaching he approves. At times he would be very patient, then outbursts of passion and anger about how grieved he was about our behavior. He made threats to come and preach against us at the Memphis Pride we had planned. I pointed out to him that if we were in sin, who was it and where was his evidence against them? After a pregnant pause, he offered Marvin Heiman. I immediately cautioned him about accusing brethren and asked for his proof to which he did not offer any. We spoke some more, then I hung up the phone very exhausted from maintaining my composure with a very belligerent phone call.

Over the course of the day the admins of the group came to the conclusion he wasn’t going to be a good fit. We decided that Marvin and I would speak to him the next day by phone, I would be the second witness in regards to Phillip’s accusation against Marvin’s sin, whatever that was. We also decided because it seemed that Phillip was so passionate and accusatory that we would make a recording of it.

The next day we called Phillip and he was agreeable to the recording and discussion parameters of timed sequences with me moderating our time together. I mention that we didn’t desire to publish this audio. However, I have changed my view on this in light of all the trouble he has caused among our members and now other open air groups making false accusations and bringing discord. Here is that talk:

Discussion with Marvin Heiman, Phillip Gage, and John McGlone

We have removed Phillip from our group based on his unwillingness to admit he is wrong about his accusations against Marvin and now the saints of God. At time 11:00 you hear his ideas that we should ostracize brethren, and separate ourselves. The Bible teaches us to seek reconciliation and peace among those of the household of faith, this was our motive and hope with him.

At time 19:01 Phillip asserts that the people that are hearing the words, determine whether or a word is a curse word or not.

The following godly brethren all part of our group had discussions on some level, either on private message or openly; Marvin Heiman, Quentin Deckard, A.T. Love, Joshua Stanley Lovell, and Tim Brown. I will include their testimonies as I receive them. There were many others on the Street Preacher Movement Group, Jim Gilles, et all, who briefly encountered him. This was before he realized that his testimony against me would not just be accepted without some testing by the saints. He began blocking people, including myself.

Pro 6:16-19 These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: 17 A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, 19 A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.

Tit 3:9-11 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. 10 A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject; 11 Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.

Heretick Strong’s G141 αἱρετικός aihretikos hahee-ret-ee-kos’
– a schismatic. This word only occurs once in the KJV translation

I publish this blog post to make it apparent to all the saints how we have tried to work with Phillip, but he would not put down his unbiblical views on words and methods in the open air. I also do this to warn and make aware to everyone in the open air holiness community of this divider of the brethren that they may call him to repentance. Thank you. May God bless you as you seek to glorify the Son!

One of the last correspondences Phillip gave to me was this pm, which he assumes many things based on a slanderous website against many open air preachers:

If we value the sacrifice of Jesus Christ’s suffering for our sin on the cross, why do we revive the power of the serpent?