Concerts and evangelism

I am taking a chance on this post because I think most posters may be too conservative to give me some advice. Only my guess.

In April there is a rock concert fest coming to my area. A couple of the bands, involved, praise being anti God and going to hell but they don't push outright satanism. It is more of a rebellious overgrown teenager thing. My wife wants to go to this because there is a band she likes.

One of the 2 'bad' bands has a song called 'Heaven Know's and the catch lines are ' Heaven knows we belong down below'. On the way back from buying 2 tickets from the arena the thought crossed my mind about putting together a tract entitled 'Heaven Knows' with the Gospel inside and passing them out.

Has anyone ever done any such thing at all on this board? I have never done this but I have been to underground concerts and talked with individuals on one on one basis about God. I was single then. This arena holds up to 10000 people.

These words are the very end of the song

Oh, Lord, heaven knows
We belong way down below
Oh, Lord, tell us so
We belong way down below
Oh, Lord, heaven knows
We belong way down below
Oh, Lord, tell us so
We belong way down below

Way down below, way down below
Way down below, way down below

The way I see it is she is correct but she only has one side of the story. I am intrigued to know what caused this song to be created and its real intention. Often times it is brought about by some kind of pain.

John

quote: The way I see it is she is correct but she only has one side of the story.

Hi John- i think you left out part of the post- i don't see what your wife is correct about.

When I refer to the 'she is correct but she has only one side of the story' I am referring to the band and not my wife.

A pastor friend of mine in Albuquerque does a blog from time to time, and had a good one today about how Jesus was like a kid going to work with His Dad. He cited the healing of the Bethesda Pool whiner, healed despite a miserable absence of faith. Pastor Perry built the story along the lines of Jesus just going wherever He wished, finding that when His Dad was working He would just work along side Him.

It didn't matter where He went, His heart was always set to see and respond to whatever ministry the Father set before Him.

Set your heart on God and go to the concert! There just might be someone there that would never come across your path in the normal course of where you go?

Go for it.

Shortly before my conversion, (1981) my brother and I attended a Foghat concert in Chicago, (Foghat is a rock and roll band for those who may not know) where we encountered a small group of brave men standing outside the entrance with a cross, talking to all who passed about Jesus. Their words watered the work of the Holy Spirit going on in my heart. I will never forget that night and have often prayed for those who brought the message to us that night.

Russell

Russel,

Are you suggesting that DEADn evangelize outside the event? Do you think it would have been different inside the concert venue?

Or are just encouraging him to go and preach but to make sure he is in the power of the Holy Spirit?

Thank you for sharing.

A pastor friend of mine in Albuquerque does a blog from time to time, and had a good one today about how Jesus was like a kid going to work with His Dad. He cited the healing of the Bethesda Pool whiner, healed despite a miserable absence of faith. Pastor Perry built the story along the lines of Jesus just going wherever He wished, finding that when His Dad was working He would just work along side Him.

It didn't matter where He went, His heart was always set to see and respond to whatever ministry the Father set before Him.

Set your heart on God and go to the concert! There just might be someone there that would never come across your path in the normal course of where you go?

Going to the concert is already a done deal. Tix paid already. I just wonder about the evangelism part in passing out a 'Heaven Knows tract'. I would have to create it.

I'm an advocate for good evangelism.

To me, this always depends on three important factors.

1. Where is your heart on this?
2. Are you pointing people to Jesus Christ or doctrine?
3. Is this more for your ego or for Christ's fame? (I could find a better way to phrase this...but I'm struggling to come up with something. Basically, are you being selfish or are you being selfless in this?)

If you feel you meet these conditions, I'd strongly encourage you to pray and ask others to pray for you. The Lord will direct your steps and His word will never return void.

There are 2 bands at this concert that I have zeroed in on. The main band called 'Five Finger Death punch' and the other band, with the 'Heaven Knows' song called 'Pretty Reckless'.
F.F.D.P. sings about teenage angst. To me they are 'wannabees' trying to be heavy metal but still trying to mature into it, if that makes sense? They now have a song called 'Wrong side of Heaven, the righteous side of hell' and in it they understand the devil's side.

Pretty Reckless has the 'Heaven Knows' song and at first it will shock the ears but yet it is very true song. The issue is that both of these bands are glorifying it rather than speaking the truth about the subject. When I first heard this songs my heart sank for I imagined the vacuum of lost souls these songs were going to suck up into a black hole. I find the songs dumb in musical talent BUT rockers do take hold of them and rock to them.

On the heels of these thoughts is when the tract idea came to mind. What can I do to make a different some some of these rockers and it not be a turn off? I see 'Heaven Knows' as a good open door to the Gospel. Pretty Reckless created the song and maybe I can show another road that she hasn't spoken of?

John

Russel,

Are you suggesting that DEADn evangelize outside the event? Do you think it would have been different inside the concert venue?

Or are just encouraging him to go and preach but to make sure he is in the power of the Holy Spirit?

Thank you for sharing.

I can tell you this. I am not going to stand outside the venue and preach. In fact I don't intend to preach from my mouth. My intention is the idea of creating a tract using 'Heaven Knows' song as the open door for fans of this band and use it to present the Gospel and pass them out as I journey through the crowed before the venue opens and also pass them out as people come and go inside.

There is an outdoor stage that begins this concert before the venue opens. That plaza is crowded shoulder to shoulder with people. I was there 3 yrs ago for it and I was blown away by the mass of humanity. P.O.D. was on that stage as well. I went for the experience because prior to this I am only used to underground stuff. Crowds of a couple hundred. Those people I would talk to one on one about God when I found an open door but I was single then lol.

This is a bigger scale.

Go for it.

Shortly before my conversion, (1981) my brother and I attended a Foghat concert in Chicago, (Foghat is a rock and roll band for those who may not know) where we encountered a small group of brave men standing outside the entrance with a cross, talking to all who passed about Jesus. Their words watered the work of the Holy Spirit going on in my heart. I will never forget that night and have often prayed for those who brought the message to us that night.

Russell

Now this is intriguing. Did concert goers acknowledge their presence in your view?

Rufnrust/Russell

Are you, by any chance, an appraiser?

G'day John,

I think you are trying to justify going to the concert by making the tract up. If you are fair dinkum about saving the concert goers souls, you would stand outside (in the vicinity) giving the tracts out and talking to the people. As it is, you are wanting to go to the concert and say it is (Gods will). If not, you are not wanting to cause waves with your wife. If you want and go see the concert then go, but handing tracts out in the concert will only make double sons of Hell. And there are already enough of them already.

In Love Steve

Ps. I am not someone that does not know where you are coming from, for the song that has had the most influence on my life was a song by Black Sabbath called "After forever". God used it in confronting me and challenging me to follow Him.

G'day John,

I think you are trying to justify going to the concert by making the tract up. If you are fair dinkum about saving the concert goers souls, you would stand outside (in the vicinity) giving the tracts out and talking to the people. As it is, you are wanting to go to the concert and say it is (Gods will). If not, you are not wanting to cause waves with your wife. If you want and go see the concert then go, but handing tracts out in the concert will only make double sons of Hell. And there are already enough of them already.

In Love Steve

Ps. I am not someone that does not know where you are coming from, for the song that has had the most influence on my life was a song by Black Sabbath called "After forever". God used it in confronting me and challenging me to follow Him.

Nope, not true at all. My wife wants to go to this concert because she has a favorite band playing there. I am not going to drop her off and pick her up. That is way too much of a mess to deal with.

What you said about tracts, is in the back of my mind as well and could very well turn more off then on. I understand that as well. That is why I am mulling over this whole thing and wondering should I even attempt anything with it at all. My wife won't care.

By the way, in no way am I saying any of this is God's Will in me going to this concert. My post is not about that at all. My post is the idea of using some king of tract to give the message of the Gospel out in relation to one of the hit songs of one of the bands.

No audible preaching. No one carrying signs. Just a small piece of paper, put in the pocket and read it later.

SOme of my post are me thinking out loud on this so if some of my thoughts seem a bit off or just weird then you know the source. ha.

John

Tim & John

I am not sure what an 'appraiser' is in this context but I don't think I am.

Whether anyone acknowledged them or not, I do not know.
I pretended to ignore them myself
If they just obeyed, then they have done well. They went out in to the world to preach the gospel to some 20,000 sinners. I doubt that I was the only one who was touched by the Holy Spirit.

Russell