An open letter to Tim Wildmon and the AFA

Mr Wildmon,

I always thought you guys were way radical for Jesus... and I liked it. But this stuff about Silent Witness and St. Francis of Assisi is troublesome to me. Let me explain.

Being a silent witness is like being an secret disciple, it just doesn't work. In the same way that secrecy will render discipleship ineffective and useless, silence will do the same to our witness.

Unfortunately, the church today loves this kinda stuff because in a subtle and socially acceptable way it gives us an excuse to live free of persecution and while discounting our fear of man and his rejection of the gospel.

Preach the gospel, use words if necessary? Try that with the following similar scenarios:
-Sow your field, use seed if necessary.
-Take a bath, use water if necessary.
-Feed the starving children, use food if necessary.

We should be taking a few quotes from the apostle Paul instead of a Catholic mystic like Francis (who is a quoted hero, by the way, of the Emergent church). Here are just a few from Romans 10 showing clearly that words are indeed necessary for preaching the gospel...there is no "if necessary" about it. Note the use of terms like word, mouth, heard, hear, and hearing in conjunction with preach. None of these imply preaching without words as an alternative option.

Verse 8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

Verse 14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

Verse 17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Just an opinion, but I trust the Word to be a much more trustworthy resource for guiding my actions than Mr Assisi. Should we live the gospel? Absolutely! Should we do it silently? Never.

In reality this quote is up for debate as to whether St Francis actually was the man who said it, but in any case, you owe it to yourself to read Assisi's Canticle, where he calls Death his sister and the earth his mother. He is not a man I want to quote in support of a biblical faith.

Thanks for your time,
Brian