As someone who has lived here for over 30 years, and has stood on the street in downtown DeLand holding political campaign signs - and "Jesus Saves" signs - I'd like to make a few comments of my own.

1. Many of the comments here are clearly a case of people seeing and hearing what they want to see or hear - not necessarily what actually happened. I can assure you that no one is preaching or pointing a sign specifically at you based on what you are doing, wearing, or driving. If you see it that way, it is only because a "connection" has been made between you and the other person - make of that what you will.

2. There is no such thing as a right to not be offended. The First Amendment was not written to protect nice polite speech - it was put there to protect that which some people find offensive, disagreeable, controversial and "politically incorrect".

3. The motivation behind public ministry (in addition to simply obeying a direct commandment of God) is the same as someone who sees people inside a burning building and then does everything he possibly can to save them from the fire. For those who believe The Holy Bible, the analogy fits perfectly. The motivation is a genuine love and concern for those who will, indeed, find themselves "in the fire" without salvation. If you choose to reject the message, then that is your choice. Just don't try to claim that the public ministry is done from any motivation other than a genuine love and concern for you. Sometimes important messages are annoying; you probably thought the same of your parents when they scolded you for doing something that you shouldn't.

4. The level of ignorance displayed about The Holy Bible in some comments is astounding. If you want to argue against public ministry because you find it annoying and offensive, that's fine; you can probably make a solid argument that way. Just don't try to use The Holy Bible to justify your position - you have no idea how foolish it makes you look. While public ministry may be standing on very shaky ground when it comes to being "socially acceptable" in this God-despising culture, it stands on rock-solid ground when it comes to what The Holy Bible says.

America - and Christianity - are all about making choices. Choose wisely.