Eureka Springs, Arkansas celebrated its spring “diversity weekend” a few days ago. The weekend is one of four throughout the year that is being promoted by a “few” citizens and our city council as the place to go for a public display of “pride” and “love” on the streets of our city. Our community’s churches have decided to ignore this problem. They stay away from the town during these weekends, and go to lush green fields to play golf, or work around the house instead of going to the streets of Eureka Springs to wade amongst the marshes and swamps of the dark. Instead of making a stand against this event, most have chosen to ignore it in hopes that it will not affect them.

But not all Christian men have chosen to ignore this problem. There are some that have taken up the banner and have begun to stand and proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is near.” The Jericho Riders called for help, and the Lord answered them by sending men from Ohio, North Carolina, Missouri, Arkansas and other states to stand with this Motorcycle Ministry.

These Christian men from around the country came into Eureka Springs to share the gospel of Jesus Christ this past weekend. They came neither to calm the darkness, or to tolerate it. They came with the intent to destroy the elements of darkness by sharing the Truth of the mighty words of Jesus Christ and His Father. They came filled with the Holy Spirit and allowed that Spirit to flood from their hearts into our community.

Under the banner of Minute Men United, several ministries joined together in the early evening on Friday, April 4th. Meeting in the conference room of Travelers Inn, the weekend began by sharing God’s word with one another. Their fellowship is hard to explain, the love that these men share for each other and for Jesus Christ is awesome. Each of the nineteen men allowed God’s Spirit to lead them as they shared scripture and prayer.

Then at God’s appointed time, the men went into the darkness of downtown Eureka Springs. They gathered at Basin Spring Park and began to pray and read from their Bibles. This movement of the Holy Spirit was challenged by a few citizens, and the police were called. Thus began a weekend of glory, powerful “divine appointments”, witnessing, and calls for a city to repent.

The Christian warriors that God sent are not new to the spiritual battles that take place in a city such as this. They understand that Satan has put his talons into the souls of men and women here and that he will fight to hold them. Men like Flip have learned to protect themselves with God’s mighty shield. Pastor Bill has allowed the Holy Spirit to teach him and his mighty army of warriors to speak only the words He wants known. Saturday was evidence of God showing us that He does have a plan and if we listen to Him, He will use us for His glory. “If we show up, He will show off.”

His strength was evident when our Lord brought a young woman amongst us to encourage to continue the battle. This young woman approached a group of twelve men and shared her story of abortion, lies, and then, salvation. Her testimony lifted the spirits of the warriors. Another young woman saw the “Truth Truck” at a local restaurant and spoke to the men. Her words of encouragement and support was like salve to the eyes. Many other conversations like this took place throughout the weekend.

The police became a visible presence Saturday, as Christian men stood surrounded by lost souls in the center of town with sometimes passionate discussions taking place. The day was spent proclaiming the cry of Jesus Christ, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is near.” Each man carried the sword of Jesus with them as they conversed individually or in groups, sharing the gospel of Jesus, but also calling attention to scriptures that warn of “eternal death”. The victory for the weekend was and is always, His. He called His warriors, brought them together and strengthened their steps.

All day Saturday the town of Eureka Springs had the pleasure of seeing the “Truth Truck” as it drove up and down the streets. This truck is the rolling words of God. Scripture covers the twelve-foot high camper proclaiming the truth of sin. Ron Brock, the driver of the “Truth Truck”, has answered God’s call with enthusiasm and resilience. His message cannot be missed, especially when it is emblazoned on a truck parked in front of the courthouse steps on a warm spring “diversity weekend”. One thing is certain, that truck will be a topic of conversation in this community for many years!

On Saturday evening, the men asked the ever present Eureka Springs police department to escort them out of town. The police officers were more than happy to oblige. And I know that there were many that were even happier than they to see us leave, in particular one young pastor who challenged the spirit of these men and the “truth“ they share with the lost. A late night Bible study took place, then most of the men headed towards St. Louis to catch flights back to their homes.

Many blessings came out this past weekend, more than anyone will ever know. One such blessing was that Pastor Phil Wilson of First Christian Church asked Rev. Flip to give the Sunday sermon at his church. This pastor recognized the truth, acted on the truth, and then took a step of faith. Flip’s awesome message from God touched many hearts on Sunday. As the other men were flying home, people in church that have chosen not to fight were being spoken to and encouraged to join the battle. What seed will take root from these testimonies and the many others is only known to God, but I do know it will bear fruit.

It is difficult for me to express everything that happened this past weekend here in Eureka Springs, and what it has done for our community. I can only pray that as God continues to call men into battle, I, as a Jericho Rider and a part of Minutemen United, will hear that call and help to sharpen them as they have me. May the Lord continue to protect them, their families and their ministries. God Bless…

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 This past weekend I had the opportunity to visit Eureka Springs, Arkansas with men from Minutemen United, Operation Save America, Jericho Riders, and New Beginnings Ministries. In a band of 14-16 men, we stood in the city of Eureka Springs proclaiming the Gospel Truth about homosexuality during a quarterly "Diversity Weekend".

The city is a beautiful city tucked back in the Ozark Mountains. The architecture and layout of the city are magnificent. It is also home to a 100 foot statue of Jesus and a famous outdoor "Passion" play. Amazingly enough, the city council has been overrun by homosexuals and now the downtown area is almost completely in support of homosexuality. There were many tourists in the area that were caught by surprise by the diversity weekend and many locals not too happy about it. This take over has apparently been gradually occurring over the past 15 years, but is very boldly being flaunted through out the city now. The Diversity Weekend schedule proudly posted in the local newspaper revealed scheduled Drag Queens, Public Display of Affection, Domestic Partnership Licensing, and other disturbing events, a reflection of that boldness.

We did our part in pushing back that takeover. On Friday night after dinner, we hit the streets proclaiming the gospel. Starting with prayer at the court house, we then moved to the park located in the center of Eureka Springs and began praying for the take back of Eureka Springs. As prayer began, the demons began to stir. People began coming out on to the balconies of the hotel next to the park, the police showed up and asked us to "keep it down", but all in all, we were met with little resistance. Next we moved to a local Baptist church to pray over and ended up split up into two groups catching a few witnessing opportunities along the way. One group proceeded to the church while the other group began a prayer walk through the streets, leading to contact with a young man named Brian who made a decision for Christ and spent time with us at various instances through out the weekend. We finished the night back in the park and turned in at a local Christian owned motel for a decent night's sleep for what would be a long second day.

Saturday morning began with coffee and devotions, led by Pastor Flip Benham of Operation Save America. After he set the tone of the day, we headed down to the courthouse to setup for the opening of the Domestic Partnership Registration (DPR) Licensing office. We had a good conversation with one of the local policeman and discovered there wasn't much going on in the way of DPR's. Ron Brock then setup his Truth Truck along the route and the preaching began as well as sign holding. After the short stint at the courthouse, we moved on to the city park to get setup prior to the Public Display of Affection. Pastor Bill lit up the bullhorn and was soon left to only his voice after local police demanded we stop using amplification. They found out that he is much louder and more offensive with out the bull horn. I received numerous comments attesting to that during witnessing with a young, teenage girl and her male friend.

This witnessing opportunity was like numerous others in the fact that the girl was a professing lesbian, yet was open to discussion on the subject and really seemed to be interested it what I had to say. As the conversation went on, there was skeptic opposition, but you could tell that impact was actually being made. Those seeds are the seeds sown that need to continue to be bathed in our prayers.

After the short stint of "offensively" loud preaching, Pastor Bill joined Ron Brock in the Truth Truck on a route moving through out Eureka Springs handing out tracks and preaching the gospel along the way. Let's just say he was the most popular vehicle in the area, but not for the reason people buy a car.

Meanwhile, we continued witnessing and preaching in the park while the homosexuals moved in for their celebrated display of affection. However, that public display never really came to fruition. They moved in, put on their pink hats, and dispersed in a matter of no longer than 40 minutes and mainly looked like a planned group photo rather than a public statement. Some engaged in dialog, some tried to make a scene, others lined up to take tickets to talk to flip after the crowd dispersed, at least that was the way it looked. I of all people understand how Flip can get under your skin (Just Kidding Flip!). 

After getting everyone through the Flip Benham line, we met up with everyone for lunch at another Christian location where I had the best opossum pie I have ever had (or pie for that matter). Road Kill was the name of the place, if you are ever in Eureka Springs, stop by! From there we moved on to see the Christ of the Ozarks statue and then for reasons unexplained (Pastor Flip) we stopped for ice cream which would lead us into our largest opposition of the day. Ironic how Flip demands ice cream and gets us into trouble at the same time.

While at the ice cream parlor a young lady gave her testimony about having an abortion at age 15, contemplating suicide, fighting depression, and other common side affects that you don't get counseled when signing up to get an abortion. After she had a recent, serious car accident she cried out to God, repented for her sin and was completely healed of her guilt. She is now married and desiring to have children, but like other abortion victims, has been told by medical professionals that she cannot. We gathered around and prayed over the couple, please continue to keep them in your prayers.

During the prayer, unbeknownst to us, a local pastor had stopped by to give Ron Brock a hard time about his Truth Truck being in what he referred to as "his" parking lot. Unbeknownst to the Pastor, there were fifteen of us there to witness it and support Ron. I think he was taken a little by surprise. After much debate of our battle tactics, Pastor Bill challenged Jason to lead us into the streets "his way". He quickly declined. Soon after this, Kevin, a local Jericho Rider, challenged Jason asking him if his purpose to stop by was strictly to throw us out because of the Truth Truck, Jason responded "yes". Then he politely asked why Jason didn't stop downtown and confront the actual homosexuality that was taking place, which should be way more disconcerting then a picture of the act. That climaxed the situation and put Jason in his place. The police showed up soon after which we learned was at the request of the Pastor's wife who was in his local shop. As the police walked up Jason quickly said "I was just standing here and all these guys gathered around and ganged up on me!" I'll leave my opinion out on that. The police then received request from the actual land owner to remove us from the parking lot, 40 minutes later I think we ended up leaving, but that is 40 minutes later than we would have been there had he not shown up at all!

Ironically enough, after a short trip back downtown for a final street ministry opportunity, the Truth Truck ended up parked directly across the street from that same shop at what I realized was our hotel for the rest of the night as we had fellowship with Kevin and his family at his house. What capped the trip off was the police escort out of town on the way to Kevin's. They were ready to see us go after following us all around town for one and a half days straight.

The trip home was highlighted by Coach's ticket to the policeman's ball, which wasn't cheap at all and 45 minutes of sleep. Jeff Cline and I captured the moment and laughed for about two hours straight. Still laughing about it now.