There are a number of things to point out here.

First, I don't think such things are "killing Christianity." Our Lord Jesus promised, "I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18b NKJ), and nothing has stopped the Church from growing since that time. I certainly don't think some fringe group of protestors is going to "kill" it. So, I would prefer that we leave such hyperbole aside.

Second, there is much debate about the wisdom and effectiveness of street preaching, which is protected speech, at least in America where I live. In fact, we have street preachers in our town, some of whom simply preach evangelistic sermons and some of whom seek to be more deliberately inflammatory. The latter tend to give the former a bad name, and I wish they would shut up and go away. But there seems to be more than that going on in this instance. In this instance there seems to have been a group there with the preachers who are said to have been performing "anti-gay chants," whatever that means. As a Christian pastor, I have no problem with the street preaching, even if it is not my thing, so long as it follows the law. I know that this will be offensive to some people regardless of how lovingly it is done, but that doesn't mean it is wrong to do it. However, I am definitely against attempts to be deliberately offensive just for the sake of being offensive, which appears to have been going on in this case.

Third, shifting from the issue of the wisdom or lack thereof concerning the very idea of street preaching, I would observe that, at least here in America, there is a double standard that Christians should not feel obliged to encourage. For example, gay activists can march or protest virtually any time or any place they wish -- and believe me, they typically have absolutely no regard for how offensive they may be to others -- and this is not seen as a problem, but allow just a few street preachers here and there and suddenly they cry "hate speech" and want to have it shut down. Now, I do not think Christians should ever deliberately seek to be offensive, as I said before, but the simple fact is that there is no way not to be offensive when proclaiming truths that some people hate and who vocally express that hate (without ever being accused of hate speech, by the way). Should we, then, cease proclaiming the message we have been called to proclaim simply because some people will find it offensive? If Christians did that, then the Church really would never have survived.

So, there are issues here that have become intertwined. There is the issue of whether it is wise to engage in street preaching in the first place, which is a legitimately debatable issue from a Biblical point of view. Then there is the issue of how street preaching ought to be done if it is indeed deemed a wise thing to do. And then there is the issue of the offense many people will always take to the message we proclaim no matter when, or where, or how lovingly we proclaim it. We will never be able to remove the offense of the Gospel without altering it into something else, in which case it will no longer be the Gospel, and we shouldn't try to do this. But we can do our best to proclaim that truth as lovingly as possible and try to ensure that it is really only the Gospel that offends them and not our own unwise or unloving actions. In my view, if the story you've linked is accurate, these professing Christians crossed the line into being unnecessarily offensive in their "chants," "chants" which were apparently done in addition to the preaching of the Gospel and which were also entirely unnecessary. Beyond that, I don't know what happened. Did the man attack them and get pushed away when they defended themselves? Did they attack him? Were they really "evangelical bullies"? Or was that simply the man’s characterization of them? Etc. I know one thing, I am very suspicious of the way the media reports such things.

Anyway, there is much to think about and pray about concerning such matters and concerning how we as Christians should address them. When and how should we speak out? Others are allowed to speak publicly in their absolute hatred of everything we hold dear, and they are allowed to do so as hatefully as they wish without ever being accused of hate speech. Is there NO room for Christians to speak in the public square? And should we simply accept that this is the case and stay quiet? Or should we speak up as lovingly but as boldly as we can, while decrying the mean-spirited approach of some who would give us a bad name? These certainly aren't easy things to decide, but they are certainly worth discussing. I appreciate your willingness to discuss them here.

@KeithThroop It’s not about budging on the Word. It’s about getting realistic on how to deliver the Word, show why it’s important, make it relatable, secure the buy-in of tens of millions of people who are starving for spiritual growth.

Less judgement. More inspiration.

The failure isn’t with the Word — which is perfect — it’s with the incompetent delivery.

@GeeMac What if we are convinced that the Word -- by which I mean the Bible -- requires, for example, that we deliver "a message that we are all sinners" to everyone in order to explain why we need to trust in Jesus Christ to save us? After all, He died on the cross and rose from the dead in order to save us for our sins, according to the Bible. That is what the Gospel is all about. Yet you gave this above as an example of something we should stop doing. I could not disagree more strongly on that point, however. To be sure, we can perhaps better explain what we mean when we say such things, but say them we must. It may not be popular, and it may mean that our numbers will shrink, but the Gospel is ours to faithfully proclaim, not to edit in order to please others in the hopes that we might somehow win them over, all the while forgetting that what we have won them with is what we have won them to. If we have won them with some watered down, anemic version of Christianity, one that is a pale imitation of Biblical Christianity, then that is what we will be stuck with. And, as I see it, is this type of "Christianity" which has actually led to "the decline of the Church" and has led to what you have referred to as "evangelicals and wealthy televangelists, and those who turned a blind eye to sex scandals in the Roman Catholic Church [and] have turned Christianity into a laughing stock at the precise moment of our greatest need."

@KeithThroop Look, I don’t want to belabour the point because I think we are on the same side.

Your example is perfect. I believe there’s a bit of bad In the best of us and a bit of good in the worst of us. So, yes, Jesus did die for our sins, and yes, we are all sinners. Agreed.

Now, at this point I can tell people they are “depraved...and all stand condemned.” I can chastise them, browbeat them, and threaten them. And I see all those tactics used with zero efficacy.

Or I can use the story of Jesus’s death to discuss the concept of sacrifice. His ultimate sacrifice, or with humility, how the smaller sacrifices we make impact those around us. How the concept of sacrifice, in the form of delaying today’s rewards for bigger things for all in the future actually helped build the civilization we have today. How the desire to live a better life is crucial, not only to me and my family, but to the wider community. How my small role in trying to live a better life, and supporting other flawed humans in doing so is essential if we are to survive and experience redemption and salvation.

That to me is the difference between judgement and inspiration. Social justice is all about judgement, and about policing others. For me, the best form of Christianity is being inspired to help the world evolve by trying to do better myself.

Christianity has influenced every aspect of a system that has given us the healthiest, safest, freest and most affluent nations on earth. As we let this religion die, so dies the civilizations it built. No one is getting that message across. Instead we continue to cede hearts and minds to other faiths, and worse, post-modern deconstructionists who now clearly control the narrative.

I do wish you the best in your initiative as every bit helps.

@GeeMac We'll leave it at that so as not to beat a dead horse.