We wish all of you could have been there –at the Dialog between Dr. Michael Brown and Rabbi Michael Gold that we held at the Signature Grand on Wednesday night, July 28th. Everybody’s reaction to the event was that it was AWESOME! You will know this when you see the DVD, which will be available at the end of August. But you need to know what went on behind the scenes, where Christ’s body (the volunteers) was, without whom we could not have accomplished the event. This synopsis is the best way to transport you there. And with you, our brothers and sisters who pray for and support Everlasting Life Outreach, and believe in us as your missionaries, we felt you standing right next to all of us with your arms around us as amazed as we were at what God was doing!
Here are some of the highlights of the night:
1. First, over 700 people filled the 800 seat auditorium, many were non-believing Jewish people.
2. We had over 30 volunteers from our church and other churches making this event go smoothly.
3. There were 3 volunteers who were warm and friendly greeters, who, when people entered the glass sliding doors from the outside would smile and welcome people in for the event.
4. There were two greeters who directed people either to the ticket sales desk if they didn’t have a ticket, or to toward the ticket takers by the banquet hall entrance if they bought tickets beforehand on a website we setup for them to do so. We had sold about 400 tickets this way!
5. If they didn’t pre-buy a ticket, we had 5 ticket sellers at a table as people came in, some selling tickets from buyers paying by cash, some by checks, and some paying by credit cards, imputing the information into an on-line merchant service account specifically setup for the event. Needless to say, these people were BUSY!!
6. We had 3 friendly greeters mid-way between the glass doors and the entrance doors into the banquet hall where the 800 seats were located for the Dialog. (There were also 2-3 men looking over the crowd looking for any people who might be bringing in things that shouldn’t be brought in or people who might look like they didn’t like a Dialog which included “Jesus” being talked about. Anti-missionaries made trouble at the last Dialog and did demonstrate outside at this one too.)
7. We had 6 ticket takers, 3 at the front and 3 at the right side entrance down the hall into the banquet room.
8. There were 3 able bodied men, whose duty it was to direct ½ of the crowd down the hall to the right. Needless to say, they were friendly too!
9. Once inside the banquet room, there were 4 program givers, 2 at each entrance. These warm and smiling ladies handed out programs designed by a volunteer, Sandi Powell, a graphic artist who worked for American Express for 30 years. These programs were AWESOME! For each program given out there was a card inside that asked for the person to write a question indicating if it was for Dr. Brown or Rabbi Gold. A golf pencil was also given with each program to write each question (fore!). The question card had lines for the questions and a place to indicate if they wanted to talk further about the Dialog with someone later. AND, one of the gifted volunteers did these cards in calligraphy!
10. Once past the program givers, the people went by our watchful group of ushers (8 in all, placed 2 in each of the 4 rows, one in the front and one in the back) and assisted to their seat by them when necessary. As the banquet hall filled up, the ushers helped the people coming in find an empty seat. Once seated at approximately 7:10 pm, very close to the “Prompt time” hoped for, the Dialog began.
It needs to be noted that a gentleman named Adam Pitilon, a Jewish believer who goes to our church, Calvary Chapel, was instrumental not only in the committee planning the Dialog, but was able to provide for 4 personal body guards for Dr. Brown before, during, and after the Dialog. (I also had them watching out for Mimi too!) These guards were professional, unobtrusive, and watchful, because of the threat posed at the last Dialog by the anti-missionaries, a Jewish watchdog group that issued an inflammatory “Community Alert” against me, and any rabbi participating in such a Dialog. (For anyone wanting to see this “Alert” let me know and I will try to email [email only] it to you). Others on the committee planning this Dialog included Dee McBride, Lori Gibboney, and James Seawell, all on our Board of Directors here in Ft. Lauderdale. Keith Thompson, Sandi Powell, and others too many to mention helped make this an awesome event! Also, Alice Bunning and Carol Ann Wilkinson from Christ UMC in Venice, FL, and Richard and Joan Erickson from Montgomery, AL, travelled here to serve as short-term missionaries.
It also needs to be pointed out, as you will see on the DVD (we hope that everyone of you will order them at the discounted rate of $12.00 plus $2.50 shipping [except those who already contributed – it will be sent free]) that our moderator, Eric Purtic, of the Ravi Zacharias School of Apologetics at Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, adroitly handled a very touchy situation with a rebellious set of microphones, and provided an excellent solution to the problem. His quick thinking lent a personal touch to the dialog between Rabbi Gold and Dr. Brown. Eric will certainly be our first choice as moderator at the next dialog we have.
After the event, the “crowd” went out into the hallway to leave only to be met by Dr. Brown’s book table, where he was escorted by his personal body guards and was seated there with his assistant Trent, who came with him from North Carolina. Trent and two of the volunteers, Lori and Luz, were selling Dr. Brown’s books, and he was signing them and talking with those around the table; Rabbi Gold was at his book table doing the same. At our table, we were talking to unbelieving Jewish people, giving them the book, “They Thought For Themselves”, a book about Jewish people who came to Jesus and wrote their testimonies for the book. Dr. Brown’s testimony is one of those. We also collected the names and phone numbers of those who wanted to be contacted to talk more about what they had heard at the dialog.
After everyone left, all was packed up again, Dr. Brown & Trent, Lori Gibboney & husband Glen, Dee McBride & husband Jack, Mimi and I and a couple of others went to Carrabba's Italian Grill for something to eat then to go home and to bed.
We will be editing the videotape tomorrow and it should be ready to be shipped by the end of August. However, clips of it should be on utube maybe in a week or so. We will keep you updated.
Thank you for all your prayers, love, and support. It was AWESOME!
In Jesus,
Michael & Mimi
Your missionaries
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