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Discussing the so-called “persecution” among street preachers Tony Miano, Josh Williamson, Chuck O’Neal and their appalling behavior when challenged or questioned, also perhaps a kinder and gentler Josh Williamson.
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Have you heard of Pastor David Robertson of Scotland?
Pastor David Robertson describes himself as a:
“Bible believing/teaching/evangelising pastor in this wonderful city of Dundee. I have ministered here for 22 years and have seen a church of seven grow into a church of 200-plus, with an increasing gospel impact.”
Having ministered in Scotland for 22 years, Robertson most likely knows the area and Christian climate well, and it would make sense that he would be a wee bit concerned when his country is in the international spotlight after two pastors from two different countries came to his own country and were arrested while street preaching in the last five months.
In 2013, Pastor Josh Williamson had moved from his home in Australia to begin his new ministry in Scotland. He lived there less than two months before he was arrested not once, but twice within a short period of time. Later, in January of 2014, his street preaching friend from the US, Tony Miano, came to stay with the Williamson family on a evangelism outreach trip, and he, too, found himself arrested while street preaching in Scotland. Is Scotland hostile to the Gospel? What is going on? Of course it make sense that Pastor David Robertson would be concerned about these developments in his homeland.
In light of these recent happenings, Pastor Robertson has written a few articles. And there has been some backlash. Robertson described the insults thrown at him:
Apparently I am ‘the kitten of Queen Mary’ rather than the lion of John Knox, living in a land ruled by Satan (I knew Alex Salmond was bad…but?!). I am a compromising preacher who is symptomatic of the decline of the Church in the West, having no interest in evangelism or standing up to the forces of secularism and Satan. I am an evil self-publicist cozying up to the enemies of the Gospel in order to save my own skin. I was informed that I was not a pastor because I was not willing to break man’s law and that I was a goat rather than a sheep. My disobedience would result in demons biting my heart and separating me from God!
As if the excerpt above was not bad enough, Robertson described two other accusations which he said should be “knocked on the head.” What were these accusations? The first was, “that I have no interest in evangelism or the gospel” and the second, “I am a liar and a slanderer.” These are very serious assertions to be slung by professing Christians to another professing Christian. (Source)
Take note that the second accusation of lying and slander came from Pastor Josh Williamson on an article he wrote. However, if you click on the link at Robertson’s site, you can see that it is no longer online. This is curious. It makes me wonder what led Williamson to remove the article. (You can still see references to the article on Williamson’s own Facebook page here.)
Sadly, Pastor Williamson has not been alone in dishing out accusations and rude comments to other Christians who question methods of street preaching. Pastor Williamson has had a band of brothers standing beside him, defending him.
I found some tweets in which this band of brothers, men who might as well call themselves the Persecuted Street Preacher club, spout off on Twitter at or about Pastor Robertson and another blogger who challenged him, Joel Taylor. Here is the first tweet:
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In the above tweet, street preacher Tony Miano refers to the “Flee,” which is really a typo for “Flea,” referencing Pastor David Robertsons’s Twitter ID “ @theweeflea. Miano is saying he can count on Pator Robertson to side with the enemy when worse persecution hits Scotland. One word: RUDE!
Remember, he’s classifying himself as one who was persecuted in Scotland. Keep in mind he’s the one who chose to bring the subject of homosexuality into the Gospel message as he was street preaching. He followed Williamson’s own example from his arrests a few months earlier. (See this article for a detailed timeline of Miano and his arrest.)
A side note: how many of you, when sharing the gospel, needed to share about homosexuality in that Gospel message? See what I mean? It’s an unnecessary point and I believe it is used to raise the ire of people in the audience. Pardon me while I add a personal note: You did not get persecuted, Tony! This is persecution, quit whining.
Here we go again – – in this next tweet, another blogger, Joel Taylor who challenged Miano in this article. (In all of these screenshots, you can click on “Source” at the bottom of the tweet to read the conversation.)
People pay hard-earned money for this guy to go to a foreign country and spread this kind of Gospel. Don’t you find it interesting that Miano gets arrested, released, and then uses his time while in Scotland to get behind his computer and spews hate like this? I hope his donors are taking note. Also, please notice, Mr. Miano thinks he gets to judge the spiritual condition of Taylor. Who gave him this responsibility?
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I think Miano is talking about me in this next tweet, “Julie Smith.” This man, Miano, has never met me, yet allowed the words from his Persecuted Street Preacher buddy, O’Neal, to sway his opinion about me last summer. What a class act. This is not the behavior we expect from Christians. And then without knowing me, he says that truth and integrity aren’t important to me. Well, that’s what this blog is about – – exposing truth and demanding integrity from those who claim to shepherd their flocks. But really, this is also blogger, Joel Taylor. Mr. Taylor, if you are like me, and are saddened by what you are seeing displayed by street preachers who focus more on self than Christ, then I am honored to be in your company.
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My former pastor is apparently a wannabe in this Persecuted Street Preacher club. Keep in mind, Chuck O’Neal was also in the news media last summer for civil disturbance outside an abortion clinic and is currently under investigation for possible violation of civil codes. O’Neal’s plight with the City of Porland, Oregon occured just after Miano was arrested in Wimbledon. Does it seem like there’s a competition between the Persecuted Street Preacher club to see who can get arrested next and in the media spotlight? Here are O’Neal’s words of “grace”- the kind I sat under for 2 years:
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Now we’re going to do a surprising switcheroo. A few days ago, I had an unexpected conversation with Pastor Josh Williamson on Twitter. I have compiled it on Storify here so you can see for yourself. Briefly, I challenged him about using the volatile topic sexual immorality/homosexuality in sharing the Gospel message. I also challenged him to quit using social media to draw attention to himself if he got arrested. He thanked me and said he would pray about it.
And then, yesterday, a reader notified me of a new article written by Williamson which I think is important and perhaps even pivotal. I could not find it on Facebook, but here it is in its entirety. In the long tweet article, Williamson defends Robertson’s right to criticize open air preachers, including himself. Good for Williamson. Any Believer should be open to criticism. When you are not open to criticism, you are saying you know all. That is pride and arrogance.
Now this part is very interesting. As you recall, in the above-mentioned article which Williamson removed, he had accused Robertson of slander, but now he does something very rare. He rebukes those who publicly attacked David Robertson, the pastor who earlier criticized him. Pastor Williamson continues:
However, what I have seen online is slander and vile attacks against Rev. Robertson from those who disagree with him. Some of the attacks I have been saddened to see include referring to him as an apostate, an enemy of Christ, a non-Christian, and a wolf (all these names stemmed from the fact that he was critical of two open-air preachers). Many also operate under the impression that Rev. Robertson is not interested in evangelism.
He then defends Pastor Robertson further by saying Robertson does in fact evangelize and share the Gospel:
The fact is Rev. Robertson is very evangelistic, and does engage in regular Gospel witness. Just because he disagrees with methods and approaches does not give anyone the right to call into question his salvation. By declaring he isn’t saved due to two of his critical blogs is a form of legalism and adds an acceptance of open-air preaching and the approval of open-air preachers as a requirement for salvation. Such nonsense needs to stop and be repented of.
While Rev. Robertson and I would disagree on numerous theological and practical areas, I have no issue affirming him as a brother in Christ. We would do well to learn to ‘love one another’ and not constantly be on the attack. I have failed many times in this area, and have seen time and time again the pain and hurt that comes from not being loving. We as Christians should rejoice in the fact that the Gospel is being preached, and we should be prepared to overlook the failings of our brothers and sisters in Christ. ‘Love bears no record of wrong’, so let us walk in love towards the family of Christ.
I don’t know what’s going on here. But after my cordial conversation with Williamson on Twitter and now this current article in which he rebukes those who spoke out against Robertson, it seems we have a kinder and gentler Pastor Josh Williamson.
Has he publicly rebuked Miano and O’Neal (and perhaps others)? Is he separating himself from this group of attention-seeking street preachers? Did the words of Robertson or my challenging him play any part of this? I have no way of knowing, but regardless, I like what I am seeing and if he is separating from the kind of self-promotion and instead will focus on spreading the Gospel quietly and in humility, then Praise God for that.
It will be very easy for us to observe Williamson in how he conducts himself. His presence on social media can be found here on Twitter and Facebook.
I pray that God has opened Williamson’s eyes to what many of us have seen and that he chooses to continue his ministry in humility and grace, and that he will not participate in the Persecuted Street Preacher club which makes a practice of judging genuine Believers as enemies of the Gospel. Enough is enough.
And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;
Colossians 3:12
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Spiritual Sounding Board 
Josh Williamson is a street evangelist that perhaps listens to the Holy Spirit. Don’t know what he is totally about but he is about street evangelism. In my neck of the woods we have an organization called Teen Challenge. For those of you that may not know what they are about, it is a drug and alcohol abuse rehab ministry that is run under the Assemblies of God. Evangelism is probably the most important function of this ministry, equal to leading the people that are admitted into the program to get off from drugs.
As the students in the program progress in the area of being free from drugs and become disciplined in life skills, a select group of them do street witnessing or street evangelism if you prefer. They go to where people are and do a lot of one on one witnessing where they are relatively safe. There are also of group that goes into the intercity 10:00 pm to 2:00 am or so and witness to pimps and prostitutes and maybe even the Johns. Not a safe place to go to say the least. The success has been great through the years. I know many times they provide a safe place for the girls to go that want out of that life style and are met with opposition because of that.
What I have found interesting is the police are actually thrilled that they are there. They are not there to condemn life styles, they are there to preach Jesus and that Jesus can save them. Can you imagine the response they would get if they would start screaming condemnation at these people. Many come to the Lord Jesus Christ every year with this street evangelism.
Jesus said, I have come to save the world, not to condemn the world. Wonder how the how the group of condemning so called street evangelist are doing????
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Miano tweets:
“The author of the blog shouldn’t b taken seriously.He may not b saved. He seems 2 hate just bout everyone”
JA wrote:
“Also, please notice, Mr. Miano thinks he gets to judge the spiritual condition of Taylor. Who gave him this responsibility?’
Although this time at least he wrote “may not b saved” (how generous) instead of *is not saved* (like he reserves for some special people), it’s still time for THE article–
“Should Christians Question the Salvation of Others?” Onthebox Thursday April 21 2011 posted by Tony Miano (quotes to follow):
“God alone is sovereign and omniscient. And, in the end, only God knows with 100% certainty who is saved and who is not.”
“Again, salvation is not based on what a person says and does. Salvation is of the Lord, according to His sovereign and gracious work in a person’s life”
“At the same time, no person has the right or authority to declare another person saved or unsaved, simply because of what the other person says or does.”
“Should we give those we see as our brothers and sisters in Christ the benefit of the doubt regarding the genuineness of their profession of faith in Christ? Yes.”
“That being said, we should not set out arbitrarily or with malice in our heart to separate the weeds from the wheat, because in doing so we may injure the wheat–we may hurt those who are truly saved by causing them to doubt their salvation.”
“In the end, Gary, what we as Christians should be doing when we see a professing follower of Christ in willful and habitual sin, or when we hear a professing follower of Christ spouting false doctrines or affirming a false gospel; we should speak the truth in love to them. We should lovingly encourage them to examine themselves and test themselves to see whether or not they are in the faith.”
“Again, we do not have the right or authority to declare someone saved or unsaved.”
http://www.onthebox.us/2011/04/should-christians-question-salvation-of.html
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Someone sent me a link to another Twitter conversation that I forgot about. I posted it in a Storify so it’s easier to read: http://storify.com/DefendTheSheep/how-tonymiano-responds-to-article
The last tweet is 100% spot on.
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This is encouraging Julie Anne, I do hope Josh goes a bit farther and rebukes Miano and his posse as well. I wanted to point out Miano’s tweet concerning you. I posted this comment in your other post on Miano’s so-called ‘persecution’…
Tony Miano@TonyMiano5h
@PastorJoshW @DefendTheSheep @ChuckONeal_ Josh, my brother. Don’t waste your time trying to reason from Scripture with a woman who is lost.
It’s funny, Miano wrote about this very thing at – http://www.onthebox.us/2011/04/should-christians-question-salvation-of.html; in this article he specifically states “Again, we do not have the right or authority to declare someone saved or unsaved.” So, Miano claims he has no authority to deem someone saved or lost, and yet, he says JA is a ‘woman who is lost’ – hmmm. Funny how these types are so contradictory, and NOBODY holds them accountable. The trail of contradictions, mistakes, questionable methods of soliciting donations, etc. by Tony Miano goes completely unnoticed by his co-horts. When anyone dare question him, Miano and his buddies slap them down, insult them, falsely accuse them, etc. Josh is okay with all this? There simply is no accountability, nor is there any excuse for the behavior of Tony Miano and those who constantly defend him. Tony Miano should publicly confess his sin against Julie Anne and Joel Taylor and ask for forgiveness, he has NO RIGHT to declare anyone saved or not.
As for deliberately pinpointing homosexuality, that is NOT necessary. I find no example in the Bible of homosexuality being the chief sin. Sexual immorality is NOT limited to homosexuality, nor should it be the exclusive sin mentioned, UNLESS you are purposely trying to get arrested. Christ died for the ungodly; that includes ALL sin.
Here is a portion of what I posted concerning pinpointing sin..
“Sexual sin is damning to the soul; the word of God repeatedly warns against all sexual sin. We cannot point the sinner to Christ without first pointing them to sin, however, should we purposely go against a law of man as we proclaim God’s truth? There may come a day when we cannot proclaim Christ crucified or speak of any sin, but that day is not yet here. Can we proclaim the whole counsel without specifically stating the sin of homosexuality? Yes we can, and we should. We are commanded to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves, especially in a day where laws are being enforced against speaking out on homosexuality. It seems homosexuality has been elevated to a higher status than other sexual sins, as if it were in a class all by itself. It is no longer seen as sin by the unbelieving world; it’s a ‘right’. As Christians, we cannot re-define sin or let society determine how we handle it. Again, it bears repeating, ‘wise as serpents, innocent as doves’.
One of the most poignant verses in the Bible concerning sexual sin can be found in Hebrews 13:4, “Let marriage be had in honour among all, and let the bed be undefiled: for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” Surely proclaiming this truth would suffice in covering all the ‘bases’ concerning sexual sin, and no law of man is broken by the proclamation of this text. As the unbelieving world tightens the noose, we must pray for wisdom and certainly not back down. Meekness and lowliness are essential in the heart of God’s people, as well as compassion for lost souls. The motive and desire MUST be for the glory of God and NEVER to draw attention to ‘self’! ; if you do not desire to exalt Christ and bring Him glory, may He cause you to tremble. There are some in our day who would do more good for Christ if they would remain silent.”
I find it appalling that no one reels Miano in and rebukes him! God’s people are to be meek and lowly, we are called to love one another and to serve one another. We are NOT called to set ourselves up over others as being on a ‘higher plateau’. Controlling the tongue is not easy for any of us, however, there is no excuse for the judgmentatl accusations that Tony Miano spews out, especially towards women; and for NO other reason that disagreeing with him or calling him into question. Enough already.
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Lyn – – Regarding not having to mention homosexuality in presenting the gospel message, here is a tweet I sent and Miano/O’Neal were tagged, too. Now the link I included should be 100% respected because it came from their mutual friends at Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry and was written by Matt Slick:
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Sex sin was mentioned ‘in passing’ – – even though Miano knew better than to mention it.
Do I believe that? Why should I, especially knowing that Miano knew better than to pinpoint homosexuality!
I saw the storify post, it’s amazing how Miano brags he has the backing of 11 denominations in Scotland {how hard is it to get man’s approval in our day?}…does he have the backing of Christ? Having seen his ‘gospel presentations’ on youtube, I cannot see Christ approving of a man accusing an unregenerate of being a ‘bad father’, nor can I see Christ approving of a man not even presenting the Gospel to that same father; it was more important to bring that sinner to a state of rage. I cannot see Christ approving of a man who tells others they aren’t saved, or may not be saved; nor can I see Christ approving of a man who refers to those precious women He shed His blood for as manly.
Again, how dare him label this as persecution! It’s amazing the ‘authority’ Tony Miano’s words seem to have, he claims he goes where God calls him, and we are supposed to believe that. He needs 2400.00 for payroll right at Christmas, and we are supposed to believe him. He determines who is saved and who isn’t…sounds to me like Tony Miano has exalted himself to this status – ‘I will be like the Most High’.
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Miano tweet:
“Tony Miano@TonyMiano @anthonyjsmith @theweeflea @ChristianToday No less than 11 Scottish denominations r publicly supporting me. Why would I worry about a flea?
4:37 AM – 14 Jan 2014 from Highland, Highland”
Miano is sooo transparent it is ridiculous.
“Why should I worry about a flea?”
Oh…because he finds it necessary to insult him in a tweet…that’s why.
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Why do his donors not see this behavior? And how much time does he spend online defending himself? How many videos did he make of himself on this trip? Where does he get all of that time? I thought he’s supposed to be on an evangelism outreach. It seems that if you are on an outreach in a foreign country on your donor’s dime, you’d be sharing the Gospel, visiting with your hosts and friends, not behind a stupid computer defending SELF.
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So, Pastor Robertson is NOT WORTHY of a response from Miano, who states Robertson was misinformed when he penned his article – but does NOT specify how Robertson was misinformed. Again, Tony speaks, and we should just shut up and listen. His words must have some authoritative power, he is above being brought into question for what he says, what he asks for, who he belittles, how and why he solicits donations, etc.
He arrogantly claims he doesn’t have to respond to this pastor: Miano has placed himself in a status of not being accountable. This is a very, very dangerous mindset to have. Where is the church he claims he’s accountable to?! Why aren’t they reeling this guy in and showing him the error of his ways?
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Tony Miano @TonyMiano Follow
@anthonyjsmith @theweeflea @ChristianToday No interest whatsoever in speaking to him.
6:39 AM – 14 Jan 2014 from Highland, United Kingdom
Tony Miano @TonyMiano Follow
@anthonyjsmith @theweeflea @ChristianToday U R the only 1 urging me to. Thanks 4 ur concern, but I’m not interested in what he has w say.
6:47 AM – 14 Jan 2014 from Highland, United Kingdom
Tony Miano @TonyMiano Follow
@anthonyjsmith @theweeflea @ChristianToday I’m not concerned with what he thinks or what he says.
6:57 AM – 14 Jan 2014 from Highland, United Kingdom
Tony Miano @TonyMiano Follow
@anthonyjsmith @theweeflea @ChristianToday I have nothing to prove to him and I owe him no explanations.
7:00 AM – 14 Jan 2014 from Highland, United Kingdom
Wow-four “I don’t care tweets” in 21 minutes. He is so interested that he can’t help himself saying he isn’t interested.
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He made the accusation this pastor was misinformed, then he has no interest in speaking to him? What?!!?? That in itself is very, very telling!
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Diane, seems to a bit preoccupied with the pronoun, “I” in those tweets.
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JA,
His preoccupation with ‘I’ is NOT limited to just those tweets…
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wow! another man who professes Christ, are does he claim to be Christ? The Lord warns there will be many false Christs; who but Christ can know if one is saved or not? To claim to have this knowledge is to exalt one to the status of Christ is it not? Chuck O’Neal seems to have ‘special revelation’ about JA…
Chuck O’Neal @ChuckONeal_
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@PastorJoshW U have just been “kissed” by an enemy of Christ, His Church, & His Gospel. “The kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” (Prov 27:6)
So, this is what some of OAP [mod note: OAP = open air preaching] has become – accusations, name-calling, and the final blow – proclaiming one not saved, an enemy of the cross. That is very dangerous ground to be on Mr. O’Neal; being a pastor, you should know better. Who is holding these men accountable? Apparently no one.
The Lord surely is NOT pleased with men professing to belong to Him and yet, deeming who is saved and who isn’t. Men who speak evil of others, who falsely accuse.
Tony Miano, Chuck O’Neal, and Josh – I remind you, and myself as well, to “speak evil of no man, not to be contentious, to be gentle, showing all meekness toward all men.” – Titus 3:2
While men like Miano are railing against Christians, and spending endless hours promoting himself – sinners are perishing without Christ. Are we really aware that we will be held accountable of how we spend our time? IF so, there wouldn’t be endless tweets, keeks, blogs, youtube videos, etc. that constantly promote ‘man’ and NOT the only One who is worthy and deserving of all honor, glory, power, majesty, praise….the Lord Jesus Christ! Dying to self is a foreign concept for some.
How do you spot arrogance and self-promotion? Count the ‘I’s in tweets; look who is the main subject/topic of videos, posts, keeks, etc. Very telling indeed.
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I want to see Miano step a toe in Pakistan, Iran or Egypt and open air preach. Then we’ll see if he can rightfully claim “persecution.”
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Which 11 denominations in Scotland back him?
Back him how?
Hot air comes to mind.
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Thanks for doing a follow up JA.
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“Has he publicly rebuked Miano and O’Neal (and perhaps others)? Is he separating himself from this group of attention-seeking street preachers?”
This seems to be the key to me. If he really has moved on from his childish games of ‘dare’ and police baiting, it would be bold of him indeed and worthy of respect to nail his colours to the mast against the attitudes of Miano and O’Neal.
That would take the kind of courage which was not demanded by his preaching. And it seems, despite not specifically naming Miano, that that is what he has decided to do.
He may now receive genuine persecution – from the likes of Miano and O’Neal!
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Chris said:
If Miano decides to speak out against Williamson, he might consider waiting until after the legal case is settled – – – after all, he probably has an open offer for lodging during the trial.
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Julie Anne, Miano did Tweet an apology to Rev. Robertson at some point in the last 4-5 days. Were you not aware of this? It was not a blanket apology, but he did take ownership of some unchristian behavior.
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Sergius: ACK – thanks for reminding me. I did get notification of it yesterday and was going to make it into a post today and then got diverted with Eston late last night and so that post took over.
Here is the apology – it looks like it was sent out yesterday in a long tweet (http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1s042jq)
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“While I do not agree with Rev. Robertson, and while some of his conclusions are drawn from a lack of accurate information” —- why doesn’t Tony show us where and how this is so?
” I retract that statement and extend my apologies to Rev. Robertson” — Tony has sinned, and he needs to call his words what they are, a sinful unwarranted attack on another professing Christian.
Now, when will Tony admit his sin of judging Julie Anne as an unregenerate, and of stating Joel Taylor of 5ptsalt as possibly not being saved?
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I wait with bated breath …..
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