In-your-face evangelism met students strolling through Free Speech Plaza last week as a man with a cross looked up to the heavens while bellowing about the wrath of God.
The man was George Edward Smock, better known as Brother Jed, and he’s been visiting the University annually for the past 40 years. As a person who is known for controversy, Brother Jed and his campus-based ministry are not always the most welcomed visitors at a university.
But while students haven’t welcomed him with open arms, Smock is no stranger to college campuses.
“Being a former professor, I knew students were not listening to the word of God in the classroom,” Smock said. “Most students are not actively participating in Christianity.”
On YouTube, videos have surfaced of Smock’s approach to evangelizing students. He was captured in a recent video saying “kissing is a sin” and “bikini underwear is ungodly,” outraging students at the University.
In a similar video from Smock’s visit to the University in 2006, he spoke of “rock ‘n’ roll demons” who take over young people, rattling a crowd of students in the process. Smock also mocked homosexuality.
His comments are full of pointedness, from ridding the world of other religions to students burning in hell for their sins. Smock’s Evangelical beliefs have provoked backlash and student discussion.
Kinesiology senior Tina Davis said when Smock comes out to preach about religion, he misrepresents Christianity.
“It looks bad on the Christian faith,” Davis said. “These are the people who give Christians a bad name.”
Davis said Smock’s “hellfire” approach doesn’t work in his favor. She said students don’t care about his message; they just want to antagonize him.
English junior Peyton Adkins said Smock is offensive to the student body.
“His approach is verbally abusive against students,” Adkins said. “It can be seen as a threat.”
Throughout the world and primarily in the U.S., Smock and his wife, “Sister Cindy,” tour college campuses in order to bring the focus back to God.
“The goal is to get students thinking about religion,” Smock said.
The man who is normally seen shouting to students about their sins discussed the background of his ministry with a calm demeanor, explaining the ministry’s heart is in saving people.
Smock, who converted to Christianity in 1972 while in Morocco, was increasingly concerned with campus cultures from the beginning. He said he wanted to spread the word of God to save others.
Smock spontaneously decided to preach at Indiana State University in 1974.
“I began to preach to a crowd that grew larger and larger as the day went on,” Smock said. “This is when I realized I could reach out to students.”
This one incident would spark decades of preaching to students in all 50 states and countries around the world.
Student Union director Jason Tolliver said he remembers Smock coming to the University every year when he was an undergraduate student.
“The lively banter of Free Speech Plaza has been around for a long time,” he said.
Tolliver noted that he still has pamphlets Brother Jed distributed more than 12 years ago.
“Students are logical, smart and capable of their own thoughts,” Smock said. “I just needed to get them thinking and lead them on the right path.”
He said his main topic is the need for repentance. Smock believes if he can appeal to students’ consciences, he can save students from the wrath of God.
Smock brands this method as “confrontational evangelism.” The term, which he coined in his book, “Who Will Rise Up?,” refers to confronting sin in a bold way that captures the attention of students.
“Atheists and other non-believers put most Christians on the offensive,” Smock said. “We counterattack that.”
Smock said he confronts students with God’s law because he believes students will be headed for the fires of hell unless they live a life of obedience.
“This method is effective because it provokes discussion,” Smock said. “Whenever we visit any campus, students are forced to discuss religion.”
As his ministry left the University on Friday, Smock said he witnessed students continuing to discuss the topics brought up throughout the afternoon.
“We’ve been coming to LSU for years,” Smock said. “The students are actively discussing the word of God to this day.”
The overall message Smock said he wants for students to grasp is that there is only hope in Jesus Christ.
“All other religions are false,” Smock said
While Smock’s beliefs are controversial, they’re fair game at the University.
“We have no official policies about the plaza,” said Susan D. Reed, assistant director for event management. “The First Amendment of the United States Constitution is the only policy we need.”
Though Reed said she’s never seen an incident in Free Speech Plaza that merited legal action, the LSU Police Department does occasionally monitor the area, she said.
“There is only a need to intervene if aggression is present or people are restricting the learning environment of students,” Reed said.
Smock said his ministry will continue its work on college campuses everywhere.
“There still needs to be a focus on God,” Smock said. “Students are too preoccupied with other things. It is our goal to get them refocused.”
 
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Contact Lauren Duhon at [email protected]