A man keeps coming to my Dad's business and witnessing to our customers! How can we deal with this?

Question

My Dad has a small business, a car lot. He has a great reputation, and he and my mom run the business, and they are both good Christians. Well, we got this customer who is a Christian, but I am afraid he misunderstands the Bible on some key issues. For example, he helps this elderly lady out, and openly admits that he does this because the Bible says he will reap rewards for doing so. That seems selfish to me, and the wrong reason for helping someone.

Well, anyway, the guy wants us to hold a car for him, because he says he "Claimed it" in the name of Jesus. But he doesn't have the money for it! And he expects us to just hold it for who knows how long until he gets the money. He keeps calling it his car, and I'm sure he thinks we're faithless because we refused to hold it for him.

Now the guy is coming at least every other day to our car lot and witnessing to our customers! He goes and prays over them, and has become a real nuisance.

How do we deal with this guy?

Answer 1

I am a Christian Pastor: You said your dad and mom are Christians.

Your father needs to sit him down in his office give him a cool soda and explain to him that he can not be coming around bothering or praying for or witnessing to people on the lot.

It is a business and not a church or his home, or as far as that goes it is not even a public place.

Tell him that you do not hold cars for "anyone" christian or not and if God wants him to have the car God will provide him with the money to buy it before some one else does.

Then ask him to leave and don't come back to the lot unless he is ready to buy a car.

If your dad is not that straight forward then he needs to get the help of his Pastor (which would not be a bad idea anyway, at least to have him there) or get the other man's Pastor to explain the situation to him.

If that does not work then make a report to the police that you have asked him not to return to your property and if he does, you have no choice but to have him charged with trespassing.

Answer 2

Unfortunately I think by this time your only recourse if you've asked him politely not to do this at the site of the business is get a restraining order to keep him so many feet from the business. If polite ways do not work then you have no other choice unless the business just wants to put up with this.

I'm an atheist but I don't ask what peoples beliefs are before buying something from them - I really could care less. But as a consumer if I were proselytized at while I was just trying to shop for a vehicle I'd not return to the place again.

Answer 3

I'd ask the local policeman or sheriff's deputy to come over and talk to the guy the next time he comes bothering your customers. And tell him you cannot hold the car for him anymore.

This is the sort of fellow who knows he can get people to do what he wants by guilt-tripping them: you wouldn't harm a good Christian, would you? Of course you would not hurt him because he is a Christian, but you may need to shake him up a bit because he is a nuisance. He may well have lost you any number of car sales with his high-pressure tactics.

Answer 4

Time and place for everything.
Time to call police.
Clearly this man has lost grasp of reality, to be told many times no car can be saved for him, but fails to understand; I am sorry but he is just a time bomb now waiting to hurt someone. I guess if he felt you are saved for him to be his wife you'd still not call police - you are all too kind.
This man is abusing you and hijacking a religion doing it. If you actually go to the same church - then talk to the Pastor.
Being Christian doesn't mean he can't be unstable, or in need of medical care, or off his medication. Call his family and hope they take him to be evaluated for mental problems.
Your family is too polite and is being taken advantage of.

Answer 5

I believe that your dad should sit down with him and explain to him that even though he is a Christian and that there is nothing wrong with witnesses that there is still a time and place for it. I truly believe that witnessing ought to be done but there are also laws in many places where there should be no soliciting done. And as far as reaping rewards, we do not earn our way to heaven by doing nice gestures, it's not by works that we inherit heaven. Hope this helps

Answer 6

he says he "Claimed it" in the name of Jesus

Tell him that if God wants him to have the car then God will provide the money for it and that God will do it before someone else buys it. If someone else comes along and buys it then God didn't want him to have it, right?

Then tell him that if he wants to pray for people he needs to go out on the street and not interrupt your business. Tell him that if God wants to use the car lot as a witnessing place then God will give him the money to buy the lot and then he can do whatever he wants after God has confirmed his will by making provision for it to come to pass.

If he tries to argue with you then tell him that he needs to have more faith and to trust in God instead of trying to bring things to pass by his own strength. Tell him God said "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit sayeth the Lord" and invite him to leave and go speak to God about it in prayer.

Answer 7

Your parents or you should straight away tell him not to interfere and disturb in your business premises and request him not to come. Praying etc. will not improve the business and you had to maintain some secrecy in the business. Or do not entertain or allow him at all in any discussion with any one and take the persons coming for business to some other room and discuss.

Even after he continue to come, please report to police and ask them to help for forbid this man to come to your business place.

Answer 8

Since you and your family are Christians it is important to you how you approch/remedy this situation.

Aren't you really asking how to assuage your christian guilt, if you heartlessly respond to this man?

Ask God to direct you by praying for answers to your percieved delimma.

An exercise in true Christian faith and deeds may be in order in this situation.

Answer 9

who cares what he thinks of you. If you've talked to him and he persists, it's time to call the police as he is trespassing on private propety and interfering with a business.

Answer 10

Ask him to leave and stay away. If he won't, the law is on your side, and you can have him forcefully removed. Especially since he's bothering your real customers.