Oceanfront preachers deliver message with an attitude

Standing atop a 5-gallon bucket, the preacher clutched his Bible and railed against the sins of tourists.

A crowd, mostly teenagers, gathered around him and his partner, who silently held a large yellow sign, on the Boardwalk near 17th Street. More began wandering over from the Dairy Queen, as the man known as "Tommy Paul" launched into a sermon on drugs and sex out of wedlock.

"God will judge you!" he shouted. "Marijuana makes you feel good when you're down - it's a delusion! I was a hippie back in the '60s, I know what I'm talking about!"

Some in the crowd snickered. Others rolled their eyes. A woman pushing a stroller shouted, "Shut up!"

But Tommy Paul kept going, lambasting "rebellious women" and provocative attire. He lit into homosexuality. He lamented children stealing from their parents.

Tommy Paul - whose real name is Tommy Pouchie (poo- shay) - and other preachers along the Oceanfront walk a fine line between giving a sermon and angering tourists. Police say some have incited crowds or provoked assaults that led to criminal charges.

Pouchie, 57, of Norfolk, hasn't been cited since 2006, when a Virginia Beach officer charged him with disturbing the peace for preaching too loudly. His friend, David W. Gibson, has had several run-ins with the law during 25 years of street preaching, including two incidents this summer. Both involved women who accused him of calling them names.

The first case was dismissed after the woman didn't show up in court. The women involved in the second case declined to press charges.

Gibson, 60, is a parts-delivery driver and pastor of True Vine Baptist Church, a Norfolk congregation with about 35 members. He makes no apologies for his sermons.

"The way women are dressed down at the beach, I think that's harlot's attire," said Gibson, who has denied disparaging any woman in particular.

"The Gospel is offensive to some, and to others, it's good. That's just the way it is... I'm trying to awaken the conscience of nonbelievers that they're going to be held to account by God one day," he said.

"We do win souls, do have some folks get converted, but it's not that kind of ministry. It's an awakening of the conscience."

Conversion may be an ambition, but Pouchie acknowledged street preaching isn't the most effective method to achieve it. A gentler tack wouldn't attract attention, he said.

"Our ministry is a shock-and-awe of evangelism," Pouchie said, "and we're into the face of the sinner with the sins."

Liz Phillips, who lives near the Oceanfront, finds that approach "just really disruptive."

"If a group of teens stood around and screamed like that, it would be construed as disrupting the peace," she said. "It's not the message so much that I have a problem with. It's the way they convey it. It's, like, militant."

That style has led to fights, including one this summer when a preacher was assaulted by two military service members, said police Capt. Tony Zucaro, who commands the city's 2nd Precinct and Oceanfront operations.

All three were charged with disturbing the peace, but the preacher declined to press charges, Zucaro said.

"Citing them is a last resort," police spokesman Adam Bernstein said. "Our difficult job is trying to make both sides happy: giving this guy the platform to say what he wants to say, but keeping a peaceful resort area for all the visitors we have coming in."

Pouchie and a preaching partner, Byron Pulongbarit, 36, said they wouldn't report attacks to police unless they were injured. Both said they had been shoved and spit on. Once, Pouchie said, a woman hit him with a bag of rotten fish. "All we did was preach the cross of Christ," Pulongbarit said. "There's something spiritual about that that gets people angry."

That, and the large yellow sign they carry that condemns, among others, "rebellious women," "foolish drunks" and "anarchists."

On the night they preached near the Dairy Queen, Pouchie ended a brief break by raising the sign.

"As soon as I put this one up, people come," Pouchie said. "It's like honey to the bees."

Shawn Day, (757) 222-5131, shawn.day@pilotonline.com