Popular TikTok presences Cindy and John Smock made a preaching pitstop on the public sidewalk outside the Asbury University semi-circle green.
On Wednesday, Nov. 10, a large crowd of students gathered to hear the viral couple shame women, call them “whores” and utilize a different method of preaching, including vulgar and provocative signs, shirts, and slogans, one of which said, “Hell is hot, don’t be a T.H.O.T.”
Smock, who calls herself Sister Cindy, has over 5.4 million likes on TikTok and is widely known for her explicit and blunt preaching tactics, which are received more as comedy rather than a religious revival effort. She shames the college-age audience for premarital sexual escapades and advises each young woman to be a “ho no mo.”
Asbury’s crowd accused her of blaspheming and misrepresenting Christianity.
“You’re full of hatred, bitterness, and unforgiveness,” she said. “You treat each other like dirt, and you don’t have love for one another.”
She continued, “You hate God, and you’re going to go to hell before the sinners over at the University of Kentucky.”
Although many students in the group were there laughing off the duo’s harsh preaching, some students found the preaching to be heretical and raunchy.
“I know it’s funny as a joke, but it’s also pretty serious,” said sophomore Andrew Seamands. “She could go to a campus like UK or any other state school, and that could be someone’s first introduction to Christianity or Jesus, and that’s pretty terrible.”
Smock’s soapbox speech went on for over three hours. After about an hour, Asbury sent out an email advising students to refrain from partaking in the event.
“The style of these two street preachers is intentionally provocative,” said university chaplain Greg Haseloff. “We discourage responding to this gathering and the techniques they use to create a crowd. The Office of Spiritual Life and the Student Life team would kindly discourage you from attending and creating a crowd around the street preaching.”
By the second hour, Asbury positioned lawnmowers and leaf blowers to drown out the evangelical protesters. An Asbury student playing the bagpipes also helped counter the preaching.
Other happenings during the evangelical protesting were a student stealing Smock’s case of water, a leather-jacketed student unplugging her microphone and stealing the speaker, and a freshman bringing his own speaker to preach his take on the Gospel and living holy lives. Two unknown students also drove and stopped right behind Smock on the street, blasting the same music she condemned.
“Take it back there, you simp,” exclaimed Smock while Asbury staff aided the student in the return of her speaker.
“Your heart is with the devil,” added Jed Smock.
In the late evening, the duo posted on @sistercindyforreal on TikTok, claiming that one Asbury physical plant worker assaulted Jed Smock by blowing debris at him with the leaf blower. The video was titled, “Asbury University shows their Christian love by sending their yard men to assault my 78-year-old husband!”
Jed stated in the video that the men leaf blowing “hate God” and exasperatingly yelled “quit blowing that in my face, you hypocrite!” as the video showed the leaf blowers facing the opposite direction.
Many students satirically commented on the TikTok video. One comment read, “I guess that’s why John Wesley hates us Asbury students!!!”
This prompted Smock to counter them by saying, “You are a stench in the nostrils of a holy God!”
Another student commented, “They’re blowing leaves?” to which Smock remarked, “there were no leaves.”
There has been no further comments from Smock or her husband.
This has not been the first visit Asbury campus has received from Smock. Back in 2015, the same spiel was given to criticize and condemn students. To read about Smock’s prior appearance, visit https://www.theasburycollegian.com/2015/11/evangelistic-protesters-visit-campus/.