"Jim, I can tell you really hate sin; maybe one day you'll learn to love sinners." I was a young, know-it-all-hell-fire-and-brimstone youth evangelist; he was a retired denominational worker.

I'd really "let 'um have it" that night, people walked the aisle . . . I was feeling quite good. I didn't pay much attention to his comments, after all, I was the hotshot evangelist, he didn't know what he was talking about.

If he was so wrong, why do I still remember his words twenty years later?

Recently, I thought about his comments again after I had a phone conversation with a surgeon. "The pathologist's report is in; it was positive." "What? It was what . . . what does that mean?" "Dr. Wilson, you have cancer." He told me the type, the cure rate and the proposed treatment. "Thank you, Doctor; I appreciate your call."

It was undoubtedly the worse news anybody ever told me. Why did I thank him?

The doctor wasn't happy I had cancer, I could tell by the tone of his voice. He was happy, however, that he had some good news too, my type of cancer has a 90% cure rate. I thanked him for the bad news because it saved my life. Today, after surgery and radiation treatment, I am cancer free.

It is not bad news that offends people; it is bad attitudes that turns them off. What I said didn't offend the retired preacher; it was my attitude that bothered him.

I was right to preach on hell and warn people of the judgment that awaits them. Preachers can't preach on pleasant doctrines exclusively. We're not spiritual anesthesiologists, helping to sedate people in their pain. People need a cure, not sedation.

Though my words were right, my attitude was wrong. I enjoyed the feeling of power the subject gave me. It made me feel so right to tell others they were so wrong.

With time, I've learned to preach on hell with a tear in my eye, not a smirk on my face. Today, broken lives break my heart.

Gospel preachers deliver good and bad news. The bad news is that Hell's fires are real and permanent. The good news is that we can promise a 100% cure rate to those who believe. Jesus paid the price for sin and holds the keys to hell in His nail-scarred hand.

Churches need courageous preachers that will tell the truth about an unrepentant sinner's eternal destiny. But courage isn't enough. They need compassionate preachers that will stain the Bible with their tears while they warn their congregations of the place where there is "weeping and gnashing of teeth."