Is this what the gospel is about?

Here is a snippet from an article in the local rag:

Officers were keeping an eye on a group of about five street preachers who were drawing a hostile reaction from some of the crowd.

When one speaker started railing against rap music, drugs and sex, some in the crowd starting throwing cigarette butts and pens at him.

"This is so wrong ... he's a false prophet and needs to get out of the street," said Tristin Pickens, an Elizabeth City State University student who traveled nearly three hours with friends to enjoy the festivities. "He can't say we are going to hell then cuss and call us whores and tell us we are going to die."

A downtown business owner who declined to give his name was upset that police didn't remove the group.

"Right now they are exercising their freedom of speech," Phipps said. "We're not going to let anything escalate ... that's what our guys are here for."

Halloween is a big deal here locally. Downtown is flooded annually by numerous party goers. Apparently some preachers thought it their duty to rail against the revelers.

As ministers of the gospel are we supposed to be so obnoxious that people will not even listen to us? I understand that Jesus said (in John 15:18), "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first." Our message is often one of discomfort, as the Holy Spirit deals with whatever sin exists in someone's life. Is it our job to be the Holy Spirit?

I think one of problems, as a church, is that we try to usurp the role of the Holy Spirit. We are eager to condemn sins in the lives of others (smoking, drinking, dancing, whatever). We often ignore our favorite sins (gluttony, gossip, and whatever). In addition to what Jesus said above, he also said (in Matthew 7:3-5), "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

It's God's job to point out sin in people's lives, not ours.