I.—THE IMPORTANCE OF OPEN-AIR WORK – William Evans

This is seen by the indisputable fact that the great­est and most influential preachers and teachers of the ages past, and the age in which we now live, have made constant use of it.

The messages of the prophets were delivered in the open air. God’s call to the prophet was: “Go, pro­claim these words in the streets of the city” (Jer. n : 6). The sublime evangelical predictions of Isaiah; the mournful dirges of Jeremiah; the symbolical and pic­turesque visions of Ezekiel—all these, for the most part, were announced in the streets of the great cities of Jerusalem and Babylon. Throughout the streets of Nineveh resounded the warning voice of the prophet Jonah. The message of Micah, Nahum, and the rest of the minor prophets was, without question, “a song of the winds.” Nehemiah’s great revival sermon—a sermon which resulted in an almost national revival— was preached in the street of Jerusalem, close to the water-gate. (Neh. 8: i, 3.)

The open-air worker and preacher of today, then, is in “the goodly order of the prophets.”

The Apostles of Jesus Christ were noted open-air workers. The command of their Lord and Master was: “Go out into the streets of the city, and say.” Paul’s greatest sermon—that masterstroke of homilet­ics—was delivered in the open air, preached on Mars Hill. Peter’s “Magnum Opus,’’ that great pentecostal sermon, was delivered in the streets of the great metropolis of Palestine. The Apostles of our Lord were great street-preachers, and the open-air workers of to­day are not only in “the goodly order of the prophets,” they are also “in the goodly fellowship of the Apos­tles,” even though they have not the honor of being Episcopalians.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the great Exemplar of Christianity, was a great open-air worker. His great­est sermon, the “Magna Charta” of our holy religion, that incomparable code of Christian ethics, that Ser­mon on the Mount, was delivered with the hillside for a pulpit and with the sky for a sounding-board. That our Lord was noted for street-preaching is implied from the fact that in the record of the last judgment, recorded in Matthew, twenty-fifth chapter, those being judged exclaimed: “Didst thou not preach in our streets?” He who engages in street-preaching and open-air work is following in the footsteps of his Mas­ter. Beloved, the call to open-air work comes to us one and all just as new and just as true to-day as when the sands of Galilee were fresh with His footprints and the temple’s marble pavement echoed with His tread.

The Church of England sustains a great many open-air preaching-stations. Noted among the men who preach at these stations are the Bishop of Bedford and Lord Radstock. Many of the prominent ministers and laymen of the Established Church are often to be seen conducting these services. In Whitechapel, London, there is a pulpit built in the wall, from which some clergyman addresses those who come to hear.

The Presbyterians of London are also very aggres­sive in this line of work. They have a standing com­mittee appointed to take charge of open-air work there. The famous Presbyterian preacher, John McNeil, may be heard preaching in the open-air meetings.

Spurgeon, the greatest preacher of the century, was an indefatigable open-air worker. Read his lectures to students, and see what rousing talks he gives them on this kind of work. When asked one day what he thought of ‘ this kind of work, he said: “Give us all you can of it; the more the better.’’ Whitefield, Wesley, Moody, Meyer—in fact, the best men and preachers the age has produced for the ministry of the Gospel, have been and are open-air workers.

One of the laws of the Presbytery of Glasgow is that every minister, once a month, shall obey the command of the Lord Jesus Christ and “go out into the high­ways and the hedges and compel sinners to come in. ’ ’ I feel constrained to say that I think this would be a good thing for all our Theological Seminaries, our Bible Institutes, our Training Schools for Christian work to insist on. I hope to see the day—yea, I believe it is not far distant—when every such institu­tion shall have in its possession and for its constant use a Gospel wagon and a Gospel tent; that a place shall be provided in their faculties for a teacher and pro­fessor of open-air work; and that it shall be considered a part of the training of every student for the ministry of the Evangel of Jesus Christ to go out into the streets and preach the Gospel to the masses, and thus follow the example of Him who brushed the dew from the Judean lilies as He went about doing good and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom.

II.—THE VALUE OF OPEN-AIR WORK

I use the word value, not in the sense of the com­parative worth of this kind of Christian work to that of any other branch of the same work. I use the word in the sense of utility—as to what its value is to every one who engages in it.

I. It will enable you to reach people you could not otherwise reach.

This is true with regard to both quality and quantity. Your audiences will be composed of people moral and immoral, church-going and non church-going, righteous and unrighteous, honest and dishonest; the father and the debauchee, the mother and the harlot, old and young, male and female, national and international. There will be a goodly representation of all sorts and conditions of both men and women. Such a hetero­geneous assembly, such a motley crowd, would not and could not be gathered into any church in the land —no, not even in our so-called institutional churches.

Then, as to quantity—as to numbers. Just look at the crowds you can reach! Some of our ministers who have only a handful to preach to might have hundreds if they would go out into the open air and preach. There is no need, in this day of our Lord, of our min­isters complaining because they cannot get a large con­gregation to preach to. If you want an audience, you can find one anywhere. I think it would be a good thing, when, during the excessive heat of the summer months, our evening services are so poorly attended—I think it would be a good thing to close the church that contains but the handful and go out into the parks, into the streets, where are the multitudes and there preach to them the Gospel of the grace of God. This, then, is one value of this feature of Christian work—you will reach people you would not and could not otherwise reach.

2. It will enable you to reach men.

That is the great problem every minister of the Gos­pel has to face to-day—how to get hold of the men. Our audiences are composed very largely of women. They are in the great majority. We are glad the women are there. We thank God for the godly women of the churches, and we esteem it to be a glori­ous privilege to preach to these mothers of the nation. But we want, and we ought to have, men. When Jesus Christ called His disciples to follow Him in His work and labor of love, He said: “From henceforth ye shall catch men.” We ought to have as many men as women in our audiences each Lord’s Day. This may not be a possibility in some towns and states where the census shows many more women than men; but it is possible in this city. If you cannot get hold of the men in your church, then go out into the streets and get hold of them there. You will find your audiences to be com­posed almost wholly of men.

3. It will give you freedom of speech not always pos­sible in the pulpit of your church.

How often we preachers have to take the sharp cor­ners off some of our sentences because such might offend Mr. Brown, or Mrs. Smith! How aimless are some of our sermons because of that very thing! I remember reading of a plain but godly preacher being asked to preach in a fashionable city church. Just before the hour for the service one of the church people came to him and said: “Brother Williams, I understand that you preach against Christians playing cards. May I suggest to you that you refrain from mentioning that this morning, because Deacon G indulges in the game and has a weekly card-party at his house. He might be offended and leave the church if you were to speak against card-playing.’’ Hardly a minute had passed before another one came and asked him not to preach against the dance, and another not to preach against the theater. Feeling somewhat at a loss to know what to do and say, he said to one of these men: “What would you suggest that I preach about, then?’’ The church-member turned to him and said, “Give the Jews hail Columbia; there’s not one within forty miles of here.” This story may be true or it may not be. It illustrates my point, however, and that is, that we oftentimes are restricted in our speech from the pulpit. In the open-air work you need not be so sparing. You can be more pointed in your preaching. You can say things there that you would not dare say, and which would not be wise to say, from the pulpit of your church. That may be the only time you will have the privilege and opportunity of speak­ing to or seeing those people, hence you can say some striking things to them.

4. It will give you good development of the lungs.

This is not a thing to be lightly esteemed. More than you or I have ever imagined depends on possessing good lungs. I feel no diffidence in saying that if we had more open-air preachers we would have fewer con­sumptive preachers. Instead of the weak, thin, squeaky, collar-button voice, characteristic of so many preachers to-day, and which is an intolerable nuisance to listen to, you would have good strong lungs, and a voice rich, full and resonant; one which it would be a pleasure rather than a pain to listen to.

III.—THE NATURE OF THE OPEN-AIR MEETING

Under this heading I will include the Speaker, the Time, the Place, the Order of the Meeting.

1. The speaker.

He ought to be the best man that can be had for the place, or that the place can afford. The Bible says: “Wisdom crieth aloud in the streets.’’ Mark that. Wise ones, not fools, cry aloud in the streets. If there is one place in the world that you need to have a man of tact, it is in the open-air meeting. Banish from your minds the false thought that any kind of an inexperi­enced man will do. Such a man will never hold a crowd on tjie street-corner. He might possibly hold one in a church where, for propriety’s sake, they would not get up and go out. The street-audience, however, is not bound by any such etiquette. If you are not interesting and tactful you cannot hold an audience. You can get an audience. Yes!—a fool star-gazing can do that. It is one thing to get an audience, however, and it is another thing to hold it. It is still another and a greater thing to hold it and to impress it with the saving truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. London puts into her street-preaching such men as Spurgeon, John McNeil, Newman Hall. America can afford to do no less. Now, do not misunderstand me on this point and infer that I mean that none but the best preachers should preach in the open air. That is not my point. I am seeking to do away with the false ideas so prev­alent among mission-workers, and that is, that any man will do to speak in the open air.

Then he must be a patient man. He must have the patience of Job and the hide of a rhinoceros. He must be invulnerable to attack, proof against ridicule; one that shall be able to return blessing for cursing, and a smile for a frown. In short, he must be a man who has complete control of his temper. He must keep his equilibrium. To lose that is defeat. It means a death-blow to all that he has said in the meeting. If anywhere, here more, is it true that, “a soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger. “

2. The nature of the meeting.

There ought to be good singing. Song is a drawing card. There are very few people in this world who do not love singing. Music makes life worth the living. I knew an individual who did not care for music or song—he is the only man of that sort I have ever met —he was a bachelor, he always will be, he ought to be. He was the sourest individual I ever met in my life. He was as sour as a pickle. Thank God, his number is not legion. The overwhelming majority of people love singing and will walk many a mile to hear it, too. I was walking down a certain street the other day and I noticed, that, as person after person came to a certain house each one stopped and, look­ing up to a third-story window, seemed as if they were listening to something. I followed their example, and soon found myself with the crowd listening to the words of a beautiful hymn. Brethren, music draws people. Do not forget that. Remember, it is true not only for outdoor work, but also for indoor work. It is a good thing to have an organ accompaniment. I prefer a cornet accompaniment, however. Its tone­-carrying qualities are much better. I preached on the Boston Common a few weeks ago. They had a cornet leading the singing. I was able to hear it at a very great distance from the platform. It drew a great many people. Mr. Moody recognized this fact. I remember, during the World’s Fair year, when Mr. Moody was preaching in Forepaugh’s mammoth tent, he wrote me a letter asking me to come and assist in the singing with my cornet. Said he: “Towner has a good strong voice, but nothing but a cornet will carry the lead in such a large tent.’’

Then the address—if you choose to call it such— should be interesting and picturesque. Get crammed full of good illustrations; not from books, but from life. If there is anything that is stale it is one of those illustrations culled from some cyclopedia of illustra­tions. The world is full of illustrations. Get them! Keep your eyes and ears open: observe the signs of the times; interpret present-day events; get illustrations from every-day life, and you will never be a dull, uninteresting speaker. That is what our Lord did. Read the sermons He delivered in the Temple and in the synagogues, and you will notice that they do not abound in illustrations, as do those delivered in the open air. There is a wonderful lesson in this thought for the street-preacher.

Do not be dogmatic.

Paul says: “Beware of dogs:” Someone else has added to that, “Beware of dogmatists!” If you have any hairs to split, split them before you go out into the open air to preach Christ. Do not hit at denomi­nations, but preach Jesus Christ crucified and risen from the dead. I know an open-air worker who scarcely ever holds a meeting but what he pounds the Roman Catholics almost to death. Many Christian workers are themselves responsible for the trouble they have in open-air work. If a man preaches Christ, and preaches Him in a loving spirit and tone, nine times out of ten he will get a quiet and respectful hearing.

Do not make long addresses. Do not preach long sermons. Rather be too short than too long. I think ten minutes should be the limit for one speaker. Have more than one speaker. Variety is the spice of life. This is especially true in open-air work. Let your talk be studied before you go to the meeting. This is not at all contrary to one’s dependence upon the Holy Spirit for the message. This thing of taking a pas­sage of Scripture which belongs to the Apostles only, and that under certain peculiar circumstances, and applying it to ourselves is all wrong. Some men have taken that passage in the Gospel, “It shall be given you in that hour what ye shall speak,” as a Scripture that can be taken as a ground for no previous prepara­tion for preaching. This is all wrong. If I have been so busy in the service of the Master that I have not had the time to prepare, or if I am called on unexpect­edly to speak, then I believe that passage will be ful­filled in my experience; then I can open my mouth wide and God will fill it with good words—words of power. In cases where I could have prepared, but was too indolent to do so, my mouth will be filled with wind, but surely not with good words. Inasmuch, then, as it is harder to preach to people in the open air than it is in the church, so much the more is it neces­sary to be well prepared for street-preaching. Do not refer to politics in your address. When you preach the Gospel preach it in love. Do not engage in hammer-and-tongs preaching. Few men can do that suc­cessfully. Your audiences will be composed principally of men who have been abused and cuffed about all the day; some who have been idle for weeks, and are going home to a famished wife and starving children. They will need a clear, kind word to cheer their hearts and show them the way everlasting.

“Tell them the story of Jesus,

Impress on their hearts every word;

Tell them the story most precious,
Sweetest that ever was heard.

Tell how the angels in chorus

Sang as they welcomed His birth

Glory to God in the highest!

Peace and good tidings on earth!

“Tell of the cross where they nailed Him,
Writhing in anguish and pain;

Tell of the grave where they laid Him

Tell that He liveth again.

Love in that story most precious

Clearer than ever I see;

Stay, let me weep while you whisper,

Love paid the ransom for me.”

Now, just a word as to time and place. With regard to the place, let me say if you want to catch fish go where the fish are. You will find the street-corner, the steps of some public building, the ship wharves, the race-course on race days, the parks, especially on Sundays—these you will find to be good places to hold open-air meetings. Many preachers are in the habit of holding an open-air meeting right on the steps of their churches just before the evening service. This is a good plan, because you can immediately, on the con­clusion of that meeting, invite them into the church to attend the evening service. This is the method the great preacher, Newman Hall, of London, used. He did this for many years. I think this is a good way to get a good audience on a hot night.

As to the time. That will depend altogether on cir­cumstances. Some people like to hold open-air meet­ings in the daytime. That is a good time. You can catch people then that you would not catch at any other time. Others, and this is especially true of open- air workers in England, prefer the nighttime for these meetings. They hold them after sunset. They “love darkness rather than light” in this respect. I think a great many of the people they preach to in these meet­ings do also. There are some people who would not stop to listen to an open-air address in the daylight. They naturally shrink from it. Others do not want to be seen at such a gathering. The Nicodemuses are not all dead yet. One of the common recollections of my earlier life in England is that of seeing, on each Sunday evening, groups of people at the principal street corners of the city of Liverpool, under the light of the torch lamp, listening to the story of the Cross. Men who will not patronize an open-air meeting in the daytime will steal up under cover of darkness and listen to your story, and perhaps be touched. Breth­ren, if the people will not come to the evening service, then take the evening service out to them.

IV.—AND, FINALLY, RESULTS OF OPEN-AIR WORK

I speak now especially of spiritual results. In the first place, they cannot be counted in figures. I do not believe much in figures, anyway.

“So you believe in figures. I do not.

Where do all large ideas, all great aims,

All schemes that uplift humanity, have birth?

In the majority? Ah, no, my friend;

In the minute minority of one.

In God, Heaven, Man, one is best.”

To have the privilege of leading a man like C. H. Spurgeon or D. L. Moody to Christ means to be the indirect cause of leading thousands to the foot of the Cross.

The results of open-air work are, for the most part, never known to the workers. The present Bishop of Liverpool was converted while listening to a talk given at an open-air meeting. He does not know the name of the man who spoke the word of life that night, and the man who spoke the word does not know that it touched the Bishop’s heart and was the means of lead­ing him to Christ. That man might have gone home that night and said to himself: “Well, what is the use of preaching in the open air anyway? Nobody seems to be converted. I see no results of my work.” Yet how different was the case! He had that night added one more jewel to the diadem of our Lord. One man at least will meet him in the everlasting habitations, and say: “It was through your instrumentality that I was led to become a Christian.” Preaching in open-air work is like casting bread upon the waters. It is a work of faith. And that man who has not the most implicit faith in God’s Word—that it will not return to Him void—had better not preach that word. Not time, but eternity alone will reveal the true results of the work.

We are allowed, however, now and then to see its results. I was at a home missionary meeting the other evening, and noticed that two churches reported that they had been holding open-air meetings right near their churches, and that in one case sixteen and in the other twenty-three members had been added to the church through these meetings, held during the summer months.

Brethren, preach the Word in faith and power. That, and that alone, is our duty; leave the results with God. If it is wise to let you see them He will do it; if you do not see them as you would like to, still plod on, always remembering that “he that goeth forth with weeping, bearing precious seed, shall doubt­less come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”