Adapting Our Approaches
R. A. ANDERSON (Takoma Park, D.C.): May I read this important quotation? "God's workmen must labor to bernany-sided men; that is, to have a breadth of character, not to be one-idea men, stereotyped in one manner of working, getting into a groove, and unable to see and sense that their words and their advocacy.of truth must vary with the class of people they are among, and the circumstances that they have to meet." —Evangelism, p. 106.
We are told that we must not be men of one idea, but we must be constantly advancing. That is true of our approach to communities and cities. Each city has its own personality. You would not work in New York City the same as you would work in Birmingham, Alabama. The perplexities and problems are different because of the wide divergence of ideas and the different types of people. That is also true of the time in which people live. The type of person we are facing now is entirely different from the type we faced before the war. Folks do not think as they did in 1940. We have to be well aware of that, as we must seek to meet the thinking of this generation. David served his own generation. And we, as evangelists, in order to be successful, must learn to think in terms of this generation.
Another thing has happened that makes a new approach necessary. We do not hesitate to speak of the possibility of world destruction since the invention of the atomic bomb. Elder Rebok's address at the session reminded us forcefully of the significance of the change in the theological ideas• on the part of ministers in the churches about us. Even liberal writers speak in a tone altogether different now from that of a year ago. Formerly we were regarded as "calamity howlers." But not now. We have been thrust into a prophetic role. That brings us to this point: What different methods of publicity are called for ? What kind of titles can we use? We will have to adapt our methods to the changing time. The things we used to do even three or four years ago do not appeal now. We need to study this particular matter.
Double-Header Sessions
F. W. DETAMORE (Southwestern Union): I wonder whether you have tried double-header sessions for Sunday nights. I do not think we have exploited that as much as we might. It is not hard to get out a good crowd on the first Sunday night. In fact, we are sometimes favored with an overflow. But it is not a good thing to keep on turning people away. It is better to divide the crowd, even if each group is considerably smaller. I do not do this on the basis of an overflow, but state that we are going to have the first meeting at five-thirty, so that people can go to some other church if they wish. The other meeting is scheduled for seven-thirty. I usually try the double session on the second Sunday night.
I think those who have not tried this plan would be surprised at the results, even in smaller places and under discouraging circumstances. For example, in Amarillo, Texas, we had only 165 people out on the opening Sunday night. The second Sunday night we had only 160. We had put out good advertising and had used good billboard publicity. In desperation we tried the doubleheader meeting. If we could not get them to come out to one meeting, we would try two. The next Sunday night we had four hundred. So this helps even under unfavorable circumstances.
If I were conservative I might choose the old-time topic "Heaven" or "The Other Side of Death" for the first-night topic. But I think we must have something better to get a good crowd for the opening Sunday night. And then we need something pretty strong for the second Sunday night. It is often difficult to get the crowd back again, so I like to have a much stronger subject for the second Sunday night. When I saw the picture of a cannon, and a dove making its nest in the mouth of the cannon, immediately there sprang into my mind the title, "The Atomic Bomb and the Dove of Peace." I have been surprised how well that has taken. Many weeks later I have had requests for that sermon in mimeographed form.
I put it right into my advertising that I an: speaking on the Bible. Then they do not think I am a Democrat or a Republican.
At the end of the service, when prayer has been offered, I often say, "Friends, just one thing before you leave. We have become a little better acquainted tonight. The stiffness has worn off. But from now on I want you to promise me one thing. We have paid out money for advertising, handbills, and all. I would like to go to bed and sleep tonight. I wonder how many of you will promise that next Sunday night you will bring at least one of your friends with you." This builds up the announcement of the double-header meeting.
I find that this type of announcement helps in the advertising. We have had to run for many years on a starvation budget. We have spent a little more in the last few years, but this type of appeal does help when operating on a limited budget.
Another thing I have discovered lately is that window cards are doing a lot of good. For a long time I dropped this out, but in my latest effort in Tulsa we used 200,000 with marvelous effect. I think some of our men would be surprised to find how well it works. We put out six or seven hundred window cards in shops and stores. They were scattered all over the business district. People passing by saw these cards and felt that something must be happening. One of the big chain drugstores let us place them in their window displays all over town.
Securing Advance Requests
J. L. SHULER (Takoma Park, D.C.) : We are all aware of the fact that it is increasingly difficult to gather large audiences together for our larger metropolitan efforts. I hold that the greater the difficulty the more necessary it is that we prepare the ground thoroughly. We should seek to have a large list of interested people before we begin. We can do that if we plan for it. We cannot do it simply by jumping out of a parachute, as it were, opening our Bibles and starting to preach. Seed sowing is imperative. The real secret is to prepare the soil so well that we shall see larger results from our big efforts. The more money we have to spend, the more we ought to work toward large results. If a man has a sufficiently large number of interested people before he begins, his success is virtually guaranteed.
It is interested people who make Adventists. A short time ago I held an effort in Houston, Texas, and within a period of three weeks' time gathered the names of 2,600 interested people. Out of these we secured 1,307 requests from non-Adventists for reserved seats'for the first sermon. Thus on the opening night I had a good crowd.
I co-ordinated the visitation of our church members, going from house to house with handbills, with information about a Bible Correspondence Course, and three "teaser" articles in the newspapers. In my next appointment I plan to use five such articles on the church page, telling about the Bible course, and also telling it over the radio at the same time.
A "teaser" article is a short article of from eight to ten inches of paid space. I write my own head. The first article was titled "When Will Wars End ?" The war was then on, and that was of great interest. I did not assume the role of prophet about the current conflict, but wrote about the end of all wars. I told them just enough to arouse interest, and included a notification of the Bible Correspondence Course. Nothing is said at first about preaching. We get the names of people before they know we are going to preach.
Christ, the Center of All Sermons
H. M. S. RICHARDS (Glendale, California) : I believe in sticking very close to the cross and its Christ. I think this poor, shaken world is interested in Jesus, more so than ever before. People are looking for finality; they are looking for refuge. Every man who can think today wants some refuge, and Christ is that refuge. So I like to preach about Jesus and talk about Him in every theme. It seems to work.
I like to take as my first subject, "Christ, the Greatest Character of All Time," or something like that. I believe that if we present the cross of Christ, even when we are talking about the atomic bomb, our presentation will be effective. I do not have any burden to tell people what they can read in the papers and the magazines like Life, Time, or Newsweek. But I do want to tell them what Christ means to us now as a place of refuge, and I think that the theme of Christ can be worked into a whole series.
Practically every topic can be centered in the cross in some form. When I speak on the judgment I touch on "That Ordained Man," with text from Acts 17:31, "By that Man whom He hath ordained." Jesus becomes the center of it. And personally, I am not much interested in the judgment unless Christ is there. If He is not there, I do not want to be there. I am not looking for justice; I am looking for mercy. "Christ at the Church Door" is the title I use for the Laodicean message to the churches.
These Christ-centered titles seemed to draw the people. Christ is then made the center of every sermon. Whether it be prophetic, doctrinal, practical, or spiritual, Christ should be the center of all.
Interweaving the Angelic Messages
J. A. BUCKWALTER (College View, Nebraska) : I believe that in these times it helps to bring in the three angels' messages early in the series, and to present them as God's messages to this generation. They appeal to the world because they present two phases : first, the judgment for the world, and then the provisions of God to meet Him in peace. The judgment-hour message and the call out of Babylon is the answer to many questions. We have advertised somewhat on this order : Across the top of the handbill, in small letters, "Christendom's Revival Hour Has Struck," and the larger letters, "God's Interdenominational Message." I have tried to present the three angels' messages as the medium through which God is speaking to modern Christendom, and center the appeal around the call to give these messages to the world. I do not go into detail, but try to build up an interesting study in the early part of the effort, introducing this feature not later than the third Sunday night, and sometimes the second, depending on the circumstances. It develops an interest in the meetings that follow.
Building on Threefold Message
JOHN OSBORN (Seattle, Washington) : Back in 1939 I saw the possibilities of building a whole series on the three angels' messages. As Brother Buckwalter has said, you can whet the appetite of your congregation for that very thing, if you use key texts to create interest in the various features mentioned in the three angels' messages. So, early in the series we have three plywood angels slide out on wires and stay in view throughout the series. Every time additional subjects are presented in connection with the three angels' messages, we add a plaque, which hangs on the wires. One after another is added, until at the end of the meetings a long series of plaques is hanging there depicting all the points presented to the people. I find that we can give greater prominence to various aspects of the three messages by illustrating it in that way.
Capitalize on Current Interest
E. F. Koch (Arlington, Virginia): I, too, have tried the method of introducing the three angels' messages very early in the series. I tried this, and it worked very nicely. In fact, I introduced the subject of the three angels' messages the first night of the series, explaining that a whole series of presentations would be unfolded on these three vital messages found in Revelation 14. Then I, of course, impress upon them that the series will be the unfolding of the principles that we find in this particular chapter. My opening title in Arlington was "The Bible, the Bomb, and the Future," because at that time there was a great deal of discussion on the atomic bomb. I tried to show how God would bring an end to the world as it now is, and that man would not bring it to an end himself by using the atomic bomb. I think we should center our titles about what men are thinking. I believe we should capitalize on world peace at the present time.
