Although we are told that Jesus preached in the synagogues, it is certain that His greatest preaching and teaching took place in the open air. That greatest of all sermons was delivered upon a mountainside. As we sweep through all the long years of church history, we find that the same principle obtains, and it would be strange indeed if some of the amazing scenes of the great Wesleyan revival were not witnessed again in the last phases of this greatest of all Christian movements.
We do not seek to exaggerate the open-air ventures in old England. They were a pioneer attempt, and it is certain that later workers will improve much on us, and will get far greater results than we were ever able to obtain. But we did get 'results, and it is these results, and the methods we found most suitable to get them, that we seek to present.
Early Mistakes.—In the open-air meetings conducted by other movements, the heckler or interrupter was allowed to go to great lengths, mostly because he would draw a crowd, just as a street fight draws interest. We fell into the same error, but we found that although it was one way to draw people's attention, it certainly was not the kind of attention we wished to attract. It became almost impossible to deliver a connected message, and often the heckler would draw more attention than the speaker, if the speaker was not experienced.
How well I remember one new man springing onto the speaker's box with the stirring announcement, "I stand before you tonight." At that moment the box reeled and fell, and a cockney voice called out from the rear of the crowd, "Not for long, mate." In my own early attempts at this robust form of evangelism I rose to deliver a moving message, and as I opened my mouth I heard the disconcerting words, "Look at his mouth; you could throw a hat into it." You can imagine how disturbing this would be to a man new at the game.
The heckling problem led us into a greater mistake—giving up. We forgot that the open air is the ideal training ground for teaching a man how to preach, for if he cannot preach, his audience melts away, as in the classic words of Omar, "Like snow which lingers on the desert face awhile, and then is gone." So it is preach well, or do not preach at all, when it comes to this form of preaching. And, really, that is about the way it ought to be in any kind of preaching.
Seeking a solution to the heckling problem led us to put our pastors onto the box, when we could get them. Naturally, some of them were very good, but this system did not help this form of evangelism to grow, for our ministers are usually very busy men, and seldom have time to devote to such activities. It was these two difficulties which led us to develop the system I am about to describe. Remember now that: (I) we needed a new way to get a crowd together; (2) we wanted to control the inevitable heckler; (3) we simply had to train local, untried, lay talent.
Anything unusual will create a crowd—a street fight, a street accident, a man standing on his head in a busy street. Well, we never needed to do anything so eccentric, but there was something unusual to the man in the street which we could do, and yet it was commonplace in our movement. We could use charts.
Use of charts.—We evolved four charts, and the four addresses were built upon the charts in each case. By doing this we eliminated the first and second problems completely ; the charts drew a crowd, and the heckler as a crowd drawer became quite unnecessary. Further, the use of the visual method simplified the work of the preacher. Added to that, by having all our texts painted onto long strips of plywood, we avoided the spectacle of a very nervous speaker trying to locate a text from a small Bible in a steady, driving wind. There was no more, "Hold on, folks, I guess I'll find it in a minute." When the speaker used the text, he thrust it straight into an improvised slot underneath the chart, and the whole crowd could read it and digest it.
Our method of controlling the heckler, who was now just a nuisance, was as simple as it was effective. We appealed to the sense of fair play, so strongly possessed by any crowd. We usually had a chairman and four speakers. Each preacher was given twenty minutes to present his subject—no more, no less. After each presentation he was given five minutes to answer questions. After that he descended from the box and mingled with the crowd. Many wished to consult him, and it was there that he secured names for later study.
Long-windedness was avoided at all costs. The chairman acted as general organizer of the meeting, and was noted for his directness and terseness. Each speaker also kept directly to his own subject, and never moved onto the next man's territory. Four charts were used, and four addresses were built up around them.
The first four men to try out these methods were inexperienced. They had been Adventists for only about four months, and what is more, they had entered the message through an effort run entirely by lay people. So you can see it was very much of an experiment. In learning, they followed the methods immortalized by the ancient Greek orators—one spoke while the others listened and gave constructive criticism.
At last we were ready, and our first effort was made in Hyde Park, the Acropolis of London, and the famed center for open-air speaking of England. The first meeting brought io6 names, including one valued trophy, a man who affirmed that he had been contemplating suicide for lack of something worth believing.
We carried on until the war brought the whole project to a close. Up until the time when we were forced to stop, good results were obtained. It is of interest to note that all Bible studies were taken over by lay people. We used the Home Bible Course. Some of the interested purchased our small books, and many pamphlets were given out. All means were used to sustain the interest, an interest which bade fair to be considerable. We had names from all districts in the London area, and these were handed over to the local churches.
Our local members responded enthusiastically to the plan. Specimen open-air meetings were run in the Chiswick area, and without being asked, the people offered 18 pounds (about $72) to the furtherance of the scheme. By the use of an old automobile we were able to try out our plan in some of the country villages. The charts were illuminated by the use of the car's headlights. Many names were secured, and on summer days and evenings the whole village turned out to hear the message.
It is evident that above all else open-air evangelism is adaptable. It can be conducted by laymen or by the most experienced evangelists. Open-air work can thus be an effective and inexpensive advertiser, used in conjunction with a major evangelistic effort. Our literature can be sold and distributed at the meetings. The sale of literature is not permissible in many sections. If such a plan is contemplated, be sure that it does not conflict with any of the city bylaws.
On a widespread scale there is no limit to the amount of publicity our great movement can derive from open-air evangelism, if properly conducted. While in Western Australia I was impressed by the effective use of a brass band in conjunction with open-air preaching. The Scripture tells us to go into the highWays and byways and compel them to come in. As servants of God there is nothing left for us to do but to preach the living Word by every means within our power.
