The Three “Do Nots” of Open Air Preaching
At the Canadian Gay Pride Parade where my friend Paul preached last weekend (it was only his eighth time), I noticed a few things in the photos he sent me that caused concern. Here are three tips that I offered to make this “irksome task” more winsome.
3 “DO NOTS” OF OPEN AIR PREACHING
#1: Do Not hold a Bible and wave it when preaching in the open air.
“Wait a minute,” you say. “Are you ashamed of the Gospel, God’s Word, the Sword of the Spirit, Pastor Steve?” Readers of this blog know better. It’s just that I want to reach my crowd and there is something about a guy waving a Bible around that builds fences around sinners’ hearts and minds before they even hear what I’m saying. I prefer to lure them in with some humor, trivia, interesting statistics, then WHAMMO!, they hear the Law and Gospel. I don’t want to blow my cover that I’m a Christian until it’s too late—for them. (I understand if you disagree with me. But hey! It’s my blog.)
#2: Do Not forget to stand on something.
Nothing stops a fiery sermon faster than a six-foot-four linebacker Bigfoot who hates you, your message, your life, stands in front of you and blocks every last sound wave emanating from your mouth. The only time God’s Word returns empty is when it slides down the behemoth’s chest. Even little women with attitudes and hand held objects can stop you, if you have no elevation. Another advantage to “getting up in the air” is that your voice will carry farther.
#3: Do Not forget to smile every now and then.
We are pleading for sinners to repent; we’re not angry at them. We are out there because we care for their souls. Catherine Booth said: “If you haven’t got tears in your eyes, let them hear tears in your voice.” We are not preachers of hate. Paul wrote, “…he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” (2 Corinthians 5:19-20) Let the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in your heart, rise occasionally to your lips.
And let’s remember Charles Spurgeon’s words: When you speak of Heaven, let your face light up, let it be irradiated with heavenly gleam, let your eyes shine with reflected glory. But when you speak of Hell, well, your ordinary face will do.”
My friend, Paul, amended his ways. See his photo with all three of the “Do-Nots” corrected.
August 29th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Points well taken, brother. And thank you for that. Slowly, but surely, the more we learn, the more we do, the more effective we will be in the giving of the gospel in the streets.
I take everything I can from the experts which is why I am here. This is why your ministry is so important, teaching and encouraging us newbies in the act of open air preaching.
If I may, I would like to take this opportunity to encourage ANYBODY who feels the fire I felt to go out and preach, but feel inadequate as I have in the past, the following scripture verse written by Paul (the older one in the Bible, not me) was of great encouragement to me to just obey and DO:
“”When I came to you brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise ansd persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” (1Cor 2:1-5)
As Mister Pastor Mentor Steve says: “Go out and make…mistakes!”
Thanks for the lessons, brother.
August 30th, 2008 at 7:22 am
Great “tips” (reminders, actually), Steve. Thanks for the post and thanks for your blog. It’s a great encouragement and a challenge. ~Greg
August 30th, 2008 at 9:38 am
You’re welcome, Greg. I look forward to hearing some of your tales!
August 31st, 2008 at 5:11 am
Steve,
Sorry, but most of my “tales” are in Spanish.
http://www.videopile.com/video/9T5xk17xg1iN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g05QgyuwAU0
http://www.iglesia-del-este.com/evangelismo/ejemplos-video/
http://www.iglesia-del-este.com/evangelismo/ejemplos-audio/
Greg
October 4th, 2008 at 9:55 am
Thanks for the tips. Let me ask you something. What do you think about preaching in places where mostly passer-byers will see you, but not stop. For instance, on a street corner w/ only automobiles are passing, and there’s little/no chance of a crowd. If there are no other options, and if there is a specific audience you’d like to target, is that a good place to preach?
Sometimes, I preach in very transient places. Meaning, no one is likely to stop. Usually, people will only hear for about 30 seconds. Down here in TX, people are pretty friendly, and not as many outspoken atheist, so a good heckler is rare. Because of that, I see holding up God’s Word respectfully is symbolic to truth, and in those 30 seconds, helps people understand why I’m there.
I’ve struggled w/ this before, so I’m very open to your thoughts. Btw, Tony linked me to you on his blog. Thanks for your time.
October 4th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Frank: To answer your questions about passers-by, we do something called “Pure Speaking.” Go here to see what happens: http://www.evtales.com/index.php/2008/04/17/surrounded-by-the-police.html
Definitely hold up God’s Word if you think that it won’t be a hindrance to your preaching. California is a whole different animal compared with Texas.
I agree with Tony that we need to preach whether we have a crowd or not. The Word never returns void…
God bless,
Steve