Open-Air Preaching is Optional?

Most of the pastors and preachers I know believe that open-air preaching is optional at best, and some go so far to say it's unhelpful and passé. 

What if it's NOT optional? What if it's expected? What if it should be normal and natural for preachers? 

How would you respond if I said God expects every man called to fill a pulpit is also to fill the open-air, the marketplace, the fields, the empty lots, etc, with the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? (And I don't just mean through personal evangelism, but through public proclamation.) If you think it is optional, can you provide any Scriptural argument for that? I honestly want to know if you disagree and what you base your position on.

Comments

[rob tombrella]

wow Steve...

I haven't been to your blog in a while but read your old posts on the idea of public proclamation. I've wondered this for a long time as well. Seeing it in Scripture and wondering how it could be done...um...well.

Moreover...I think the weight of Scripture (which we must rely heavily on Acts regardless of its historic uniqueness) is on a public proclamation of some sort.

I'm not sure if the "town square" proper is as necessary as the concept of the "crowds." John the Baptist preaches to the crowds, Jesus goes to the crowds, Paul and apostles etc. All of their lives seem to accent proclamation not just being "one-on-one" exclusively but to the crowds...

I'm sure it can be argued that the context fit that kind of proclamation better than today. But i wonder if it's for a lack of trying...lack of boldness...lack of love that we don't see folks doing it more...doing it well.

[Chase Abner]

Steve,

I'm loving this series of posts. Open-air preaching is something I have done a coupe of times, but am always reluctant to do.

I don't mean this to sound contrary because I may well agree with you, but you asked how I would respond if you made such a statement. I would seek clarity. I'd ask:
- Who is a 'man called to fill a pulpit?'
- How do you define preaching? I assume you mean a verbal conveyance of the Gospel, but are there any other criteria?
- How would this man know if he'd 'filled the open-air' in accordance with God's expectation? Number of times? Types of places? Frequency?

P.S. - If you want to help us learn in Carbondale, you're welcome to come down and join us on SIUC's campus.

[Jeff Nine]

I'd feel more comfortable saying you are wrong... but I can't. I've been wading through Isaiah a fair bit the last month, which coupled w/ some other reading I've been doing keeps me asking what it means to speak from the prophet edge of the culture. I don't think that can be done from inside our churches or broadcast from our websites... there is necessarily a public aspect to it.

That said, I think there is a model in Scripture about public proclamation looking different contextually. Paul seems to select different public centers contextually. In Acts 17 3 separate centers are mentioned, with different audiences (and I think you could deduce different articulations) in view. In other words, the context drives the specific application... but each was definitely public. To argue that it won't work in our culture because "it's been abused" is historically silly. The public proclamation of the Gospel has always appeared to many as silly.

Unfortunately, with this answer I have to reexamine my own self... I don't do this, and I don't have a good reason why I don't. Praying for wisdom and boldness personally.

[Louistullo]

This is a very interesting practice to consider, especially in an age of the church where technology is so prevalent. From a cultural standpoint, open-air preaching seems to be not as an effective witness for the Gospel because of how tuned out society is on the streets. Getting someone to actually listen and understand something being proclaimed publicly when you have to get through the obstacle of people listening to music on their iPods, talking on their phones, or with their heads buried in a newspaper is a challenge. When going from place to place today, people consciously try to tune out the world around them.

Biblically, it also seems their are better ways than "open-air" preaching to evangelize. Matthew 5:16 speaks about our works shining before others and pointing to Christ. Furthermore, in the great commission (Matthew 28:16-20) we are commanded to do the following actions: make disciples, baptize, teach what Christ has commanded us. These three actions lend themselves to a more personal form of interaction than "open-air" preaching allows, especially today.

That being said, I do think that if done correctly, "open-air" preaching can be a gateway for getting people to hear the Gospel but to make a methodology like this not optional seems legalistic.

Interesting post Steve!

[Frank Turk]

How about 1 Cor 14 and its exhortation that whatever it is we ought to do as "prophecy", we ought to do in an orderly way that makes sense to those who are exposed to it. That doesn't forbid non-worhip preaching, but it does exhort hard against methods that seem like madness to unbelievers.

I would also put Paul's example out there as the model of the preacher: he went first to the synagogue where teaching and exhortation from Scripture was taking place, and then in the marketplace he would discourse where conversations about religion and philosophy were happening at the popular level. That's how he got invited to the Areopagus -- not by shouting people down as we witness often today.

So if you're saying that pastors ought to be serious about filling the marketplace of ideas with the Gospel, I am with you. If you are saying that more guys should be on street corners scolding passers-by, prolly not.

[Jeff Nine]

Frank, 1 Cor 14 is addressed to worship settings (though unbelievers may be present), not public, isn't it? If so, I don't think it is necessarily applicable here.

[Steve McCoy]

Frank, you did see my other posts on open-air stuff, right? I'm talking about something done very different than the open-air judgmental scoldings too many do today. So I think we are on the same page.

Louis, is it not effective because it's not effective or the culture is different? Or is it because we aren't doing it or doing it well? I think it's the latter.

[Steve McCoy]

Jeff, helpful thoughts. Praying with you and for you.

[Steve McCoy]

Thx Chase.

When I said "man called" etc I was saying if you are called to be a preacher, let's not pretend that only means preach privately to our congregation and those who are willing to enter our buildings.

I just posted on defining "preaching." I hope to post more on the topic to get more opinions.

As for God's expectation, it's continual and everywhere, just like our personal witness, right? The world is my pulpit. Let's go!

Chase, SIU is a long way away. Do you have gas money? :) I think we've talked before but I got converted at SIUC and very much have a heart for Carbondale & the university.

[Louistullo]

Touché Steve! :)

You probably are right in your estimation that we aren't doing it well. Having grown up in New York, I've seen all too many people attempt to do "open-air" preaching who come across mostly insane, and often times are actually speaking false doctrine.

Are there any Scriptures you've come across that you sense to give a good guideline for how to go about it? I guess in a larger sense, since the epistles were letters that were read aloud to their respective congregations, that could be considered "open-air" preaching? It makes me wonder if simply reading the Gospel aloud in the streets would be effective.

Thanks for this post, it really is helping me to mediate on the role of evangelism in my own walk. :)

[Tim PIckard]

I'm pretty sure there is no basis for an across the board condemnation of open air preaching. It is clearly an acceptable option. The question is, is it mandated and is it always preferable?

I think most of us would put limits on where and when it's effective for actually gaining a hearing and avoiding unnecessary offenses.

We hopefully wouldn't preach to a patio of diners at a local restaurant. Many of us would probably hesitate to preach to people stuck waiting in line at a movie theater. We wouldn't drive down neighborhood streets blasting a loudspeaker into people's homes.

My point is that all of us believe in boundaries that don't serve the gospel. There are contextual issues that seem legitimate to take into consideration. As Frank mentioned, it seems that in the NT day there were contexts in which this kind of thing was expected and even invited. Do we have that in our day and how much weight do we put on that?

Should we have boundaries that take into consideration the need to show love and respect to our unbelieving friends in our community?

Should we have boundaries that take into consideration and measure whether communication is actually happening (instead of just broadcasting it without caring whether we're heard)?

Should we have boundaries that take into consideration how people perceive the method (without reference to the message)?

What if there aren't any places in my community that seem to be inside common sense boundaries?

I think college campuses often seem to be legitimate places to do this kind of thing. Even then, careful thought needs to be given to how exactly it should be done.

We are trying to figure all this out as we seek to reach the 35k student university here in Northridge.

Thanks a ton for the posts- they've been helpful for me. Also, I'll be checking out the videos.

[Steve McCoy]

Good thoughts, Tim. Important questions.

I guess my first response to "boundaries" is that we have let the culture define boundaries and the Gospel often breaks down boundaries and crosses boundaries and gets preachers persecuted or killed. I know we can cross boundaries in inappropriate ways, but letting people tell us when they get to hear the Gospel will cause many to never hear it. Would you agree with that?

Also, whenever I think "this would be a bad place to do open-air preaching" I can usually think of something in the NT that calls my assumption into question. I think it's complicated.

I may have a post up on this today. We'll see. Good thoughts, brother.

[Joab Rico]

Bro,

If you're serious about this, then connect with me on facebook.

Joab Rico

I would like to call you and talk about it.

[fisherwoman]

Those table-waiters did a fine job, didn't they? (for proclaiming the Gospel, Stephen was stoned) It was because of preaching Christ that the church was scattered. Because Paul preached Christ inside out of the synagogue he brought the Gospel to kings and Gentiles. Peter, told by Christ to feed His sheep, also preached outside the walls. So did Philip, etc.

[Jenna Guerette]

Steve,
This topic of open air preaching is close to my heart. My husband has been going out with an evangelism group and doing open air preaching. His first time doing so resulted in the police being called. But they said he was within his rights to speak. He also received heckling from some bar patrons. He found the website www.gostandspeak.com helpful. Be encouraged - we'll pray for you up here in Canada.
Jenna G.

[Steve McCoy]

Thanks much Jenna. Always good to find others who think similarly.