The Dismissal of Open-Air Preaching

I FEAR that in some of our less enlightened country churches there are conservative individuals who almost believe that to preach anywhere except in the chapel would be a shocking innovation, a sure token of heretical tendencies, and a mark of zeal without knowledge. Any young brother who studies his comfort among them must not suggest anything so irregular as a sermon outside the walls of their Zion. In the olden times we are told "Wisdom crieth without, she uttereth her voice in the streets, she crieth in the chief places of concourse, in the openings of the gates"; but the wise men of orthodoxy would have wisdom gagged except beneath the roof of a licensed building. These people believe in a New Testament which says, "Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in," and yet they dislike a literal obedience to the command. 

Lectures to My Students (pdf) | Charles Spurgeon

Other posts in this series...

• The Gospel in the Open-Air Again
• Guidelines for Open-Air Preaching
• Open-Air Preaching is Optional?
• Missional Open-Air Preaching
• Steps Toward Open-Air Preaching

 

Comments

[Jessewinkler]

Oh dang! Well he just doesn't get culture.... :)

[David Travis]

I have been following the series with interest. I work with some European churches that have open air prayer tents with similar effects. And this article is in the same vein. http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/humberside/hi/people_and_places/religion_and_ethics/newsid_9420000/9420317.stm

[cghearn]

Ouch, that hurt. Thank you for posting this. It's really convicting.

[Jessewinkler]

It seems most people consider Open-Air preaching to be a method of preaching. And it seems most baulk at the idea as though it were a method that doesn't work anymore. I'm not sure I buy that open air preaching is a method. Preaching is preaching (I'm talking about heralding)and unless it is a method, we don't have anything from scripture that would suggest it should be contained between the four walls of a building where Christians meet for corporate worship. Hmmm....

[Jessewinkler]

I think I can buy that preaching is a method of communicating the gospel (an important one that can't be done away with). Others methods of gospel would be dialog, acts of service, loving one another in various ways, etc.

[Steve McCoy]

Jesse, largely agree. My only problem with your 2nd comment is that things like acts of service w/o preaching will never convert anyone. So as a means of getting the Gospel to the ears of people (how will they hear w/o a preacher?), preaching is necessary. Preaching to the lost is necessary. Preaching to those who have not and will not show up at church is necessary.

I'm all for preaching in buildings. I'm just concerned that preaching in buildings alone is not even close to enough.

[Jessewinkler]

ya, agreed. Demonstrating the gospel through various methods should lead to proclaiming the gospel. I guess maybe the argument is in the various ways of proclaiming the gospel. Preaching/heralding is one method. One on one or group Dialog might be another. Q&A might be another. I assume you don't consider all those methods to be preaching? Otherwise, your pub talk could be a form of open-air preaching.

[Steve McCoy]

Jesse, in Acts 8:35 it says Philip "preached" to the Ethiopian, one guy. So, I think we can certainly preach the gospel to one, a few, a bunch. It's not the size of the crowd, it's the spiritual state of the crowd.

[Steve Martin]

Open air, inside cars, inside caves...wherever!

Just speak to someone about what Christ has done for you and what He has done for them.

And then let God do with that what He will.

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