The farmer and mechanic., 1907-09-17
STREET PREACHING EFFECTIVE.

q
air and in the streets. The Establish
/ ed Church. c.r which he was a COM
| municant. had lost It's zeal for the
! conversion Of souls. and in some piac-
es had fallen into dead Journalism his
| gospel preaching startled the fox
/ hunting clergy and ma 1e them fndig-
| nant They shut the doors OF the only
! churches in England 70 him, but ne
! had already gone TO any place where
preaching was needed Churches
were not attended except by nandfui
OF folks He had a message for the
multitude who did not think the
church had any message for them. To
reach the people. Wesley became
street preacher, and travelled from
place to place, everywhere getnng
large street congregations. who were
attracted by his new and personal way
Of presenting the old-time truth of the
gospel.
Have we come 10 a period when
ministers Of righteousness must do
likewise to reach the people" A cen
sus Of the attendance upon churches
in great cities shows that very many
do not attend church. If they can De
reached by street preaching or parlor
preaching or prea ching on the athletic
fields ought not the preacher TO carry
his message where there are dying
men and women? Never mind why
they do not go to church. If they do
not go to hear the gospel ought not
the divinely called preacher TO carry
the gospel TO them? What IS the secret
of the wonderful work Of the Salvation
Army? 1t has its halls and places OF
worship, but it goes out to the peo-
pie and breaches wherever 1t can get
a hearing 1t is sad truth thal
many people lack faith in the church.
Thew have not lost faith in the rell-
gion that lives what it breaches, or In
the ministry that goes into the streets
and in the by-ways of men VINO 90 not
come to church. In crowded wan
street every day, a minister OF the
Episcopal church breaches TO the
passers-by, and so earnest and erect
i've are his sermons that he is popular
ly knwon as the pastor OF All
street and busy men stop TO near
him. He always attracts and holds
large street congregation. If he went
into church to preach, he WouId not
have a handful of hearers.
Bishop Paret, of the Episcopal
church of Maryland, a conservative
Of conservatives, has recently created
a mild sensation by advocating street
preaching Here are his words: The
g.
sionary to act in cooperation with
the minister in charge of some church
or mission. where souls who need US
abound, and begin campaign OF
street preaching as 'parochlal mis-
sion work in the immediate neighbor-
hood of that church, with the definite
purpose of leading those whom they
may interest to find fuller blessing and
instruction and spiritual help IN as
sociation with that particular church.
Commenting upon this recommends
ton of the Maryland bishop, the Bal
timore Sun editorially says:
"It is, indeed, strange that the prac-
tice of going into the highways for
converts. which was especially en1oln-
ed upon Christian minister's by the
founder of Christianity, has fallen so
much into disuse in modern times. The
greatest of all sermons preached by
the greatest Of all Preachers was
preached under the trees on the
mountain side. and outdoor preach
ing, on the seaside among the fisher
folk, by the Wayside and in the fields,
was the comm ION practice of that same
Preacher. Outdoor preaching was
also usual among the great preachers
of the early church. but for many GEN.
turies the practice has been somewhat
dtscountenanced by conservative
church people as sensational. The
great Methodist preacher, Whitfield,
set the example Of field or outdoor
preaching in England about 1880, and
then a little later John Wesley took
it up. He was at the time a clergy
man Of the Church Of England and
took to the fields party because he
was excluded from many churches on
account of the doctrine he taught and
partly for the reason that no church
could contain the multitudes who
sought to hear him. By going into
the fields and highways to carry the
Gospel this great man accomplished
marvellous results. One of his first
outdoor missions was among the col
liers Of KingsWood, a most degraded
and almost bestial lot. II the preach
er could win with these he could win
with almost anyone, and he won. The
half-savage miners stood by thousands
around him with begrimed faces fur
rowed by tears and the reformation
among them was miraculous Every
where Wesley preached men and wo-
men lost self-control and the practi-
cal results of his field preaching were
amazing
The Sun truly says that it is a
risk for preacher to undertake to
preach in the street. and that "un-
less he is q man of force who has
something to say that is worth listen
ing to and unless he can present it
in striking form and in a manner
that will arrest and hold attention.
he had best not attempt it." The
preacher who talks ethics. who reads
homily, who fills in the hour with
exegesis. who lacks the consuming
desire TO carry the light of the gospel
to fellow man because he believes
that light will lead him into a better
life had better not preach to the mix
ed congregations on the streets
Ought a preacher who lacks zeal and
earnest desire n x1-iy,