Gospel Meetings
I grew up with gospel meetings. Not revivals; gospel meetings. Denominations had revivals.
Some who are older than me remember two-week meetings, but I only go back to one-weekers. One in the fall; another in the spring. Every year.
You’d think those are bad memories. And yes, those probably weren’t my favorite two weeks of the year.
And yet — I remember the excitement at our church of knowing that someone was coming with urgent messages. Most years, Guy Napoleon Woods came. Other favorites were Hugo McCord, Bobby Key, and Walter Buchanan (my favorite because he was always so much fun at Green Valley Bible Camp near Bentonville).
I remember Guy N. Woods as a man in whom there was no doubt. His book “Questions and Answers” was like our “Pearl of Great Price” — not exactly the Bible, but still a pretty holy book.
But with the others, the memories are much better: the church getting ready in prayer, the discipline of going to the assembly every night (while other kids were playing ball!), and the attempt to write down every scripture mentioned.
I’m not wanting to go back to gospel meetings. Not at all.
But . . . remembering them makes me ask these questions: In what ways are we providing biblical teaching for the church? In what ways are we reaching out to people who are lost (in every sense of the word) — so that we seek to go out rather than attract?
I can remember gospel meetings and the gospel was preached. The sermons constantly had an emphasis on the cross and Jesus blood. Still a good way to reach the lost. To use the contemporary language , there will always be some attractional ways and some missional approaches to teach the good news of Jesus Christ. Thank God for all the wonderful ways that members of the church are reaching out to hopeless people all over the world and every day !
Ah, shades of E. W. McMillan and Horace Busby. Even when I heard them in the 50′s, I knew they were a cut above the other ministers I was hearing. I enjoyed them because they challenged my thinking–not a popular thing for preachers to do in those days.
Whatever happened to seeker services? Were they pretty much a bomb for the same reasons the gospel meetings would be these days?
We had a Phil Keaggy concert last week, and a young man who came was baptized on Sunday. He was a seeker who was touched by the music. Maybe more of these kinds of meetings would be good. I love Jim’s Starbucks idea. I would attend.
I went to a meeting with Oral Roberts when I was a little girl and watched him do HIS thing..very bizarre…
Precher Man,
Showing movies like “The Passion of Christ” or “The Nativity Story” would probably be a good way to begin conversations with people who do not follow Jesus. BUT NOT in a church building. Most non-churched people are not interested in “coming to church.” Start a home movie club.
Tonight will be the start of something similar. There will be a group of about 12 people showing up to our home, 3 of which do not confess Jesus as Lord. We are going to being reading “Blue Like Jazz” by Donald Miller and let this book lead us into a discussion on what it means to live out the Christian faith (I am praying that it will also challenge some of us Christians too). We are calling the group “Beginning Conversations.” This is an attempt to let Jesus be known outside of the church building and in a home that sits in an everyday neighberhood. I pray that this is just the beginning.
Rex,
That sounds like a great idea!
Thanks for the information.
Kathy S,
I did and it was usually on “Just As I AM”….He would stop and plead…And of course sing ALL 6 verses. I felt so sorry for the guy. I think that might been his name. GUY N. WOODS.
Rex
Why not in a “church” buidling? Our inviter events in the Church building bring over a 100 unchurched each event. We find it to be an non-threatening way for our members to reach out to their friends and family.
For the Nativity Story we rented a theater( bought all the tickets to a showing).
Rex,
Sounds like a great idea for your conversation group. May the Lord Bless your group.
Chaplain G,
Sounds like things are going great at your church too. God bless you brother.
The H2O films are one of the most powerful things I have seen lately to touch the hearts of the unchurched. We showed them and our members brought many friends. We have also started H2O groups in homes. They would also be great for a coffee house or lunch break at a business. Check out these websites to learn more — h2ojourney.com and cityonahillproductions.com
Gary Beauchamp, 1973, University cofc, Abilene. It’s the last gospel meeting I recall. Earlier ones were Landon Saunders and Jimmy Allen that come to mind, and one man that made great laughter – sorry I forgot his name.
But, that Wed. night in 1973, Gary scared two of my best buds right out of the aisle and to the front (only one row away). I was scared and excited – and wanted to take that step or two during the 19th verse of Just As I am….but I didn’t. However, my dad baptized me the next night, a Thursday, the night Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in the great tennis match.
Couldn’t enjoy gospel meetings that much as a boy. Loved that we usually had the guest preacher at our house. Loved the meals in the homes of the members. Hated that there would be a last night of the meeting and the preacher would, in solemn tones, remind us, “Eternity. What if this earth we live on were a steel ball. Flying around the earth is a bird. Every 25,000 miles the bird touches one wing to the steel ball. When this touching of the bird’s wing has finally worn away the ball of steel . . . eternity has not even begun.”
I’m glad to read positive comments about gospel meetings and the men who preached in them. Guy N. Woods was a great scholar, an humble man, and a devoted preacher of the truth.
Those fortunate enough to have heard him and Marshall Keeble and Gus Nichols and B. C. Goodpasture have fond memories of preaching not heard much today. Members of the church were recognized as students of the Bible and were happy to share their beliefs with others. I read negative comments about things done in the past, but not many suggestions about how to do it now or do it better. Why have many Christians turned away from hearing the truth and want to be provided something more to their liking?
Most of you guys talk like gospel meetings are a thing of past–and based on your comments I assume they are in some parts of the US,–but among CoCs here in the Southeastern US they’re still very much alive. Most congregations still do one in the Spring and one in the Fall. Non-institutional people will typically go Sunday through Friday (with Friday often being the night of greatest attendance!), while institutional people will go through Wednesday night.
Unfortunately, as some have said above, the “gospel meeting” moniker is pretty inaccurate, as the sermons are almost always aimed at people who are already Christians. Sometimes they are the old instrumental-music-is-wrong type sermons, and sometimes they are more practical encouraging sermons, but rarely are they Christ-is-the-one-true-Savior type sermons, which can be really frustrating. Nevertheless, a lot of us proudly attend as much as we can, trying to make the best of an imperfect situation.
Chaplain G,
I wasn’t trying to suggest that the church building will never be useful. I am glad some people are willing to come to the events at the building. As far as the Nativity Movie being shown, a rented theatere is not the church building. It is a nuetral place.
As far as I was suggesting, showing the movie in a home with a small group of invited people is also a much more ideal environment for generating open and honest conversation. There is plenty of research out there on this to suggest why the small group environment is more effective than a large crowd. But in the end if people will come to a large crowd environment and hear about Jesus, the praise be to God.