The street corner evangelist has always been a peculiar character. He
was bold and, seemingly, anti-social. He lacked polish and decent
manners, but was passionate and wild-eyed—creating discussion around
subjects that would guarantee the disruption of a polite dinner
conversation. He didn’t seem to care what people thought about him.
John Wesley was one such character. He had bricks, eggs, and rotten
vegetables thrown at him with regularity by haters and hecklers as he
preached the gospel on street corners and in city centers. He and his
brother Charles founded the Methodist movement in England and exported
it to America, but they were constantly at odds with one another,
cutting short their endeavor as American missionaries. Despite their
rocky ministry relationship, their influence left a legacy. In the
nineteenth century, the Methodist church was the largest Protestant
denomination in America.
Preacher John Cennick, a man influenced by the Wesleys’ ministry, was
antagonized with gross brutality as he preached at a rally in Swindon,
England in 1741. Catapults were filled with raw sewage and muskets were
fired over his head. When one family opened their home to Cennick as
refuge, an effigy of the preacher was burned in front of the house,
while rocks smashed through the windows. But John Cennick went on to
write and publish hymns that have been sung by multitudes of believers
over the past couple of centuries.
Charles Spurgeon made earnest appeals to massive crowds, urging them
to repent and turn to Jesus. In London, he was targeted with intense
slander and scorn. His health was poor; he was afflicted with gout. He
experienced intense anxiety, bearing the weight of many souls. During
one event where twenty thousand people were present, a brigand shouted,
“Fire!” Seven people were trampled to death and twenty-eight were
hospitalized in the panic that ensued.
Spurgeon is remembered for his commitment to sound doctrine and
theology through a particularly tumultuous period in the late 1800’s
when false doctrine, skepticism, weak theology, and atheism were all
becoming entrenched in Western culture. His life and body of work
continues to influence young preachers and church planters who have a
passion for preaching Christ, the purity of the gospel, and the urgency
of living a repentant and humble life before a watching world.
Over the last century, preaching and evangelism evolved from the
street corner to massive stadium venues where people gather around
massive sound systems and giant high definition monitors. The endless
visibility that modern technology provides has produced a crop of media
savvy men with polished, high-impact presentations. Stadium evangelism
is an industry. It was pioneered by baseball player Billy Sunday in the
early part of the twentieth century and perfected by Billy Graham
throughout the rest of the twentieth century.
Early in his ministry, Graham had an associate, Charles Templeton,
who partnered with him at evangelistic rallies around the country.
Despite success and an incredible ability to influence people,
Templeton, plagued with doubts and questions, grew skeptical and had a
crisis of faith. Unanswered questions left him in a vacuum of doubt so
great that he would no longer preach a Bible he couldn’t believe. This
shook Graham to the core. He couldn’t answer Templeton’s questions and
couldn’t persuade him to come back to the faith. Yet, even as he
wrestled with tremendous doubt in those early years, it is widely
believed that Graham has preached to more souls around the world than
anyone in human history.
The influence of Billy Graham’s ministry produced a pack of Baby
Boomer preachers who have become household names. Luis Palau, Greg
Laurie, and Billy Graham’s son and successor, Franklin, have filled
stadiums around the world for decades. Now, there’s a crop of young,
hip, upstart preachers that we’ll be hearing from in years to come. Levi
Lusko and Carl Lentz are well on their way to becoming household names,
should they hold true to the course. Their stories are yet to be
written.
And then there is Nick Vujicic who is, by far, the most fascinating
young preacher filling stadiums and mega venues right now. Vujicic was
born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare congenital condition. Growing
up, the only thing he ever wanted was to be like the other kids, but
bullies relentlessly targeted Nick. Loneliness, depression, and suicidal
thoughts plagued him until he came to terms with his disability. At the
age of seventeen, he founded the non-profit organization, Life Without
Limbs.
Vujicic has a body pre-made for victimization, yet he uses it as a
platform to bring his anti-bullying and suicide prevention message to
students around the world. He knows firsthand how cruel the world can
be, but Nick remains convinced and drives home the message that all
people are fueled by a deep need for Jesus, even if they don’t know it
yet. This is what compels him to carry Christ’s message of hope,
forgiveness, and mercy to anyone who will listen.
Vujicic’s delivery of the gospel is absolutely one-of-a-kind. His
online presence is viral on every social media platform. He’s appeared
on the Oprah Winfrey Show and was recently the subject of the TV special
Born Without Limbs, which aired on The Learning Channel earlier this year.
Nick Vujicic stands on the shoulders of the imperfect men who went
before him. Their struggles were real, their heritage rich, and their
accomplishments covered with the fingerprints of God. As diverse as this
group of ancient and modern day preachers is, they share one common
bond: they all bet their very lives on the most binding and timeless
miracle in world history—the saving truth of the gospel.
This article originally appears in The Good News of South Florida under the title Nick Vujicic Draws Crowds like Great Evangelists Before Him