Billy Sunday The Man and His Message

by William T. Ellis

"You cannot fool a great body of students. They get a man's measure. If he is genuine, they know it, and if he is not, they quickly find it out. Their devotion to Mr. Sunday is very significant."
This man, who meets life on all levels, and proves that the gospel message is for no one particular class, is a dis- tinctively American type. Somebody has said that the circus is the most democratic of American institutions: it brings all sorts and conditions of people together on a common plane and for a common purpose. The Sunday evangelistic meetings are more democratic than a circus. They are a singular exhibit of American life perhaps the most dis- tinctive gathering to be found in our land today. His appeal is to the great mass of the people. The housekeepers who seldom venture away from their homes, the mechanics who do not go to church, the "men about town" who profess a cynical disdain for religion, the "down and outs," the millionaires, the society women, the business and pro- fessional men, the young fellows who feel "too big" to go to Sunday school all these, and scores of other types, may be found night after night in the barn-like wooden tabernacles which are always erected for the Sunday meet- ings. Our common American life seems to meet and merge in this base-ball evangelist, who once erected tents for another evangelist, and now has to have special auditoriums built to hold his own crowds; and who has risen from a log cabin to a place of national power and honor. Nowhere else but in America could one find such an unconventional figure as Billy Sunday.

Genres: Biography, Christian

381 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1914

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s been a long time since I read anything about Billy Sunday or the sort of preacher he was. This was a great book that showed his unique approach to evangelism, and a bit about his strong character. It also includes excerpts from his sermons so you can get to know some about him in his own words.

My favorite thing was learning about how he insisted on the town being literally covered in prayer by the local Christians before he came to town. What a way to be sure people were ready to hear the Word...plus it was great to see how seriously some took that request, with thousands having daily prayer for weeks and months!

[Ryan Rindels · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure exactly how I feel about the late nineteenth and 20th century evangelist Sunday. Clearly, one must appreciate and be knowledgeable of Sunday's impact: namely, Billy Graham. The terms and approaches to a person coming to salvation are so commonplace today that we take them for granted --and to Sunday these should be attributed: "accept Christ" etc. Of course, the emotional appeal and persuasion-centered approaches of revivals are dubious. Sunday's moralism, namely, his scathing language and battles against alcohol seem to delve into a realm outside the gospel. the fact that in the index, his most famous sermon was that on "booze". I'm always careful however, to judge those of another generation by my standards and worldview. Sunday's influences on temperance and the evangelical aversion to alcohol is seen even in my own upbringing. I take for granted the positive impact it had --even if i wouldn't use the pulpit as a platform for prohibition.

[Andy]

0422

[Sharon Connell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting background on this great preacher.

[Nathanael · Rating 5 out of 5]

As of 12-31-20 still have about 40 pages left, but plan to finish in the next day or two and wanted it to be added to my 2020 List. Actually finished reading the book on 1-2-21. Grew up hearing about "Billy" Sunday the evangelist here and there, but never read a book about him. "Billy" Sunday was essentially a professional baseball player turned super zealous Christian evangelist. It was fascinating to read of how candid, down to earth and non-nonsense he was in his delivery of sermons. It was also amazing to hear of the hundreds of thousands if not millions of converts he saw God make throughout his years of evangelistic campaigns. Whole cities like Scranton, Pittsburgh and other cities were literally transformed by the power of the Gospel message Sunday preached. Gamblers, saloon owners and drunkards converted to Christ and became evangelists in their own circles of employment. Poker clubs turned into Bible studies, saloons and clubs went out of business and entire jails and poor houses decreased in population in the cities he held major evangelistic campaigns. One quote that really made in impression on me, and this is more of a paraphrase probably, but Sunday said, "politicians work harder for one vote than the church does to lead one person to Christ." This and many other parts of this book were convicting to personally be more evangelistic in my own personal Christian life. Highly recommend this book to everyone.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic 1918 book about the WWI US Evangelist. And BY him too!

[Dan Knoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Good

Very Good! An invaluable aid to understanding the movement of the Word of God. I would recommend this book to anyone that is interested.