CHAPTER XII.

AS AN EVANGELIST.

Mention has been made in a preceding chapter of the fact that Dr. Walker has been very successful in the field of evangelistic work. In speaking of his work as an evangelist, let it be understood at the outset that the only limitation that has been put upon his efforts in evangelism has been due to the fact that all along he has been a stated pastor and has only given such time to evangelistic campaigns as he could spare from an unusually busy pastorate. Yet even with this limitation he has been very successful in evangelistic work, though he has not been able, for the reason stated, to accept scores of invitations from great cities to serve the Lord by conducting revival services.

He has the calling, the spirit, the gift, the courage, the directness, the sympathy, the faith, the fervor, and the flexibility of the true evangelist. What gives him his greatest preaching power is the enthusiastic warmth and impulsiveness of his speech both in matter and manner. Another thing that adds to the attractiveness of his meetings is the singing. Unlike most of the world’s greatest preachers, he is a great singer. It has been often said of him that he can out-preach any man, and then, without stopping, put in and out-sing any man. It is beyond the power of man to describe an audience of four or five thousand colored people engaged in a service of song. In addition to the Gospel Hymns and Revival Songs, the colored people always use the old time Negro Spirituals, sometimes called Plantation Songs, and in the rendition of these last the colored people are inimitable. With Dr. Walker leading the singing in stentorian notes and the multitude joining in, its worth a day’s journey of any man’s life to witness the sight. To be understood, to be appreciated, it must be seen and heard.

At sometime or other, during the past twenty years, revival services have been held by Dr. Walker in every important city in Georgia without exception. It will be unnecessary to speak of each meeting. The first “big meetings” that gave him anything like a national standing as a recognized leading revivalist were held in Kansas City, Mo. The papers gave large space daily to the accounts of his meetings. This was in 1892, soon after his return from the Holy Land. During the progress of these meetings, invitations came to him to go to St. Louis, San Francisco, and Chicago to continue the good work. As much as he desired to do so, he was compelled to return to his church at Augusta, after five weeks of hard work, in which many hundreds were saved. In 1894, Dr. Walker was invited to New York City to take part in the great religious campaign inaugurated there during that year. The meetings were held during March and April. He remained for three weeks. He spoke at the Antioch Baptist Church, 352 W. 35th Street; St. Mark’s M. E. Church, 139 W. 48th Street; Niblo’s Garden, Broadway, near Prince Street; the Academy of Music, Metropolitan Hall, near Macy’s, and at other points under assignment of the Metropolitan Association. He was associated with such men as the Rev. A. C. Dixon, the Rev. Ernest Lyon, the Rev. Granville Hunt, Mr. Arthur Crane, Leonard Weaver, Mr. Theodore Bjorksten, Mr. and Mrs. George C. Stebbins, the Rev. D. J. Burrell, and others. The following is taken from the New York Tribune concerning those meetings:

“The most unique figure in the present evangelistic campaign is, without a doubt, the Rev. Dr. Walker, of Georgia, who is better known as the ‘Black Spurgeon.’ This preacher has been working principally among the members of his own race in the course of his stay in New York, and has made many converts of the attendants at the meetings in Antioch Baptist Church and in St. Mark’s M. E. Church. Dr. Walker is a man who would attract attention anywhere. He has strong features and his voice, although deep, has a remarkably winning intonation. His manner is eloquent, and in preaching Christ he follows closely the life of the Master, and illustrates his remarks by vivid descriptive phrases.”

The column from which this is taken is headed “The Black Spurgeon’s Work--Many Negroes Uplifted by His Eloquent Words--Part Which Dr. Walker is Taking in the Evangelical Services--His Attractive Personality.”

The New York Sun said:

“‘The Black Spurgeon’ met with great success in his work in this city. He is a large and powerful man, with a deep voice, but what gives him his greatest preaching power is the earnestness he displays in matter and manner. Dr. Walker aroused a religious feeling which is finding expression in daily meetings. In St. Mark’s, three meetings are held each day. The special aim of the revival has been to bring the young into the church, and to reclaim backsliders.”

The New York Times, the New York Press, the New York Independent and other papers spoke of the “Black Spurgeon” and his work in New York at this time.

The following account of one of the Metropolitan noon-day meetings is taken from Sabbath Reading, a religious paper:

“‘Showers of Blessing,’ was the opening hymn at a Metropolitan meeting a few days ago; and the reports of this and other meetings indicate that showers of blessing have indeed been falling. After several hymns had been sung, the Rev. Mr. Hunt led in prayer; Mr. Spencer sang touchingly the hymn, ‘My Son, Give Me Thine Heart.’ Mr. Arthur Crane then spoke a short while. Miss Anna Parks rendered a solo on a cornet, ‘When the Sea Gives up its Dead.’ Dr. Walker, of Augusta, Ga., who is called the ‘Black Spurgeon,’ was introduced. He spoke in a voice tremulous with emotion and enthusiasm, and the audience gave him their close attention, that not a word might be lost. Opening the Bible, he read the first seven verses from Luke 5. ‘There are four things to learn from this lesson,’ he said; ‘first, failure; second, faith; third, fullness; fourth, fellowship. These disciples had had a night of fruitless toil. Jesus was not with them. They were fishermen and were plying their usual vocation on the lake, but they hadn’t met with success. That was failure. In the morning, Jesus came along with a great crowd of people, and he asked Peter to lend him his ship for a pulpit, so that he might preach to the people. Peter did so, and to reward him for his courtesy, Jesus told him to launch out. Now, that seemed a foolish thing to do, because Peter and the others had been fishing all night, and hadn’t caught one fish, and Jesus knew it; but he wanted to teach them a lesson of faith and obedience, as well as to reward them. It’s just like Jesus. He always does reward us right away, and he is continually paying us for what we do. The disciples took Jesus at his word. That was faith. And you know the story, how they let down the nets and drew in so many that the nets broke. That was fullness. Jesus always honors faith, even when it is mixed with ignorance and superstition. Seeing their companions at a distance with their empty boat, the disciples called them to come and share the fish with them. That was fellowship. The Lord intends that each of us shall share our joys with others. While this mighty tidal wave of religion is sweeping over the country, this is a good time for you to come to God and bring your friends with you. Jesus blesses us so that we might bless others. As he is exemplified in our conduct, so shall we win souls. Are there none here to-day who wish this Christ to come into their souls to be their own, their personal Saviour?’ Several raised their hands for prayer, and the speaker said, ‘Thank God.’”

Since 1894, Dr. Walker has held successful meetings in Galveston, Texas; Houston, Texas; Kansas City, St. Louis, Boston, Philadelphia, Nashville, Louisville and Atlanta. The last great meeting in Atlanta was held in April, 1897. The meetings commenced in Friendship Baptist Church, W. Mitchell St., of which the Rev. E. R. Carter, D. D., is the pastor. The interest increased so rapidly, and the number that came was so large that the meetings had to be transferred to the auditorium in Exposition Park, which before that had been made famous by meetings held by Sam Jones, and later by D. L. Moody. He crowded the great hall, with a seating capacity of nearly 8,000 souls, from the start. There probably has never been just such a meeting on the American continent as the one held in Atlanta at that time. It was attended by the white people as well as by the black people. At more than one service there were more than a thousand whites present--some of them representing the wealth and culture and refinement of Atlanta. Ministers, lawyers, members of the city council, the mayor and his wife, the merchants and bankers--all came out to hear the “Black Spurgeon.” And the white people were just as eager, and some of them just as emotional in their worship as were the colored people. Many whites stood for prayer along with colored people; many were bathed in tears during the preaching; many of them testified for Jesus in the testimonial meetings; many were helped; some were saved. At the close of each meeting, the most prominent people would not think of leaving the building before shaking hands with the great preacher. Speaking of this meeting, the Atlanta Constitution said:

“The Negroes of Atlanta are stirred up over the wonderful religious revival that has been going on in the Friendship Baptist Church for the past two weeks. The success of the meeting has been unparalleled, and more religious enthusiasm has been aroused in the two weeks that the meetings have been running than has been felt in this city in years. The meetings are being conducted by the Rev. Charles T. Walker, ‘the colored Spurgeon.’ He is assisted by Rev. E. R. Carter, the regular pastor. Every night, thousands are turned away from the church on W. Mitchell St., and the building is always crowded with people long before the hour of service. Rev. Walker is proving as great a drawing card among the colored people as Sam Jones did among the whites. He attracts fully as large crowds and his preaching is drawing fully as many people into the church as Sam Jones’ meeting--if not more. Dr. Walker is pastor of the Tabernacle Baptist Church at Augusta, and is regarded as one of the leading colored preachers in the country. He attracts large crowds by his preaching wherever he goes, and his meetings are always attended by wonderful outbursts of religious enthusiasm.”

In 1899, Dr. Walker again held meetings in Kansas City. The following is taken from the Kansas City Star, April, 1899:

“Many a white man would be glad to have the eloquence, the command of language and the power of thought that Rev. Dr. C. T. Walker, the ‘Black Spurgeon,’ displayed in his sermon to a great crowd of colored people in the Second Baptist Church, Tenth and Campbell Sts., last night. He is one of the best colored speakers ever heard in Kansas City.

“The Rev. Walker’s home is in Augusta, Ga. He is so well thought of by the prominent people of his city that when the mayor died yesterday, he received several telegrams asking him to come and attend the funeral. He may return home to-day, but may decide to remain longer.

“Every seat in the large auditorium of the new colored church was occupied when he ascended the pulpit steps last night, and long rows of black faces looked down at him from the balcony.

“Dr. Walker is a man of perhaps forty or more. He is of medium size; although his face is as black as a stove pipe, he says he never drinks coffee because it is deleterious to the complexion. His features are prominent, he has a sharp mustache and a short head. His voice is not exceedingly strong, but clear and well modulated.

“His sermons are sententious and epigrammatic. They abound in original and striking observations, and his gestures, though not graceful, are spontaneous.

“‘Men talk a great deal of the perplexing problems that confront humanity to-day,’ he said. ‘But if men would put the Bible into practice, there will be no problems. That book is statesmanship as well as religion, and it not only teaches the fatherhood of God, but the universal brotherhood of man.’

“The subject of his sermon was ‘Christ the supreme object of worship.’ In referring to God’s plan of salvation, he said: ‘So many say they failed to understand the plan and sometimes wondered why the Almighty did not take man into his confidence just a little bit in arranging it. But it wouldn’t have done. In this day, when there are so many trusts and combines, salvation would have been bought up and cornered and monopolized until only the rich could get at it, if man had had anything to do with it. As some rhymester has said:

“‘If religion was a thing that money could buy, The rich would live and the poor would die.’”

“One of the characteristics of ‘the Black Spurgeon’s’ style is his fund of illustrative anecdotes. He used one of these to show that man cannot read the Bible without feeling instinctively that Christ was divine, relating a conversation supposed to have taken place between Napoleon and Gen. Bertrand on the Island of St. Helena. When the latter expressed his opinion that Christ was only a man, Napoleon stopped him, and said: ‘No, General Bertrand, I know men. But I never knew one like Christ. He had that in Him that no man ever had. He was divine. His army--soldiers of the cross--are now marching on through ages to victory. But who, general, think you, is marshalling any forces for me? In a year or two I shall die and be no more, and my name will be forgotten. But his name will live forever.’

“‘Col. Ingersoll and Gen. Lew Wallace were once taking a ride together,’ the speaker said, ‘when Wallace informed his companion that he intended to write a book tearing the mask from the face of Christ and showing Him to have been but human. Ingersoll told him that he was the very man to write such a book and commended the idea.’ ‘When Gen. Wallace prepared to write the book,’ said the preacher, ‘he first set about reading the New Testament carefully as a prerequisite. Before he had finished it, he convinced himself of his own error and wrote Ben Hur instead.’

“‘Over and over again,’ continued the speaker, ‘I have read of the Pharisee who, after recounting his virtues, thanked God that he was not like other men. And I have often wondered who this Pharisee was like. He was not like God, and he was not like the publican--he must have been like the devil.’

“Dr. Walker dealt sanctification a blow in declaring that such a thing as perfection was impossible to man. Man was intended to grow unceasingly into Christian strength.

“‘The Lord’s our judge,’ he said, ‘the Lord is our King; the Lord is our law-giver--the judicial, the executive and legislative combined in one.’

“But it is his pictures of the hereafter, of the hosts of saints marching up to glory, that the Black Spurgeon excels. Then it is that his voice is raised and his body sways back and forth as he adds stroke after stroke to the grand scene, and marshals phalanx after phalanx of moral heroes in Miltonic array, moving on with steady tread, glittering, triumphant, to the gates of heaven. In the course of a bit of description of this kind, near the close of his sermon, shouts went up from every quarter of the church and the audience was worked up to a high pitch of religious frenzy and exaltation.

“‘I hear the tread of the feet of the great host,’ he said, ‘tramp, tramp, tramp, they come. Like the angel whose wings John, in his vision saw released, they are not retarded by polar snows nor equatorial heat.’

“‘On they come--tramp, tramp, tramp, shoulder to shoulder, wheel to wheel, charger to charger; onward they march--company after company, cavalcade after cavalcade, thousands upon thousands and millions upon millions, marching, marching, marching, on through the ages and forever. The church of God is going home to Zion. Ah! friends many are waiting there for you! That mother that lies buried beneath the sod, that little son or daughter, that sister, that brother--they are waiting and calling for you. Be of good courage, they say. They are not far away; they see your struggles; they know your temptations.’

“Then when the emotion of the audience began to find vent in shouts, the speaker lowered his voice and shifted to another line of attack, gradually working upon the feelings of his hearers again until he was again compelled to let up.”

It is not necessary to prolong this chapter. The record of service done in the Master’s Vineyard by Dr. Walker is one to be proud of. He has led more than 8,000 persons to Christ, has baptized and received into the membership of the church more than 3,500, and has not missed preaching the glorious Gospel of the blessed Christ but four Sundays in twenty-four years--twice on account of sickness, and twice on account of being at sea.