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Getting started in Revival meetings as a full-time Evangelist was not easy! First of all, when I graduated from Tennessee Temple Bible school in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in early May of 1963, no one knew me except the students with whom I had attended classes for the previous four years. (Due to financial difficulties, it took me four years to obtain a "three year" Graduate of Theology diploma, known as a Th.G. At least, I did finish all the required courses of study and graduated! My parents were unbelievably proud of me. I was the first of five children to actually graduate from something other than High School) If Pastors don't know "who" you are and something good (or great) about you, they can't or won't invite you for a Revival meeting! It's like a "catch 22" situation. They can't invite you if they don't know "who" you are, but they can't get to really know you unless they have you for a meeting! Under those circumstances, "East" will never meet the "West", unless God intervenes. Praise the Lord! Therein lies the answer to the question, "How can a true, God-called Evangelist ever get Revival meetings?" The answer is, "He must get God to "intervene!" The solution to the problem is persistent, prevailing, brokenhearted "Prayer!" Look to God, not to men! After all, it is "His" ministry and you are his servant. Yes, you can try to "open" Doors for meetings yourself. You can labor hard to meet as many Pastors as you possibly can by attending conferences. You can have business cards and brochures printed and pas them out like tracts. You can even boldly ask some of your old friends, now Pastoring, to have you for a meeting. But after a while, you will run out of friends and others will start dodging you! (Normally, Pastors don't like "pushy" Evangelists) Usually none of the above things ever really work, except for short term at best. In my little introverted heart of hearts, I was determined, by the grace of God, that I was NOT going to be one of those Evangelists who "worked-up) meetings, or was constantly "begging" Pastors for them. If there was going to be any "begging", it would be with God in prayer, not with men! Only one time did I ever break that private commitment of my heart while trying to get started. I really didn't want to do it, but felt constrained to allow it because of the person requesting it. As expected, it was a waste of time, effort and money. However, the Lord did use it to convict my heart that unless everything is genuinely "God-led", instead of just some kindness of friends, it is usually worthless. My Pastor and friend, Dr. Lee Roberson, known around the world, asked me to write a resume so he could mail it with a letter of recommendation of me to Pastors from him. I felt compelled to honor this request. I just couldn't tell my Pastor, "No, thank you." He had offered to do it out of genuine love and kindness of his heart. So, we mailed out one hundred (100) of these letters to Pastors he knew and recommended. Within two or three weeks we did receive two letters in response to those we mailed. To be honest, I was surprised to get even one reply and felt a small degree of "hope" well up inside of me. (Even one meeting would make the cost and effort worthwhile!) With a small degree of hope and anticipation, Betty and I opened one letter each. The first letter was from a Pastor thanking us for informing him of our entrance into the field of full-time Evangelism. He said he would be praying for us. (He never has invited us for a Revival meeting in all these years!) The second letter was from a Pastor informing us that he was resigning his Church to enter the field of full-time Evangelism, and wanted "us" to recommend "him" to other Pastors for meetings! Betty and I looked at each other and started laughing. So much for trying to open your own "doors" for meetings. That was the first, last and only time we ever did anything like that! We decided once again, to just pray and trust the Lord to open "doors" for us. From that day to this, we NEVER asked anyone for a meeting in over forty-one years as a full-time Evangelist. He's A What? Secondly, while many of my classmates were going to be Pastors, what they did and did not know about me during those years together in College created another problem. What they did know was "who" I was. I had been very visible while at Temple, because I played on the College basketball team all four years. However, I was only an average player, not a "star." I was (despite the fact) one of only six players at Tennessee Temple to first be given a basketball scholarship during our last year on the team and as a student.We six were the "test" group for the "Basketball scholarship" program that continues to this day. My future wife, Betty Lenice Anderson, was one of the College cheerleaders, and the most popular. In my opinion (and many others), she was also the prettiest! Not only that, she was the most enjoyable, out-going person I had ever met. While I, on the other hand, was a classic "introvert." People terrified me for the most part, so I did very little talking. Betty was (and still is) a joy to be around. Everyone loves Betty! Over a year later, when we finally did start dating, I found it easy to talk to her about anything. She also had the most beautiful and captivating, dark brown eyes I had ever seen. They were so dark brown, they looked "black!" As a result, I could not take my eyes off her! Today, Betty often speaks to "hundreds" of ladies at various "Feminars" around the country. She regularly tells these women that I married her for her "eyes." she then adds in her humorous way, "It's a good thing that Darrell was an "eye" person. It's the only thing about me that hasn't changed in the forty years we've been married!" What most of the students at Temple did not know about me was that God had called me to "preach" a year after I was saved, when I was only fourteen years old. With the help of my Pastor, Claude McDonald, of the Sooner Baptist Church in Midwest City, Oklahoma, by the time I was fifteen, I had preached in missions, small churches, youth conferences, and in my own church, to crowds of people sometimes numbering over a "thousand!" I held my first, week long Revival meeting in a tent when I was eighteen, just after graduating from Midwest City High School the last of May, 1959. A few weeks later, after enrolling and being accepted at Tennessee Temple Bible School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, I started by attending the second semester of summer school in July of 1959. I naturally took every opportunity to "preach" I could. For the last three years at Temple, I held regular Sunday morning and evening church services at the Juvenile Detention Center in Chattanooga. Both teenage boys and girls were invited to attend and most of them came just to get out of their cells. Praise the Lord, we several saved in every service! However, I did not "broadcast" that fact to everyone at school. Being an introvert, blowing my own "trumpet" never even entered my mind. It was enough for me that the Lord knew what I was doing! Later, when I announced my intentions and started into full-time Evangelism, most of my friends and fellow students were surprised or shocked at the news. The word spread, "Darrell Dunn's going to be a what?" A few "laughed", while others talked about what a terrible Evangelist I would make, because I talked so little. So much for future contacts and revival meetings! (It was years later, after I became a well-known Evangelist, in demand by other Pastors, before even one of the men I had been in school with finally invited me for a meeting!) Dr. Bill Rice/Evangelist The Lord was merciful and gracious to this unworthy son and unprofitable servant of His. In the spring of 1965, I met Dr. Bill Rice through his son, Pete, who had come to Temple to prepare for the ministry. One day Pete asked me if I knew his Dad? When I told himthat I didn't, he said, "That's all right, I have been telling my Dad about your wanting to be an Evangelist and he said he would like to meet you." Pete arranged for us to meet, and we liked each other instantly. Dr Bill (as he was affectionately known) took me under his wing and invited me to come to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where Betty and our first child, Debra, lived on the Bill Rice Ranch for two and a half years. It was the home of the leargest Deaf Ministry in the world. Plus, "Hearing" teenagers (as we called all others) also came at different weeks in the summer from churches all over America, numbering in the "thousands." I did general ranch work as a "Cowboy" While he taught me everything he could about being an Evangelist. We spent hours every week, much of the year, breaking horses, talking as we rode miles of trails together while training new horses for young people to ride during summer camp. He had also promised to get me some Revival meetings to help me get started. Dr. Bill kept that promise. He literally stuck his neck out in his recommendations to Pastors encourging them to have me for meetings. This is how I got most of my first, full week meetings as an Evangelist, and several others over the next few years. Dr. Bill Rice was not only a friend, he was like a second "Daddy" to me. Without question, he will also receive "part-reward" in all that the Lord has done through me as an Evangelist. Everything I knew about being an Evangelist in the beginning he taught me.When God first "Filled" me with the Holy Spirit, eight months after leaving the Ranch and moving back to Chattanooga, we wept together and rejoiced in the goodness and mercy of God to me. Thank God for the love, help and example of Dr. Bill Rice! If you are an Evangelist getting started, (a young or new Pastor, missionary or preacher of any kind) find a Godly, spiritual man to help teach and train you for the ministry. Learn from and follow the example of men like this that obviously have (or have had) the "Hand and Power" of God upon them. Whether in person or from their writings, let them help and guide you. You will be glad you did! Pembroke, North Carolina My first Revival meeting as a full-time Evangelist came as a result of Dr. Bill's kind recommendation. I was invited to preach in the First Baptist Church of Pembroke, North Carolina, in the spring of 1966. For the first three years of getting started, prior to this week, I had preached a few complete Sundays, and a lot of individual services. But, this would e my first, full week of meetings. It was an eight-day meeting, Sunday through Sunday. Boy, was I excited and thrilled. Little did I know what awaited me! I hitched a ride with another Evangelist friend of mine and his wife (who had plenty of meetings), who were going home for a visit with his parens in a small town not far from Pembroke. They dropped me off at the bus station in Pembroke. I phoned the Churh and was told the Pastor was out of town, but that he would return later that evening. I was to be picked-up and cared for by the youth director who also led the music for all the services. We visited together and had a good supper while we got to know each other. The Pastor finally came by the house to meet me following the meal. While we talked, the Pastor looked me in the eye and offered me a cigarette. I just looked at him. Finally I said, "No thank you, I don't smoke." I'll be honest; they intimidated and even scared me a little. Mostly, I got sick inside, suddenly realizing that this was not going to be an easy or enjoyable week! The pressure to "compromise" was begun by them that night, even before the services had started, and continued throughout the week. This was a small beginning of what I would learn to be various types of "Spiritual Warfare." After a few minutes of "fellowship" (This is fellowship?), the Pastor took me to the house where I would be staying for the next week. It was the home of an older Indian couple. The majority of the town's population was of American Indian descent. That didn't bother me since I had grown up in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and had known many Indians as a boy. My older brother, Bruce married a chieftains daughter of the Wyandotte Tribe in Oklahoma. Pat is a fine lady and they have wonderful kids. My home for the week was small, simple and clean. The wife was saved, but the husband was lost. She was glad I was there, he wasn't! Mercifully, it was now late and they were headed to bed. So, they showed me to the room where I would be staying and left me alone. I was very grateful they had, for by now I was having trouble holding back the tears that had tried to start deep inside of me, when I was offered the "smokes" earlier. To give the man and woman time to fall asleep, I placed my luggage in two different places on the floor, opened them both, hung up my two suits, and put a few things in drawers provided for me in the room. Slowly and quietly, I prepared and got ready for bed. Finally, assured they were now asleep, I reached into one of the suitcases and pulled out my Bible and the only other book I had brought with me. It was a sermon booklet written by Dr. John R. Rice, and the older, half-brother to Dr. Bill Rice. It was entitled, "The Price of Revival" Dr. Bill said it would help me to know better how to pray for Revival while in my meetings. He had carried it with him in his meetings when he was first getting started. His very words to me were, "Darrell, you don't work-up Revival, you "Pray" it down! This booklet will help you pray right." He was right! That night I was glad I had it! I knelt beside the bed on one of the bed pillows because of the hard floor and to muffle the "squeaking" the old house made when I walked around the room. (A couple of years before this, when working on the Bill Rice Ranch, I had been kicked by a horse while moving a herd of horses from one pastur to another. Since that painful experience, I have decided that it was better to agonize in my "heart", instead of being in agony from a sore knee! I learned a "soft" pillow would help keep my mind and heart on what I was doing and saying in prayer. So, I have used a "prayer pillow" these many years.) Instantly, i broke into muffled sobs and tears. I wept for some time, pouring out my heart (and fears) to the Lord. After a while, I opened and read the entire booklet, devouring each and every word. I then prayed more intelligently and fervently for Revival, for myself, and for the courage to preach and do what was right. I re-read the booklet again and then spent most of the night praying and waiting for the Lord. This became my nightly habit that week, and for many years of my ministry that followed. (Several years later, after picking me up at the airport and taking me to the motel where I would be staying, a Pastor I had never been with as yet asked me a strange question. The First Baptist Church was filled with problems, Twenty years before I got there, the Church had a terrible fight. Many people left and those that remained were severely divided and antagonistic towarsd each other. The fight began during the building of the present auditorium. It had to do with the shape and design of the new church windows. Half of the people wanted "squared" windows at the top, and the others wanted windows that were "oval-shaped" at the top. Now, twenty years later, they were still angry about it! They had settled on windows that were neither squared nor Oval. But, the congregation was still divided. The "ovals" sat on one side of the auditorium, and the "squares" sat on the other! I was told that if an "oval" person saw a "square" person walking towards them on a street in town, they would cros to the other side of the street to keep from having to pass them! It was so bad (I was told) if a "square" saw an "oval" on fire, they wouldn't even "spit" on them to put them out! Talk about trouble! The Lord had let m,e right into it! Lessons I Learned This being my frist Revival meeting, there were many things I needed to learn, spiritual and practical. The eternally important necessity of persistant, prevailing, broken-hearted, prayer and the desperate need of the power of God "Upon" me through the "Filling" of the Spirit were two of the most important things I became acutely aware of that week. Time spent in the Word of God was where most of the encourgements of the Lord were received. I determined to spend more time reading my Bible, for fellowship with The Dear Lord Jesus, not just to get sermonds or to fill my head with Bible facts. Much time in the Word of God and in prayer became the "keystones" of my ministry during and after that first week. If nothing else has, both of these things have "increased" in time spent and in importance to this preacher over the years. On the practical side, a couple of simple things were decided because of difficult experiences during this first meeting. Of of these concerned of eating meals. Being tall and skinny most of my life, eating has never been a problem for me. When I was in High School, I used to eat five (5) footlong hot dogs and a large milk shake for lunch! There are very few things I don't like when it comes to food. When Betty and I first married, I stood six feet five inches tall and weighed 128 pounds soaking wet! I was so skinny Betty said I only had one "stripe" in my pajamas! (Over the years, things have changed! I am now 64 years old and weigh between 205-210 pounds!) Early Sunday morning, the lady of the house woke me with the announcement that breakfast would be ready in a few minutes. Not being a big fan of breakfast, I decided I would be courteous and accept their kindness and generosity. Sunday dinner was at the Pastor's house. Supper was at the home of another Chuch member. A late night sandwich was provided at the youth director's house. Plus, an hour of fellowship before and after each meal seemed to be expected, if not required. I was told, "We can't be discourteous! These fols have gone to a lot of trouble! They expect you to spend time talking with them! We can't just eat and run!" And so it continued, day after day. Breakfast at eight, lunch at noon, supper at five, Church at seven, snack at ten, home after midnight! Misery daily came at nine, one, six and eleven! Exhaustion at night! All this food and fellowship was "Killing" me! On Thursday a blessed thing happend to me, I got sick! For two and a half days I couldn't eat! It was wonderful! I had an excuse "Not" to eat, and to stay home and pray! I still preached every service at night, though I eagerly took the daytime for the Lord and myself, Truthfully, it wasn't the eating that made me sick, even though I ate some things I had never heard of before or since. What made me sick? Coffee! From the time I was a little boy, I never liked the smell or taste of coffee. I never could understand why people liked it. I finally learned that most people had to "acquire" a taste for it. That simply means they "forced" themselves to drink it until they liked it! (I understand the same is true of most alcoholic beverages.) The problem was that four times a day, for several days now, I was constantly being offered a cup of coffee. So, I finally gave in and accepted their hospitality, and the coffee, that I didn't like in the first place! I must have forced down at least eight to ten cups of coffee (heavy with milk and sugar) from lunch on Tuesday through the late snack on Wednesday night. I did notice that I wasn't as sleepy those nights, which I didn't mind, since I spent much of the night quietly crying and praying for Revival, wisdom and courage. Also, I was aware that I seeemed more nervous than usual, even shaking and trembling when I closed the message on Wednesday night. So, I wasn't too surprised when I woke-up sick Thursday morning. I thought I had picked-up a "bug" of some sort. And, even though I was sick until Saturday for supper, I enjoyed the freedom and extra time in the Word of God and prayer, and for re-reading the little booklet, "The Price of Revival." (A few weeks later, in my second Revival meeting, I tried to drink coffee again to please people, with the very same result, I got sick! That is when I realized, with the help of a doctor in the Church, that it was the "caffeine" bothering my system. From that day until present, I have been able to graciously "turn down" the offer of coffee, because it makes me sick!) The Other practical lesson I learned was to eat more sensibly. Since that first week, I have eaten my major meal in the middle of the day, (no breakfast), and not eat again until after the service for a sandwich style snack or an occasional late night breakfast. This is the way most Christians eat on any given Sunday. For me, for more then forty-one years, almost every day is Sunday, because of nightly Revival service! There is one other practical lesson I learned that first week. With rare exceptions, such as staying with a dear Pastor friend, I never stay in people's homes any longer! I am a very private person and limited in the amount of time I can give for "fellowship." It is even limited with the Pastors I am with in meetings. However, I always give them first consideration, after the Lord. The amount of time I daily give for Bible reading and prayer has dramatically increased over the years and takes up most of my time. Plus, I have found it increasingly more difficult, if not impossible to be "quiet" when I pray, especially late at night! I have often awakened and even worried others in the house when I "lose" myself in brokenhearted, persistent, prevailing prayer or praise. For these reasons, which my true friends understand, I either stay in a motel or in our motor home. The Battle Between Right and Wrong God in His mercy saw our tears and heard our prayers! It took most of the week wrestling with the Lord in prayer, resisting the temptation to look the other way bout "sin", and to receive the "courage" to do what is right. But the decision was finally made after midnight, early Saturday morning, near the end of the meeting. By the grace of God and the help of the blessed Holy Spirit, I would never ever "compromise" what the scriptures said and taught! I would never, ever "compromise" about sin! No matter who was guilty, whom it might offend, or what it might cost me, I would "call sin by name!" Like Moses, I would draw a line and demand that everyone get on God's side, or suffer the consequences of sin and judgment! I was going to preach against the "sin" of smoking! (And all other sins!) I would show them the "truth" of God's word, whether they liked it or not! I would expose it as the "wickedness" that all sin is before God! I would always prove it with the Word of God, not just with opinions, so there could be no doubt that sin is wicked disobedience to God and his Word! For this young Evangelist, it was a permanent, life-changing decision. And by the grace of God, we have never varied or turned from it! Nor have we ever regretted it! On Saturday night, I preached on the "Gates of Hell." In the message I exposed many sins of this old wicked world. Sin has such a stranglehold on people that it will enslave and drag their lost souls to Hell; or as Christians, it will discourage, defeat or cripple them, thus ruining their testimonies and wasting their lives. The "sin of smoking" for Christians, causes them to become "stumbling blocks" to saved and unsaved alike. Plus, "defiling" of their bodies, the Temple of the Holy Spirit for Christians, could cause God to destroy them! These and many other Bible facts were proven beyond any shadow of a doubt. Great conviction of sin seemed to fill the auditorium! Large numbers of Christian men, women, and young people came to the alter to confess and forsake sins of all kinds, especially the sin of "smoking." The Pastor got mad, but the youth director got right with God, and me! With tears, he asked me to forgive him for wickedly offering me a cigar. We did so gladly and then prayed together, thanking God for showing him the truth. Smoking is a "sin" against God, others, and your own body! It is not just a problem! Gad hates sin! He cannot overlook it! Either he will "forgive it", or "judge it!" you decide which He will do by confessing and forsaking sin, or by rebelling against His Word and clear-cut commands! Sunday, the final day of the week of Revival meetings. was even more glorious that we could have hoped or expected. There was evidence of a new life and new spirit in the morning service. The prescience of God and the Holy Spirit was very real. People were still talking about the Saturday night message and service. More decisions were made like those of Saturday night. However, Sunday night was the highlight! We preached a simple message on being saved, and there were thirty-nine (39) people saved in that one service! Talk About Ignorance! Keep in mind that this was my first Revival meeting as a full-time Evangelist. However, I was really "green" as far as experience was concerned. Today, country folks would probably call it, "young and dumb!" As the invitation began at the close of the message, I asked for anyone who would like to be saved and know it, to raise their hand. To my surprise and amazement, many hands were raised all over the auditorium. There were so many I concluded in my little mind, "Bless their hearts, they didn't understand what I said." So, I asked them all to lower their hands and listen very carefully. After slowly and more carefully explaining that if anyone knew he or she was "Lost" and on their way to Hell, but wanted to be saved and have eternal life in Heaven instead, with heads bowed and eyes closed, please hold up your hand. Instantly, the same hands, maybe more, were raised high in the air! I couldn't believe it! "There couldn't be that many people in one service that would ever get saved," I reasoned to myself. "They still don't understand what I'm saying." Once more I went through the explanation and watched as many heads nodded, indicating they understood what I was saying. Several others wiped away tears as they listened. In a final effort to eliminate anyone that might not understand or really mean business, I stated, "Now, if you really want to be saved tonight and you know it, STAND UP!" To my utter amazement, a best as I could determine, every person whose hand had been raised earlier, quickly stood up, many now openly crying! Completely overcome by that scene, with tears of my own, I said, "Well, if you really do want to be saved, come on down here to the front!" To the remaining crowd of folks still in the pews, I called out; "We're going to need all the help we can get to lead these people to the Lord. If you know how to take your Bible and show someone "how" to be saved, come to the front and stand here with these that want to be saved." Not one person moved! I asked again for help. Still, no one came! I turned to the Pastor on the platform behind me and said, "OK, Pastor, get your Bible and we will take all of these people into the back room and show them how to be saved, one at a time." To my surprise and shock, the Pastor said loud enough for the whole room to hear, "I don't know how to do that!" I turned and looked at him in unbelief. Finally, a man standing near the back of the auditorium, sheepishly raised his hand to get my attention and said "Brother Dunn, I'm a visitor, a missionary on furlough. I didn't want to interfere, but I do know how to take my Bible and show someone how to be saved and know it. If you need help, I would be glad to give it." I gladly and thankfully accepted his offer of help. Quickly, but calmly, I instructed all that had come forward wanting to be saved to go into the large fellowship hall directly behind the platform. I also enlisted the help of several men to place metal folding chairs along the walls on both sides of the room. We then directed everyone to take a seat and wait quietly until we could deal with each person, one at a time. The "quietly" almost instantly became muffled chorus of tears. The Holy Spirit was still working and in complete control of each and every heart, in spite of the disturbing revelations by the Pastor and youth director. I then placed three chairs side by side in the middle of one end of the room. I instructed the missionary what to do in leading people to Christ (just to be sure he really knew how) And told him to sit on one of the end chairs. I told the youth director to sit on the other end chair and to place a person who came to be saved in the middle chair. In this way, the youth director, not only helped the missionary by bringing the next one waiting to be saved to the middle chair, but he could also hear every word the missionary spoke and learn how to lead people to Christ. I then did he same for our end of the room, enlisting the help of the Pastor to bring them one by one so I could lead them individually to Christ. The work of leading them all to Christ was slow, but glorious! One at a time, I took my Bible and showed them how to be saved. We three would then keel beside those same metal chairs and I would lead them or her in a "sinner's" prayer. After being saved, I would then give them scripture verses on assurance of their salvation. I led twenty-six or twenty-eight souls to Christ that night out of the thirty-nine that got saved. The missionary (and the youth director) led the others to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. What a wonderful night and glorious experience! It is a week that I clearly remember to this day. I look forward to meeting them all in Heaven one day. I don't know if the Pastor ever led anyone else to Christ after that night, but he did at least listen again and again as we led many to Christ. Whether or not he learned (or even wanted to learn) is between him and the Lord. At least I won't have to answer to God for him. He heard the truth! I do know the youth director wanted to learn how to win souls to Christ, and trust that he has since led many others to Christ. God did a genuine work in his heart that week! Later that same evening, several people went with me to the train station to see us off on our journey home to Chattanooga. The Pastor was not among them. However, the youth director, with tears coursing down his cheeks, hugged my neck, thanked me for coming and stated, "You'll never know until we get to Heaven what this week has meant to me. I'll never be the same, thanks to you. Thank God, He sent you here!" Many others had kind things to say, as well. It was a wonderful week and blessed experience! Just being honest, It was a life changing week for a young Evangelist, as well. And, it was just the beginning. Yours for Revival
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