The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1880-11-13
MAJOR PENN'S REVIVAL MEET.
INGS IN DALLAS,
Great Good AceOmplished--The Bap.
fist Church Difficulties

most interesting and successful revivals ever
inaugurated in Dallas, if not in the state,
and left for southern Texas yester lay morn
ing. 1t would be utterly impossible for us
to go into all the details sand give the public
the grand result attained.
AS has been very generally known through
out the state, the Baptist church in this
place has been experiencing great trouble,
occasioned by the objections of Rev. r. NJ.
Buckner to the reception of DR.. Link into
the church. resulting in split in the
churches.
Early in October, when Major Penn came
to Dallas upon the invitation of the Curry
Baptist church, and the pastors
of other denominations in Dallas,
and numerously signed petition
of the citizens, he opened his meetings in his
great tent After meeting with some success
he felt that the ptist difficulties were in the
way ofstill greater success, SO he inaugurated
the move looking to a reconciliation and set
Element of the difficulties between the two
parties claiming to be the First Bapt st
church. For awhile the prospects looked
fattering, to the great joy and delight of all
true lovers of christianity. The effort having
failed and Major Penn believ-
ing that the Curry church had
done all it could do in the premises, and WAS
not responsible for the failure to reconcile
matters-stated publicly-gving it as his
opinion that the Curry church WAS the First
Baptist church and the only white Baptist
church in Dallas. The propositions of both
sides were published in the HERALD about
that time.
The meetings continued to grow in interest
and warmth, the largest crowds attending
daily and nightly ever before known in any
religious gathering in Dallas. From fifty to
one hundred and fifty filled the enquirers
seats nightly, and as fast as professions were
made, Their places on these seats were filed
by other enquirers The meetings we're kept
up for five weeks, seeming never to fall
off in attenianc', but on tho contrary
seemed to increase in effect. When
the cold snowy and rainy
weather set in, the meetings had to close
at the tent, and it was taken down. 1t may
be said the last two meetings he'll there were
simply immense. On Wednesday Major
Penn ran up to Mckinney, and thai nignt
Rev. Mr.. Curry held services Mt the Baplst
church with quite a crowd present Six pro-
iessed religion al that meeting, Thursday
Major Penn having returned, he preached
that night to the largest crowd in the Bap
list church building ever before assembled
within its walls, aud, it may be said, the
most interes ting. Before leaving, Mr. Penn
still feeling unwilling to leave Dallas without
etfecting settlement of the Baptist Difficult.
ties, and the Curry church participating in
his feelings, determined to make another
effort looking to settlement, and they made
still another proposition which will be found
further on
10 to the close of the meetings there had
been about 1926 professions, several Of whom
were bScksliders OF this number of converts
eighty-seven have Joined Mr.. Curry 5 church,
besides some thirty or forty more who will Join
the same church. The balance will, with
some exceptions, Join the vari,u. denomina
tons in Dallas. A number will
also join the church in the
country. The Dallas Baptist church,
by no means weak one, despite the disatfec
ton that caused division before Major Penn
comilg, is now one of the strongest Baptist
churches in the state and its influence will
be ielt fer and wide. But it is sad to know
that tho difficulties have not yet been settled;
still there ought to DO some hope that re
union of the Baptists shall yet take place
The Curry wing of the church has made
another proposition to the other wing of the
church which reads ~ follows:
"Wher as, The effort recently made TO
reconcile and establish peace and brotherly
love among the Bqptists OF Dallas has proven
70 be failure, and
Whereas, This disaAection among us has
been productive of much evil in our deuov-
ination, and, il not healed must grow worse
aud worse, until tho peace and happiness of
many families, and far more than all, of
many churches, shall be entirely destroyed,
and many individual members ofour churches
shall b. completely paralyzod, and their in.
fuence for good destroyed, and
Whereas, If we know our own hearts Il is
our desire, our great desire, that peace hap.
piness and prosperity. and, above all, ~.
preme love to God, to our Savior and to the
Comforter, the Holy Spirit, and brother,y
love may and shall abound among us, for the
Lord Jesus Christs sake. And,
WherR S, Our beloved brother, Rev. J.
Is. Link ia the spirit Of Christ, and for His
sake, as we believe, has done a in his power
to remove every difficulty out of the way
by asking for and receiving y
letter of dismission fron us,
which we, as Baplsts, looking to the word Of
God and the tim).honored principles of our
denomination, do believe is all that we could
10 III his case, anu ueslIluG, Ms we D6UeVe
10 do all That the scriptures reason and the
peace our beloved Zion requires at our bands
TO settle these difficulties and remove them
out of the way; therefore,
Resolved, first, That we will sLill open the
door Of reconciliation and settlement US
widely as possible, and that we do hereby re
store TO fellowship in this church any and all
those from whom shA withdrew fellowship
January I, 1880, on their withdrawal of their
memorial and declaration and disfellowship,
and expressing desire for fellowship
with us, all OF which We will understand rs
fully done on their presenting themselves To
the church, or sending their names to the
clerk of thiS church for that purposes and
further, that to any and all of those thus re-
turning, aud wishing letters of dismission to
organic, another church in Dallas, the clerk
is hereby authorized to furnish such letters
Resolved second, That we do hereby
distinctly and positively deny that this
church ever deaied to any member "the right
of trial and investigation before the entire
church, especially when demanded by an in-
tsrested party" And further, that we do
hereby repeal, withdraw and take utterly out
Of the way. so far rs possible, the resolution
offered by w. A. Griffith, proposing c M
miltee not MS tribunal" to try any one
as some have baen led to think, but to, if
possible, settle differences existing between