South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1916-01-17
MAKES PLEA FOR
COMING REVIVAL
Rev. c. A. Decker Tells When
and Where and Why
They Are Needed.

Thirty churches of this commu-
nifty will begin revival meetings next
Sunday. Frankly this is a revival
Of religion and no apologies are
made for it, The churches will come
before the community in this united
way to create certain conditions and
bring about certain results" These
were the opening words of the ser
mon delivered by Rev. c. A. Decker,
pastor of the First Baptist church,
Sunday morning in his sermon on
the theme when Is a Revival Need
edo" In speaking Of the opportune
time for a revival he said:
a revival is needed when sinners
are to be saved. The gospel is in
tended to save the lost, and we are
the people to preach it. So long as
the great majority of the people are
outside of the churches there seems
to be a need for a revival. This fact
ought to compel every God loving,
soul loving man to pray and work
for a revival of religion. no matter
how it comes nor who leads it. -
For Indifferent Members.
"A revival of religion is needed
when there are cold and Indifferent
church members. And everybody
knows that there are plenty Of them.
The curse of the church today is
places i'm the pathway of her prog
ress. for it is her business to attack
and overcome that; the curse of
the church is the unspiritual, luke
warm, worldly church members.
What do some of them amount To
as a spiritual force in the commu-
nifty? When will the kingdom be
established if all the members of
the churches were like those for
whom we have to apologize. If they
discarded their obligations as faith
ers like they do as Christians. they
would be put in Jail for nOn-suppOrt.
And if they were no better business
men than they are church members.
they would be sold out as dead beats
and bankrupts. If we never had
revival TO save the lost sinners in
the world, it would be necessary 10
save the lost church members.
"A revival is needed when the
church is failing in its regular min
istry to save souls. And this is not
the statement of a pessimist. But
we may rs we'll face the facts The
church is falling in this regard.
Many even do not make this their
first business. When ii takes 100
church members to add six, and
when it costs as high as 1857 to
get a convert, as it does in New
York. it looks as though there is
need of a revival. But the church
does other things. Yes. and good
things, too. But what is the main
| business of the church? To win
men to Christ. And this business
can be done only when she is spirit
ually awake. And no other institu-
ton can do il, either. You may crit
icise the revival method but I want
to remind you that the failure of
the regular ministry of the church
has made this method necessary.
"A revival is needed when God is
ready to give His people a blessing.
We may say that Gods time is all
the time and that He is always
ItdGy- 1Iutt Dul why 90 We not Ill
ways have the revival spirit? The
fact is. as history shows, that there
are seasons OF spiritual awakening.
PentacOst was one of these special
| occasions. There is no more OBJ
| lection TO revivals than there is to
the order of nature in the seed time
and harvest. Some preachers advo-
cate that religion should be acquired
in a quiet way without emotion and
excitement That is a good way to
get it, But not many actually do
get that way. God saves people in
( time of revival that never would
be saved unless an unusual effort
! were made 10 reach them"