America Needs Another
Billy Sunday
By David Berkowitz
Recently I began rereading a biography on the life of
evangelist and preacher, Billy Sunday (1862-1935). The book is entitled “Billy
Sunday and the Redemption of Urban America,” by Lyle Dorsett.
Billy Sunday was not a perfect man; he had his flaws
and foibles. But when he preached from behind a pulpit, or at a rescue mission,
or inside a big gospel meeting tent, Billy Sunday spoke with power and passion.
His sermons were gripping, sometimes entertaining, but always convicting. And
when he gave the invitation to the audience to receive Jesus Christ as Savior,
the crowds came forward in droves.
Billy Sunday’s Story
In 1886, Billy Sunday was a baseball player for a team
known as the Chicago White Stockings. After a game, he and several teammates
went into the city to have a few drinks at a local saloon. But on the way to the
bar, according to Mr. Dorsett, Billy Sunday encountered a “street preaching team
from the Pacific Garden Mission.” This ministry team was perched on a
strange-looking contraption known then as a “Gospel wagon.” The is wagon had a
small brass band and a few singers on it, along with a preacher. Curiously,
Billy decided to stop and listen.
Little did he know at the time that God was working in
his heart. The preacher gave his testimony and Billy Sunday heard the gospel
message. That day in 1886 on the streets of Chicago, Billy made the decision to
receive Jesus Christ as his savior. He would never be the same again. Soon he
would leave his baseball career to become a minister, and eventually a traveling
evangelist. Billy Sunday would become legendary in the annals of both American
and Christian history.
While Billy Sunday publicly declared his love for the
Lord, he made it plain that he hated sin. He despised the liquor business.
Alcohol was his arch enemy. He preached against the liquor industry with all his
might. Billy Sunday’s flamboyant preaching style attracted large audiences.
Wherever he went across the country the crowds would gather. His fiery sermons
against booze helped to close many beer joints and night clubs; he put many a
whiskey man out of business.
We need preaching like Billy Sundays’
Right now America is awash with all kinds of alcoholic
beverages-many of which are produced and marketed explicitly for young adults.
Some drinkers will lose their lives needlessly in accidents, some will become
law breakers, and many will be lifelong slaves to alcohol. How wonderful it
would be if another Billy Sunday were to come on the scene!
Like the Billy Sunday of old, he would be under the
unction of the Holy Spirit, filled with the power of God. He would bring a
message of repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He would thunder
against sin and warn about the dangers and horrors of alcohol use. The new Billy
Sunday would lovingly urge his listeners to come to Christ for forgiveness.
Mixed with this message would be a tender plea to begin a new life with the
Lord.
How such a minister is needed today! In fact America
needs many preachers like Billy Sunday-men who would speak with holy boldness
from the pulpits of our churches, in jails, and prisons, at rescue missions, on
military bases, in schools, and in our streets.
Furthermore, every Christian who’s alive today should
become familiar with the late Billy Sunday’s sermon, ‘Get on the Water Wagon.” I
believe it is one of the most urgent and pertinent messages for our time. In it,
Billy Sunday exposes the damage alcohol has done to our nation, and how it has
ruined many lives.
“Dear God, send us a man like Billy Sunday. Give us
many men like him to bring revival to our land. Amen”
(from the Women’s Christian Temperance Union Journal -
Sept.-Dec. 2011 Issue)