Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, January 21, 1995                   TAG: 9501230009
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: B-9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DAVID BRIGGS AP RELIGION WRITEr
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

RELIGIOUS LEADERS REVIVE HOPE THAT REVIVAL IS NEAR|

Hopes for a religious revival are in the air as Christianity approaches its third millennium.

When conservative religious leaders were asked by Ministries Today magazine what they foresee in the five years leading up to 2000, several predicted it will be a time of explosive growth.

``I believe there will be the greatest revival and harvest the world has ever known,'' said the Rev. Don Meares of Evangel Church in Upper Marlboro, Md. Loren Cunningham, founder of Youth With a Mission, said the churches are on the verge of ``an explosion of harvest'' greater even than was experienced during the Jesus movement a quarter-century ago.

The optimism comes despite the familiar litanies of a nation in moral decay, where religious conservatives are persecuted for their beliefs. The light shines brightest against the darkness, these religious leaders say.

``The desperate conditions created by the increasing chaos of moral, political and social failures have provided the church in America with the greatest opportunity to shine as a light amid a perverse generation, holding forth the word of life,'' said the Rev. James Ryle of Boulder Valley Vineyard church in Longmont, Colo.

But if religious revivals are going to occur in America, the church has to get its own house in order first, many prominent conservatives said. In casting a self-critical eye at their own institutions, many religious leaders find the church is often part of the problem.

How can the church hope to speak truth to the culture when surveys show people who profess to be Christians are divorcing and getting abortions at the same rate as others, asks syndicated columnist Cal Thomas.

``Too many preachers tolerate `sin in the camp' because they are more interested in building big congregations or in church construction projects than they are in preaching the uncompromising and uncomfortable message contained in the gospel,'' he said.

Bob Mumford of Raleigh, N.C., the founder of Lifechangers, said the greatest challenge to the church is to restore the content of the gospel, even if it means at times removing people from the church.

``We are now seeing `salvation' becoming increasingly cheap, meaningless and faddish,'' he said. ``Being `born-again' today, for the most part, is not changing behavior, adjusting morals or causing people to become involved in the critical issues of the kingdom.''

What the world needs now, says Prison Fellowship founder Charles Colson, is a massive dose of virtue.

``Church leaders have to be more concerned with repentance than recruitment,'' Colson said. ``This is no time to play games. It is a time of deadly seriousness for the people of God.''

Despite the perceived flaws of the churches, many religious leaders remain optimistic as the year 2000 approaches.

The Rev. Karl D. Strader of Carpenter's Home Church in Lakeland, Fla., told Ministries Today he believes revival is already here, and the return of Jesus Christ is imminent.

``I am homesick for heaven - to be done with the doubters and go up with the shouters.''