Former Gambler Helps Others Seek Freedom as Pastor

At the beginning of each new year, he takes time to rededicate himself to God and be thankful again for his deliverance from an addiction to gambling that nearly cost him his family.

As pastor of the Church of God, North Cedar Street in Newark, he helps others seeking freedom from a similar addiction. He also offers compassion and an understanding heart to all church members who seek guidance in any matter. Members know they have found in Decker a man who understands God's power to save--from firsthand experience.

"When someone comes to me who is addicted to gambling, I tell them that God can do for them what He did for me. He's no respecter of persons. If it wasn't for God, I would not have my family today," Decker said.

Thirty three years ago this month, Decker walked away a free man from an addiction to gambling which had held him in a vise-like grip for almost a decade. Decker said that although it was years ago, he remembers the nightmare as if it happened yesterday.

Recently, he expressed concern with the increasing availability of lottery options and with state legislation, such as House Bill 643, introduced into the Ohio legislation in the spring of 2000. The bill sought authorization for participation in a multistate lottery. It died in committee prior to Dec. 31. Decker feels the rise in gambling opportunities also creates more opportunities for addiction.

Decker shares his story to keep others from experiencing the same pain he suffered.

In the early '60s, he worked at the former Rockwell factory. But evening found him at friends' homes or in smoke-filled basement rooms of local bars with half a dozen other men playing poker--his game of choice. Though he said his addiction started small--as a casual card game with friends--he became more and more involved as the win-lose cycle sent him plummeting on a downward spiral.

"You start playing for fun, but you always have the feeling you're going to be the big winner. I won once. Then I started losing. So I always had the thought that the next time I go into the game, I'll be smarter. I'll play my cards better. There's always an allurement," Decker said.

He said that is was "nothing" for him to frequently gamble a whole paycheck on a weekly basis, which he considered "a lot of money in those days." He described his feelings after a big loss as hopeless.

"When I lost big, there was utter despair. I said I would never do it again. Then there'd be an invitation. That is the addiction the game has. In the back of your mind, you keep thinking you'll come away the big winner. You'll make up your losses in one big night. But it's like the ship that never comes in," he said.

He said some gamblers he knew fared better than others because they would set money aside specifically for gambling, but the ones who didn't got hurt the most. He saw one man lose his car during a single poker game.

"When people are in that situation--they'll bet anything to stay in the game--always hoping for the turnaround," he said.

Friends advised him to quit gambling, Decker said, and by the late '60s he tried to quit many times, but "the power wasn't there." He said he went to church during his gambling days, but "in body only."

It took the threat of divorce from his wife and a desire to be free from a sense of powerlessness to send him to a friend for help. His friend, Emerson Wilson, former pastor of the Church of God, invited him to a church service in response. But this service was different from the others he'd been to.

"I hated the fact that gambling was leading me around by the nose. When they had an invitation for people to come forward for prayer, I went. There was a lot of tears. I asked for God's help. I asked for forgiveness. God gave me the power over gambling that I didn't have before. If it wasn't for God, my family wouldn't be together today," he said.

He got up from that January meeting a free man and has not gambled since.

In 1987, he became pastor for the Church of God. People frequently come to him who are having trouble with gambling, among other things. He gives the help he's learned from experience and from the Bible and often shares his favorite Scripture, John 8:32, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

To those who gamble he expresses a word of caution. "Ask yourself, 'Can I walk away from this and lay it down?' Is gambling helping you or is it eating away at your savings? There's a better way."