Revival (?)

Asbury

One week ago at the conclusion of the chapel service at Asbury University the students were called to a time of repentance and confession. The reports are that God moved on those in attendance and began an ongoing service that at the time of this writing has not ended seven days later. I’m sure most people have already heard about this event. My purpose in this post is to think through how we should respond to what is clearly an extraordinary event. 

Most people are celebrating that God has come and finally brought the revival or spiritual revitalization that has been sought by Christians for decades. Some others are denouncing this as youthful exuberance or worse an evil deception. So which is it? How can we know and how should we be thinking and praying in light of the biblical revelation and historical examples?

History

I do not have the space in this short blog to recount the full history of revival or even the history in relation to America. But most people will have heard of the first major revival in American history, which was called the First Great Awakening (1730’s-1770’s). Key figures in the First Great Awakening include George Whitfield, Samuel Davies, John and Charles Wesley, and probably most famously Jonathon Edwards. In these years, the preaching of the gospel saw unprecedented and explosive success as thousands were coming and confessing faith in Jesus Christ.

A half century later another amazing movement spread across the land that has been called the Second Great Awakening (1810-1835). Key figures in this movement were Lyman Beecher, Timothy Dwight, and Asahel Nettleton. Toward the end of this movement arose Charles Finney who ushered in new measures that more closely resemble the manipulative practices often associated with revivalism since that time.

In February 1970, at a chapel service at Asbury College in Kentucky (yes this is the same place as the current revival) a chapel sparked a week long continuous meeting that later came to be included with the larger movement in the 70’s known as the “Jesus Revolution.”  All of this brings us to today and the current meetings taking place at Asbury.

Hysteria 

The events which are taking place at Asbury are extraordinary regardless of if they are of God or not. But the question remains, what is this that is happening in these meetings? I think that there are a few important things that we must keep in mind. First it is important that we are careful about judging from a distance what is or is not happening. I have heard conflicting reports about the soundness of the things that are taking place there. Since this is the case I believe that we must refrain from making hasty judgments about the actions of God. It is neither safe to affirm or condemn without direct experience, evidence, and evaluation of the fruit. By this I mean that if anyone is declaring this a definite work of God they are doing so prematurely. But if someone is condemning this as a demonic deception they are also doing so prematurely.

Second, even true movements of God can be mingled with the fallible efforts of man. Most observers would conclude that Finney’s tactics toward the conclusion of the Second Great Awakening should not be used to invalidate the whole movement. In optimism, we should be willing to try to observe both the bad and the good that seems to be on display.

Finally, unless we believe that only those sharing our own doctrinal confession are truly saved, we must be willing to concede that a genuine move of God can happen even among those with less than perfect theology. We should hope that this is true because none of us have perfect theology. Properly assessing this movement will require liberal doses of both grace and discernment. To neglect either will most certainly mean a less than accurate view of what has happened. 

Hope

Ultimately, all believers desire to see our Lord rightly glorified and many souls brought into the kingdom. With this being the genuine and correct desire of our hearts it seems right that we would hope for this to be a true work of God. Honestly even if it is not we can still trust that God will use even those things meant of evil for His sovereign purposes (Genesis 50:19-21). I do believe that there is danger in being gullible, because God has told us to be shrewd as serpents (Matthew 10:16). However, we should not be cantankerous pessimists either for we are called to be harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16). So let us hope not in the wishful sense of the world but with the sure sense of the unassailable will of God! (Hebrews 6:9-20)

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