I have a friend who is a revivalist. In the broadest terms, a revivalist is someone who is in pursuit of the presence, power, and outpouring of the Holy Spirit for all people. He believes that the church of Jesus is made for revival. Thus, church services, including preaching and singing and prayers should be strictly bound up with the goal of revival. After all, we are a revival people!
I agree with my friend’s premise, but not his conclusion. Yes, we are designed to be a people in hot pursuit of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. But I disagree that the ethos of the local church is that of revival culture.
For clarity, I believe in revival. In more recent days, I have longed for, prayed for, and have had the intention of traveling to said revivals. And more, the church at large is not unfamiliar with modern revivals. We have a rich history of God breaking into our rigid rules and cold churches with the warmth and power of change. Yes! Our God loves to breathe life and initiate resurrection.
My point? Churches are not revival machines. We don’t have access to spiritual ropes and pullies to manipulate revival outcomes. God is not someone we should be trying to maneuver, even for revival purposes. Revivals are God’s work, not ours.
If churches are not in the business of revival, then what? Unsurprisingly, much less sexy. Churches are the redemptive families that tether us to God’s faithfulness. Make no mistake, we celebrate the supernatural, sovereign works of revival, but the bulk of our days are spent in the main and plain of Christian living—the resurrection power of Jesus in the nitty gritty of marriage, roommates, and wayward children. Revival isn’t just about unending worship and signs and wonders. It is the long-term empowerment for the people of God to be the people of God . . . especially when the prayer team goes home and the sound system gets turned off.
Good post. One cool thing about the Asbury thing, is that churches have mortgaged the farm to reach that generation…..sound systems, lights, smoke machines and power preachers just to somehow draw a crowd, but Asbury proves (and I hope churches notice this) that none of these trappings draw anyone. The simple, white lite, no high powered video or preachers were present anywhere in KY these past 2 weeks. People will crawl across the desert on their hands and knees to experience the true presense of God. People drove and flew from all over the country/ world to sit in that room in Wilmore KY just to experience it. They came with high hopes that something could happen to them, that they would be changed. Funny how even in “revival” God does ALL the work, drawing people to himself, touching hearts. We don’t have to try to manufacture anything. Thank the Lord for that.
Yes!! I love two things about this latest outpouring at Asbury. It is led by a nameless/faceless generation. And secondly, the non-hype nature of the presence of God should give encouragement to regular churches and pastors who will never be tech-savvy enough but long for a supernatural movement.