revival — noun
re· viv· al ri-ˈvī-vəl
1: an act or instance of reviving: the state of being revived: such as
a: renewed attention to or interest in something
b: a new presentation or publication of something old
c: a period of renewed religious interest
Last week, one of my closest friends, Nate1, texted me. “What are your thoughts on revival?” If you knew anything of my long-standing friendship with Nate, you’d know that it’s pretty common practice for us to lob theological and philosophical questions at each other via text messages, alongside music & TV recommendations and sarcastic, playful, or personal jabs to keep us both humble.
“Not sure I have thoughts on revival!” I replied. “Other than I always see it used in a conservative evangelical setting with the subtext of, we want God to make the world align with our beliefs.”2 I just assumed this was something Nate was batting around in his head, taking up some theological real estate as he prepared to preach another sermon. He then told me that a neighbor drove down to see it and a couple of pastors in town did, as well.
“See what?” I asked. “Nate, I’m very offline3, you gotta keep me filled in.”
He proceeded to send me news links of the revival happening at Asbury University, explaining to me that this had been going on for a week and people across the country were starting to pour into Wilmore, Kentucky — where Asbury is located. I’m a pretty skeptical person. At first glance of the headlines, I’ll confess it made me raise an eyebrow. I have enough formal academic training in the study of religion and religious history to know that claims of revival are used for all sorts of insidious purposes, especially in recent years when the marriage between conservative Christianity and nationalism has become so prevalent and troubling. I also have some personal experience with spiritual manipulation and calling it “revival.” Somehow in spite of myself, I managed to click the links and read the stories with a reasonably open mind. Here’s what I found:
It started after a routine chapel service on campus.
No lights, or smoke machines, or big screens, or fancy production.
Students just stuck around and decided to continue to sing, pray, and worship together.
The message during the chapel service was about experiencing the love of God for ourselves, to understand our own belovedness, with the invitation to, “not leave here before you experience the love of God.”
What broke out was thirteen continuous days (and counting) of worship, prayer, healing, and yes, conversion. Calling it a revival, albeit a term for me that is now tinged with fears about Christian nationalism, could be accurate. For anyone who has studied revivals and religious movements over history, you’ll know they are somewhat dictated by their outcomes. Whether it was the The Protestant Reformation, The First Great Awakening in the US in the mid-1700’s, or the Baby Boomer revivals of the Charismatic Renewal and Jesus Movement of the 1960’s, significant changes happened in the trajectory of the church that are now visibly marked. Does Asbury fit the bill? At the very least, I think one could call it a revival based on the good knowledge of the folks at Merriam-Webster. As for its legacy, time will tell and I have to believe Jesus when He says that a good tree will bear good fruit.4
Questions & comments about the legitimacy of what’s happened at Asbury aren’t that interesting to me and they’re far too predictable, running right along the common theological, cultural, and social dividing lines. I’m far more interested in our responses to the moment and our motivations. In the very online discourse, it’s easy to see how something like Asbury could provoke us to dig our trenches. It’s already happened, hasn’t it? Since I’ve communicated interest in the Asbury revival to my friends, they have sent me Tweets, Instagram posts, Facebook diatribes, and more. In those responses, two very obvious camps have emerged:
Those who believe this is ABSOLUTELY a revival, because x, y, or z criteria are being met.
Those who believe this is NOT a revival because x, y, or z criterion are not being met.
This moment doesn’t need a list of reasons dictating why this is a revival or not, because we can’t know for sure. Time will reveal it to us. Rather, this moment might be inviting us to deeper self-reflection. In the same way we want to be either certain or critical of the Asbury revivals, we need to be equally self-reflective of our own internal responses.
I have my own hopes when it comes to this group of students & what they’re experiencing. I’m also pushing against my instinct to define or qualify the mysteries and miracles of God. I’ve experienced personal revivals, spiritual manipulation, and moments where the line between those two is obscured. No matter what they were at the time, I can only speak for myself and I was wholeheartedly earnest in my hope, in my prayer, in my repentance, and in my seeking. Looking back, I am both critical and affirming of what I experienced — it’s messy and it’s okay.
There’s nothing wrong with being critical OR supportive of what’s happening at Asbury; we get into trouble when we are blind to our own motivations for doing so. If you’ll allow me to put my spiritual director hat on, here are some questions for you to entertain as you think about your responses to the Asbury revival.
If your first instinct was to judge or criticize:
When you think about the Asbury revivals, what emotion rises to the surface & where did that emotion come from?
What outcomes do you desire?
Where can you see the presence of God’s character in this moment?
Is there something about God you’re being invited to consider?
Is there something that still needs healing? Is there something that feels dead that needs reviving in your life?
If your first instinct was to affirm:
What outcome do you hope for and why?
What if the Asbury revival doesn’t turn out how you hoped? What emotion comes to the surface when you think about that possibility?
What are you longing for?
Where is God already present to you?
Think about a time when you experienced the presence or movement of the Spirit. Was that revival? Why or why not?
If you find yourself somewhere in the messy middle:
How have you experienced the presence of God lately?
What do you desire in your spiritual life right now? What do you long for?
How has your image of God changed in recent years?
When you think of the word revival what comes to the surface?
After Nate texted me those stories and I had a chance to read them fully, I responded: “Thats honestly… kind of rad.”
I still feel that way. I think students responding to the Spirit in an earnest and heartfelt way is beautiful. Sitting here in my office in rural Idaho, thousands of miles away, I’m certainly in no place to judge them or what they may be experiencing. I trust the Spirit will do what it needs to do in the lives of those present and awake to its movement. I pray for the students’ continued joy and earnest seeking, that they feel & understand their own belovedness in the eyes of God.
I pray the same for us, too.
See Sean Feucht. At your own risk.
I’m taking a year away from social media, so I’m not as fast on the draw as I once was. It takes about a week for big social media discourses to reach my text messages or inbox. Am I sad about it? Zero percent.
I hadn’t heard about this at all. I haven’t even read any articles, just yours. But I really loved all of your reflective questions. Thank you. I am moved by these students. No smoke and fireworks, parking it and waiting on God? Wow. I believe this generation is looking for a tangible God. And the fact that they won’t leave until they experience God’s presence sounds… pretty rad to me too.
Thank you for these questions to ask ourselves. In the process of working through the manipulation you mentioned and other religious things, I've become very sensitive and generally jump to a cynical and admittedly judgemental view. The questions help bring perspective.