The Asbury Revival
Have you heard about the Asbury Revival? If you have not you can read a local news article about it here. A worship service started on a Wednesday, and it just kept going! Continuous worship for days that turned into weeks! College students and others from beyond the university participated. I have a friend who pastors in Kentucky who visited the revival and shared that it was a beautiful leading of the Holy Spirit.
One of the things that I find fascinating about this revival is the wide range of responses it is drawing. These responses reveal the fault lines within Christianity in modern America.
The evangelical movement brings the benefits of zealous faith, evangelism, and strong personal experiences of Jesus. These are important aspects of our journey with Jesus. The mainline church brings an emphasis on care for the poor, justice, and thoughtful theology. These are also important aspects of our journey with Jesus. Each of these strengths have shadow sides. Many critique the evangelical church as only building bigger buildings and only focusing on Sunday worship without making a tangible impact on our community. Many critique the mainline church of focusing on charity work but losing sight of spiritual transformation and evangelism.
The full gospel of Jesus Christ calls us to zealous faith, strong personal piety, care for the poor, thoughtful theology, evangelism, and justice. John Wesley founded the Methodist movement by uniting the personal gospel and the social gospel. The personal gospel draws upon much of the emphasis of the evangelical movement. The social gospel builds upon the strength of mainline churches.
Holding up half the gospel claiming it is the full gospel is a mistake. Some pastors and bloggers falling into that trap when reflecting on the Asbury Revival. Jesus loves each person so much that he won’t let us stay the same and Jesus loves our world so much that He wants to use the church to make earth look more like heaven. This is the fullness of the gospel!
The question is what happens next? Will this revival continue to expand? Will others be drawn into experiences of Jesus and drawn into experiences of sharing that love to others through service? Holy Spirit come! Revive us so we may awaken to your love more deeply and share it with the world in tangible ways!
