In studying for my Christian Traditions test (meaning that I'm finally reading the textbooks), I came across the observation that the Great Awakenings have left an expectation of revival within the American religious tradition. Having grown up in a quasi-southern church, I can definitely see that. We waited for that week of revival, went to the services and got emotionally charged up...then forgot about it all two weeks later. An endless cycle of waiting for that next "spiritual high," hoping that one day, it would stick.
But it also reminded me of a friend I had in college. A guy who was very passionate about his (relatively new) faith, and attended a charismatic church. We would talk about random things, and he would always ask me to pray for revival on our campus, for God to basically come down and make everyone a Christian. I always told him that that's not exactly how I word my prayers, because I don't think God acts in that way. He would usually respond with something about how I don't have enough faith because I don't think God has that kind of power.
I do think God is powerful. God can probably do whatever God wants. But God chooses to give us agency. God chooses to work with us, to have us help in whatever work is to be done. Call me a cynic, but I'm not so sure a widespread instantaneous revival (complete with the emotional reaction my friend desired) is what is best. Is that how the kingdom of God works? I can't help but think of the parables Jesus told. A tiny mustard seed that grows into the largest tree. A small amount of yeast worked into a batch of dough that causes the entire thing to rise. Not this massive, one-time event, but a continual process flowing out of our lived-out faith.
Pay no attention to the woman behind the screen
- Erin
- A twenty-something seminary student and ministry assistant, striving to stay true to the call...wherever and whatever that may be.
2 comments:
I agree with you. Being a Christian is an on-going relationship. If you want revival all the time, its like wanting a relationship that is always at that "puppy love" stage. Choosing God when you are feeling pumped is easy. Choosing God when life is a little slow and boring is not so easy. I think the mountain top revival times help us to see God and His glory, but the valleys are where we have the conversations with Him that make the biggest differences and help us to KNOW him and not just SEE him.
Hey - I'm really sorry for the miscommunication. Never did I mean to imply that somehow your faith is "insufficient," or that there is something wrong with you! Nor did I ever mean to imply that you don't think God is omnipotent... please allow me to clarify my thoughts.
I think in the American church, the historical definition of revival has gotten kind of warped. Like you said, many churches (especially southern!) will announce that they're "scheduling" a revival, and it really does just get worked up into an emotional high that everyone forgets about afterwards. But true revival isn't something that can be scheduled, nor is it something that is worked up or hyped up. If I might offer a definition... you might say "revival is a move of God's spirit that supernaturally brings people to repentance and to meeting Christ for the first time, and brings change to human society, apart from human strategies and schemes." I think its natural for coming to know Christ to be a powerful and emotional experience rather than something dry and cold, but if someone is just seeking the emotional high they've lost sight of Christ and are going after an idol.
Historically, there are many examples of this - the Great Awakenings being one example, along with smaller revivals such as the Hebrides revival and the Wales revival (Google them! I promise its worth the research) and even revivals occuring today in Mozambique and in Fiji. When I read these accounts, doubt and offense rise in my heart - but I know that these people have no reason to lie.
http://www.citywideprayerkc.com/fiji.html
http://www.ministrytodaymag.com/display.php?id=5480
I would also say that 9 times out of 10, God works just as you say, through the process of growth, through "our lived-out faith." That's the norm. But sometimes, when odds seem insurmountable, or when the Church is stuck in a rut, or for any number of other reasons, God chooses to work supernaturally and powerfully to wake us up, almost always in response to the concerted prayer of His people. That's the agency part, and its exciting! I believe that one of the most powerful ways that God allows us to participate in bringing about "thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth..." is through prayer. The disciples, having observed Jesus' ministry, could have asked Him any number of things... "teach us how to open blind eyes... teach us how to cast out demons..." but the Bible only records that they asked him, "teach us how to pray." They recognized that prayer was the source of the supernatural power in Christ's ministry.
I'm not asking for a showy specacle. I just long for the Church to believe that what God did in the Bible, he can and still does do. And I long for the Church to really, in our heart of hearts, believe that our Father in heaven really does hear our prayers and that they are not wasted, and that transformation can result from them. How different our prayer lives would be! Yes, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, but the Lord also said that though we have faith as a mustard seed, it can move moutains. So many Christians today seem to take that as hyperbole, a mere literary flourish - but I wonder if Jesus meant it to mean a lot more.
Whew! Sorry to write a book. I started with a paragraph and it just kept going... hope seminary is going well!
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