With so much talk of revivals afoot, I thought I’d throw my hat in the ring.

I’ve discovered from my study of missiology and ecclesiology (and other big words), that revivals are often a mixed bag.  Someone somewhere always hopes to harness them.  

Political pundits, for instance, will show how revival activity demonstrates a resurgence of conservatism, presumably to regain control of the country.  Now, my values and theology lie in the blood red zone.  But God, as a card-carrying member of any political party?  Really?  

Meanwhile, give it time, and some will begin arguing that today’s spiritual repentance should be unto progressive values (Lord, I’m sorry I haven’t been affirming to LGBT,  I’m sorry for being white, binary, middle class, etc.).  This scenario would show the Holy Spirit contradicting the very truths He has already defined in Scripture about sex, race, biological reality, and whatever else squares with sanity.       

And then there are the various denominations and revivalist movements hoping to plant their flags in the fertile soil of what they see developing.  Claim it, they say, in the name of Christ and for His cause (A cause they already have in their pockets).  

As the YouTubes proliferate, you’ll see a lot of desperate folks flying in and looking for help, and a lot of rubber-neckers who just want to see what’s going on.  Plus, well, people who simply want to enjoy an uplifting worship experience.  Who knows–maybe this will even end up good for the college recruiting office, because a lot of Christian parents want their kids to attend a place with a specially sanctified atmosphere.

If it sounds like I’m cynical, I’m only striking a more realistic position.  Remember, I said from the beginning that revivals can be a mixed bag, which is a nice way of saying, “Messy.”   

I’m aware some Christian commentators try to dissect revival events with an almost cold certainty, forgetting the admonition to “Quench not the Spirit” (1 Thess. 5:19).  Others embrace everything they see or feel with equally naive, fresh-faced enthusiasm, forgetting to “test everything; hold fast what is good” (1 Thess. 5:21).       

It begs the question of what is a revival?  And more importantly, what does the Bible say about it?

I won’t attempt some kind of exhaustive survey here, but will mention a few high notes from both Old and New Testaments.

Setting aside for a moment, the revival of Jonah at Nineveh (whose lasting fruit is difficult to trace), the single greatest revival in the Old Testament occurred when God stirred a certain remnant of Israel to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their temple.  That inward spiritual work didn’t build something new; it rebuilt what had been ruined.  It was a return to God’s original intention for them, back to a devotion to Him and His Word.  It was a return unto living lives of justice and truth (and no, not a hateful, secular version of those things).  

This revival reset them in the holy land and made them ready, at least geographically, for the first coming of Christ.   As the prophet Micah had foretold, Christ would be born in Bethlehem (5:2), not in a Chaldean town.  Malachi said the Lord would come suddenly to His temple, not to some Babylonian ziggurat (3:1).  Revival would lead the people back to the good land for the coming Messiah, but it was going to involve hard work, sacrifice, and the willingness to live and die without getting to see His initial appearance.    

Beyond the birth of the church at Pentecost, The NT becomes a bit more complex.  Revival occurs in a network of ongoing experiences, being filled with the Spirit as a regular event (Eph. 5:18).  It seems built into the life of the church, not as sensational, but normal.

However, looking at the pattern of the seven churches, there also seems to be room for generational revivals launched through overcomers, those who have an ear for what the Spirit says, as Revelation puts it.    

These fresh currents send believers back to loving Jesus (exemplified in Ephesus), boldness in the face of persecution (exemplified in Smyrna), separation from the world (exemplified in Pergamos), rejection of heresy (exemplified in Thyatira), spiritual life unto completion of mission (exemplified in Sardis), holding what they have (exemplified in Philadelphia), and paying a price for spiritual truth (exemplified in Laodicea).  By calling Christians back to these conditions of health, it spurred (and spurs) the church forward as a whole unto maturity.    

Among many other concerns though—the necessity of repentance, the centrality of Christ, the importance of the Word—revivals must be orchestrated and ultimately used by the Holy Spirit.

Lyn Cryderman, Methodist author of Glory Land, A Memoir of a Lifetime in Church,  wrote,

“The sad thing about these genuine movements of the holy spirit is our temptation to do them ourselves. Evangelical Christians have always struggled with humanism—taking things into our own hands because we really do think we could do them just a little better than God could. The best, or maybe worst, example of this is the way we take a good story and try to make it better, which is why annually almost more conversions are reported then there are people in the world and why the supernatural has apparently become natural in some circles. It would be unkind to question the authenticity of those who seem to be whipping us all into a holy ghost frenzy—I truly believe their intentions are pure and their devotion unblemished—but I must confess to being a bit skeptical whenever I hear reports of Revival breaking out. Even in the case of the Asbury revival, there were excesses that should not be attributed to the spirit of God…To this day there are preachers who are still trying to keep the Asbury Revival alive”  (pp. 114-115).  

It’s interesting to note that Cryderman’s mention of an Asbury revival references an earlier event fifty-some years ago, and not anything recent.  (His book was written in 1999).

At any rate, we can’t go wrong by waiting, as Jesus instructed, to see the fruit of something, rather than prematurely rushing into it with either kudos or weedkiller.  

In the meantime, be revived, and celebrate revival, but forget jumping onto a tricked-out revivalist bandwagon. Thank God for what He is doing, wherever He’s doing it, and ask that He have His way—that His purpose will predominate, that His Son will receive center stage, and that the Holy Spirit will inspire repentance in every heart.

Besides, doesn’t that sound like something you’ve been praying for, anyway?