The new film Jesus Revolution has been praised by Christian audiences, loved by people who lived through its events and already brought in more than $32 million in box office sales. But 50 years after the events took place, what’s…
If revivalism isn’t part of your spiritual experience, you’re not defective
It’s likely that mainline United Methodists are only vaguely aware of the “revival” happening at United Methodist-adjacent Asbury University. But it’s an event evangelicals across denominational lines can’t stop talking about, and so I’ll jump in. If “revivals” are not…
What I witnessed this week at the Asbury revival
Not every experience of God occurs in a revival. But revivals are perennial in American Christianity. In the past, they have made their mark upon the social landscape and changed daily Christian habits. There is the “Burned Over District” in…
About the Asbury ‘revival’: Time will tell
“Revival” has got to be one of the most misused, misunderstood and abused words in the language of the church. I grew up singing the old gospel hymn “Lord, Send a Revival,” so I’m well-soaked in the terminology. I’m even…
When my dad asked me to preach a revival in his church, I took a crew of encouragers instead
“Would you be willing to come and preach a revival for us?” my dad asked when I answered the phone that day driving down Main Street (hands-free, of course). I asked him specifically what he was looking for and he…
What if Americans go looking for spiritual renewal and our churches are too troubled to help?
I find myself in awe of the clergy and laity offering frontline care of souls in response to COVID-19, lovingly creating ministry alternatives, even from a distance. While these acts of selflessness are themselves a dramatic sign of spiritual renewal, sobering trends confront America’s churches.
Campolo says ‘Red Letter Revival’ seeks to convert evangelicals to social activism
A group of Christians often labeled as “progressive evangelicals” will hold a revival — in Lynchburg, Va., a center of conservative Christianity — designed to reconnect that old-time religion with concern and activism for social justice.
Looking for the origin of decline in the U.S. church? Baptist historian thinks he may know the answer
Bill Leonard became fascinated with the topic of conversion early in his career, often teaching and preaching about the dramatic, and not-so-dramatic, ways Americans have become Christians throughout U.S. history. And by the early 1980s, Leonard said, the number of conversions,…
Where have all the charismatics gone?
In the spirit of Paula Cole, I’ve been asking, “Where have all the charismatics gone?” Its been some twenty years since I found myself at a revival service, praying over a friend who had been “slain in the spirit.” These…