What is "Revival"?
Here in the US, the term is historically associated with a period of history that spawned a new type of Christian denomination. By the late 1600s, Protestantism was already old. Having broken first from the political power of the Medieval Roman Church, along with some of the fundamental doctrines, each succeeding new religion was a break from that first break by Martin Luther in the 1400s. While the theological gap widened quickly between Protestants and Catholics, there was at first little conflict over the basic assumptions of what constituted proper worship. Worship was entirely too deeply rooted in culture to be so radically reformed quickly.
As culture itself shifted slowly, so did the concept of worship. In the US, the isolation of frontier living, and the vast numbers experiencing it, gave birth to a whole new culture. There is no room here to trace specific influences, but we note primarily a strong element rejecting tradition in many areas. Without the urban conglomerations of Europe, endless toil was relieved only by whatever form of entertainment locals could produce, aside from the occasional travling show. Though not wholly divorced from past learning, it was certainly a departure from it.
As worship is inevitably influenced by art, so the less formal style, free of liturgy, arose. While the Christian faith still dominated the culture, we would be fools to assume the average frontiersman was fully committed to Christ. Biblical understanding was uneven, at best. So a religious tradition regarding worship largely as a form of entertainment was inevitable. By the same token, worship heavily influenced by popular forms of entertainment was also inevitable.
During the 1730s, when Jonathan Edwards, a Congregational pastor, preached his famous series of messages that caused so much consternation, we note that his delivery was dry and formal. It was the content that set hearts ablaze, but only those with attentive ears. When George Whitfield visited a short time later from England, his dramatic style of delivery captivated the wider audience who would have slept under Edwards. The two together gave birth to a period known in US History as the Great Awakening.
Historians note a decline in the feverish activity of this awakening with the onset of the American Revolution. By this time, the new evangelical sects had established themselves, and brought a new consciousness of egalitarian thinking in religion. It became more acceptable for men without formal training and ordination to preach the Gospel. As one might expect, there was a broad mixture of genuine and fake preachers. In many cases, the same man might seem to be both.
With the end of the Revolution, human energy and economic resources were trained on spreading westward across the Appalachians and into the Heartland. The new breed of clergymen went along. The simple open air gatherings in town squares across the colonial Eastern Seaboard were replaced by the camp meetings of the woodlands and prairies. While history scholars often refer to the Second Great Awakening, it might be more appropriate to see it as a continuation of the first, interrupted by war. The grand religious meetings centered around circuit riders and evangelists were legendary.
While a great many souls indeed turned in earnest to the Lord, a great many more were simply seeking diversion. Word would spread by poster and by mouth of a coming "revival" and crowds of frontiersmen made plans to attend. An open area was selected, tents and wagons set up, and the flocks would converge with their own camping equipment. To my knowledge, no reliable estimates can be found for what proportion were there simply to break the boredom of their dreary lives. An old joke surviving from that time declares that the souls reborn were outnumbered by those newly conceived at such gatherings.
As towns grew, and churches sprang up, the atmosphere of revival became institutionalized in the new American denominations. This was particularly true among the lower economic classes. As each denomination rose through the social ranks, they were replaced at the bottom by new ones. Yesterday's shouting evangelists became today's seminary graduates, and their sponsoring denominations became associated with the middle and upper classes. The tradition of emotional worship was seized by the newer sects, as were the lower class adherents.
The image of the revival meeting is tarnished today. It has been largely eclipsed in the attentions of the masses by modern media. Modern life is filled to the last second with modern demands. Indeed, churches themselves are constantly at risk of being ignored altogether. In many places, church attendance is little more than a cultural icon, a mere social habit. Whether we are better for the loss of souls not in earnest, or the worse because the message is less heard by the Lost, is a matter for debate. What cannot be debated is the value of a genuine revival.
What, then, do we mean by "revival"? While most would think immediately of the old nightly series of evening worship services lasting a week or more, a few would recognize that a genuine revival might not arise from such activity. The word itself simply means "the act of bringing, or condition of being brought, back to life something that was near death, or was unused, for a time." In medicine, it indicates being brought back to full consciousness. The theological meaning is very nearly that of the medical:
Revival -- a renewed state of concern for things spiritual; specifically, a concern for how God views our lives
It is hardly necessary to stir up any strong emotions, as so often becomes the focus in revival meetings. This is not a stirring of the caldron of guilt, searching for something superficially identified with sin, so that we may loudly condemn it. There is nothing here that allows us to paper over our broken humanity with a false sense of relief that we have "gotten right" with God.
That way lies madness, for it is not possible to live long with such a "revival," built as it is on human endeavor to stir up human resolve with human emotions. When the nervous system has borne the load for a time, it will reach exhaustion, and the whole thing comes tumbling down. That is no revival, but just the opposite; it is burnout. It is the berserker spirit of blood-lust in a brief battle, fighting all out, only to collapse when the last ounce of strength is gone. If at that point the Enemy is not defeated, then we are. Rest assured Satan suffers little from such activity, and rather welcomes a false revival, for it keeps us from actually harming his work.
The true threat to Lucifer is a permanent shift in our hearts, closer to God. Thus, by "revival" we mean here a fresh taste of God's revelation. Inherent in His revelation is His holiness, His grace, His love, His power -- all rolled into one deep concern that we not miss out on any of what He offers. We want His power, the power to act in accordance with His holy standard, to live out His grace and love in this fallen world. His power comes and brings no demand for frantic activity, changing only the external decorations of life. He brings change in the substance of what we are, who we are.
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Ed Hurst
01 June 2003, revised 20 October 2003
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