05-02-2007, 05:54 AM
Preparing for the Next Great Awakening
Our country is in serious spiritual crisis. Are you ready for God to intervene?
On April 26, 1607 a group of weary English settlers dropped anchor off the coast of Virginia, came ashore and planted a makeshift wooden cross in the sand. Then they knelt and dedicated the New World to Jesus Christ.
Four hundred years later, hundreds of Christians gathered on that same sand—a few miles from the headquarters of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) in Virginia Beach—to renew the original colonial settlers’ covenant with God and to ask Him to send a spiritual revival to America.
“There’s no reason that the powerful demonstrations of supernatural power occurring in non-Western countries can’t happen in the United States.”
The Assembly 2007 event in Virginia Beach (which will last for three more days) may not receive a lot of mainstream media attention, but a group of Christian leaders who met at CBN this week said they believe God is watching it carefully—and His attention is what matters. They believe He is eager to respond to our sincere cries for mercy for a backslidden nation.
The consultation on revival that I attended yesterday united a diverse group of Baptists, Pentecostals, independent charismatics and parachurch leaders including Paul Cedar of Mission America, Jane Hansen of Aglow International and Lou Engle of TheCall. We shared our hearts, prayed about the spiritual condition of the country and shed a few tears as we admitted how badly the American church needs another Great Awakening.
Billy Wilson, a Pentecostal who directs the International Center for Spiritual Renewal in Cleveland, Tenn., facilitated our discussion and asked us to envision what a 21st century revival would look like if (1) we commit ourselves to united prayer and fasting, and (2) God answers with fire. I certainly don’t have the full picture of what this will look like, but I shared these insights with the group in Virginia and I’ll now pass them along to you.
1. The next revival will surprise us. It is wonderful to read about the ways God moved in past revivals. But we must heed the word of the Lord from Isaiah: “‘Behold, I will do a new thing’” (Is. 43:19NKJV). Just as the apostle Peter was shocked when the Holy Spirit fell on the gentiles in Cornelius’ house, we too will be surprised (and some of us will be offended) by the way God works.
2. It will be controversial. The Holy Spirit does not need our permission to break status-quo religious mind-sets. When He moves in power, not everyone in the church will welcome God’s holy disruption. Some denominations and religious systems will criticize it—and persecute those who promote it.
3. It will be gloriously messy. Sinners are converted by the thousands during times of revival. But when people who suffer from the effects of abuse, abandonment, fatherlessness, addiction, occultism and sexual brokenness find God, they require pastoral care. I hope we are prepared to heal their wounds, cast out their demons and welcome them into our churches. (Reminder: Many churches shunned the hippie converts of the Jesus movement. Let’s not make the same mistake again.)
4. The next revival will not be white. Expect African-Americans, Hispanics and other immigrant churches to play lead roles. Christians who harbor racist attitudes will have a difficult time with the way God’s love is lavished on people who don’t look like them.
5. It will be accompanied by astounding miracles. There’s no reason that the powerful demonstrations of supernatural power occurring in non-Western countries can’t happen in the United States. We must reject our intellectualism and unbelief and expect the impossible.
6. The next revival will involve empowered women. What God did in the early Pentecostal movement—when women such as Aimee Semple McPherson shook cities for God—was a foretaste of what we will see in this next season, when women discover new freedom from the limitations of tradition.
7. Old church programs, patterns and facilities will become obsolete. When the new wine appears, we will quickly recognize how ineffective our old wineskins were. The next revival will require us to be innovative and eager for change. Stay flexible.
8. Technology will play a big role. Imagine the raw spiritual energy of a Great Awakening traveling digitally into every home, campus and business. It will happen.
9. Revival will shift us into humility and brokenness. When God’s manifest presence erupts upon us in a new way, our only proper response will be to repent of our arrogance and the cheap celebrity Christianity we have paraded before the world. Leaders will weep from their pulpits, congregations will soak altars and we will know the presence of a God who draws near to the humble.
10. As in previous revivals, this one will come with great conviction. During the First and Second Great Awakenings, there were times when people who heard the gospel felt such intense remorse for their sin that they fainted in anguish. We’ve never seen the tangible fear of God fall on the church in this way, but I believe it is coming.
If you are desperate for such a move of God, I encourage you to join the growing number of believers who have decided to commit themselves to extraordinary prayer until the floodgates are opened.
J. Lee Grady is editor of Charisma. He encourages you to participate in the National Day of Prayer events, to be held May 3 in your local area. Log on at www.ndptf.org to find out more. Lee also encourages you to attend TheCall, a national event that will focus on prayer for America’s youth. It will be held at Titans Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., on July 7. Log on at www.thecall.com for more info. For more info on the International Center for Spiritual Renewal go to www.icfsr.org. Read more about the Assembly 2007 in Virginia Beach at www.theassembly2007.org.
Our country is in serious spiritual crisis. Are you ready for God to intervene?
On April 26, 1607 a group of weary English settlers dropped anchor off the coast of Virginia, came ashore and planted a makeshift wooden cross in the sand. Then they knelt and dedicated the New World to Jesus Christ.
Four hundred years later, hundreds of Christians gathered on that same sand—a few miles from the headquarters of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) in Virginia Beach—to renew the original colonial settlers’ covenant with God and to ask Him to send a spiritual revival to America.
“There’s no reason that the powerful demonstrations of supernatural power occurring in non-Western countries can’t happen in the United States.”
The Assembly 2007 event in Virginia Beach (which will last for three more days) may not receive a lot of mainstream media attention, but a group of Christian leaders who met at CBN this week said they believe God is watching it carefully—and His attention is what matters. They believe He is eager to respond to our sincere cries for mercy for a backslidden nation.
The consultation on revival that I attended yesterday united a diverse group of Baptists, Pentecostals, independent charismatics and parachurch leaders including Paul Cedar of Mission America, Jane Hansen of Aglow International and Lou Engle of TheCall. We shared our hearts, prayed about the spiritual condition of the country and shed a few tears as we admitted how badly the American church needs another Great Awakening.
Billy Wilson, a Pentecostal who directs the International Center for Spiritual Renewal in Cleveland, Tenn., facilitated our discussion and asked us to envision what a 21st century revival would look like if (1) we commit ourselves to united prayer and fasting, and (2) God answers with fire. I certainly don’t have the full picture of what this will look like, but I shared these insights with the group in Virginia and I’ll now pass them along to you.
1. The next revival will surprise us. It is wonderful to read about the ways God moved in past revivals. But we must heed the word of the Lord from Isaiah: “‘Behold, I will do a new thing’” (Is. 43:19NKJV). Just as the apostle Peter was shocked when the Holy Spirit fell on the gentiles in Cornelius’ house, we too will be surprised (and some of us will be offended) by the way God works.
2. It will be controversial. The Holy Spirit does not need our permission to break status-quo religious mind-sets. When He moves in power, not everyone in the church will welcome God’s holy disruption. Some denominations and religious systems will criticize it—and persecute those who promote it.
3. It will be gloriously messy. Sinners are converted by the thousands during times of revival. But when people who suffer from the effects of abuse, abandonment, fatherlessness, addiction, occultism and sexual brokenness find God, they require pastoral care. I hope we are prepared to heal their wounds, cast out their demons and welcome them into our churches. (Reminder: Many churches shunned the hippie converts of the Jesus movement. Let’s not make the same mistake again.)
4. The next revival will not be white. Expect African-Americans, Hispanics and other immigrant churches to play lead roles. Christians who harbor racist attitudes will have a difficult time with the way God’s love is lavished on people who don’t look like them.
5. It will be accompanied by astounding miracles. There’s no reason that the powerful demonstrations of supernatural power occurring in non-Western countries can’t happen in the United States. We must reject our intellectualism and unbelief and expect the impossible.
6. The next revival will involve empowered women. What God did in the early Pentecostal movement—when women such as Aimee Semple McPherson shook cities for God—was a foretaste of what we will see in this next season, when women discover new freedom from the limitations of tradition.
7. Old church programs, patterns and facilities will become obsolete. When the new wine appears, we will quickly recognize how ineffective our old wineskins were. The next revival will require us to be innovative and eager for change. Stay flexible.
8. Technology will play a big role. Imagine the raw spiritual energy of a Great Awakening traveling digitally into every home, campus and business. It will happen.
9. Revival will shift us into humility and brokenness. When God’s manifest presence erupts upon us in a new way, our only proper response will be to repent of our arrogance and the cheap celebrity Christianity we have paraded before the world. Leaders will weep from their pulpits, congregations will soak altars and we will know the presence of a God who draws near to the humble.
10. As in previous revivals, this one will come with great conviction. During the First and Second Great Awakenings, there were times when people who heard the gospel felt such intense remorse for their sin that they fainted in anguish. We’ve never seen the tangible fear of God fall on the church in this way, but I believe it is coming.
If you are desperate for such a move of God, I encourage you to join the growing number of believers who have decided to commit themselves to extraordinary prayer until the floodgates are opened.
J. Lee Grady is editor of Charisma. He encourages you to participate in the National Day of Prayer events, to be held May 3 in your local area. Log on at www.ndptf.org to find out more. Lee also encourages you to attend TheCall, a national event that will focus on prayer for America’s youth. It will be held at Titans Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., on July 7. Log on at www.thecall.com for more info. For more info on the International Center for Spiritual Renewal go to www.icfsr.org. Read more about the Assembly 2007 in Virginia Beach at www.theassembly2007.org.