Revival or Regurgitation?

I don’t know about anyone else, but when I was growing up and even throughout my college career I dreaded tests. I never did very well on any kind of test that ever came my way. Perhaps in part because by nature I am a dreamer who is easily distracted while trying to study and maybe also because I did not do well at regurgitating information that was very one sided. You all know exactly what I am talking about. If anyone ever dared have another answer or way of getting to that answer that was differed from their teacher or professor they would receive back a test full of red pen or even worst, no explanation at all with a huge ‘F’ at the very top of the page.

This very thing kept happening to me over and over, because my thinking pattern differed from my teachers. Although my answer was not the same as those who taught me, many times I did not mean that the answer I had given was innately wrong. It was at the very core the same but just a different manifestation than what had been expected of me. All through my academic career this had become a bone of contention that to this day makes me question whether or not I even want to put my children in a traditional learning environment.

Throughout history, institutions have taught people to think in very linear functions. If you would derive from these forms of thought, you would automatically be deemed an anarchist or rebel to conventional thinking. Your process of thought would then be discounted and by societal standards you would be destined for failure, while those who perhaps achieved the same or slightly different answers through a conventional route would then be praised and lifted high because of their conformity.

Unfortunately it is this type of thinking that has also been praised within the confines of the church. In the context of the body of Christ, I really believe that this can be the most hurtful and divisive tool that the enemy uses to destroy our effectiveness and solidarity. Case in point… The Lakeland Outpouring.

This thing has been deemed a revival by a large majority of the evangelical/ charismatic world. Between 5 and 10 thousand people show up every night to see what is happening and be apart of the miraculous work of God. Now whether you adhere to a positive or negative view of it, it is not what is in discussion here. What is at the forefront of conversation is this idea of “revival.” People, Christian Leaders, “revivalists,” have deemed the Lakeland outpouring a revival because of the size and magnitude of this thing, people are being attracted to it, so if it smells like a revival, tastes live a revival and looks like a revival it must be a revival. What I want to know is, who defines the criteria of revival? Is there such a criteria found in scripture or is what we have deemed as revival, really only a narrow view of what God does in the lives of believers and the communities in which they live?

What if there was a church body that was so in love with Christ that they actually began living their live as revived individuals? People whom the old nature has passed away and the new has infiltrated their every being. What if the overflow of their intense passion for Christ was active care, concern and compassion for the community around them? Would we consider this to be a “revival?” What if within this congregation there were no “manifestations” of the Spirit (falling over, healings, shouting in tongues, shaking etc.) would we still be convinced of this revival’s legitimacy?

The truth of the matter is that in the evangelical world, we have imposed linear thought on this very subject. We have regurgitated the un-theological idea that God would rather reveal his presence and power through gold teeth than though his bride.

Because our movements are so entrenched within moments of time like the great awakenings, Azusa street, Brownsville, the Toronto Blessing and now Lakeland we have this need to recreated or regurgitate these moments into every local church. Many pastors and leaders spend most of their career and time trying to attain a linear idea of revival through conventional and conform eristic methodologies. We spend so much time concentrating on getting the Spirit to “fall” that we have forgotten that he resides within us and is just waiting to be unleashed trough His church. In our pursuit to recapture and recreate these moments I fear that perhaps we have stopped teaching the essentials of Christendom and have leaned too far on the side of our denominational and stylistic distinctives.

I believe with all of my heart that there are revivals going on in every denomination of our faith where passion for God and for his created people is at the forefront and at the core of everything they do. It is a fallacy to think that God only wants to unleash the power of his Spirit though moments that are so blatantly produced by human beings.

Wherever God is reviving a person, a church or an institution to His truth, mission and love these are the places where God is truly at work. May we cast off our the linear thoughts and preconceived notions we have about how God works. The truth of the matter is that He is God and can work however he pleases and chooses. Because we may not understand or accept it, does not take away from the fact that he is creator of the universe. Believe it or not, but He does not fit into our theological, linear or preconceived boxes. May we open up our minds to what God wants to do in our lives and in our world. Amen.