Asbury Conundrum

 For the past 2 weeks, an allegedly spontaneous and ongoing revival has been taking place in the chapel on Asbury University campus in Wilmore, Kentucky.  Many evangelical and conservative Christians applaud this event as a demonstration of the Holy Spirit moving in our time, while others question the intent of the entire event. To say the least, this revival is certainly a conundrum.

As one who grew up and was sent to an (allegedly) evangelical Christian school, I myself am more than aware of the theatrical nature of evangelical revivals; having witnessed a number of them myself during my school days.  Such revivals are a time filled with preaching, singing, and heightened emotional states that encourage people to act out, supposedly in love of God.   However wonderful and spiritual it may seem though; I have also borne witness to the unfortunate reality of what happens when the singing is over, and life returns to its normal pace.   Those who hurl themselves at the "altar"(stage), sobbing and bemoaning their sins; more often than not will almost immediately return to the ways they proclaimed to want to leave. This is not necessarily an indictment on their sincerity in the moment at the invitation in a revival; but expresses a deeper truth: that faith is hard work, and often times people find it easier to return to their old habits rather than to walk through the wilderness of faith on the way to the promised land of eternal life.  

Sadly, the American Evangelical movement reinforces a negative stereotype for people of faith, which causes many to become disillusioned over time: that being Christian means you'll never be depressed and always happy.   Indeed, many expect the same emotional response they got at revival to continue in their daily lives afterwards; and become despondent when the Holy Spirit seems silent. The problem with evangelical revivals is that they rely solely upon human emotion; rather than the trans-formative power of the Gospel of Christ.  The preaching, the music; all are orchestrated in such a way as to whip the congregation into a frenzy of spirited (not spiritual) engagement, which culminates in convincing these emotionally agitated congregants to make lifelong commitments to a faith they may not at the time yet fully understand. 

Convincing someone to make a lifelong dedication to Christ when they are emotionally vulnerable is not always a good idea; because it reinforces the negative idea that encounters with Christ must always elicit a positive emotional response.  In truth, however, most people of sincere and dedicated faith go their entire lives with little to no emotional response from their encounters with God in prayer; because it is not about our emotions.  Emotion is a wonderful thing, but those things that make us happy today may not make us happy tomorrow.  I myself have witnessed many people who have turned against Christ and Church because of the lies propagated in the name of a revivalist mindset that preaches emotionalism rather than sincere faith. 

If I can impart one bit of wisdom to the reader it is this- 

While I am happy to see young people taking an interest in Church, my thoughts and concerns lie not with how many people will make a "commitment to Christ" in these proceedings; but rather with the quality of the faith they receive, and what happens to these souls when they are left alone and abandoned by those who claim to be "saving" them.  

I will recall a story I have told many times, from my experience in school.  Our Bible teacher was crowing one day about the large number of 3-5 year olds (yes, you read that correctly) who he had 'led to Christ' during a fall festival revival at his church.  I expressed my astonishment at this:

"Wow, 50 kids?   That is truly remarkable!  What were their names?"

*blank stare and silence from teacher

"Well, 50 is a lot, can you tell me 10 of their names?"

*silence and increasingly angry stare from teacher

"10 of them maybe?"

*silence and a stare that could melt ice.

"How about 5, can you remember 5 of their names?"

*Fidgets considerably in silence and is clearly wanting to change the subject.

"Sir, do you remember even ONE of their names?" 

The point here, should be obvious to the reader.   Our goal as followers of Christ is indeed to propagate the faith as we are called; but we have a solemn obligation to the converts we bring forth: to walk alongside them, to encourage them, to share the weight of the cross with them when they stumble and fall.  In short, we must live out the summary of the law: to Love God with all our heart, soul, and mind; and to love our neighbor as ourselves.  And to live that love as Christ has taught us- there is no greater love than that man lay down his life for his friends.