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This is basically a "see I told you so" article where the author feels vindicated that the Asbury revival didn't do what he thinks revivals should do. Rather than operate in faith and pray the the Holy Spirit causes people to get saved or Christians to bear fruit, the author celebrates being a nay-sayer.
This is basically a "see I told you so" article where the author feels vindicated that the Asbury revival didn't do what he thinks revivals should do. Rather than operate in faith and pray the the Holy Spirit causes people to get saved or Christians to bear fruit, the author celebrates being a nay-sayer.
Revival is not defined in the Bible. But it does describe various times when God moved in various situations, sometimes in surprising or unusual ways. There is nothing in the Bible about local churches receiving benefits from a revival, nothing about "lasting outcomes." There is nothing about "changing churches." The author's criteria is not found.
In fact, we would know nothing about what the Bible says if we were to rely on the author, since he never quotes or even refers to it. He mentions Jesus once and the Holy Spirit exactly zero.
He claims he called local churches to see what effect the revival had. However, he did not mention calling anyone who had attended, which would be a superior way of ascertaining what God might have done at Asbury. Neither did he contact the college. Yet he is more than happy to report a "fake" revival, even warning of unmentioned dangers to "young Christians."
So the author is an armchair quarterback hoping the home team will lose.
It’s been a year since the beginning of the Asbury “revival” in Wilmore, Kentucky. Last year, from February 8th to February 24th, up to 70,000 people visited Asbury University’s chapel to experience what they called an “outpouring,” an “awakening,” or a “revival.”
For two weeks many of the tens of thousands of people who visited Asbury responded to altar calls and witnessed “prophecies”, “speaking in tongues”, “casting out demons”, and “faith healing” at the chapel.
It was one of the biggest news stories at the time. It received attention from every major news outlet from CNN to Fox News. Conservative political commentators like Ben Shapiro, Tucker Carlson, and Charlie Kirk also talked about it on their shows.
What was happening at Asbury immediately became a sign of hope for Christianity and conservatism in America. Therefore, for some, the Asbury “revival” quickly became a test of the sincerity of some people’s relationship with God.
One revivalist preacher compared the Asbury revival to the Ark of the Covenant. He said:
“Do not pay attention to ‘arm-chair quarterbacks’ writing and critiquing Asbury Revival. They are much like Uzzah putting their hand on the ark. Let God do in this and through this moment what He desires and wills.”
Another preacher responding to those who expressed caution about the revival said: “This revival is revealing the hearts that have lost intimacy with the Lord.”
When I shared my concerns about Asbury, I received hundreds of comments saying:
“You sound like a Pharisee questioning Jesus,” “The Pharisaic legalist mindset is showing up, just like when Jesus showed up and didn’t fit their mold,” “I find this so sad. Reminds me of the religious leaders in Acts,” “You’re a Doubting Thomas,” and “You’re blaspheming the Holy Spirit.”
Another comment said: “I have no doubt God is going to use this movement to change churches and people.”
So a year later, what happened to the Asbury revival? Has God used the revival to change churches?
This week I called churches near Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky asking if they’ve experienced significant additions to their church membership or major changes in the lives of their church members because of the “revival.”
Every representative of the churches I spoke to said: “no.”
Nearly all of the people I spoke to said individuals from their churches visited Asbury Chapel during the revival, but they said they couldn’t highlight any lasting outcomes. One representative of a Slavic church said the Russia-Ukraine war has had a more noticeable impact on its members than the “revival.”
Last February, Zack Meerkrabs, the pastor whose sermon apparently started the revival said no one would know if it was a real revival until months later. A year later, it looks like what happened at Asbury was a fad, not a revival.
Seemingly, its only lasting impact is that the University had the biggest enrollment in its 133-year history this past September. One media outlet said it was an “unprecedented increase of nearly 20 percent.”
As I said in my article about Asbury last year, I became a genuine Christian at a fake revival. So I’m not saying it’s impossible that God regenerated or sanctified some people at Asbury. However, because of my experiences with fake revivals, I know how damaging they can be, especially to young Christians.
One of the reasons why many people attached their hopes to the Asbury revival is that it was counter-cultural to what we have become accustomed to over the last few years. Unlike every viral event involving Gen Zs, it looked like they were worshipping Jesus—instead of Black Lives Matter, abortion, LGBT ideology, and other social justice or leftist issues.
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