Growing up, we heard about revival in my circles of church life. I believe my own salvation came as a result of the late Jesus Movement or Charismatic renewal in the Catholic church at the time. The revivals that were positively discussed were talked about how they lead people to Jesus and drew them closer to Him.
As I grew older, I saw other examples. There was the Toronto Blessing, the Brownsville Revival, and other related revivals. There was the Promise Keepers movement. Certainly, there were some good things to come out of those situations.
However, there were also some concerning things that came with these revivals and movements.
I worked with a church one time that was having a “scheduled revival.” (That has always seemed like an oxymoron to me. . .as if we can tell God when He is to revive His people.) They brought in a well-known preacher to lead the services. They asked him how long he was going to stay and his response was “as long as it takes.” The band was prepped and practiced to “move with the spirit” (I’ll leave that lowercase as I’m not sure which spirit was being moved. :-/). The ads were bought and run about it going on and some extra people showed up. . .but not enough to sustain and the “revival” eventually sputtered and the preacher left town well before they were all thinking (and before the coffers were full to their liking).
If you type “revival” in a search engine, you will probably find the latest sponsored event that is coming through with the cost of their tickets on display. The one I’m looking at right now has various levels of tickets to purchase. The variables for the pricing include standard/premier/VIP/Best Seats, Priority Entry, and Photos with some of the speakers. <sarcasm>But, hey, a box lunch is included at every level. . .if only Jesus would have planned better, a young boy’s loaves and fishes would not have been needed.</sarcasm>
As I was working out this morning, I was listening to some old Newsboys (I was never a fan of Michael Tait even before his scandal. . .but I was a big fan of Peter Furler era). The song “Lost the Plot” hit me and prompted this article. Here are the lyrics that hit home this morning:
When I saw You for the first time
You were hanging with a thief.
And I knew my hands were dirty,
and I dropped my gaze.
Then You said I was forgiven
and You welcomed me with laughter.
I was happy ever after.
I was counting the days
when You’d come back again.
We’ll be waiting for You.
When You comin’ back again?
We’ll be ready for You.
Maybe we’ll wake up when…
maybe we’ll wake up when
You come back again.
Lies.
Let’s be blunt.
We’re a little unfaithful.
What do You want?
Are You still listening?
‘Cause we’re obviously not.
We’ve forgotten our first love.
We have lost the plot.
And why are You still calling?
You forgave, we forgot.
We’re such experts at stalling
that we lost the plot.
lost the plot.
When You come back again
would You bring me something from the fridge?
Heard a rumor that the end is near
but I just got comfortable here.
The full song can be heard here:
In this song you can see a picture of us being saved and forgiven through the work of Christ but we let our relationship slide, becoming complacent in the relationship.
I’m not saying that God doesn’t work in some of the organized efforts. As a friend shares something he heard from God regarding some institutional church efforts, “It’s not of Me but I’m in it.” God works through whatever means He chooses to draw people to Himself. However, manufactured revivals often lose the plot and miss the point of the revival. Usually, if I see an ad for something like what I found online today (and I’ve seen ads for the same on television lately), it is no part of a revival in the making in my mind.
Revival is drawing me to Him:
When I saw You for the first time
You were hanging with a thief.
And I knew my hands were dirty,
and I dropped my gaze.
Then You said I was forgiven
and You welcomed me with laughter.
I was happy ever after.
I was counting the days
when You’d come back again.
We’ll be waiting for You.
When You comin’ back again?
We’ll be ready for You.
Revive me, Oh Lord.
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