Times of Refreshing: Thoughts on Authentic Revival

I'm looking forward to time with the InterVarsity chapter at the University of Mary Washington this Thursday, 3/10.  I'll be speaking to these students about something close to my heart: Authentic Revival.

I use the term "Authentic Revival" to distinguish between an outpouring of the Spirit and the practices associated with "Revivalism."  There is a difference between a season of God's renewing work and a series of meetings in a local church aimed at "getting people saved."  The one can be transforming for people and community, the other is prone to manipulation and dysfunctional excesses.  One I pray for daily, the other I resist.

I'll have more to say at the meeting, but I want to use this post to make several resources available to everyone.

Click Here for a downloadable .pdf of the handout from the meeting.  It is a page from Lovelace's Dynamics of Spiritual Life that presents a model or paradigm for thinking about "Authentic Revival."

Click Here for a chapter from my biography of Andrew Murray that recounts a season of revival in his church in Worcester, South Africa in 1860.  This was Murray's first direct experience of a move of God like this, and it has always left me giggling to see that he almost stood opposed to it!

Click Here for the Kindle version of the entire biography of Andrew Murray.

Click Here for an article I wrote on this particular revival for the Haddington House Journal.  I aim to look at this revival through the lens of Dr. Lovelace's pattern of revival.

Click Here for a recent blog post by Tim Keller with some of his thoughts regarding revival, including an 1832 book on the subject by William B. Sprague entitled Lectures on Revivals of Religion.

I'm thankful for the years I was able to study with Dr. Richard Lovelace, church history professor at Gordon-Conwell Seminary, reading, praying and thinking about "Authentic Revival."  His book Dynamics of Spiritual Life is rich with insight and scholarship.  Click here to order/see more.

In addition, I've been reading a new book on Authentic Revival called A God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories that Stretch and Stir.  It's a great way to get started in learning more about revivals through history.  Click here to order/see more.

The meeting will begin at 8 pm in Lee Hall on the campus of the University Mary Washington.  Everyone is welcome.