5 Thoughts on the Asbury Revival (WARNING: #5 is the longest)

I’ve been asked several times now, “What do you think of the Asbury Revival?” Or “Could you just briefly mention something about it in your next sermon?” First of all, there’s nothing brief when it comes to my thoughts or my sermons, HA! However, I suppose it’s gained national attention—perhaps international at this point—so it seems appropriate to share.

1. Let me be clear that any/all of my personal thoughts are incomplete and insufficient simply because I have not been present at Asbury to experience any of it. My only interactions of the revival is second-hand through social media videos, one-liner tweets expressing either support or skepticism, as well as blogposts and news articles with a more long-form take. Please receive whatever I have to say with a grain of salt. I would also encourage you to reserve judgment about the event as well.
2. Any move of God that brings transformation of the heart both individually and collectively is a good and positive thing. PERIOD.
3. I think it’s rather unique, coincidental, Spirit-led, or whatever adjective you think is appropriate to describe the timing of this with our church specifically. Back in late August / early September of 2022, our teaching team decided upon a series for January of 2023 called Revival. It focused primarily on prayer and fasting. In November and December of 2022, we were playing around with the idea of doing something related to worship for February: Black History Month, and exploring other cultural expressions of worship. But, for some reason the team collectively thought, “What if we just did part 2 of Revival: Worship?” Little did we know that revival (the word, the concept, the experience) would hit the national stage. It’s important to pay attention to things like that and see that God is up to something.
4. The genesis of this movement seems to be credited to students—young people. This is key. The prophet Joel seemed to be specific that the young people, at some future date, would experience the outpouring of God’s Spirit in a new way. Then at pentecost in Acts 2, the Spirit is poured out in a rather incredible way as a group of young disciples of Jesus dedicated themselves to prayer and waiting on God (most of the disciples were closer to their teenage years than adulthood). Some 3000 people are transformed as a result of a movement of young people. 
5. What I observe from a distance is one thing. What I wonder about for the future is another. My curiosity is simply this: “What will this lead to?” I want to spend the rest of this space exploring different forms of that question and expressing my hopes. I also want to push us and stretch us toward more (me included).

What will this lead to?

Before I go too much further, let me first recall a story that I often think about in moments like this. In one of the Gospel narratives, Mark 9 describes this moment when Jesus asks just a few of his disciples to go up on a mountaintop with him. As they arrive, there is an incredibly transcendent and supernatural experience where they see Jesus transfigured in a whole new way. Then they see what seems to be the appearances of Elijah and Moses—two literal heroes of the Jewish faith. It’s like the first high school church camp retreat on a Saturday night where everyone is so moved and inspired. So, naturally, Peter speaks out and says, “It’s wonderful for us to be here! We should build shelters for you all!” Some think Peter is just calling for an opportunity to commemorate the experience; others would say that Peter is essentially asking them to stay in this moment for as long as possible. Let’s just stay here! My kids often say when we are at a close friend’s house, “Can we please stay the night?"

Either way, Peter is kind of missing the point. Eventually a voice speaks only about Jesus and the importance of listening. "This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him." Meanwhile Elijah and Moses are no longer there; while they are the heroes of the Hebrew people, they don’t even compare to Jesus. As they walk down the mountain, Jesus speaks about suffering (total buzzkill) and they head right back into the chaos of the day in the valley. Arguments of religious leaders and a demon-possessed boy foaming at the mouth is followed by a crowd who doubts Jesus’ ability to do anything about it. Perhaps Peter’s plea to stay on the mountaintop for as long as possible doesn’t seem all that far off.

The encounter on the mountain top would be the only one like its kind. The experiences in the valley are basically the everyday activities Jesus faces regularly. And oh, a little thing called suffering will soon come, too. 

When I was in youth ministry, we would go on these weekend retreats where everyone was disconnected from the everyday chaos of life for just a moment. They encountered Jesus in new ways. They were filled with the Spirit; some, for the first time. And no matter what we said on Sunday about the importance of leaving this place and taking what we experienced into the everyday, we’d always hear many of them on the following Wednesday say something like this, “I just don’t feel as connected to God now as much as I did at the retreat.” This is a pattern no matter how much we taught into it. 

There’s a high on mountaintop experiences. And that’s OK! It’s important to have those experiences; but life can’t be lived on a mountaintop, it must be endured in the valley.

Is the Asbury Revival a mountaintop? If so, then the call from the voice of Heaven on the transfiguration mountain is a declaration of who Jesus is (God’s Son), his status (dearly loved), and our response (listen to him). A similar proclamation about Jesus happens at his baptism in Mark 1. I believe that the true proclamation of Jesus is happening at Asbury. I believe that people are responding and listening to him. I am truly excited for how God might use these individuals and groups who are being transformed by proximity to this event. And, after both announcements (Mark 1 & 9), each time, the very next action is going back down—either into the wilderness where Jesus will endure excruciating temptation or into the valley where Jesus and his disciples will experience turmoil, demon possession, and other chaos. 

AND…after Asbury...

Will there be a willingness to walk back down into the wilderness?

Will there be a willingness to go back to the valley with all its chaos?

Will there be a willingness to endure suffering in whatever form it may come?

Will this lead to movements of JUSTICE?

Let's get specific.

Will there be a willingness to seek professional help for mental illness in addition to prayer?

Will there be a divorce of the Gospel and Christian Nationalism as a result of this revival?

Will there be a decrease in hate? Racism? Anti-semitism? Asian hate? Homophobia? 

Will this lead to what James calls true religion: caring for the widow and the orphan?

Will there be an increased compassion for the foreigner?

Will there be an increase in economic equity for the poor, for the single parent? 

Are these folks even able to experience events like the Asbury revival or are they so overwhelmed by the endless pressure to get food on the table and keep their heads above water?

Will we see a holistic increase in the sanctity of life-the born and the unborn?

Will there be a willingness to come alongside and support expectant mothers who would rather not be?

Will there be a heightened awareness of how we pollute the Creation to which we’ve been entrusted?

Will leaders in our churches become less concerned about legalism and moralism and be so transformed by grace and mercy?

Will we see a decrease in school shootings? Church shootings? Synagogue shootings? Workplace shootings? Temple shootings? Mosque shootings?

Will we see transformation in the school-to-prison pipeline for our black and brown sisters and brothers?

Will we see a decrease in mass incarceration?

Will this lead to a greater love of our neighbor?

Will we transform our lenses to see the image of God in others?

Justice isn’t simply the result of revival, it IS revival. 

It IS revival just like singing, speaking, praying, and fasting is. I love that revival is happening. It’s infectious. If you go or have gone to Asbury, I hope that God has given you a new vision and purpose for the way forward as a result of the experience. If you haven’t gone or won’t go or can’t go, your ability to experience revival isn’t impossible or even stunted. You don’t have to be exclusively at Asbury to experience revival. The move of God is not central to one geographical location. Jesus decentralizes the move of God by communicating that the Temple in Jerusalem is not the exclusive means by which we encounter the Spirit of God. Paul even goes on to say that you (your body) is [the new] temple where God’s Spirit dwells. Everywhere you go, you carry the weight of God’s Spirit and the capacity to enact justice in so many ways. 

God, give us the ability to reshape our view of who you are on the mountaintop and the courage to walk back down the mountain. Amen!

Jared Van Voorst

(Interim) Lead Pastor