At the close of the chapel service February 8 at Asbury University, students stayed. And a spiritual awakening started. Since then, daily reports across social media are documenting this revival. So I won’t rehash the details here. If you need to catch up, start here and here for solid and reliable perspectives.
This revival is growing, thriving, and spreading. Hundreds of people are lining up at Asbury to participate. Cedarville University, Lee University, and others are experiencing revival. Now the revival is sweeping Samford University, a Christian university campus 400 miles away from Asbury.
Is it real revival?
Revival happens when God’s Spirit reignites His people so they will return to His priorities for His purposes. Through repentance, prayer, and worship, Christians return to a grasp of who God is and who they are called to be for Him (Is. 6:1-8).
In the last two weeks, wise voices have contributed to the conversation about revival, what it is, and how to know if it is legitimate. For instance, see the blog by Dr. Richard Blackaby here.
These thinkers and writers are answering key questions: Is a worship service necessary for revival? What about charlatans and fakers? And should we be concerned that it seems to be all about emotions? They address these questions with clarity and biblical truth.
So, there is something else I want to talk about.
God is always intentional
Just so you know where I stand—yes, by all evidence, God is moving, and this is a genuine revival.
But there’s something we need to be sure we do not miss. Something that goes beyond what excited Christians or nervous critics see. It’s something we often overlook when we analytically evaluate a work of God, or when God wakes us up and calls us to deeper submission, to holiness, and greater service.
It’s timing. God’s timing. And it means everything.
God is always intentional and proactive. Always. So His work is never accidental, incidental, or coincidental. It is always providential.
See, we tend to look at God’s work from the ground up, from our perspective. But if we believe in the sovereignty, the grace and the power of God, and we look at it from His perspective, we have to ask, Why this, and why now?
And here’s the part we don’t want to miss
So we cannot miss the magnitude of this moment in our culture. Here’s what I mean.
In past awakenings, our culture was still mostly grounded in biblical truth and a biblical worldview. Christianity was mostly respected, and its teachings were still influential.
But no more. Since 1970, three generations have been born and raised in America. We know them as Gen X, Gen Y (Millennials), and Gen Z.
And with each generation the rope to objective truth has suffered deeper cuts, being sliced and threaded until finally, now, most colleges and universities are severed from the truth.
Since 1996 Gen Z has grown up, entered the workforce, and become the leaders our future depends on. So, the first post-truth generation is the driving force in our culture, shaping social media, marketing, politics, and education.
Don’t misunderstand. The dissolution of truth started long before Gen Z came along. This is the world we gave them. Our universities taught them to adopt these caricatures and distortions of reality, to adopt postmodernism as a worldview. We told them that it was okay if there was no such thing as objective truth.
This is why . . .
And this long process of severing truth from reality is the reason we have indoctinators instead of educators. It’s the reason faux American history is being accepted as fact. It’s the reason that many sermons sound more like therapy sessions than biblical proclamations.
It’s the reason we are confused about gender and biology, we are confused about what constitutes human life, and we are confused about marriage, love, and accountability. It’s the reason we have lost all decorum in our culture, and we think that shouting, defaming, and canceling is now an acceptable response when we disagree.
We have raised an entire generation to believe that what they feel matters more than what is true. And—don’t miss this–that is the generation experiencing revival at our colleges. They are being swept up in the reality of the one true God, and we don’t want to miss what this means.
A new generation of influencers
So, consider this. God is drawing the post-truth generation back to Him, which will result in a reignited passion for reaching lost people, influencing the culture, and leading change (Ps. 119:9-13, Is. 6:1-13, 1 Peter 3:15).
They will have a new boldness, a fresh commitment to Christ, to the Gospel, and to His truth. They will influence their generation, and our future, for Christ.
And whether Christian Gen Zers are at Asbury, in your church, in your community, or in our colleges across the nation, we need to pay attention to this.
The post-truth generation is experiencing revival. And our nation may have its one last chance to recover from our addiction to self-centeredness, falsehood, and obsessive me-ism.
The Holy Spirit is moving, and we need to pay attention.
- We need to pay attention because they will need mentors.
A life-changing experience with God motivates change, but God’s truth gives us grounding in how to interpret and apply that change.
An awakening begins with a powerful experience, but it cannot stay there (Luke 9:28-36). This revival will either cement the notion among Gen Z Christians that even Christianity is decided by feelings, or it will return them to the truth. They will need mentors to guide them toward a biblical outcome.
And pay attention to the generations God has in your church. Is it time to step up and be a mentor? Gen Z responds to relationships, to people who care. Don’t criticize or complain if you haven’t bothered to listen to them and guide them in the truth.
- We need to pay attention because they will need courage.
Remember that these students will be standing against a tsunami of criticism and disbelief.
They will need courage to stand for truth against the onslaught of cancellations and misrepresentations. If the cultural trends continue, they will be persecuted and perhaps annexed to the fringes of society.
Impart courage (Josh. 1:9). Encourage and support. Pray for them and advocate for them.
- We need to pay attention because they will be leaders.
They will enter the workforce. Right now, bowing at chapel altars across our nation, are future pastors, professors, and politicians. Moms and Dads. Business owners, artists, educators. Mechanics and carpenters.
And they will all need to be practicing apologists. They will be on the front lines, defending the truth to their generation. This is true of all of our Gen Zers and college students. It’s time we stopped neglecting this in our churches, time we stopped thinking our students are entering a culture that will affirm and confirm their faith. They won’t.
- We need to pay attention because they will need prayer.
Rather than criticize or even analyze, pray this revival continues, and pray that it spreads. Pray that God infiltrates Harvard, Georgetown, USC and LSU and every university in our nation.
Because what is happening right now at Asbury could very well be our last hope as a nation.
After all, if Gen Z doesn’t come back to Christ, what will we do then?