Feb. 26, 2023, column in the Amarillo Globe-News:

Is God moving in America? Asbury revival, other actions surface

By Mike Haynes

                “They say Aslan is on the move…”

                That’s what the character called Beaver tells four English children after they arrive in the magical land of Narnia in C.S. Lewis’ beloved book, “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” Aslan is a majestic, all-powerful lion, obviously the Christ figure in the children’s book series.

                 Narnia has been in a state of eternal winter under the control of the White Witch. I won’t go further into the plot, but Aslan is the key to turning things around.

                In many ways, our 2023 world looks like winter. People are split in countless ways with war in Ukraine, nuclear-armed nations repositioning themselves, cultural disagreements, racial unrest and conflicts on abortion, for starters.   

                We need hope more than ever, and happily, there are some rays of sunshine.

                On Feb. 8, students at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky, attended a regular Christian service in Hughes Auditorium. At the normal time for it to end, they didn’t leave. They stayed – singing, talking about Christ in their lives and worshiping God. Students from other schools and people of all ages came to Wilmore to take part in the spiritual happening. It made national news as the “Asbury Revival.”

                Alison Perfater, the Asbury student body president, told Fox News a theme has been Habakkuk 1:5: “Look at the nations and watch – and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.”

                Perfater said, “There’s a young army of believers who are rising to claim Christianity as their own as a young generation and a free generation.” She said people have arrived from Brazil, Indonesia and most of the U.S. states.

                Nick Hall, a student ministry leader from Minnesota, said he knew the revival had spread last week to the University of Georgia, University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin, Iowa State, North Dakota State – and Texas Tech.

                It wasn’t the first time something like that had happened at Asbury. According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, similar unplanned events had happened there in 1905, 1950, 1958 and 1970.

                On Feb. 18, Asbury President Kevin Brown announced that, with multitudes of visitors causing traffic and parking problems and the police worried about safety, the revival would revert to a scheduled public worship service for the next few days.

                “We believe that the continued flourishing of such a movement invites us to commission our Asbury community, visiting students and other campus guests from across the world to neighbor-serving, God-honoring work,” Brown wrote.

                Those who remember the 1970 revival believe it had long-lasting effects. I’m not sure if there’s a connection, but many pastors in our part of Texas received their Christian education at Asbury Theological Seminary, a separate institution adjacent to the university.

                Mark, a friend in Florida who is active in ministry to the deaf and other Christian activities, told me he sees several signs of God moving in America, including at Asbury.

   

             As polls show that Christianity is on the downswing in this country, we have the first regular series about the life of Jesus – “The Chosen” – drawing millions of streaming views and placing in the box office top 10 when shown in movie theaters.

                Commercials from the “He Gets Us” advertising campaign were featured during Super Bowl 57. The ads promote messages such as “Jesus loved the people we hate,” and “Jesus invited everyone to sit at his table.”

                As Jesus predicted, the messages received pushback. A certain New York member of Congress tweeted, “Something tells me Jesus would *not* spend millions of dollars on Super Bowl ads to make fascism look benign.”

                “He Gets Us” spokesman Jason Vanderground replied, “The goal is that the two commercials will not only inspire those who may be skeptical of Christianity to ask questions and learn more about Jesus, but also encourage Christians to live out their faith even better and exhibit the same confounding love and forgiveness Jesus modeled.”

       

         Mark also mentioned a movie that started this week, “Jesus Revolution,” that tells the true story of evangelist Greg Laurie, then a young man, who met a charismatic “hippie” street preacher and a traditional pastor in the 1970s who linked arms to help start a Jesus counterculture movement. Not a low-budget Christian film, “Jesus Revolution” stars Kelsey Grammer, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Jonathan Roumie, Jim Gaffigan and Joel Courtney.

                And could even the ongoing split of the United Methodist Church be a movement of God? Although church splits mean people are disagreeing with each other, I see a silver lining – especially for those on the side of sticking with and respecting the traditional, biblical beliefs of the church. While those remaining in the UMC can proceed with the updates to the faith that they believe are necessary, those leaving now can practice freely the teachings of Jesus as orthodox Christians have for centuries. Maybe the split is unleashing a movement.

                Rowan Williams, the former archbishop of Canterbury, has been credited with the advice to “see what God is doing and join in.” It seems that, even in this dark world, the Lord is providing plenty of places to do that.