Talk of revival began at Asbury University two weeks ago.
Asbury University started as a Holiness Movement school, which is the basis for Methodism today. The school has been engulfed in visitors and is now cutting back on its 24/7 non-stop revival sessions.
This surge - drawing people from all over - should not be a surprise, since various organizations have had youth programs and enormous youth gatherings for many years. These youth efforts have been mostly superficial, heavily involved in superficial events. Fuller Cemetary and its copycats have taught American Protestants how to empty the Gospel of any value, appealing to "happy campers," a term I heard at a Church Growth event in Columbus Ohio.
Even children get tired of candy. I remember storing our Halloween loot it in large paper bags in our joint, 3-brothers clothes closet. We grew tired of our treasure over time, especially since some was rock hard, so Mom tossed it all out. We saw the defenestration as a great betrayal for a few minutes. We recovered. After all, being heirs of the Melo Cream Donut fortune had its perks.
The Church Growth emphasis on superficiality has grown especially tiresome, with bald and aging Boomers trying to gin up enthusiasm for their borrowed, tiresome Happy Camper music. The impact at Asbury is a reaction against the Popcorn Cathedrals of Love and soft drinks.
The "conservative" Lutherans are so caught up in fizzling, sizzling Fuller Willow Creek ideas that they forget the adage -
The Church that dances with the Spirit of This Age will be a widow in the Age To Come.
(Attributed to Dean Inge)
 |
| Do I hear an Amen? |
