Crowds Are Not Revival

In his early years in Nigeria, Professor Gary Maxey and his wife drove out most Sundays from Port Harcourt to visit the village churches of his Bible college students. Their four children, between two and twelve years old, came along. The churches were packed. The welcome was loud. After the service the family spent hours walking the village, visiting homes.

The next week he would ask the pastor how his people had enjoyed the visit. The answer came back often: "It was great! We had a great revival!"

He understood quickly what the pastor meant. Revival meant a bigger crowd, louder singing, more smiling faces and more excitement. He loved the visits. But he felt he owed his students a gentler correction, and he gave them a sentence to remember. Revival never begins with happy singing, and it always ends with happy singing.

Where revival actually starts

The Bible shows the order. In Joel 2, the prophet tells a backslidden people to blow the trumpet, to fast, to weep and to mourn. He says to tear the heart and leave the garments alone. Rejoicing comes later in the same book, after the people have turned.

Every genuine revival Professor Maxey surveys follows this order, from the Cape in the 1820s to East Africa, the Congo and Nigeria. People first feel their spiritual poverty. They pray for mercy, sometimes for weeks. They confess. Then the joy comes, and it lasts because it rests on something real.

Five things we mistake for the real thing

Professor Maxey lists several substitutes and says none of them meets the biblical definition.

1. Church growth. More members means more members. 2. Better technology. Churches now reach thousands through social media, and the youth especially are drawn in. 3. Polished music. Professional sound and skilled musicians produce real excitement. 4. Organization. Strong management builds large ministries. 5. Activity. Churches pray, plant daughter churches and send evangelists, all without a change in how the members live.

He is careful here. He does not call these things bad. Good worship, prayer and evangelism are gifts. His point is narrower. An unrevived church can do every one of them well. It can sing beautifully and pray for hours and start new branches in three states while its members still lie, cheat and hold grudges.

Why this mistake is easy to make

Excitement feels like the presence of God. A hall full of people on their feet produces a feeling in the chest which looks the same as awe. Both bring tears, shouting and raised hands. Only the fruit separates them.

A test gives clarity. After a season of what a church calls revival, ask four questions. Did anyone return something they took? Did anyone make peace with an enemy? Did anyone stop a habit they kept hidden for years? Did the congregation begin to carry the gospel to people who do not yet know Christ? Professor Maxey says repentance, restitution, reconciliation and mission always follow a real visit from God. If the answer to all four is no, the church has had an event.

A better prayer than "do it again"

We are tempted to pray for more of what we already have: more people, more sound, more fire in the meeting. The prayer Professor Maxey recommends is harder. Lord, show me what is wrong with me. Show my church what is wrong with us. We are not asking for a better service. We are asking for a clean heart.

He holds that God answers this prayer, and that the joy which follows is far deeper than anything a crowd can produce.

Drawn from the teaching of Professor Gary S. Maxey.