Reformation Before Revival
Drawn from the teaching of Professor Gary S. Maxey · 2 min read
"Revival" is a word that people love. "Reformation" is a word most avoid. Professor Gary Maxey insists the second comes first.
The claim
In his book on why revival tarries, he writes that at the heart of the challenge for a fresh outpouring of revival in Nigeria is the flood of false teaching over the past forty-plus years. He calls the accumulation of theological debris on the church landscape frightening and epidemic. He says we are not likely to see national revival unless we first have a significant reformation.
Why he is saying it
Professor Maxey wrote with Peter Ozodo a book titled The Seduction of the Nigerian Church. He says they did not write to complain. They wrote because they were convinced that false doctrines effectively block revival. Until we identify and remove them, it will be difficult or even impossible to have the attitude and heart to embrace biblical revival.
The four areas
He and Ozodo point to four areas of false teaching the church must renounce:
1. The Word of Faith or prosperity teaching, which gives a false understanding of faith and enthrones materialism. 2. The practices and mindset of African Traditional Religion within the church. 3. A wrong definition of what it means to be Spirit-filled, focused on signs and gifts and not on Christlikeness. 4. Hyper-grace teaching, which says God is always happy with us whatever we do.
Narcissism as the root
Professor Maxey describes a narcissistic generation, far too focused on itself. He says we have become humanists who have dethroned God and enthroned ourselves. Worship is more about feeling good than prostrating ourselves before an omnipotent God.
A hard image
He ends the section with strong words. He says the well has been poisoned. We have been inoculated against genuine revival. We must rise and clear out our theological debris.
For the reader
Professor Maxey's list is a diagnosis, not a hunt for enemies. Take it as a checklist for your own church. Which of the four has the strongest hold on the teaching you hear or give? Pick one, find its main texts and test them against the whole Bible.
Drawn from the teaching of Professor Gary S. Maxey.
