Brokenness and repentance: American revival out of Asbury University
February 15, 2023 | Kentucky
Dr. Dennis Kinlaw, former President of Asbury University, notably said of the famed 1970 spiritual revival: “Give me one divine moment when God acts and I say that moment is far superior to all the human efforts of man through the centuries.”
Spiritual revival can be hard to define. But it’s impossible to manufacture, and there’s no question: A true revival of the Holy Spirit is happening again out of Asbury University in Kentucky.
Asbury’s chapel service concluded last Wednesday like most chapels do. However, something was notably different. The students didn’t leave. Many stayed and continued in worship, prayer, repentance, and sharing testimonies.
This revival is going on a week now, and the chapel with 1,200 seats is overflowing. Believers are driving, bussing, and flying in from around the country and even other campuses to join. Singer and songwriter Andrew Peterson has even postponed his upcoming performance slated for later this week at Asbury so as not to interrupt the revival unfolding.
Stan Key, Minister at Large with OneWay Ministries, says it is similar to Asbury’s 1970 revival. His father-in-law, Dr. Dennis Kinlaw, was the president of Asbury College at the time (now Asbury University).
“A chapel service on a Tuesday morning in February of 1970 just didn’t end. It just kept going for eight days. These were the days of Vietnam, Woodstock, LSD, these were troubled days and that movement impacted really the nation. Students would go to other campuses, they would go to their local churches and simply share the story of how God had visited the campus. Similar movements of the Spirit — brokenness, repentance, transparency, humility, kneeling in prayer — would happen in other places as well.”
What Is Revival?
Asbury Hall (Photo courtesy of Gerry Dincher via Flickr under Creative Commons: https://rb.gy/3bypuz)
The current movement has many Americans asking: What is revival?
“Jonathan Edwards defined revival as ‘the acceleration and intensification of the normal work of the Holy Spirit,’” Key explains.
Another quote he references is from missionary Norman Grubb: “‘Revival is when the roof comes off and the walls go down.’ In other words, the roof comes off our lives and there’s this awareness of God and His Holiness, particularly, and this sort of vertical dimension that is just palpable…. (Excerpt from Mission Network News)
