By Shafer Parker

It is my joy to report that last Saturday, April 29, God stepped in and enabled FBB to put on a fantastic Be Ready conference. This was FBB’s eleventh annual conference, and because it was all about progressive Christianity, it was arguably the most timely we’ve ever produced. Described as a rest stop on the road to atheism, progressive Christianity is on the march in the English-speaking world, subverting so many well-meaning Christians and churches that it can feel, at times, as if the whole world has gone mad with it. Thankfully, strong, courageous individuals are exposing it and counteracting its lies, and it was our privilege to have two of the best, Alisa Childers and Jon McCray, to speak.

But these two special people are all over the internet, thank God, and so I thought I’d take a few moments to share with you the heart of the talk I prepared as a breakout session. I gave it the same title as this blog for two reasons. First, following in the footsteps of 2,000 years worth of Christian thinkers, I have become convinced that revival is God's primary means for taking new territory for Christ’s kingdom. The logical outflow from this position is, of course, that Christians must do everything possible to seek and encourage revival. Second, we must reject anything that might hinder the arrival of the next heaven-sent outpouring of the Spirit. This is the great danger of progressive Christianity. I am convinced that the kind of faith fomented by progressive Christianity is so different from “the faith once for all delivered to the saints,” that to embrace it means shutting the door on any further supernatural work of God.

What is revival? It is a supernatural visitation of God upon His people. He comes by the Spirit, not by the latest celebrity personality, to enhance the ordinary means of doing His work. Thus, in times of revival ordinary preaching becomes extraordinary, and worship is deepened and enlivened. In such times just hearing God’s word read without explanation can persuade men and women to believe. But not in some half-dead, mostly worldly way. Rather, in revival times, faith comes in power to conquer the flesh and raise up people who are ready to live and die for Jesus—for the rest of their lives. Sometimes revival impacts individuals, sometimes it touches churches or regions, and sometimes whole nations or continents. But again, this is done as a movement of God, not man. To anyone who cares to examine the situation it is clearly to be attributed to the “wind of the Spirit,” rather than the strategizing of man.

When revival comes, it transforms institutions. Churches grow and new churches are planted. Bible schools are formed, or re-energized. Families are knit back together, and broken relationships are restored. And, as Martyn Lloyd-Jones makes clear, even the secular community takes notice. “In a time of revival,” he writes, “you will find that the moral tone and the moral level, not only of the Church, but of the world outside the Church, is visibly affected and raised.” In fact, after pointing out that many evangelistic campaigns have no visible impact on society, even while reporting large numbers of conversions, Lloyd-Jones adds, “That is never true in a revival. Even people who are not converted are influenced and affected.”

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But perhaps you are asking, is revival really the only way to take new territory for the kingdom? Well, I didn’t say it is the only way, I said it is God’s primary way. Think about the first generation church. Not only was it born in revival (3,000 souls saved on day one!), thirty years later, when Paul was preaching throughout Greece (mostly Gentile territory), it was said of him and his cohort, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also (Acts 17:6, ESV)! Other translations add to our understanding: “Raised a tumult throughout the empire (Weymouth), “upsetting things everywhere” (CEV), and "have caused trouble all over the world” (NLT). In other words, the church was so full of life and power that for an entire generation they made converts at such a rate that everyone else felt threatened.

A time did come, however, when the church’s zeal began to wane. We read about it in Revelation 2-3. What’s fascinating to me is, when the church began to waver in the face of Jewish and Roman opposition, Christ accused them of having “abandoned the love you had at first” (Rev. 2:4). But instead of suggesting they try something new to grow the church, He told them to “repent, and do the works you did at first” (Rev. 2:5). Jesus was telling them to return to the place where revival can be meaningful. He was telling them to put Him and the gospel first, not to “progress” onward toward something new. This is our Lord’s consistent position throughout Rev. 2-3. To all the churches He offers variations of “hold fast what you have” (Rev. 2:25), and “strengthen what remains” (Rev. 3:2). Why? Because only in revival does the kingdom grow.

I have another way to argue for revival as a key component of kingdom growth. A few weeks ago I came across a website that reports 269 accounts of historical revivals, beginning in Old Testament times and extending into the twenty-first century. Not only is the list offered for your perusal, each is a hyperlink to pages of reporting, putting each revival in its proper context, giving an analysis and mentioning key figures in the ongoing work. I defy you to go to that website and read up on these revivals without coming to the conclusion, “This is how Christ builds His church and grows His kingdom.” If you go to the website, you’ll be amazed at how many times revival sustained God’s promises to Abraham. Next you’ll be astounded by the fact that revival is a worldwide phenomenon. You’ll be blessed to note that no geographical area of the world has failed to be touched by revival. Finally, you’ll be broken by the realization that two or three generations have passed since the North American continent last experienced a genuine revival.

The lack of revival on our continent should not surprise us. According to Be Ready keynote speaker Alisa Childers, progressive Christianity has so infiltrated North American churches that large numbers now deny the atonement, reject the divinity of Jesus, and see the Bible, not as the Word of God, but as a product of an ancient, irrelevant culture. Moreover, most progressive Christians accept same-sex relationships and marriage, and stand as allies with those “coming out” as transgender. But perhaps progressive Christianity’s greatest hindrance to revival is its rejection of the gospel. From the progressive perspective, everyone goes to heaven, and no one goes to hell. Social justice becomes the heart of their “good news,” partly because while they focus on earthly things, they are equally convinced all religions lead to God and that no one religion holds all truth. Thus no one needs to be saved because everyone is already saved.

So, how will we know when that much desired heaven-sent revival comes down among us? One of the first signs will be widespread repentance among the progressive churches and a new readiness among such to “do the works [the true church of Christ] did at first” (Rev. 2:5). God help us to long for, and pray for that day! May it come sooner, rather than later.

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