MERE REVIVAL
I continue to dream and pray about
a revival of holiness in our day that
moves forth in mission and creates
authentic community in which each
person can be unleashed through the
empowerment of the Spirit to fulfill
God’s creational intentions.
It’s hard to imagine a new Jesus
Revolution sweeping America today.
We live in a time of great cynicism in
the media, crass polarizations in the
national political debate, and the lack of
civil discourse that once characterized
the American experiment. Seventy
percent of Americans believe that the
country is as divided today as it was
during the chaotic era of the Vietnam
War. The same percentage says that
the nation’s politics have reached a
dangerous low point, and a majority
of those believe the situation is a
“new normal” rather than temporary.
This cynicism is no help in a world of
violence, terror, uncertainty, corruption,
and fear. Reports of terrorism abroad
or at home fill our news feeds every
week. Sex trafficking and human
slavery are the scourge not just of
faraway brothels and labor camps
but of suburban America. Drugs were
not just a threat in the ’60s and ’70s;
today’s crises of addiction, narcotics
trafficking, and opioid and other
epidemics are as grim as ever. The
much-vaunted sexual revolution of the
’60s seems quaint in a world where
mainstream platforms like Facebook
offer four or five dozen different gender
options for you to choose from in order
to identify yourself. Or you can custom
design one if your preference is not on
Facebook’s list.
The Jesus Movement’s One Way hand
sign—as in there’s but one way to
Heaven, through faith in Christ—would
be derided by some as offensive hate
speech today, with Jesus People carted
off to jail or to community service and
sensitivity training workshops. This
is a time, like all eras on our planet,
of great opportunity. The upheaval
actually combines an odd blend of
cynicism and longing, ugliness and
beauty, despair and hope.
And one thing we know: Jesus looks
upon our world and loves its people.
His holy affection floods toward all,
every tribe, nation, individual on this
terrestrial ball . . . and He calls those
Solutions • 33