Reviving Worship

There is a worship led revival beginning in Asbury, Kentucky. It’s now spreading across the US. And it’s awesome!

Back in January I spoke to a group of ministers in a leadership weekend for AWCF. I shared on the move from celebration of Jesus to worship of Him.

After I spoke, there was a move of God where we worshipped and spent a few moments in the altar weeping and crying out before God for more of Him.

Then there was a conclusion.

We were constrained by the time allotted to us by the rental agreement we had with the venue.

So we moved to the lobby of the hotel and continued speaking about worship and what was shared and how we have been celebrating Jesus for a season and now we were moved to worship Him.

Then we moved to the reception area of the hotel. We continued. We started singing songs we haven’t sang in a long time. Then we joked and we laughed. Then we spoke about lunch and times of plane departures.

This is the normal timeline of meaningful altar calls into every day life. It maybe a conference, a church service, or chapel at a Christian college. We transition from moments of heart-filled desire for God by way of worship into the regular, ordinary, mundane by way of turning off the spiritual conversations to food, jokes, and what’s-next-chit-chats.

The Asbury revival happens to be that a handful of students didn’t want to turn off the spiritual conversations. They didn’t want to turn of the worship into the mundane. The group didn’t want what was “next”. They wanted what was ”new” yet very ancient—the Presence of God.

Right now I’m listening to the minister who shared the day that the Asbury revival started. Nothing abnormal. Nothing too profound. Jokes in the message. Some ADHD moments. He was speaking about loving God and others. Nothing ”revelatory” or “reformatory”.

But worship is not about what is said or shared from the pulpit. Yes, it can stir our hearts. Yes it can lead us into moments of worship—even deep, searching ones.

But a revival of worship is about our desire to have our hearts turn to God, acknowledging that He desires for us to turn to Him. And quieting the regular and mandate. Refusing to transition from deep places in God into shallow places of regular living.

It’s turning the message into meanderings in the spirit and moments into being loved by God and allowing Him to express it unabashed, unhindered, unfettered, unashamed, and unbound by time.

Then hunger for food becomes secondary. Then desire for fellowship becomes spiritual, in prayer and group encouragement to surrender. Then worldly entertainment is relinquished for refreshing times in His Presence. Then inadequacies are replaced with longing for God. Worry is surrendered into wonderment. Hope rises from within to see Jesus lifted and His Name glorified. And conclusions are replaced by a hunger and desire for more.

And in worship, the backslider recommits, the sinner repents, and the world looks on and longs for the same depth and connection. God is always, always, always ready to bring heaven to earth. He’s done it before. He is doing it now.