Azusa's Fire, Graham's Stadiums pt 1
- May 16, 2015
- 3 min read
I really have no time for pessimistic Christianity. When Christians begin focusing primarily on what they think they cannot do, or what they believe will never happen, the world is in serious trouble. The nations need a church that is willing to dream with God, ask for the impossible, and live by the kind of faith that changes history with the power and love of God's kingdom. On the other hand, I have no problem with sober Christianity. I appreciate the willingness of many Christians to honestly acknowledge the problems in our world and the church. Of course, there is a tension here. I have to remember to celebrate the amazing things that have happened, and are happening now, without neglecting to be realistic about the problems and shortcomings that also exist today. We desperately need to embrace this tension when we look at the history of the church in the United States.
Too often I hear the pessimistic Christians railing against the history of the church in the U.S. To listen to them, you would assume that every Christian who has lived in this country was a legalistic racist with no concern for helping the poor, establishing justice, or loving radically (obviously, these folks fail to realize that many of the advocates for civil rights and the fair treatment of Native Americans were Christians, or greatly influenced by Christianity). Yet, the voice of those who long for the "glory days" of America's past ring out equally loudly, and with just as much of a fallacious viewpoint. These people mistakenly believe that at one time, everyone in the U.S. was a good Bible-believing Christian, and that all things religion and politics were clear-cut, orthodox, and far superior to what we see today. Of course, the truth lies in between these extremes. And I believe it is incumbent upon Christians to embrace the tension, celebrate the good, and repent of the evil. So what does this have to do with the fire of the Azusa Street Revival and Billy Graham's stadium-filling evangelistic crusades that my title alludes to?
Several weeks ago, I had the privilege of being with a group of regional and national leaders for fellowship, testimonies, and strategic planning. However, the Spirit took hold of the meeting, which quickly evolved into a time of intercession for the U.S. This happened before the meeting officially started, so when I entered the room I had no idea what was going on! But suddenly, the Lord spoke to me, and gave me a vision:
"The fire of Azusa Street must move into the stadiums of Billy Graham." I was looking down on the Azusa Street Mission, which was the center of the Azusa Street Revival. I saw God reach into the building and remove a handful of fire. He then took that fire to a large empty stadium. I saw Billy Graham standing behind a pulpit, looking out on the empty stadium and praying. I knew that he was asking God what the people who would gather there later that night needed to hear and experience. Then, he looked up, and saw the hand of God holding the fire from Azusa Mission. Graham immediately took his hands off the pulpit, and took several steps back, while God placed the fire on the pulpit. Then I heard the Lord speak again, "Look to your spiritual fathers-Bartleman, Seymour [leaders in the Azusa Street Revival], Graham-and sew their movements together."
As some of you know, God has spoken to many people about the need to learn from the Azusa Street Revival and Billy Graham's evangelism, and these were, in some ways, key aspects of what the leaders in that meeting were focusing on in their prayers and declarations. However, I believe that God is saying something unique here in addition to everything else he has already revealed (I will unpack all of this in detail in a follow-up blog, so I will keep my interpretation here short for now). The evangelical church at large (represented by Graham) is going to experience a tremendous awakening to the power of Pentecost (see Acts 2). This will coincide with an unprecedented zeal for evangelism and of the preaching of the Gospel. Billy Graham's stadiums will be filled once more, but this time, the preaching will be accompanied by signs, wonders, and miracles that confirm the church's message in ways that were not present before. Just as Paul said, "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power" (1 Cor. 2:4). Tremendous demonstrations are coming, so let's be diligent to pray that the best of the Azusa Street Revival and Billy Graham's ministry would find a resurgence today, while also praying that our generation would be wise enough to overcome the shortcomings in both of these movements.
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