ELCA NEWS SERVICE
November 6, 2007
FEATURE: Lutherans Bring Back the 'Revival'
07-185-MRC
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Over the summer a white, circus-sized tent
appeared on the grounds of St. Timothy Lutheran Church, Troy,
N.Y., garnering looks of interest from all who passed by,
according to Marilyn Dyer. Although known throughout the
community for its "innovative approach to ministry," St. Timothy
reached a high point in its aspiration for doing things
differently by organizing a "revival" or "renewal" -- an
evangelism and worship trend currently making its way across the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Although the congregation heard plans for the revival for
more than a year, there seemed to be general skepticism, said
Greg Whitney, member of St. Timothy and chair of the committee
that organized the revival. Amid the skepticism, the committee
proceeded with its plans and publicized the revival through
public service announcements, newspaper articles and ads,
securing food donations, music and more.
"God is the one who made the revival happen," said Whitney.
Members of the church who had expressed some skepticism attended
the revival and "not only did they come, but they were blessed
and felt God's presence. I think revivals will catch on more in
the church once people move beyond their preconceived notions
about what are revivals. Once we experience it we'll learn more
and take part in worship as a way of listening more to God," he
said.
"The word 'revival' has a reputation for being fundamental,"
said Dyer, but the revival at St. Timothy "was a very moving,
lovely experience. Those who attended learned that the word
'revival' is not to be feared and can, in fact, be an unexpected
spiritual reawakening."
Dyer, a member of St. Timothy for more than 30 years, said
that "stepping out of the box in worship allows for new
expressions of faith, a new understanding that different doesn't
mean bad or weird. Faith comes in all shapes and sizes, and we
know that Christ called the unusual to be his disciples."
More than 100 people attended each day of St. Timothy's
three-day revival in August. "The planning and execution of the
revival was a remarkable blessing for the congregation. New
leaders emerged, and the energy and excitement following the
revival has led to plans for increased outreach in the community,
so that all will know God's love," said the Rev. Kimberly R.
Cottingham, St. Timothy.
St. Timothy is one of more than 20 congregations of the ELCA
that have organized a revival, but the "numbers are much higher
because congregations have partnered with three to as many as six
Lutheran churches in their community for one revival," said the
Rev. Kathryn I. Love, director for prayer and renewal, ELCA
Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission.
Love said revival in the ELCA is "quite different from what
you would experience with the 'Billy Grahams' of the world, who
are seeking for people to become saved or to do some kind of
great confession." She said revivals are not new in the Lutheran
church and date back to the day of Martin Luther -- a 16th
century German monk whose teachings founded the Lutheran
tradition.
Lutherans "are using revival services as a safe place to
pray for spiritual renewal, share stories and our testimonies,"
said Love. "When the intercessor at the revival asks, 'How can I
pray for you,' I'm surprised that about 75 percent of the time
(prayers) are not for the individual but for someone else. God
is moving in our church through prayer. We are realizing that
God is doing things through people, and this is our window of
opportunity to assist in the ministries of the ELCA, equipping
others to train, lead and support the promotion of the Gospel, so
that people who do not understand the love of God may become rich
in the knowledge of God's love for them and their communities,"
she said.
"'Revival' is a word that makes some Lutherans nervous
because it has a history, especially associated with the 'Great
Awakenings,' that seems to suggest that worship is about a
gathering of individuals experiencing or coming to terms with
their faith individually. In other words, it's people in the
presence of other people but the communal dynamic can be lost in
talk of a decision related to faith in God rather than what it
means to be called and gathered into the people of God," said the
Rev. Michael Burk, executive director, ELCA Worship and
Liturgical Resources.
"So when it comes to a word like 'revival,' Lutherans often
say, 'let's talk about renewal instead of or in addition to,'
whereas maybe it's healthier to think that 'revival' is a word we
too can claim," said Burk.
Revival in the ELCA is defined as "the work of the Holy
Spirit, invigorating, molding and shaping congregations to do the
will of God," said Love. "In Lutheran revival we desire God's
spirit to rekindle in us the spirit of joy, hope, peace and love.
In Lutheran revival services, we ask that these gifts be stirred
up for the sake of mission and ministry, equipping our
congregations as places where witnessing to the Good News is a
way of life."
A fear among Lutherans, when they think about a revival, is
"losing who we are as Lutherans," said Love. But "it seems to me
that after every revival service people become excited about it,
particularly after seeing the resources we've produced about
Lutheran revivals. The resources have been instrumental in
breaking down the barriers, the fears that (exist) in the
beginning, and offer an opportunity for Lutherans to talk with
one another about what revival really means to Lutherans."
Love said Lutheran revivals are centered on the sacraments,
such as Holy Communion and the Word. "We have dipped ourselves
into who we are as Lutherans, using the sacraments and services
to fashion revivals that can be acceptable in the Lutheran
Church," she said.
The resources include a DVD with companion booklet that
shares the story of Lutheran revival, seasons of renewal and the
Holy Spirit. Insights from the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding
bishop of the ELCA, are featured.
The book "Renewing the Passion: A Guide to Spiritual
Renewal" offers several revival worship models and outlines on
how to plan a prayer event, conference, retreat and more.
The resources were developed as a result of the ELCA's
evangelism strategy -- "Sharing Faith in a New Century: A Vision
for Evangelism in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America."
Adopted by the 2003 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, the strategy has
three overall objectives -- call the church to prayer, prepare
and renew evangelical leaders, and teach discipleship.
Love said the third objective of the strategy contains the
directive for congregations to "'host a variety of inspirational
evangelical mass rallies, gatherings or revivals.'"
Churches don't have to pitch a tent, "but some congregations
want to feel like they're in revival," said Love. Most revivals
take place inside a church building, are organized by three or
more congregations in the same town or extended community, and
can take place over the course of three days. Most include meals
served either before or after the revival. When three
congregations are involved in a revival, each congregation hosts
a day and/or evening in its church building.
Revival services took place Oct. 14-21 at all seven ELCA
churches in the U.S. Virgin Islands -- Nazareth Lutheran Church,
Cruz Bay (St. John); Reformation Lutheran Church, St. Thomas;
Frederick Lutheran Church, Charlotte Amalie (St. Thomas);
Kingshill Lutheran Church, Kingshill (St. Croix); Holy Trinity
Lutheran Church, Frederiksted (St. Croix); Lord God of Sabaoth,
Christiansted (St. Croix) and Christus Victor Lutheran Church,
Estate Lavallee (St. Croix).
"Every church was filled to capacity. More people attended
the revival services than we had expected," said the Rev. Themba
Lancelot Mkhabela, Reformation. Mkhabela said members of the
churches were encouraged to invite their families and friends to
the revival. "We posted banners, bought airtime on radio
stations and placed ads in newspapers about the revival. I was
also interviewed on a WSTA radio talk show," said Mkhabela.
These efforts "really paid off well."
The revivals were "very exciting, amazing. There was lots
of music and prayer. We realized that people seemed to be the
most moved by the prayers, especially by the laying on of hands
and anointing with holy oil. I think there is a hunger in the
church for getting back to the basics, like reading the Bible,
engaging in Bible study, prayer, renewal and regeneration of our
churches. People really want this; they want things that matter.
They want to know what it means to be a Christian and what it
means to lead life as a Christian. It is incumbent on the whole
church to provide resources and opportunities for people to
connect to our basic Christian values," said Mkhabela, adding
that all seven churches in the U.S. Virgin Islands will continue
"to build on this and focus on congregational renewal and
regeneration. It was an entire church experience because of the
support we've received from the ELCA Churchwide Office, ELCA
Caribbean Synod, and others."
Three ELCA congregations in Omaha, Neb., hosted the "River
City Renewal" Oct. 10-12. Worship at St. Timothy's Lutheran
Church on Oct. 10 focused on renewal through the sacrament of
baptism. Worship at Morning Star Lutheran Church on Oct. 11
focused on the sacrament of Holy Communion, and worship at First
Lutheran Church focused on renewal through "the Word." As part
of the revival, First Lutheran hosted a 'block party,' which
included a cookout, Mariachi band, prayer stations and more.
"Our first and primary goal was spiritual renewal and
revival for all who attended," said the Rev. Fred Landsberg, St.
Timothy, as well as "supporting the ELCA's evangelism strategy."
He said another goal was to build bridges -- build cooperation
with area congregations in the urban and suburban areas of Omaha.
About 400 people attended the first service "to celebrate
and be revived by God's Spirit. People came for prayer to
confess, be touched by God and be healed. A massed choir of 60
people from all three churches sang. It was an evening to be
remembered," said Landsberg.
"We want to be a witness to congregations in the ELCA
Nebraska Synod, (illustrating) that cooperation among
congregations is important and good. This is the first time
we've done this, and (we) hope it'll further spark activities
among congregations here," he said.
Revivals in the ELCA "are happening a lot more quickly than
we initially thought," said the Rev. Mary C. Francis, assistant
director for new starts, ELCA Evangelical Outreach and
Congregational Mission.
"It was two years ago this past August that Kathryn (Love)
came to have lunch with me and asked how I would like to host a
revival at church. It clicked right away with me, and I knew
that was the thing to do. At that point, I had been pastor of
the church for 10 days. And within three months, we held a
revival. (Subsequently,) three revivals were held in Chicago and
more in the greater Chicago area," said Francis, who is one of 17
ELCA pastors who serve as "revivalists."
The revivalists are sent "two by two," said Love, and clergy
are Arab and Middle Eastern, Asian and Pacific Islander, American
Indian and Alaska-Native, African Descent, European American, and
Latino/Latina. "We try our best to make it multicultural. This
is an important piece for me," she said.
"Revivalists are also not compensated," said Love, noting
that almost 70 percent of the time there is no offering taken
during a revival. "If there is money collected it's given to an
ELCA ministry, such as Lutheran Disaster Response or the ELCA
World Hunger and Disaster Appeal. That's what makes (Lutherans)
different. We are not filling our pockets. We're trying to get
people to look into their souls, so that they can prepare
themselves to do the work and ministry God's asks for," she said.
"The revivalists are taking from their time to make this
happen because they sense that this is a call from God and the
church," said Love. "We depend solely on the Holy Spirit to move
the people of the church to a place where they sense a need to be
revived."
- - -
The ELCA evangelism strategy is at
http://www.ELCA.org/visionevangelism/strategysummary.pdf
and information about ELCA renewal and revival is at
http://www.ELCA.org/evangelizingchurch on the Web.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
