I count myself among those who long for Jesus to revive his people.
I love to read about revival and remind people to live expectantly for it in our day. I am often asked to teach about revival and work closely with my friend, Oscar Merlo, who is the Director of Biola's Center for the Study of Revival. Our church spends significant time praying for it and I've co-written a primer on revival prayer. I am taking some of our pastor's to meet the leaders of the Asbury Awakening this month. I celebrate the thousands of baptisms that took place at Pirate's Cove in Newport Beach this past month that hint at a new and desperately needed move of God coming to California. All this to say, I am more of a revival enthusiast than a revival skeptic.
Man-manufactured or God-orchestrated?
But I took heed of Francis Chan's warning a few years ago that we need to be able to discern between man-manufactured 'revival' and God-orchestrated revival. He compared a wave machine in a wave pool that manufactures a predictable pseudo-wave to the beauty, power and unpredictability of a genuine wave. One of the marks of true revival is unpredictability. Men cannot start it, control it or end it.
Which brings me to a recent conversation that I had with a wise friend about the tragic leadership scandals in the Evangelical/Charismatic Church these past years. From Bill Hybels to Ravi Zacharias, from Mark Driscoll to Carl Lentz and Brian Houston, from Mike Pilavachi to Alan Scott, I have looked on with utter dismay at these gifted, high profile leaders who have either fallen morally or been accused of spiritual abuse. The last two names give me a pit in my stomach as I type them. They are men who I know personally. One of them leads a church less than 5 miles from mine. The other has stayed in my house and ministered in every church I have ever pastored since 1997. My daughter was an intern in his church for a year in London. And while the investigations into these two men are not yet complete, it's safe to say that Church leadership scandal has come far too close to home this past year.
An Unlikely Revival
As my wise friend and I tried to make sense of the tragic deconstruction of faith and disillusionment with the Church that is understandably taking place in the wake of these leaders' scandals, he suggested, "Perhaps this is a strange and unlikely revival? Perhaps God is cleaning house for the sake of his glory?"
This is in no way meant to minimize the painful trauma experienced by so many people through sexual, emotional or spiritual abuse at the hands of these leaders. I am so heavy-hearted hearing of the appalling treatment of so many people at the hands of church leaders. I am learning to listen carefully and walk tenderly with some of those victims who are close to me. Justice must also take its course and I am all for that.
But if we are able to view these repeated tragedies through the lens of God's mysterious providence, perhaps we could glimpse God at work orchestrating the revival that nobody wanted in His Church. One lady in our church this week told me, "I saw a giant broom. God was cleaning house. He was sweeping out the dust to prepare His house for another wave of His glory." The sobering warning from the Apostle Peter that, "Judgment begins with the house of God," reminds us that while Jesus is gracious to forgive us of our sins, He holds those who have tasted of His grace to a higher standard.
So, what if these painful scandals were about purifying God's leaders from using God's people to serve themselves? What if they were also about God purifying His people from being overly reliant on charismatic leaders to mediate between them and Himself?
What if this was a revival God was giving that nobody wanted?
So, what now?
If this were so, what would an appropriate response be?
Without being over-simplistic, deep and lasting repentance would be a great place to start. Genuine revival is always marked by genuine repentance. An example of this is Ezra's prayer.
"As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled. Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me while I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice....But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold within his holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery." (Ezra 9: 3-9)
Leaders, let's be lead repenters. Let's repent of sexual sin. Let's repent of greed. Let's repent of using people to serve us. Let's repent of micro-managing. Let's repent of emotional abuse and gas lighting. Let's repent of confusing bravery with bravado and courage with always getting our own way.
I don't want to rob you of courage. Leaders desperately need courage these days. Leadership in the church is an almost impossibly difficult task. People have become more difficult to lead. They have become more sensitive and less co-operative. But it is still possible, with the help of the Spirit of Christ, to maintain courage and compassion as a leader.
In the midst of calling out injustice in the Church (and we must), let's all repent of having an easily shaken faith that was overly dependent on gifted, charismatic leaders. Our faith is not theirs to shake. Let's honor the gift of leadership without idolizing it. Let's repent of wanting a king, like Israel. Let's esteem good leaders who care for us more highly than great leaders who don't even know us. Let's resolve to have no King but Jesus.
I bet you this kind of repentance would precede a wave of genuine revival.
God treasures up His bright designs
As humans with limits on our wisdom, we view life and especially suffering, as if looking at the back side of a tapestry. All we see is a tangled mess. But God is at work making something beautiful of this mess on the other side of the tapestry. Every now and then He flips it over and gives us a glimpse of His grand design. But one day we will see face to face, and we will realize He makes all things beautiful in His time.
As William Cowper, the hymn writer once wrote, "God treasures up his bright designs, and works His sovereign will.”
Or as Joseph, the abused brother and slave once said,"What man intended for harm, God intended for good, for the saving of many lives." (Genesis 50:20)
