INTRODUCTION The events at Asbury University (Willmore, KY), known as the "Asbury Outpouring", has stirred up no small bit of online discussion. In brief, on February 8, 2023 students attending a worship service refused to leave (citing an experience of God), and the result was a "revival" experience of 13 days of non-stop worship services. The phenomenon has drawn thousands of outsiders to the small town as multitudes seek to personally participate in the alleged movement of God. The massive influx of visitors has overwhelmed the town and disrupted campus life to such an extent that university officials announced a new schedule February 19 to restrict the services moving forward. The on-camps meeting will be closed to the public and limited to those 25 years old and younger, and the "out-pouring" services will be moved off campus. Whether or not the "Asbury Outpouring" is a unique outpouring of the Holy Spirit I do not presume to say, but these events provide an occasion to consider how we should weigh such things. Christians are called to judge not by appearances but with righteous judgment (Jn 7:24), and this requires we employ the standards God has given. It is wrong to grieve or quench the Spirit (Eph 4:30; 1 Thess 5:19), but testing whether or not a particular experience is from God is no such violation. Accepting without question a "unique" experience as being from God also does not constitute childlike faith (Matt 8:3); believing and obeying the Word of God is faith. At the same time, suspicion is not inherently virtuous (remember "doubting" Thomas?). Additionally, limiting what is deemed "of God" to what conforms to personal expectations is also problematic (remember the Pharisees who rejected Jesus because He was not what they, as the self-appointed experts, thought He should be?). There is a needle that must be threaded between being naive and stubborn. JUST A THOUGHT If nothing else, the significant impact of the "Asbury Outpouring" highlights a hunger and desire for many to have an experience of God's power--and this desire is a good thing. 1 Corinthians 4:20 says, "For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power," and it seems difficult to argue some professing Christians seem perfectly content with a faith that consists exclusively of talk. So how do we evaluate experiences like Asbury and consider whether or not they are from God? Or, in a related sense, how do we appropriately pursue a powerful experience (gifts) of God without getting caught up in something that is either unhelpful or dangerous? I offer one starting point: the proper pursuit of the gifts of the Spirit can only occur for those who desire the fruit of the Spirit. SOME DISTINCTIONS The New Testament talks about the gifts of the Spirit in numerous places (e.g. Rom 12:6-8; 1 Cor 12:7-11; and Eph 4:7-16). The Scriptures also discuss the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23). While gifts and fruit relate, they are not the same thing and need to be distinguished. So what is the difference? In short, gifts are given to us by God to be used for His glory and the good of others (1 Cor 12:7), particularly the body of Christ. The fruit of the Spirit is the evidence of what we are in Christ. As Jesus said, a tree is known by its fruit (Lk 6:43-45); we are confirmed as followers of Jesus by bearing the fruit that only is produced by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Gifts are what the Spirit gives us to use and share; fruit is what we are because the Spirit is active in us. Another way to think about it is gifts pertain to doing and fruit pertains to being. And as far as the gospel is concerned, right doing is only possible for the long term if right being is settled first. This is why we are first called to be reconciled to God through repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ, and then we are called to go and share the forgiveness and grace we have received with others. While doing and being certainly relate, they cannot be confused. Biblical Christianity distinguishes and connects the two; a true Christian both is and does certain things because of Jesus. The apostle Paul unambiguously states, "Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him" (Rom 8:9). Fruit proves root; if someone lacks the fruit of the Spirit there are no grounds to assume they are truly rooted in Christ. As I have heard it said, we aim to distinguish not to divide but to unite. Meaning, we need to distinguish fruit and gifts, being and doing, not to set them in opposition, but to properly understand and apply both. For example, one of the gifts of the Spirit mentioned is prophecy (1 Cor 14:1). Prophecy is a form of revelation from God to an individual; information is given as a gift. However, being a prophet (the recipient of revelation) is not a fruit of the Spirit; instead, the fruit of the Spirit will determine how and why the gift of prophecy is used by the one who received it. The apostle Paul tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Gal 5:22-23). These are all characteristics; they mark a kind of person--namely, one who is like Jesus. These have nothing to do with skills or abilities (gifts). But what kind of person you are often is exposed by how you use your gifts. You are not defined by your gifts (which would be confusing being and doing), but you will often be exposed as what you are by how you use your gifts. Scripture speaks of individuals who received amazing, wonderful gifts from God and abused them (e.g. Nadab and Abihu, Balaam, Sampson, the priest Eli, King Saul, the apostle Judas, etc). In other words, being gifted by God does not guarantee you are right with God. Furthermore, even being used by God to bless the people of God does not prove you are personally right with God (Balaam and Judas explicitly demonstrate that). Being incredibly gifted does not mean you are good; it means you have been granted a greater opportunity to bless others. Whether or not you take that opportunity to bless others will show if you are good. The wise person would only seek the gifts of God because they want to use them to bless others, which is possible only if the Spirit is at work in them and bearing fruit. BACK TO ASBURY So connecting the distinction between fruit and gifts back to Asbury, what can we say? I have heard people adamantly declare Asbury's experience is a move of the Spirit, and I have heard others say it is no such thing. As radical as it might sound, it is entirely appropriate, and even required at times, that we decline to render judgment due to lack of information. Sometimes we do not have a clear line of sight to pull the trigger. Despite the reflexes encouraged by social media, Christians should not rush to take sides and voice their opinion. So here are a few suggestions I have for those wondering "what to do" with Asbury. 1) Stay in your own lane "Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears." Too many people waste their time arguing about things that do no affect them at all. If we believe that God's sovereign choice placed us when and where we are, then it is our responsibility to focus and work where God has placed us. The simple fact is the only way we have enough bandwidth to focus on what is not our concern is to neglect what should be our concern. I do not live in Willmore, KY, and am not considering moving there. I have no immediate reason to devote much time and energy to investigating the matter. I trust others who have legitimate reason to do so will offer their assessments after the dust settles. At that point I might be more interested to know what all happened. 2) Listen, hear, and understand before you speak "If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame." When something unexpected happens, the natural instinct is to look to our "trusted sources" to give the right interpretation. Scripture warns that those who give their dogmatic opinion without all the facts can end up looking foolish, and there is a real danger of responding after only hearing one side of the story. Christians are obligated to speak the truth. Casting suspicion and doubt on something that should be embraced is no less hostile to the truth than speaking a lie. Commitment to truth is a duel-pronged work that requires both the rejection of what is false and the acceptance of what is true. If the "Asbury Outpouring" is a work of God, opposing it is sinful. If all this is just a natural, human experience, then peddling this as a revival is also sinful. God does not need a PR team to get people excited for Him; God calls us to be faithful and speak the truth we know, and His power will manifest as He sees fit. Testing, not judgment, is called for in the early stages of a questionable event, and woe to the one who does not understand the difference between testing and judgment. 3) Get to the real issue "So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!" There are some conversations when the topic of discussion is not the real issue, but is actually a stepping stone to the real issue. In the days of the early Church, the Jewish leaders were wrestling with what to do about the apostles preaching in the name of Jesus. The message "Jesus is the Christ" had clear implications. For starters, Christ is to be obeyed, not crucified. The question of whether Jesus is the risen Christ was not an agree-to-disagree sort of thing. The Scriptures, which the Jewish leaders believed, were clear: God's blessing will only be enjoyed under the authority of the Christ. Accepting Christ brings blessing; rejecting Christ brings curse. And since the Jewish leaders just conspired to murder Jesus, letting others preach that Jesus is the Christ and had risen from the dead was not something they could tolerate. Because of what the they had done, Jesus being the Christ and the Jewish leaders being righteous were now mutually exclusive ideas, and preaching in Jesus' name clearly declared the unrighteousness of the religious leaders. The wise observation in Acts 5 reminds us that only what God does has staying power, and the things of man will burn out in due time. There is no reason to let frantic opposition to a man-made thing provide oxygen to a fire that would go out much faster if left alone.
In our case, the claim that the events of Asbury are or are not the work of the Holy Spirit is probably not the real issue for many. The presuppositions we have about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the nature of appropriate worship, and the authentic expression of the Christian faith are really the issues being discussed, albeit indirectly. Are revivals even a real possibility in our time? What kind of worship is pleasing to God and helpful to His people? What does it look like to zealously seek a deeper experience of God's grace? These are the underlying questions I suspect bring much of the energy to the discussion. Our theology and practice are the real issues that use occasions like the "Asbury Outpouring" as an opportunity to flex. Just like the Jewish leaders, our prior actions and statement can provide pressure to affirm or deny a claim before us now. Our prior commitments will either be validated or challenged by the claim Asbury is experiencing revival. One way to draw out the real issue in conversation is to ask "so what?" when someone is pressing the claim that Asbury is or is not a real revival. What does it mean about your understanding of theology and practice if it is/is not a revival at Asbury? The assumed implications of a revival having occurred there need to be understood to have a productive conversation. CONSIDERATIONS MOVING FORWARD If those involved at Asbury are being moved to repent of sin, cry out to God for grace, and walk away with a renewed strength to follow Jesus, then it is a good thing and we should give thanks for any such testimony. If someone tries to recreate an Asbury experience, or the absence of such an experience is seen as proof of a problem, that should be rejected. We should also not be surprised or discouraged if there are people who are not there for Christ. No doubt the motives for being there are varied among the crowds, but that is no different from any Sunday morning gathering in the most faithful of churches. People flocked to Jesus for all sorts of reasons, and it took time for those who were there for the wrong ones to decide to walk away. In the parable of the wheat and the tares Jesus warned about being too eager to judge something as wrong and remove it too early, because the good may be uprooted with it (Matt 13:27-30). There are some things best left to God to judge. But for those who are observing the unfolding events from a distance, we should check our own hearts. The only way to rightly pursue the gifts of the Spirit is to desire the fruit of the Spirit. Some people demonize any emotional experience that differs from their own. Some people despise the ordinary (often viewed as "boring") means God has given us to grow in our faith and waste their time chasing an "experience". But the goal of the Christian life must be conformity to the image of Christ. Our responsibility is to faithfully seek the Lord according to the ways He has prescribed (ordinary means), and we should pray earnestly that He would grant for us to taste and see (experience!) that He is good. We do not distinguish the gifts and fruit to pit them against one another; we distinguish them in order to enjoy them both the way God designed.
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AuthorI am follower of Jesus Christ by God's grace, married to Kelsey, father to four children, and pastor of Lighthouse Church (EPC). Archives
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