"Reflections on a Great Awakening: Memories of a [then] Nine-Year-Old of the Asbury-Anderson Revival of 1970"
(Sunday evening message on February 10, 2020 at First Baptist Church of Saint Albans, West Virginia on the 50th anniversary of the 1970 revival.)
I want to tell you a story of God’s moving that is so incredible that it is still being celebrated fifty years later. Next weekend South Meridian Church of God will celebrate a great time of renewal that some call “The Revival of Love” and others refer to as a great awakening. As I tell you my story, please keep in mind that as I experienced this revival, I was a nine-year-old child whose perspectives were shaped by my youth. However, I have found that children can be insightful about spiritual things, as I hope that in some ways I may have been.
In order to refresh my memories and fill in some gaps, I reread One Divine Moment, edited by Robert Coleman and David Gyertson which recapped the events at Asbury College and A New Wind Blowing by Pastor Charles Tarr about the events in Anderson, Indiana.
South Meridian Church was often an exciting place to be. Good things were happening there, and it was popular with the students from nearby Anderson College. My family had me there at least three times per week. Sunday mornings, including Sunday school, Sunday nights, and Wednesday nights. When there were special services, we were present for those as well.
Word had gotten out about the revival that was taking place on Asbury College’s campus. So, alumnus Pastor Tarr invited seven students from Asbury College in Wilmore, KY (now Asbury University) to come and share what God was doing there. By the way, the Adlers, Hollingers, and Harpolds from here at First Baptist Church have all had children attend Asbury University. Many more from here have been in Wilmore for the Ichthus Music Festival which used to be a huge annual attraction, which, by the way, launched in 1970.
When that team of students arrived at the parsonage, Pastor Tarr thought, that they were not a particularly remarkable group. Sunday morning, February 22, 1970 was the beginning of the 50-day revival. The sanctuary seemed comfortably full to me. According to Pastor Charles Tarr, there were about 500 in the sanctuary that seated a little over 700.
While I do not remember much of anything that those students said on that Sunday morning, what I do remember is the response from those gathered. It was a modern-day outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit that seemed reminiscent of Acts 2:16-18 (NIV)
16 . . . this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 “‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
The Holy Spirit moved through that congregation and the altar (kneeling rail) was so full that there were people praying at the front steps. They did not even wait for the end of the service and an invitation hymn to go there. When one wave of people would leave the altar, another would take their places.
While the Sunday services had about 500 in attendance, the next services were overflowing. On Monday evening, there were more than 1000 in attendance with the sanctuary full thirty minutes before the service was to begin (Tarr 47). That is probably when this picture was taken.
This is a balcony shot of the sanctuary with all the seats filled, people seated and standing in the aisles, youth and college students on the front steps, and even some standing in the empty baptistry. Audio was available in the gymnasium and there were many people there just to be near what God was doing.
I recall people from the congregation getting up and describing how God had changed their lives, confessing sin, asking for forgiveness, and seeking reconciliation. Some of the things confessed could be quite personal. For example, a college student confessed saying that it was going to cost him $500 because he had falsified a financial aid request. The Anderson College president was seated in the front row. That student asked for the president’s forgiveness along with the forgiveness of the campus community. In fact, I recall my parents saying on occasion, “It would have been better if that should not have been said in public.” But these were people who had encountered God about very real situations in their lives, and they were being transparent in their sharing.
While what happened on February 22 was amazing, that was just the beginning. This awakening continued for 50 consecutive days of services. Those services were largely unscripted. Our pastors made room for people to respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. So those services were full of testimonies and songs that were not planned by the pastoral staff. I commend the church’s leadership for that. I confess that As a pastoral leader, nothing unnerves me more than to hear someone say to me, “I have a word from the Lord that I just have to share.” You never know what will follow.
As teams went out from Asbury College to share what God was doing, teams also went out from South Meridian to share. My parents were on a couple of those teams. “In Huntington, West Virginia, a spontaneous revival broke out in the Trinity Church of God. Services continued for two weeks” (Seamands in One Divine Moment 55). Using contemporary language, we could say that this revival “went viral.”
Lasting impressions on me.
- God can move in amazing ways that cannot be contained or explained.
- Ever since that time, I have longed to see God move in that way again. To be sure, there have been glimpses. Sometimes in Sunday worship, at camps, or even in stadium settings for concerts by Christian bands.
- For many years, I longed for God to do it again. I wanted the students and churches to see God move in a similar way so that they would be convinced as I am of the reality and power of God. For reasons that only God knows, He has chosen not to spark that kind of revival again. So, it is important for me as a witness to that power of God to remember and share that experience with others in order to encourage their faith.
- Yet the thing that is most impressive to me is the outwardly unremarkable nature of what happened. There was no big-name preacher, no band, light show, or newspaper ads. We didn’t sing seventeen verses of “Holy Spirit you are welcome here, come flood this place and fill the atmosphere.” Instead, the Holy Spirit just did it.
Context (which was in many ways similar to ours)
- Civil Rights Movement
- Vietnam War
- Anti-War Protests
- Drug Culture
- Sexual Revolution
- Abortion (Roe v. Wade reached the Supreme Court in 1970)
- Richard Nixon (who would resign on impending impeachment)
- Distrust of Authority
- Generational Strife
- Assassinations
- Woodstock in August 1969
How did all this start at Asbury College?
It was a routine 10:00 AM chapel service at which the dean of students was scheduled to speak. But instead of preaching, he felt impressed to have students share testimonies (Hanke 14). As those students shared, they avoided clichés and shared heartfelt reflections on what God was doing in their lives. Then other students began to share. Near the end of the allotted chapel time, a professor went to the microphone to tell students that any who wanted were welcome to stay and pray. (Hanke 14)
Those who had come to the altar—after a time of prayer—rose, joining those on the platform and with tears made confessions. These acknowledgments ranged from cheating and theft to animosity, prejudice, and jealousy. Some made their way to individuals in the congregation to ask for forgiveness and make restitution. Old enmities were melted with the fervent love of God. (Hanke 15)
This went on for over a week on that campus. “Shortly before 3 A.M. on Wednesday morning, the last student left the sanctuary. For 185 hours—without any interruption—the services had continued! During this time there was no pressure, no schedule meetings, no paid advertising, no offering, no invocation, no prelude or postlude, and no benediction” (Hanke in One Divine Moment 20).
Preparation
- Asbury: prayer and “vigorous devotional discipline” (Hanke 14). The dean who followed God’s guidance to hold an unusual chapel involving sharing from students.
- South Meridian: had a pastoral leader who was obediently yielding in every way to God’s Spirit, especially seeking reconciliation with a former colleague and a ministry leader of another race with whom he had a tense relationship. Here at First Baptist, Pastor Joel Harpold frequently refers to being “wide open” to what God wants for us. Pastor Tarr felt led by God to call one of those men in the middle of the night to seek reconciliation. Radical obedience may be one of the means of preparing for revival.
Lessons
- Youth and young adults are often fertile ground for renewal experiences. We need to be supporting our youth and young adults and expecting great things from them. Challenging them and lifting them up in prayer may be keys for them to be ready to hear and obey God’s Spirit. Then we need to be willing to risk following their lead when God shows up.
- Revival like this does not happen when we schedule a series of special services. God brings these kinds of spiritual awakening experiences when He decides to move in unusual ways through His Holy Spirit.
- We cannot force God’s hand to bring revival. However, we can ready ourselves through spiritual disciplines and unwavering obedience to the Holy Spirit.
- There is a tricky balance between careful planning for those of us who are ministry leaders and making space for people who have been genuinely moved by God and have something important to share. The very organic nature of the 1970 revival was what made it unique.
Comments