Revivals and Renewals

[Ernie]

I’m not sure that definition of “revival” would be shared by Anabaptists.

In Anabaptist circles, "revival" generally refers to people or churches repenting of sins or of lethargy, becoming more consecrated, and becoming more serious about one's spiritual life and the Kingdom of God.

Is it ok if we use this definition for continued discussion in this thread?

I was under the impression it referred to 1-2 weeks of preaching services with an outsider preacher or two, followed by a time of young people completing a new birth experience and seeking baptism, performed on an annual basis.

For example: “When are revivals?”

“We’re having trouble finding a preacher who can be here for revivals.”

“We’ll need to change which month we have revivals due to too many families being in Sarasota that time of year.”

“We visited revivals at so and so’s church.”

Well, there is that definition also. But I didn't think that was what the OP was talking about.

[JohnL]

In Anabaptist circles, "revival" generally refers to people or churches repenting of sins or of lethargy, becoming more consecrated, and becoming more serious about one's spiritual life and the Kingdom of God.

Is it ok if we use this definition for continued discussion in this thread?

Yep, Ernie, your definition fits into how we use it too. It’s interesting to me all this focus on the word “revival” and yet I also mentioned that sometimes it’s referred to as renewal.
Funny how fixations get in the way of mutual understanding. I’ve noticed that before which is why I gave the working definition for both terms in this thread. Words mean different things in different areas of the country.
The poll was inspired by something I’ve noticed in general. The farther away from Biblical teachings a congregation gets the more folks in that church want a renewal or revival. When I discovered that Brethren Revival Fellowship link in y’all’s archives and read about them and their reasons for forming to renew their Biblical vision I realized that it’s similar to what I see going on in the Methodist churches in our mountains. There’s been some Methodists that outright broke away from the Uniteds because the Uniteds stopped following the Bible on marriage and other things.
How many Anabaptist groups do you reckon that had to do the same thing to renew their original vision and mission of their founders and to revive their Biblical beliefs?

[cmbl]

What do you see as the difference between a Revival & an “Awakening “?

According to the entomology of the words, revival means you were (or seemed to be) dead; awakening means you were asleep.

G.K. Chesterton described an entomological revival when he wrote that "We are all somewhat wearily aware that some Modern Churchmen call such continuous change progress; as when we remark that a corpse crawling with worms has an increased vitality..."

I suppose entomological awakenings periodically happen to hapless homeowners dealing with bees or wasps.

[JohnH]

How many Anabaptist groups do you reckon that had to do the same thing to renew their original vision and mission of their founders and to revive their Biblical beliefs?

Well my church group formed in 1859 when a certain man read some original documents like the Schleitheim Confession, Martyr's Mirror, and books by authors like Menno Simons and others from the 1600s. He felt it was a renewal movement, I'm sure.

However we would feel our "original vision" to be in the New Testament, and "mission of our founders" to be found in what Jesus said, as he is the founder of our faith.

[ohio jones]

What do you see as the difference between a Revival & an “Awakening “?

According to the entomology of the words, revival means you were (or seemed to be) dead; awakening means you were asleep.

G.K. Chesterton described an entomological revival when he wrote that "We are all somewhat wearily aware that some Modern Churchmen call such continuous change progress; as when we remark that a corpse crawling with worms has an increased vitality..."

I suppose entomological awakenings periodically happen to hapless homeowners dealing with bees or wasps.

Does my choice of words bug you?

[JohnH]

I should probably point out that I am currently in the process of being revived. I'll let all of you know how it goes, but so far things are looking pretty good.

I have had some spiritual concerns about myself, and the preaching over the last few evenings (and morning) has resonated with me. Interestingly, this seems to happen to most other Holdemans during revival meetings. I simply chalk it up to the Lord's ways being mysterious, as I can't explain how this happens to all of us simultaneously, yet it does.

[cmbl]

According to the entomology of the words, revival means you were (or seemed to be) dead; awakening means you were asleep.

G.K. Chesterton described an entomological revival when he wrote that "We are all somewhat wearily aware that some Modern Churchmen call such continuous change progress; as when we remark that a corpse crawling with worms has an increased vitality..."

I suppose entomological awakenings periodically happen to hapless homeowners dealing with bees or wasps.

Does my choice of words bug you?

Not really, but I just couldn't pass it up!

[MattY]

I’m not sure that definition of “revival” would be shared by Anabaptists.

In Anabaptist circles, "revival" generally refers to people or churches repenting of sins or of lethargy, becoming more consecrated, and becoming more serious about one's spiritual life and the Kingdom of God.

Is it ok if we use this definition for continued discussion in this thread?

I was under the impression it referred to 1-2 weeks of preaching services with an outsider preacher or two, followed by a time of young people completing a new birth experience and seeking baptism, performed on an annual basis.

For example: “When are revivals?”

“We’re having trouble finding a preacher who can be here for revivals.”

“We’ll need to change which month we have revivals due to too many families being in Sarasota that time of year.”

“We visited revivals at so and so’s church.”

We'd use the term "revival meetings" for that. The hope/intention is that the preaching of the Word would bring revival and renewal from those meetings. But whether it actually happens is up to the Spirit and the hearts of the congregation.

True revival cannot be scheduled, although it may happen in such scheduled meetings, but it should be sought in between and at all times in the Christian life - IMHO.

[Ernie]

In Anabaptist circles, "revival" generally refers to people or churches repenting of sins or of lethargy, becoming more consecrated, and becoming more serious about one's spiritual life and the Kingdom of God.

Is it ok if we use this definition for continued discussion in this thread?

Yep, Ernie, your definition fits into how we use it too. It’s interesting to me all this focus on the word “revival” and yet I also mentioned that sometimes it’s referred to as renewal.
Funny how fixations get in the way of mutual understanding. I’ve noticed that before which is why I gave the working definition for both terms in this thread. Words mean different things in different areas of the country.
The poll was inspired by something I’ve noticed in general. The farther away from Biblical teachings a congregation gets the more folks in that church want a renewal or revival. When I discovered that Brethren Revival Fellowship link in y’all’s archives and read about them and their reasons for forming to renew their Biblical vision I realized that it’s similar to what I see going on in the Methodist churches in our mountains. There’s been some Methodists that outright broke away from the Uniteds because the Uniteds stopped following the Bible on marriage and other things.
How many Anabaptist groups do you reckon that had to do the same thing to renew their original vision and mission of their founders and to revive their Biblical beliefs?

I have rarely heard Anabaptists use the word renewal. A few of us talk about "renewal groups" to describe what you are talking about. Usually, it is a pulling out of more traditional churches to form new churches that are more biblical, more like the early church, more consistent, more conservative, more spiritual, etc. This seems to be the same way you are using the term.

"Revival" in our churches tends to be more familiar and have a more narrow definition.

And then there are scheduled "revival meetings" as others have talked about that are also called "revivals" in many churches.

[JohnH]

"Renewal" almost has a bad reputation about it since it seems to be primarily something only happening in the least conservative groups, or else it is a less-conservative group trying to pull people into it with some kind of promotion of some kind of "spiritual renewal" that is inevitably accompanied by moving towards a less-plain lifestyle.

In evangelical circles, terms like "renewal" and "refreshing" can be heard.