Sixties and Seventies Revivals

There is a great article in the Wall Street Journal electronic version today.

Take a look at it. http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110010572

The author, John Wilson, noted that historians on the Sixties and Seventies write a great deal about it being "the hippie era" but fail to recognize that it was also the time of a great outpouring of God's Spirit. Millions of people encountered Christ and the Holy Spirit in life changing ways.

I did. Did you?

Mr. Wilson is correct, of course, but he is barking up the wrong tree. I responded to him by suggesting that we need to read and write our own articles and books. Christians must research and write for themselves and find academicians who are not so defensive about Christian life that they "edit" their reports.

I am reminded of an African Proverb: "Until lions have historians the hunters will always be the heroes." But one historian has gotten much of it correct. Robert Fogel, a self-confessed secular Jew, has researched and written about the impact of Revivals and Awakenings in American life. It has been his contention that it is through these spiritual movements that the economic and political history of America and the world have been radically altered.

Dr. Fogel was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1993 for his ideas about Revivals and Awakenings. I must ask: "Why has no Christian preacher, teacher or historian even mentioned that to me? I simply stumbled upon the fact in doing research on the Abolition of slaves, a topic Dr. Fogel has written about in depth.

(I am sure you all know that it was Evangelical Christians who led the Abolitionist Movement and who brought freedom to the American slaves.)

I believe that we are being swept up by the Holy Spirit in the Fourth Great Awakening right now. We, products of the Fourth Great Revival, have matured and grown until we have the wisdom and wealth necessary to make significant differences in the world.

My new ministry thrust is all about Unleashing Seasoned Believers to Love and Enjoy the Lord. Love and Joy always come as a result of believers who are fully alive. We now have all the resources we need to develop innovative solutions to world problems, creative insights into intractable issues. Builders and Boomers have been the most dynamic and creative people in history and it is time we Unleashed the 50 Million Believers into more meaningful lives. We must do what we love and express ourselves from the deepest areas of our hearts.

We are holding our first Gathering of Seasoned Believers on Saturday, October 13 in Cincinnati to share, laugh, dream, network and see what is possible in the future. We want you there if you qualify as a Seasoned Believer who is wondering "What is next for me?"

We need your input and insights. Sign up today and make your plans to participate.