Christian History Magazine on Global Outpouring

The latest issue of Christian History Magazine is devoted to ‘Global Outpouring: Revival Movements of the Modern Era’.

From the blurb:

‘The last issue of the Christian History three part series on revival. As we learned in CH #149 and #151, God has used revivals to awaken His people throughout history when they fervently seek Him in prayer and repentance. We see in this final issue how the Second Great Awakening continued to spur missions worldwide, how meetings on Azusa Street led to the Pentecostal movement as we know it today, and how revivals are not limited to one region or people but occur globally.’

The whole magazine is available as a 11.6 MB pdf here.

Christian History Magazine on Awakenings

The latest issue of Christian History Magazine is devoted to ‘Awakenings’.

From the blurb:

‘Join Christian History as we unfold historical revivals from the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries, a second issue in our series on revival. Revival, as defined in CH's first issue in this series (#149), is 1.) popular – a widespread occurrence; 2.) transformative – resulting in conversion and recommitment to Christ; 3.) institutionally unsatisfied and critical – movements that question, reform, and renew institutions; and 4.) devotional – emotionally charged.

‘This issue details movements that certainly fit these criteria, focusing extensively on the First and Second Great Awakenings. Through stories and people you may be familiar with, to those figures less often recognized and easier to miss within the big “Awakening” picture, we invite you to follow the threads that spanned continents and faith traditions to weave a fascinating tapestry of spiritual revival.’

The whole magazine is available as a 12.7 MB pdf here.

David Ceri Jones on the Evangelical Revival

David Ceri Jones, The Fire Divine: An Introduction to the Evangelical Revival (Nottingham: IVP, 2015), 184pp., ISBN 978-1-78359-290-6.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this overview of the eighteenth-century evangelical revival. I’ve been trying to read more Church history and Christian biography recently, so this was enormously helpful for putting in place a slightly bigger picture of the period covered. It focuses particularly on John Wesley, George Whitefield, and (though to a lesser degree) Jonathan Edwards, and the revivals in Britain and America associated with their ministries – all of which have left their legacy on evangelicalism today. 

The posture of the work suited me well; it’s courteous about its subject matter, but keeps enough distance in its account to allow me to make my own value judgments. I particularly appreciated its transparency around the evident ‘flaws’ of those whose work is described. It’s respectful, but far from hagiographical, and (I think) the better for it.

I had been wondering whether to buy and read Thomas S. Kidd’s recently-published Yale biography on George Whitefield. This book persuaded me it would be a good next step to do so.