A searchable, downloadable PDF of the original article appears below. George Mallone is a member of the pastoral staff at Burnaby Christian Fellowship, Burnaby, B.C.
A British newspaper ran a contest to determine the most sensational headline that could ever be written. Readers were asked to send captions of not more than four words. The authoress Dorothy Parker submitted her arresting banner in just two words: “Pope Elopes!”
If such a contest were held in Canada, I believe the most sensational headline would be: “Canadian Church Revived!”
I say this because Canada has never had within its boundaries a coast-to-coast revival. There have been out-breakings of God’s divine work in the last three hundred years, but there has never been a progressive coast-to-coast awakening. Unlike our European parents and American sister, revival has not been a part of our religious heritage.
WORST REVIVAL EVER
A Canadian received a letter from a Christian friend living in the southern part of the United States. The letter had one revealing comment: “We just completed our spring revival and it was the worst revival we have ever had.”
Such a comment reflects the shallowness with which we use the word revival. Revival is misunderstood to be a style of meeting which if properly conducted will lead to the conversion of sinners. It can be preplanned, packaged and transported by a few anointed and industrious individuals. But such a man-centered definition falls short of not only the biblical perspective but also the picture given to us from church history.
Revival is first and foremost an activity of God which is initiated by Him, directed and sustained by Him, and intended solely for His glory. Revival from beginning to end is God-centered.
J.I. Packer has defined revival in God-centered terms with the following five-fold definition (“Renewal or Revival”, RENEWAL; April-May, 1976; 62; 14-17):
1) Revival is when God comes down and is beheld in His infinite holiness, majesty and power (Isa. 6:1-5).
2) Revival is when God’s word comes home with divine authority to correct our spiritual formation and aid us to behold the face of Christ (Heb. 4:12- 13; 2 Cor. 3:17-18).
3) Revival is when God’s purity comes through by quickening our conscience to see the gravity of our sin as well as the magnitude of God’s love and forgiveness (Ps. 32:1-7).
4) Revival is when God’s people come alive. “Joyful assurance of salvation, conscious communion with the living Saviour, a spirit of prayer and praise, a readiness to share with other believers, and a love that reaches out to all in need, are the characteristic marks of revived Christians” (Acts 2: 41-47).
5) Revival is “when outsiders come in drawn by the moral and spiritual magnetism of what goes on in the church” (John 13:34; 17:20-21).
Agreeing with Packer’s God-centered approach, let me add a few functional dimensions to our concept of Canadian revival:
1) Canadian revival will lead to the revitalizing of the spiritual life of every superficial and lethargic Christian. There will be an infusion of God’s presence by his Spirit which will cause people to make a lengthy inspection of their life, to turn around from willful disobedience and to pursue the goals and character of the Kingdom of God.
This renewal will be a whole person renewal, touching every aspect of life. The inward journeys of prayer, meditation, Bible reading, and personal worship will be enhanced. The relational journey of parents towards children, spouses towards one another, employers towards employees, and believers to believers will be reconciled and restored. The outward journey of sharing Christ with non-Christian friends will no longer be a dreaded obligation but a delightful joy. Opportunities for social responsibility, both local, national and international will be cherished and promoted.
2) Canadian revival will reshape the personality and structure of our local congregations. Jesus’ condemnation of the Pharisaical tradition that “the old is good enough” (Luke 5:39) applies likewise to the church. Each man-made tradition of the church will be examined in the light of Scripture and its relevancy to this generation. The reformation concept that the “reformed church is always reforming” will not be viewed as a threat but as a God-sent blessing.
3) Canadian revival will once again set into motion the desire of believers to fulfill Jesus’ prayer for the unity of his church (John 17:20-23). The goal will not be the formation of new institutions with agreement at the lowest common denominator, nor the obliteration of denominational distinctions and heritage, but a visible display of loving relationships and fraternal partnership in the common goals of the Kingdom.
“The reformation concept that the ‘reformed church is always reforming’ will not be viewed as a threat but as a God-sent blessing.”
4) Canadian revival will mean profound repentance by believers, the massive conversions of millions of Canadians, the planting of thousands of new churches, and the sending of a great missionary army into the rest of the unreached world.
Canadian revival should not be interpreted as a movement towards emotionalism. Surely emotions will be stirred and sometimes erratic in such a renewal, but this is not its essence. Neither will revival mean a return to primitivism, the notion that the church can exactly replicate the situation of the first century church. This is the twentieth century and any renewal which takes place in it must be free of past provincialisms. Canadian revival will not mean the pushing of revivalistic techniques, the whipping up of dedication on some yearly basis only to be forgotten the next. No. if revival comes to Canada it will be something God has set in motion and nothing for which man can take glory or assume pride.
Has God placed this concern on your heart? If he has, may I suggest you do something about it. Covenant with one other brother or sister to meet faithfully at a given time and then devote yourselves to prayer for this country and its revival.