“It Is Wise to Call This An Awakening, Not a Revival”- Asbury University President

Photo: Screen shot of Asbury Chapel on Feb. 15

In a Valentine’s Day blog post, Asbury University President Timothy Tennent publicly commented for the first time on what he is calling “The Asbury Awakening.”

“Something special happened last Wednesday (Feb. 8) in the chapel of Asbury University chapel.  The Lord began to move in the lives of a group of students. These embers have now been fanned into flame and there is clearly a definite move of God in our midst.”

Tennent said “we should not spend too much time looking for human causality, though there have been many praying earnestly for years for this.”

“It is first, last and foremost a tribute to the grace of God to reveal himself and to call a new generation to faithfulness at a time when we most needed it.  There comes a point when the people of God become tired of causal prayers and move to that point of desperation which opens us up in fresh ways to God’s surprising work.  That is what I have experienced most over the past week in my own life.”

RELATED: “God Has Surprised Us” – Revival Reported at Asbury University in Kentucky

Tennent said he atmosphere in the chapel and in overflow sites was akin to stepping into a flowing spiritual river.

“You sense the presence and power of God working in people’s lives,” he wrote. 

Although the extended chapel services and times or repentance, worship, and prayer have been labelel as a revival in the media and on social media, Tennent expressed caution on using that term.

“I think it is wise to see this, at the current phase, as an awakening.  Only if we see lasting transformation which shakes the comfortable foundations of the church and truly brings us all to a new and deeper place can we look back, in hindsight and say ‘yes, this has been a revival.’ An awakening is where God begins to stir and awaken people up from their spiritual slumber. This is definitely happening not only in Wilmore, but as this move of God spreads to other schools and communities across the nation and even the world.  There are many reports that this is what is happening.  But, we must keep our hearts and eyes fixed on Jesus and ask for him to complete the work he has begun so that, over time, there is a lasting transformation in the lives of those who are being touched by God.”

Click here to read Tennent’s complete blog post.

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