Megachurch pastor Greg Laurie, author of the new book, “Jesus Revolution,” has one simple suggestion for those who want to see a spiritual revival sweep the United States.
The 65-year-old evangelist, senior pastor of the Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, told Faithwire that if Christians want to see revival in America, the formula is simple: “We should do revival-like things.”
Laurie compared Christians’ desire for spiritual awakening to a married couple yearning for the romance of days gone by.
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“Let’s say you were married, and your marriage was having troubles,” the minister explained. “I might recommend to you that you go back and do the things that you did when you were newly wed — romantic things for your spouse.”
He went on to say it’s important not to wait for the romance to strike; instead, simply be romantic, “and the feelings will catch up with it.”
That simply philosophy is what prompted a recent “mass baptism” at Pirate’s Cove Beach in California over the weekend, when some 550 people publicly declared their faith in Jesus Christ.
What a blessed day yesterday at Pirate’s Cove in Newport Beach as we had the privilege of baptizing over 550 people!
Check out this video shot from a drone. pic.twitter.com/QpKDkbIgo6— Greg Laurie (@greglaurie) September 9, 2018
“If you want to see revival, do revival like things,” Laurie reiterated. “Do bold outreaches, take steps of faith, seek to engage the culture. I think we overly mystify the word ‘revival.’ It really is just a word that means to restore to original condition.”
“What we’re doing,” he continued, “is trying to get back to that original template that Jesus gave us in the book of Acts, the template that the early church followed, the template that the church followed that caused them to turn their world upside down. I pray that happens again.”
Laurie’s latest book, “Jesus Revolution,” which he co-authored with Ellen Vaughn, draws comparisons between the Christian revival that swept the U.S. in the late 1960s and America’s current spiritual condition.
Young Americans in the ’60s weren’t finding the fulfillment they sought in drugs, sex and rock ’n roll, Laurie explained, adding the country was divided in countless ways, much like it is today. In fact, the megachurch pastor said the racial division he sees now is nearly unparalleled, rivaling only that of the late ’60s.
We cannot organize a revival, but we can agonize for one in prayer. Perhaps we can prepare the ground. Better yet, we ought to “pre-prayer” the ground. #JesusRevolutionBook pic.twitter.com/lVrVnRA57h
— Greg Laurie (@greglaurie) September 12, 2018
Many, though, ultimately found fulfillment through personal relationships with Jesus Christ during the so-called Jesus Movement. In order to spark that again, he said, Christians “need to remember that our message to this culture is a relationship with Jesus Christ.”
“Our message is not a moral message, our message is not a political message. Our message is really about coming to know God in a personal way,” Laurie said. “The reality is, when a person really comes into relationship with Christ, it will obviously affect their moral choices. In fact, it must. And it will even affect their political choices and other choices as well.”
“But we don’t want to get the cart before the horse,” he continued. “So instead of burning a bridge to someone who’s living an alternative lifestyle, I would say build a bridge and establish a relationship with them.”
Laurie said Christians must be ready to “bring the gospel to people,” wherever they are, noting Christians today are the first generation of believers who “literally have the ability to fulfill the Great Commission in our lifetime” because of the incredible access technology has afforded us.
The path to revival is clear and simple. We just have to act.