Since the end of the eighteen hundreds, revival has sprung in many areas of the world, with the same manifestations even though they did not have any connections between them. In the second half of last century, another well of glory was about to come. It would touch the historic churches, the intellectual community, the middle and upper classes of societies. These moves of God have modified the shape of Christianity. Hearts were renewed; people experienced a greater love for God and their neighbors. A passion for the lost burned hearts so much that many sacrificed everything to spread the love of Christ to remote places of the world. Societies were transformed by the impact of the gospel ignited by the Sprit. From schools, to hospitals, universities, etc, the Spirit drove the church to act with love for the sake of the lost.

However, an objective study of the movements won’t let one with the understanding of a church glowing with glory without negative remarks. So many people were and are still hurt, deceived by unloving leaders who used their position to make money, gain power, fame and abuse the weak. Countless scandals are recorded in the annals of history. Spiritual pride, exclusive spirit and behavior, theological shallowness and heresy are spots impossible to hide. Many endeavors are taken to correct the flaws within the Spirit driven churches. There’s more openness to other fellowships. The doctrinal statements are revised in order to reflect more biblical truths. However, there is a need to more change if the church wants reflect the mind of God and be relevant in the 21st century. Among others, I’d like to cite three important ones:

1. There is an urgency for a vision of the gospel that goes beyond denominationalism. Too many leaders have a denominational mind set. Everything must revolve around their church and things must be done their way. However, there’s a generation for whom the name of a church does not matter; the doctrinal differences between one congregation and another is not important. Today’s generation needs a place where it can find love, acceptance and where its spiritual needs are met in a relevant way. It needs God and not a lifeless system.

2. For too many years spirituality was synonym of speaking in tongues, miracles, dress codes and so forth. The more these tenets or creeds are emphasized, the drier the people become. The church needs to go back to the Bible and understand what spirituality is. It needs to preach the whole counsel of God, while remembering that spiritual depth can only be attained by grace and that our ultimate objective must be the likeness of Christ.

3. Personal kingdoms, great fortunes are built at the expanse of God’s people. “Visions” are undertaken of which the church has no account of. Accountability is one of today’s great lack, but really needed. Finances, sexual behavior, family relationship must be accounted for. We’re members of one another.

In this new century, people are yearning for another move of God. Let us learn from yesterday’s mistakes, rejoice for the abundant overflow of the past and pray for new waves of glory.

E-mail: jv.vitalherne@aleloo.com