Reflections From Asbury

By Bill Elliff

Executive Editor’s Note: This article is a compilation featuring excerpts from two blog posts regarding the current revival taking place at Asbury University in Wilmore, Ky., and is shared with permission from Bill. Visit BillElliff.com to read the posts in their entirety.

On Feb. 10, my wife, Holly, and I decided to make the nine-hour drive from our home to Wilmore, Ky. to observe and experience what God seems to be doing, once again, at Asbury University. I’m so grateful we did.

February 1970

This was the year God broke into a normal chapel service which continued non-stop for the next seven days and nights at Asbury University. The Jesus Movement was already beginning, but the Asbury Revival accelerated it dramatically. Eventually, teams of students left Asbury and went across the country, telling the story. Everywhere they went, revival and awakening broke out. We came this week because our lives were transformed by the movement at Asbury in 1970 and the Jesus movement that occurred. We have longed for and sought revival ever since.

February 2023

Wednesday morning, Feb. 8, the Lord moved in another chapel service in Hughes Auditorium. As of this writing (Feb. 13), that single service has continued morning and night and is now on its sixth day. I talked to one of the leaders who was there on Wednesday. His observation was that these last days have been days of consecration, but we are yet to see what could happen in the days ahead.

Asbury has a history of such movements, even before 1970. Their expectant faith has provided fertile ground for the Lord’s visitation. (Faith is undoubtedly an ingredient in why this is happening. There were some places where Jesus could do nothing because of their unbelief).

The quiet, precious movement of God continues into its sixth day in Wilmore, Ky., on the campus of Asbury University. This is not the first time an extended movement has occurred here. Similar movements happened in the 30s when a prayer meeting led by E. Stanley Jones lasted for many days. In the ‘50s, two other activities occurred, and in 1970, a chapel service was extended for seven days and nights. God used it as a catalyst for the nationwide revival called the Jesus Movement.

I’ve had the privilege of sitting in Hughes Auditorium, where this is happening, for the last two days, watching and experiencing this extraordinary movement. Only for the purposes of explanation (and no other reason), I would mention that I have been a pastor for 54 years serving in the Baptist stream. Revival touched down on our small Arkansas school (Ouachita Baptist University) in 1970. My wife and I witnessed the manifest presence of God firsthand as a noonday chapel went throughout the day, canceling classes and changing lives. We’ve never been the same.

I’ve been a student of God’s revival movements across history for 50 years. I traveled for several years to churches, helping them pursue God in revival. I was a founding member of the OneCry initiative that seeks to help pastors and churches pursue God for revival and spiritual awakening. I have spoken and written a great deal about this theme, for it is the desperate need of our day. Our deteriorating culture illustrates that it is time for a needed movement from Heaven. Samuel Davies of the First Great Awakening said, “There are eras when only a large outpouring of the Spirit can produce a public general reformation.”

We have seen seasons of His movement in the church I helped plant 25 years ago. One particular season happened in 2011 after six months of fasting and praying by the congregation. One Sunday morning, the Lord interrupted our normal schedule with an unusual outpouring of His Spirit which lasted through the afternoon. That continued — every night except Saturdays — for three to four hours each evening for the next five weeks. It was not weird, nor wildly uncomfortable, but the quiet movement of the Spirit, filled with prayer, repentance, salvation and spontaneous baptisms by new believers. Many came to faith in Christ.

I mention these things for one reason alone (please understand) — it is certainly not to boast — to explain who is writing this article to perhaps help those who would criticize this movement from a distance.

The Quiet Order of Asbury

Last night, I saw some self-appointed critics of the Asbury movement on social media. Of course, they had not been to Hughes Auditorium they just “heard” that this and that was happening. When I read their second and third-hand reports, I was shocked, but not surprised. God always has His critics.

What is happening at Asbury (as I witnessed first-hand) has some beautiful, biblical components. This is what I’ve observed:

• Vibrant, Powerful Worship — Worship is being led by various student teams. Some are more proficient than others, but all are humble. We do not know their names. There are no fog machines nor lights — just piano and guitar by unnamed students worshiping God. We are singing songs that would be familiar to most of us, often just acapella (with no instruments). Contemporary songs are sung, often interspersed by the hymns of the church. There are no words on the screen, and they do not seem to be needed.

• Intense and Intentional Humility — The wise pastors on Asbury’s staff who are gently shepherding this movement keep reminding us that there are no superstars and that no one is to be exalted except Jesus. They have encouraged us to get lower and lower and lower under Him, exalting Him higher and higher. I have personally watched them stop a person or two who may have tried to hijack the meeting. They realize that God’s manifest is precious and desperately needed. They want no one or no thing to quench or grieve His Spirit.

• Life-Changing Testimonies — The leaders, at times, will open the microphones for a season of testimonies of what God has done. They instruct the crowd to observe these ABC’s — All glory to God alone, Brief and Current. They stand with the microphone in hand and wisely shepherd these moments. They will close the lines when they sense it’s time to move forward. Often during these testimonies, when they sense God repeating a theme, they have paused and called for those with the same issues to stand, and for people to gather around them and pray.

• Guided Prayer — At various times, they have led us into corporate prayer. Instructions are given, and then we turned into small groups and cried out to God. At the altar, they have a continuous team of prayer counselors, identified by lanyards around their necks, who are helping those in need and praying with them. They have gently invited the people to come to these trained counselors for prayer.

• Unashamed Witness — Everywhere, people are sharing with others in need outside the auditorium. God is opening people’s lips and giving them the Acts 4 courage to “speak the Word of God with boldness.” The result is what you would expect — the gospel is spreading rapidly, and many are coming to faith in Christ.

• Spiritual, Emotional and Even Physical Healing — Many are giving testimony of how God is instantly releasing them from years of bondage to addictions. Release from past hurts, bitterness and fear is happening quickly for the humble ones who admit their need and cry to the Savior. Some are testifying of physical healings, just as occurred in the Book of Acts, but this is not at all the dominant theme of the meetings. The theme is Jesus — exalting Him, surrendering to Him and testifying of Him to others.

• Preaching — One prognosticator on social media proclaimed that this was not of God because there was no preaching. I smiled, because there have been moments of preaching throughout and a “regular” sermon every single night, delivered humbly by godly pastors.

• Wise Leadership — I cannot say enough about this. I have been in many moments of intense revival. I have led in a number of these moments. I stood at a microphone for five weeks, shepherding a movement of God for three to four hours a night. I’m overwhelmed by the wise, quiet, strong and loving leadership of those in charge. It is not dominating and not restrictive. They are discerning God’s movement and cooperating. They are giving instruction and direction when needed.

• Consistency with the Ways of God — The Jesus movement was characterized by vibrant, simple worship and constant witness to the gospel. I was there. The church, by and large, reacted to the “hippies” who were being saved and the more current expressions of worship. Many churches ridiculed this and quenched the Spirit, unwilling to accept new wineskins. Most of these churches have plateaued and died. The churches that humbly opened the door to lost people and wisely shepherded God’s activity exploded. Calvary Chapel, a small California church, kept responding to God and, in the Jesus Movement’s wake, started 1400 churches.

Two things characterized the 1857 revival: First, fervent noon-day prayer meetings that grew from 6 people (with Jeremiah Lanphier) to 50,000 people every day in New York City alone, and second, unashamed testimony and witnessing. There were simple “rules” that they used to guide the prayer meetings. They lasted from 12-1 each day. It spread across the country. Prayer requests came from around the world. I’ve read many of those actual requests — most are for the salvation of someone somebody loved. In revival, our hearts return to beat with the heart of God, whose great desire is for people of every tongue, tribe and nation to come to Him.

When the church begins to pray, that is revival, for we are usually prayerless. When that reviving turns to fervent, unashamed witnessing and the rapid acceleration of the gospel, we term that “spiritual awakening,” for that is exactly what God is doing among the lost.

• Giving God Time and Waiting — The revival here is not hurried or rushed. There are long periods of stillness and waiting. If you want to rush in, get a big dose of God and rush out, don’t come. God works on His timetable. We give God little time and almost no silence. What is happening here is occurring because thirsty people are waiting before God. In time, He speaks to one, then another, bringing them back to intimacy with Him. I’ve always thought that we don’t experience God because we put Him on our timetable. Waiting is a lost art, and it is turning our full attention to Him until He makes Himself known that we need.

• Spreading — As of the fifth day of the movement, 22 colleges have sent groups of students here, hoping to see the same outbreak on their campuses. It would not surprise me if that was how this exploded nationwide, for students are most tender and willing. It is also no coincidence that a very carefully-made movie about the Jesus Revolution is coming out by our friend, Jon Erwin, on Feb. 22 and that the Collegiate National Day of Prayer broadcast has been scheduled for over a year to be broadcast from Asbury on Feb. 23. We should pray that these will further accelerate God’s work.

• Overwhelming Love — One of the leaders spoke to us last night about the beginning of the revival when a pastor spoke about our hypocritical, self-seeking love. He remarked that what these days have done has reversed that. Asbury has become a sanctuary of the love of God. That is the essence of God (He is love) and has been the hallmark of every moment when He is placed again on His rightful throne in our hearts, homes and churches. “Heaven a World of Love” was preached by Jonathan Edwards. And revival is Heaven coming down.

So, what is your response? I talked with a friend who reminded me of this beautiful truth from a missionary involved in the great revival in Shantung, China, in the late 20s. “We heard of the revival in Korea, which began in 1907. It was a mighty movement and had been born through a prayer-revival among missionaries. Oh, to be able to go there and bring back some glowing coals to our own field! But the journey was long and expensive and I had not the money. As I prayed for money and looked for an answer, a definite word was sent instead: “What you want through that journey you may be given here, where you are, in answer to prayer.” The words were a tremendous challenge, and I gave my solemn promise: ‘Then I will pray until I receive. Having pledged myself... the first conscious thought was: Then prayer means as much as that, and that my promise should be kept means as much as that.’ That experience helped me to endure through the almost 20 years which were to pass before the first small beginnings of revival were visible. Truly, God works unhurriedly.” (Marie Monsen, missionary nurse to north China, describing how she came to pray for the revival that burned there from 1927-1932)

You don’t have to come to Kentucky to experience revival and awakening. “The kingdom of God is here,” Jesus said, and He has gladly chosen to give us the kingdom.

As I spoke to the hotel receptionist, she told me they were sold out of rooms. “We were not prepared for revival,” she said. May that not be true of us.

Pray for Asbury… and pray for your church and the churches and people of your city. Cry out as never before, pleading with our reviving God to be merciful to us. Seek revival personally and fervently. Ask God to search your heart and remove anything that is quenching the flow of His Spirit. Ask God to break through your church this Sunday with a Wind that will not stop.

Pray that God would send revival to His church and then a mighty awakening to the lost. Ask Him to manifest Himself in power so that millions can be brought to Christ and the church can rise again into its missionary calling. Pray for the acceleration and rapid expansion of the gospel… for His kingdom to come.

Coming out of Hughes auditorium, with its love, grace and humility, and reading the words of some critics on social media was revealing. The pride of their words was apparent when seen against the backdrop of the presence of God. The spirit of such judgments came through the page and was glaring in its self-righteousness. It’s wise to examine things carefully but foolish to make swift judgments without close examination and real knowledge.

If you are tempted to criticize this movement flippantly, it might be wise to heed the counsel of Gamiliel when his religious colleagues criticized the early disciples: “So in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God” (Acts 5:38-39 NASB).

— Bill Elliff is the Founding and National Engage Pastor of The Summit Church in North Little Rock. His passion is to see both genuine revival and methodological renewal in the church — both new wine and new wineskins. He is a frequent conference speaker, writer and consultant to churches drawing from his 50+ years of pastoring and revival ministry. Bill is also the pastor/church director for OneCry! A Nationwide Call for Spiritual Awakening and the author of 12 books and booklets and numerous articles. He lives to faithfully and effectively communicate the whole counsel of God to as many people as possible through preaching, writing, church development and personal equipping that they may become intimate, reproducing disciples of Jesus Christ. Bill has been married to his wife, Holly, for over 48 years. Holly is a frequent women’s ministry speaker and leader who has been featured on many “Revive Our Hearts” Conferences and radio programs with Nancy DeMoss Wogelmuth. Bill and Holly have eight children, all married and all serving the Lord. They have 25 grandchildren at present… and counting!