Fulton Street Revival

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fulton street revivalIn September of 1857 in New York City, a 48-year-old businessman and lay minister named Jeremiah Lanphier was desperate for a move of God in his city.  Frustrated at the lack of spiritual interest he encountered as he invited people to services at the North Dutch Reformed Church, he walked the streets and passed out flyers for a simple prayer meeting.  On September 23 he opened the doors of his church on Fulton Street for the one hour prayer meeting at noontime.  He was the only one who showed up.

Six months later, The New York Times reported on a great spiritual awakening that had swept the city.  From an editorial on March 20th:

“The great wave of religious excitement which is now sweeping over this nation, is one of the most remarkable movements since the Reformation . . . Travelers relate that on cars and steamboats, in banks and markets, everywhere through the interior, this matter is an absorbing topic. Churches are crowded; bank-directors’ rooms become oratories; school-houses are turned into chapels; converts are numbered by the scores of thousands. In this City, we have beheld a sight which not the most enthusiastic fanatic for church-observances could ever have hoped to look upon;–we have seen in a business quarter of the City, in the busiest hours, assemblies of merchants, clerks and working-men, to the number of some 5,000, gathered day after day for a simple and solemn worship. Similar assemblies we find in other portions of the City; a theatre is turned into a chapel; churches of all sects are open and crowded by day and night.”

What happened in between?

In this audio podcast, Mike O’Quin interviews Shane Harris who has been researching the Fulton Street Revival, also known as the Layman’s Revival.  The testimonies he shares are stunning.  Next week we will dive into the Welsh Revival which took place in the early 1900’s in Wales, and then we’ll have one more conversation on insights gleaned and hoped-for impact for today.

Click below to listen, or search for “Faith Activators” in the iTunes store to subscribe to this podcast.

 

Best Feeling Ever

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Naomi Snow DayI received a phone call this morning at 6 AM from the Austin Independent School District, a recorded message announcing that school was cancelled today for “inclement weather.”

That inclement weather is a winter storm blowing in, icing over the roads and teasing Austin with a tiny bit of snow, a rarity for Central Texas.  A big smile crept across my sleepy face as I had the delightful job of letting my kids know the awe-inspiring, mind-boggling, joy-inducing news: NO SCHOOL TODAY!

This is something that never happened to them when we lived in Indonesia, as snowflakes tend to avoid the equator.  So for the first time ever in their lives, winter weather has halted a regular old grueling day of wake up, jump up, get your day started, learn your lessons and do your homework.

Ana sent me a text message from her room at 7 AM asking if school was cancelled.  Instead of texting back the answer, I had to deliver this unbelievable message in person.  I tiptoed into her room with the news at bedside and the reply was an exultant, whispery yell, “YESSSSS!!!”   She’s still in there sleeping now to celebrate (8:53 AM).

Next Jordan stumbled of his room, worried that he had missed his alarm (I had gone in earlier to snatch it away).  “Dad, I overslept,” he cried out.

“No you didn’t.  No school today!”

What???!!  Fist pumps.  A twirl.  A lifting of his face to offer praise to the heavens.  A run to the window to confirm the news.  His “YESSSSS” that was louder then Ana’s.

Stephanie and I were the most excited about Naomi’s reaction, as our princess born in the tropics can’t remember ever seeing snow in her five-year-old life.  Little Naomi looked through the doorway at the white rooftops and started squealing.  “No school today?” she asked.

“No school today!” we answered, even though she never has it on Fridays (that’s okay, five-year-old’s aren’t known for their calendar adeptness).

More squealing.  More wide-eyed wonderment at the light, white frosting on the ground (definitely not enough to make a snowman, but impressive for us Texans nonetheless).

That feeling of waking up to a snow-cancelled school day, there’s nothing quite like it in the whole world.  I remember growing up in a small town in Arkansas, listening to the radio on mornings when it snowed, and hoping against hope that the grind of school would be obliterated by a day of frolicking in white powder with my friends and making a snowman.  Those were the days before the news was delivered by automated messages to your cell phone.   Yet still unbounded joy then and now.

I have a couple of questions for you.

The first is, how long has it been since you have experienced joy?

Think about it for a minute.   It’s been a while for me, honestly.  I want to have that wide-eyed wonderment that Naomi has in her face this morning more often.  I want to “fight for joy,” as John Piper says.  In fact, that is one of my New Year’s resolutions, to fight for joy every single day this year, for joy to be normative in my daily life as Paul admonished us: “Be joyful always” (1 Thessalonians 5:16).

The second question is, how does God feel about you when you experience joy?

I experienced joy as a father today as my kids experienced joy, maybe even to a greater degree than theirs.  I was giddy with the thought of delivering the good news.  The anticipation of their faces lighting up lit up my own heart with joy.

Make God joyful.  Be more joyful.  Clutch on to Him more tightly this year than you ever have.  Let the reality of “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah  8:10) permeate your life.

You have to look carefully to find the mini-snowman
You have to look carefully to find the mini-snowman in this picture

Now get out there and scrape enough snow off the driveway to make a mini-snowman.

— Mike O’Quin, author, Java Wake and Growing Desperate