It is hard to imagine Asbury without certain traditions, especially in the chapel experience. The three emphasis weeks throughout the year (Fall Revival, Holiness Emphasis Week, and Great Commission Congress) are central points of worship together, weeks that serve as reminders of where the church has been and where its members are called to go. These are weeks of transformation, places in times where the call to lean in is strong, and the entire campus pauses to allow space to encounter the Lord.
Like all the revivals before it, Fall Revival was an impactful, heartfelt, and beautiful time. An Asburian, Dr. Matt Ayars, who serves as current President of Wesley Biblical Seminary in Mississippi, addressed the student body. His passion for God, Scripture and Asbury students was more than evident. Ayars said that “chapel was one of the top three main contributors to [his] spiritual formation and overall vocational journey at Asbury.” This memory of a personal experience brought such passion to his messages, which were a solid blend of storytelling, Scriptural exploration, and interaction with the students.
His preaching style brought a unique energy to the seven services spread across the week. On Monday morning, Ayars began his message with a pop quiz on the narrative in Genesis 1 to show the pattern of forming then filling creation. On Monday, in the evening service, he explored the similarities and differences between the Mosaic Law and the Spirit with similar mixing of engagement and exegesis. Tuesday night included a message on the ordo saludis, or “order of salvation,” with many shouted answers from the gathered students. Wednesday morning brought a new perspective on the John 4 narrative of the woman at the well as Ayars remarked upon the structure of a wedding passage found in the text.
That night, Hughes was a powerful space of worship as the band’s set matched perfectly with Ayars’s message from the Resurrection account in the book of John. He preached that the lonely graves of life could become the bounteous gardens through the work of Jesus. Thursday night, Hughes drew a large crowd as word of the messages spread, and people were eager to hear the Word proclaimed. Ayars did not disappoint; he went to the first chapter of Joshua and Peter’s confession of Christ in the Scriptures and told the story of preaching a witch doctor’s funeral while a missionary in Haiti, demonstrating that the power of God is not limited by circumstance or impossibility. Friday morning’s chapel service concluded the series. Dr. Ayars concluded the week by preaching on Samuel’s birth and Saul’s anointing, showing that the “missional sending is certainly a natural result of an awakened faith.”
Dr. Ayars also intentionally spent time among the Asbury community, getting to know faculty, staff, and students in prayer and conversation. The engagement throughout the week was an excellent opportunity to see the speaker preaching in a more intimate and personal setting. It is one of the best parts of the three emphasis weeks. Students could accept an invitation to talk about personal callings, life decisions, and prayer requests with someone who had dedicated time to them specifically. The fact that Dr. Ayars is himself an Asburian was an added benefit, as he could relate specifically to the unique story of Asbury University.
Now that the week is over and the campus community has had a chance to reflect on this time, we face the reality that Fall Revival, as beautiful or poignant it might be in the time allotted, must have implications that extend beyond the fourth week of the semester. People knelt at the altar every night. They wept in conviction and calling. If this has no significance outside of the designated week, Fall Revival is a pointless idea. Our campus will feel the effect if the lives touched walk in renewed faithfulness with the Spirit.
“Revival is no mystery,” Ayars said. “We’re not waiting for God. God is waiting for us.”
God’s heart bends toward the restorative work of forming and filling lives, causing growth to Him. Then they are sent into a broken and hurting world. Revival also has a necessary element of “reconciliation founded on forgiveness” within the community in which it occurs. Ayars expounds on this idea.
“God is waiting for us to obey his command to be right with one another,” he said.
These are how our campus will notice that last week’s Fall Revival meant something beyond well-structured messages and an unusual amount of audience participation (with a healthy dose of teasing Greg). After a week like Fall Revival, the hope is that it stirs something in the community of Asbury. Surrender looks different when the graves turn into gardens. Mission moves toward radical grace when the Lord empowers it. Academic pursuits become means of grace when learning enhances the capacity and desire to drink from the deep wells of Scripture.
The presence of the Lord changes everything. The purpose of Fall Revival is to draw this community into a deeper pursuit of God in every aspect of life. Ayars’ invitation to “stop dating Jesus and just marry the guy” is simple and yet profound: how far will Asbury, as an institution or its component’s parts, go to follow the Lord, even into the messy, hard, dirty, and unseen spaces? Is Asbury capable of praying that we could do mundane things for God instead of waiting for God to move in miraculous ways? Can these virtues of holiness be habituated into the daily lives of people across all areas of campus? In the days moving forward, will this place, these people, live fully and love sacrificially?
With the Spirit’s help, the answer is a resounding yes.