Asbury University Revival

[Navidad]

Apparently there has been a ten day long revival occurring at Asbury University in Kentucky. It is beginning to draw attention in national news. I remember when something very similar happened at the same campus in 1970. It was a movement that at that time swept across of lot of campuses in the Christian college tradition. It will be interesting to see if something similar happens from this revival. Asbury University was founded back around 1890 or so. It has always had a good academic reputation, especially the attached seminary. As an aside I lived for a brief couple of years in Asbury Park, NJ, home of Bruce Springsteen. It was named after the same Holiness Methodist founder as the university. Anyone here ever been to Ocean Grove, NJ? Same Holiness tradition. When I was a boy, cars were not allowed to be driven in the Ocean Grove town limits on Sunday!

Asbury is in the Holiness-Wesleyan tradition/branch of Methodism with Arminian theological roots which was founded mid-19th century in the midwest. If you live in the US, you may live near a Nazarene university. The Nazarenes are from a similar tradition, but rejected the gift of tongues. The Nazarenes have 9 or so (I think) universities across the country. I was involved quite a bit in serving as a guest lecturer at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego - the prettiest college campus I have ever been on. San Diego Unified School District used their concert hall all the time for district musical concerts. Several of their senior administrators served on advisory committees for our district.

The point of all this is to ask, has there ever been a student-led revival or intense student led spiritual movement at BYU or any of the other LDS institutions of higher ed? I know the LDS are not a revivalist group, but in its early history it had many hallmarks of the revivalist movement. At any rate, this will be interesting to watch. I believe the one at Asbury in 1970 went on for at least a month if not longer.

Edited February 18, 2023 by Navidad

[OGHoosier]

4 minutes ago, Navidad said:

The point of all this is to ask, has there ever been a student-led revival or intense student led spiritual movement at BYU or any of the other LDS institutions of higher ed? I know the LDS are not a revivalist group, but in its early history it had many hallmarks of the revivalist movement. At any rate, this will be interesting to watch. I believe the one at Asbury in 1970 went on for at least a month if not longer.

Not that I'm aware of. I've been following Asbury with interest though.

[mfbukowski]

25 minutes ago, Navidad said:

Apparently there has been a ten day long revival occurring at Asbury University in Kentucky. It is beginning to draw attention in national news. I remember when something very similar happened at the same campus in 1970. It was a movement that at that time swept across of lot of campuses in the Christian college tradition. It will be interesting to see if something similar happens from this revival. Asbury University was founded back around 1890 or so. It has always had a good academic reputation, especially the attached seminary. As an aside I lived for a brief couple of years in Asbury Park, NJ, home of Bruce Springsteen. It was named after the same Holiness Methodist founder as the university. Anyone here ever been to Ocean Grove, NJ? Same Holiness tradition. When I was a boy, cars were not allowed to be driven in the Ocean Grove town limits on Sunday!

Asbury is in the Holiness-Wesleyan tradition/branch of Methodism with Arminian theological roots which was founded mid-19th century in the midwest. If you live in the US, you may live near a Nazarene university. The Nazarenes are from a similar tradition, but rejected the gift of tongues. The Nazarenes have 9 or so (I think) universities across the country. I was involved quite a bit in serving as a guest lecturer at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego - the prettiest college campus I have ever been on. San Diego Unified School District used their concert hall all the time for district musical concerts. Several of their senior administrators served on advisory committees for our district.

The point of all this is to ask, has there ever been a student-led revival or intense student led spiritual movement at BYU or any of the other LDS institutions of higher ed? I know the LDS are not a revivalist group, but in its early history it had many hallmarks of the revivalist movement. At any rate, this will be interesting to watch. I believe the one at Asbury in 1970 went on for at least a month if not longer.

Yep, ah remember them thar Jesus freaks. Good folks!  

Nah, we call them folks "missionaries".

They had ta git haircuts 

 

 

Edited February 18, 2023 by mfbukowski

[mfbukowski]

3 minutes ago, mfbukowski said:

The Nazarenes have 9 or so (I think) universities across the country. I was involved quite a bit in serving as a guest lecturer at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego - the prettiest college campus I have ever been on. San Diego Unified School District used their concert hall all the time for district musical concerts. Several of their senior administrators served on advisory committees for our district.

Yep, I was living in SD around then.

Those were my atheist days though. And I had a job on Point Loma testing Navy navigation techniques.

I learned how to navigate a Navy Destroyer if anyone needs help on that.

[Navidad]

2 hours ago, mfbukowski said:

Yep, ah remember them thar Jesus freaks. Good folks!  

Nah, we call them folks "missionaries".

They had ta git haircuts 

 

 

Oh Yeh. My problem was I sang bass and preached on our university gospel team. We traveled around singing and "witnessing" in local high schools during the week and at churches on the weekends. I had to keep my hair short for that! I had a scholarship and would have lost it had I had long hair! Those were the days - 1967-1971 in northwest Arkansas, where folks were still mad about MMM. I believe it was the very next county that had a monument in the main plaza in the center of the county seat in memory of those killed! It is kind of like here, where folks speak of the past history in the present tense.

[Navidad]

2 hours ago, mfbukowski said:

Yep, I was living in SD around then.

Those were my atheist days though. And I had a job on Point Loma testing Navy navigation techniques.

I learned how to navigate a Navy Destroyer if anyone needs help on that.

Wow, was that at the sub base? I often went out there for meetings with our labor unions. They used some restaurant or dining facility out there to hold their meetings (always food!). it was hard to get to as I remember. I liked all the Italian restaurants out on Point Loma.

[Kenngo1969]

I'm not aware of anything similar happening in the Latter-day Saint tradition, but I think what's happening at Asbury is fascinating, remarkable, and certainly a good thing.

[mfbukowski]

6 minutes ago, Navidad said:

Oh Yeh. My problem was I sang bass and preached on our university gospel team. We traveled around singing and "witnessing" in local high schools during the week and at churches on the weekends. I had to keep my hair short for that! I had a scholarship and would have lost it had I had long hair! Those were the days - 1967-1971 in northwest Arkansas, where folks were still mad about MMM. I believe it was the very next county that had a monument in the main plaza in the center of the county seat in memory of those killed! It is kind of like here, where folks speak of the past history in the present tense.

Well,  yeah, people tend to get mad when a mob chases you halfway across the country to kill you, for some reason.  I suppose it makes you want to return the favor.  There goes the thread, I suppose....

[The Nehor]

That is one way to get out of that test you didn’t study for.

[Hamilton Porter]

On 2/18/2023 at 3:52 PM, Kenngo1969 said:

I'm not aware of anything similar happening in the Latter-day Saint tradition, but I think what's happening at Asbury is fascinating, remarkable, and certainly a good thing.

Most definitely a good thing. The Church's fortunes are strongly correlated with the trajectory of religion in general in this country. If GenZ can reverse their secularism, awesome.

Plus getting to know Jesus is a great thing on its own.

Plus if this is a Wesleyan tradition, then they aren't that hostile to LDS folk.

[Hamilton Porter]

On 2/18/2023 at 3:04 PM, Navidad said:

Apparently there has been a ten day long revival occurring at Asbury University in Kentucky. It is beginning to draw attention in national news. I remember when something very similar happened at the same campus in 1970. It was a movement that at that time swept across of lot of campuses in the Christian college tradition. It will be interesting to see if something similar happens from this revival. Asbury University was founded back around 1890 or so. It has always had a good academic reputation, especially the attached seminary. As an aside I lived for a brief couple of years in Asbury Park, NJ, home of Bruce Springsteen. It was named after the same Holiness Methodist founder as the university. Anyone here ever been to Ocean Grove, NJ? Same Holiness tradition. When I was a boy, cars were not allowed to be driven in the Ocean Grove town limits on Sunday!

Asbury is in the Holiness-Wesleyan tradition/branch of Methodism with Arminian theological roots which was founded mid-19th century in the midwest. If you live in the US, you may live near a Nazarene university. The Nazarenes are from a similar tradition, but rejected the gift of tongues. The Nazarenes have 9 or so (I think) universities across the country. I was involved quite a bit in serving as a guest lecturer at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego - the prettiest college campus I have ever been on. San Diego Unified School District used their concert hall all the time for district musical concerts. Several of their senior administrators served on advisory committees for our district.

The point of all this is to ask, has there ever been a student-led revival or intense student led spiritual movement at BYU or any of the other LDS institutions of higher ed? I know the LDS are not a revivalist group, but in its early history it had many hallmarks of the revivalist movement. At any rate, this will be interesting to watch. I believe the one at Asbury in 1970 went on for at least a month if not longer.

Thanks for sharing this information.

[mfbukowski]

On 2/18/2023 at 12:04 PM, Navidad said:

Apparently there has been a ten day long revival occurring at Asbury University in Kentucky. It is beginning to draw attention in national news. I remember when something very similar happened at the same campus in 1970. It was a movement that at that time swept across of lot of campuses in the Christian college tradition. It will be interesting to see if something similar happens from this revival. Asbury University was founded back around 1890 or so. It has always had a good academic reputation, especially the attached seminary. As an aside I lived for a brief couple of years in Asbury Park, NJ, home of Bruce Springsteen. It was named after the same Holiness Methodist founder as the university. Anyone here ever been to Ocean Grove, NJ? Same Holiness tradition. When I was a boy, cars were not allowed to be driven in the Ocean Grove town limits on Sunday!

Asbury is in the Holiness-Wesleyan tradition/branch of Methodism with Arminian theological roots which was founded mid-19th century in the midwest. If you live in the US, you may live near a Nazarene university. The Nazarenes are from a similar tradition, but rejected the gift of tongues. The Nazarenes have 9 or so (I think) universities across the country. I was involved quite a bit in serving as a guest lecturer at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego - the prettiest college campus I have ever been on. San Diego Unified School District used their concert hall all the time for district musical concerts. Several of their senior administrators served on advisory committees for our district.

The point of all this is to ask, has there ever been a student-led revival or intense student led spiritual movement at BYU or any of the other LDS institutions of higher ed? I know the LDS are not a revivalist group, but in its early history it had many hallmarks of the revivalist movement. At any rate, this will be interesting to watch. I believe the one at Asbury in 1970 went on for at least a month if not longer.

We are about the same age, and I remember the Jesus Freak movement well.

At the time, anyone who had long hair (males) called themselves a "freak"- it was in no way derogatory, but actually a way to label yourself as a part of a movement- hippies did not call themselves as "hippies", you talked about yourself as a "freak".

"See I was in a store, and another freak came in, and the guy at the counter got scared and...."

So Jesus freaks were "hippies for Jesus..."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_freak#:~:text=Jesus freak is a term,involved in the Jesus movement.

[Navidad]

4 hours ago, mfbukowski said:

We are about the same age, and I remember the Jesus Freak movement well.

At the time, anyone who had long hair (males) called themselves a "freak"- it was in no way derogatory, but actually a way to label yourself as a part of a movement- hippies did not call themselves as "hippies", you talked about yourself as a "freak".

"See I was in a store, and another freak came in, and the guy at the counter got scared and...."

So Jesus freaks were "hippies for Jesus..."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_freak#:~:text=Jesus freak is a term,involved in the Jesus movement.

My guess is they probably were not welcome in the LDS church.

[Calm]

12 minutes ago, Navidad said:

My guess is they probably were not welcome in the LDS church.

Depended on the ward. Probably not in most. 

[mfbukowski]

2 hours ago, Navidad said:

My guess is they probably were not welcome in the LDS church.

Wrong.

It's not the church, it's the culture as YOU know it. 

In 1979- the year I was baptized myself, - I baptized a freak in a mountain stream of living water, with full priesthood approval, witnessed by the Ward Mission Leader, missionaries, etc.  It's what he wanted, and what was done.

Absolutely beautiful.

Not kind that you would say that.

Everyone is welcome in the Church of Jesus Christ, even Mennonites.

You ought to follow that hippie!

 

 

 

[T-Shirt]

On 2/18/2023 at 12:29 PM, mfbukowski said:

Yep, ah remember them thar Jesus freaks. Good folks!  

Nah, we call them folks "missionaries".

They had ta git haircuts 

 

 

Do you remember a song from the 70's called "Convoy"? It's a song about a convoy of semi trucks rolling across the country. My favorite line in the song is when the singer mentions some folks who joined the convoy. The line is, "Well, we shot the line and we went for broke With a thousand screamin' trucks and eleven long-haired Friends of Jesus in a chartreuse micro-bus."

Edited March 8, 2023 by T-Shirt

[LoudmouthMormon]

Wasn't our church born in the middle of something similar?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burned-over_district

[mfbukowski]

Just now, LoudmouthMormon said:

Wasn't our church born in the middle of something similar?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burned-over_district

Yup!

[mfbukowski]

28 minutes ago, T-Shirt said:

Do you remember a song from the 70's called "Convoy"? It's a song about a convoy of semi trucks rolling across the country. My favorite line in the song is when the singer mentions some folks who joined the convoy. The line is, "Well, we shot the line and we went for broke With a thousand screamin' trucks and eleven long-haired Friends of Jesus in a chartreuse micro-bus."

Hey, even Bob Dylan, hippiedom's prophet, got into it!

[Navidad]

4 hours ago, mfbukowski said:

Wrong.

It's not the church, it's the culture as YOU know it. 

In 1979- the year I was baptized myself, - I baptized a freak in a mountain stream of living water, with full priesthood approval, witnessed by the Ward Mission Leader, missionaries, etc.  It's what he wanted, and what was done.

Absolutely beautiful.

Not kind that you would say that.

Everyone is welcome in the Church of Jesus Christ, even Mennonites.

You ought to follow that hippie!

 

 

 

I am a hippie. In my own way I do my own thing!

[HappyJackWagon]

On 2/18/2023 at 2:04 PM, Navidad said:

Apparently there has been a ten day long revival occurring at Asbury University in Kentucky. It is beginning to draw attention in national news. I remember when something very similar happened at the same campus in 1970. It was a movement that at that time swept across of lot of campuses in the Christian college tradition. It will be interesting to see if something similar happens from this revival. Asbury University was founded back around 1890 or so. It has always had a good academic reputation, especially the attached seminary. As an aside I lived for a brief couple of years in Asbury Park, NJ, home of Bruce Springsteen. It was named after the same Holiness Methodist founder as the university. Anyone here ever been to Ocean Grove, NJ? Same Holiness tradition. When I was a boy, cars were not allowed to be driven in the Ocean Grove town limits on Sunday!

Asbury is in the Holiness-Wesleyan tradition/branch of Methodism with Arminian theological roots which was founded mid-19th century in the midwest. If you live in the US, you may live near a Nazarene university. The Nazarenes are from a similar tradition, but rejected the gift of tongues. The Nazarenes have 9 or so (I think) universities across the country. I was involved quite a bit in serving as a guest lecturer at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego - the prettiest college campus I have ever been on. San Diego Unified School District used their concert hall all the time for district musical concerts. Several of their senior administrators served on advisory committees for our district.

The point of all this is to ask, has there ever been a student-led revival or intense student led spiritual movement at BYU or any of the other LDS institutions of higher ed? I know the LDS are not a revivalist group, but in its early history it had many hallmarks of the revivalist movement. At any rate, this will be interesting to watch. I believe the one at Asbury in 1970 went on for at least a month if not longer.

Didn't something very similar happen within the past couple of years at another Southern Christian school? Or maybe I dreamt it. I am definitely on the cynical side of these kinds of things as I have a hard time believing they are not manufactured to look spontaneous.

FWIW- the LDS tradition very much started in revival and even Pentecostal displays (eg Kirtland). 

In other news, 20,000 participants in this revival may have been exposed to a Measels outbreak.  Up to 20,000 people who attended a religious gathering may have been exposed to measles. What should they do next? (msn.com)

[mfbukowski]

28 minutes ago, HappyJackWagon said:

Didn't something very similar happen within the past couple of years at another Southern Christian school? Or maybe I dreamt it. I am definitely on the cynical side of these kinds of things as I have a hard time believing they are not manufactured to look spontaneous.

FWIW- the LDS tradition very much started in revival and even Pentecostal displays (eg Kirtland). 

In other news, 20,000 participants in this revival may have been exposed to a Measels outbreak.  Up to 20,000 people who attended a religious gathering may have been exposed to measles. What should they do next? (msn.com)

Get measles.

Most of us oldsters have had it more than once. It didn't kill us.

 

[LoudmouthMormon]

3 hours ago, T-Shirt said:

Do you remember a song from the 70's called "Convoy"? It's a song about a convoy of semi trucks rolling across the country. My favorite line in the song is when the singer mentions some folks who joined the convoy. The line is, "Well, we shot the line and we went for broke With a thousand screamin' trucks and eleven long-haired Friends of Jesus in a chartreuse micro-bus."

Great - now I have several songs stuck in my head for the rest of the day.  Which will come back to me and play in the background as I follow the Asbury story. 

[Bernard Gui]

On 2/18/2023 at 3:04 PM, Navidad said:

The point of all this is to ask, has there ever been a student-led revival or intense student led spiritual movement at BYU or any of the other LDS institutions of higher ed? I know the LDS are not a revivalist group, but in its early history it had many hallmarks of the revivalist movement. At any rate, this will be interesting to watch. I believe the one at Asbury in 1970 went on for at least a month if not longer.

Lots of revivals here in Kentucky.

I heard a funny story in stake high council meeting last week. A while back an older brother in the council was serving as the mission leader in his unit in another part of the state. They had a difficult time getting non-members to come to the church.  Someone had the bright idea to put a sign by the chapel that read, “REVIVAL! Sunday at 11am.” On Sunday the building was packed with folks looking for Revival…Kentuckians love revivals. They got LDS hymns and sermons. They told the mission president about their success. He was impressed enough to send the story on to SLC. Someone responded saying, no, we don’t think that should be repeated. 

Besides, we can’t compete with the praise bands.

I suppose our version of Revival is renewing our covenants each Sunday with the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. 

Edited March 9, 2023 by Bernard Gui

[The Nehor]

17 hours ago, Navidad said:

My guess is they probably were not welcome in the LDS church.

They were not. Why do you think men having long hair and beards is a quasi-sin?

Society didn’t like them either. Excluding hippies is where those “no shirt, no shoes, no service” signs came from. It is not a public health thing like I was told.