pg. 5 — lightandlifemagazine.com
By Bishop Linda J. Adams
It boggles my mind to know that the Asbury Revival of 1970, which
transformed dozens of Christian college campuses and spilled over to my
church when I was 14, happened half a century ago. Asbury University just
celebrated the Jubilee year of the unusual outpouring of God’s Spirit on its
Wilmore, Kentucky, campus in February of 1970.
I know that attempting to describe an indescribable experience can be o"-
putting. I will try not to snub you by communicating in essence, “You had to
be there!”
But I must witness to the fact that in my own lifetime, the manifest presence
of God entered the Spring Arbor Free Methodist Church (carried like live
coals from the Asbury $re) in a way that was literally unforgettable. I was part
of a large youth group that, before the revival, endured the worship service
by sitting in the balcony together, chewing gum, %irting with each other and
passing notes. And then God came.
What seemed to usher the presence of God into the space was simple enough.
It started with students from Asbury telling about how God had come into
their midst. Very soon, people came under the conviction of the Holy Spirt and
began confessing sin, repenting of hypocrisy and empty religion, apologizing
to one another for wrongs they had committed, forgiving each other and
falling into one another’s arms, reconciled. Prayers were electric, passionate,
vulnerable, real. !e spirit of worship %owed through the congregation, with
spontaneous singing, hands raised heavenward, tears streaming down many
Bishop Linda J. Adams,
D.Min., was elected to
the Board of Bishops at
General Conference 2019
a"er serving 11 years as
the director of ICCM. She
previously served as a pastor
in New York, Illinois and
Michigan. As a bishop, she
oversees Free Methodist
ministries in the North and
North Central portions
of the United States and
also in Latin America.
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