Taking a break today from my “Simple Preaching Tips” series to talk about . . . revivals and rumors of revivals.
I’ve never really been a revival kind of guy. I’m more into the gradual long-term process than the spiritual big bang theory. But since the Lakeland healing revival seems to be the buzz of the moment, I thought I’d throw in my 2 pesos worth.
Like all ‘revivals,’ I’m sure Lakeland is a mixture of the spiritual and the spooky, healing and hype, generosity and greed, the weird and the wonderful.
Based on the press and the blogs, the Lakeland revival is known for the healing miracles, the preacher’s tattoos, and angelic manifestations. I love the miracles and have no problem with the tats or the metal on the preacher.
But, while I believe in angels, I’m a bit bothered when preachers are on a first-name basis with someone like ‘Emma’ the angel. With all due respect to my politically correct feminist friends, are there any female angels in the Bible? Not sure I remember any. And, do Bible angels actually have bird-like feathers that float around revival meetings like in the Forrest Gump credits? And don’t get me started on the gold dust. . .
By the way, I believe in modern healing and miracles, I just have a hard time with the side-shows. My friend from Guam (Dale J) went to Lakeland and got instantly and totally healed, after several years of debilitating back problems. And he fell down without being pushed—two miracles at once.
My conclusion: I know Jesus still heals, but I’m not so sure about some of the other stuff.
For more opinions about the Lakeland revival. . .
Lee Grady has posted four insightful blogs:
“Bam! Pow! When Prayer Ministry Gets Violent”
“An Appeal for Unity in a Divisive Season”
“Honest Questions about the Lakeland Revival”
“A Holy Ghost Outbreak in Florida”
And, Steve Strang posted two Lakeland blogs:
“Observations about the Revival in Lakeland”
“Long Term Effects of Revival”
So, what do you think?
***New pix and comments posted on my other site***
