A case of revival in Boston

 Hello, my name is Luke Dodge and I am an intern at Northeastern University Chaplaincy with Reverend Judith Stewart. This year I have worked closely with 5 Northeastern students on a leadership team to develop a partnership with an afterschool program that seeks to support Boston Public School students in their growth and learning. This year has been a great year, and I am excited to finish out the last two months solidifying this partnership, and celebrating the work done this year. Today I would like to share something that I care about, but is not exactly about my work at Northeastern as an intern for the Episcopal Church.


      Is there a revival coming to Boston? Revival is a word that is packed with excitement and eagerness for some, and for others it brings about feelings of misguided theology and maybe even oppressive manipulation. I don’t know how to define revival right now, and wish there was another word I could use because there are probably people that are already have sweaty palms by now hearing the word revival, so let’s just hold the term loosely and think positive thoughts.  Let’s think about a more pure expression of the Love that exists in Jesus Christ, and through the work of the Holy Spirit. Let’s think about captives being set free, alcoholics depending on the Lord as their strength, and Bostonians smiling more. Let's imagine revival could mean a lot of things, some we probably don’t even know and God does. But let us not exclude that revival will mean more Jesus in Boston. It may be helpful to know just a bit about my faith before we dive in here so let me give you some background. 


I believe I became a Christian when I was seven years old, and my Christian walk since that day has been largely made up of worshiping/growing in the evangelical community. When I seek God in my personal time I like to read the Bible, mostly the New Testament, pray from my heart, and invite the Holy Spirit to comfort me and empower me though my faith in Christ to do what the Lord has prepared for that day. When I seek God in community, I like to worship with lots of people by singing songs of praise, and moving my body to express that I love God. I am in awe of God during a liturgical Eucharist service, and consider this a new addition to my essentials for seeking my Heavenly Father, and his Son, Jesus the Christ. I share the details of how I worship to paint the picture of my faith. I guess I could say I am an evangelical Christian, but I don’t think that in this eclectic Christian society we can use simple words like evangelical to describe our faith, at least not for me.  Oh yeah, a couple more things… I hate capitalism, I hate over-consumption, the prosperity gospel makes me want to puke, I think George Bush is an idiot, I don’t vote Republican right now, I am a member of Mass Environment, don’t use a dryer, and have not used a plastic water bottle in a while… and I think that it is ok, actually I think it is amazing, to tell people about who Jesus is. I say all this because for me it is good news that people can share the Gospel about Jesus, and care about something as relevant as the environment through their faith. Anyways, back to our question… Revival… Boston… 2010.

      "Hmm" One: During Lent young adults from around the country fasted and prayed for Boston. They prayed that our city would "know, love, embrace, rely on, and awaken to more of Jesus, and His promise of eternal life through faith in Him." The International House of Prayer University led this ministry and had 40 students come to Boston for Lent, and ended the 40 day fast with having over 300 students from the University come to Boston, pray for people in the streets, and hold five worship and prayer sessions, with a culminating service at a church on Tremont St. in the center of the city. This community continues to pray for Boston, and that God would come and show his Love for this city through the promise of Jesus.
     
       "Hmm" Two: Boston and New England are presently known to be some of the most secular areas of this nation, but this was not always the case. This region set the example for church planting and prioritizing Jesus. Harvard University was the first college in our nation and check out this quote  - 

"Let every student be plainly instructed . . . to consider well the main end of . . . life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life . . . and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning."  

-Harvard College Laws, 1642  

The protestants came to Boston to have freedom to practice Christianity and see Jesus move, unhindered by a religion led by a government,  and this was one of the most epic revolutions in the history of the world. This was what Boston started out as, and now we are identified with our secular ways. I think it would be cool to see God use this region to lead the way for our nation and how we might pursue the Christian faith.


      "Hmm" Three: Phyllis Tickle has a lot to say about emergent churches and new expressions of Christian denominations. She has written a book that argues that we are in the midst denominational shift that happens every 500 years, where the Christian church… the whole Christian church, rethinks how we are pursuing God, worshiping, meeting, our ideals, our values, where we get our authority etc. So, that may get you thinking “Well, who is emerging, who is leading the way in this, where is this being seen?” She says it is difficult to know where the whole thing is going and which community is holding all these new ideals/expressions, but if there was a church doing this, it would be the Vineyard denomination. Back to Boston here, one of the largest Vineyard communities in our nation is in Boston, and is thinking of changing their name so that they can lead the way in what God may want to do through their unique community. A few things about this the Cambridge Vineyard: They invite the Holy Spirit to come and heal people every Sunday, they are welcoming to the LGBT community and make space for them to come to the church, they worship with praise songs and sing at the top of their lungs, and they practice lent as a church body by making a commitment for 40 days to take on a new practice to grow in their faith… as you can see this is a unique community. Oh yeah, it's in Boston. Do you see what I am saying here?


      So, I do not have a clue whether there is going to be a “revival”  in Boston. I don’t even know what I mean by revival... people deciding to follow Jesus or a different expression of church services. I don’t know if International House of Prayer University is a sketchy community, or a group of holy followers of Jesus. I don’t know much about what people think about Boston, or how many churches are in Boston today. I am unclear on some of the theology of the Vineyard and unsure of how Phyllis tickle would think of a revival in Boston. I am sure that when I hear revival I get excited. I am sure that Jesus has changed my life, and I want more people in Boston to know about Jesus. I am sure that this day we live in is unique, and I know the way we do church is changing. I am sure that if something is happening here in Boston, I want to be a part of it.

• Luke