On Revivals and History Lectures

Tonight I attended the annual Charles Perry lecture at Ridley College. Named for the 1st bishop of St. James' Old Cathedral, the lecture series began in the 1990s; was abandoned some time after; and was then resurrected last year, with its inaugural speaker being no less that the Scottish historian David Bebbington.

The purpose of the lectures is for evangelicals to reflect and learn from their past.

As we were celebrating the 100 birthday of Ridley College, the lecture this year was on the state of evangelicalism in Victoria in and around 1910, with a particular concentration of the revivals that were happening around this period.

There was a lot of stuff going on - dates; references back to revivals in Britain and the US in the 18th and 19th century; influential figures who travelled to Australia ...But what I got out of the lecture were 2 things:

- Revivals happen because of prayer. "Extra-ordinary Prayer Concerts" was the phrase often employed to describe committed groups of Christians, gathering together regularly to pray specifically for God to work. These prayer meetings often lasted for years, before seeing fruit in revivals. They were also serious commitments. The Moravians, for instance, took shifts in praying, so that they were literally "praying unceasingly" day in, and day out.

- With regards to theology, all the leaders of the great revivals (Wesley, Edwards, Whitfield et al), had a sense of following in the footsteps the theology of the Reformers of the 16th century, without emendation. There was, however, one additional point which proved crucial: they were all deeply convinced that what happened at Pentecost with the Apostles could, and indeed, should be replicated in their current situations, within their community of believers. Their understanding of the Holy Spirit and what he could do in the present day was therefore paramount to fueling their revivals.

I came away from the evening with a deep sense of the power and need for prayer, before we come up with any strategies for how we do mission, or evangelism, or attempt to "transform the world for God."

Of course, the lecture raised more questions than it could possibly answer. Being a total ignoramus when it came to revivals, I wanted to know what exactly constituted a revival? And how do we measure, historically, what was a period of revival or not?

What is our theology of the Holy Spirit? Should we plead for revival now? And why didn't the 16th Century Reformers go for revivals, Day of Pentecost style? (Actually they were probably preoccupied with clearing the air re: Salvation by Faith alone - which the 18th century benefitted from).

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For someone who was reading the lecture out word for word, the speaker was quite engaging and clear in his presentation. However, the lecture would have confirmed the general suspicion amongst the populus, that, while history is Very Important and We Need to Know about It, the past is entirely and utterly Dull.

I hasten to add, that I doubt I could have done better with the material - dense and statistical - but it did lead me to ponder what makes a good lecture, and, in particular, a good history lecture.

Here are some thoughts, in no particular order:

1. judicial use of visuals: Speaking about historical figures is always so much more interesting when you chuck up a portrait or two, and there are so many wonderful paintings if you're in the right period.

2. ditto audio material (I once attended a lecture on Elizabethan England at the beginning of which the lecturer gave us a fine baritone rendition of "Greensleeves". It was relevant too!)

3. beware of chronology, for it's likely to slip into "and this happened, and then this person did this, and then this happened."

4. include funny anecdotes and quotations to "colour" the past (and because the truth is always stranger than fiction).

5. indicate at the beginning of your lecture the lay of the land - what you're going to cover, splitting the history thematically, if possible.

6. explain why you're covering the ground you're covering, and wherever possible, help make analytical links for your audience.

7. be excited! History is a great and exciting story, about real people, real passions, and often situations that no fiction writer could dream up. Tell it therefore as the ripping yarn that it is.