I had two separate conversations with other pastors about revival this week. In order to facilitate this conversation we had to define what we mean when we refer to "revival."

My definition (and the definition that our church has adopted) is that "𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙡 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙬𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚." Revival is not a week of special services, or some wild manifestations, but a sustained spiritual state that results in an outward display of the Kingdom of God in society.

This definition is based on a study of revivals and renewals that took place under Ezra/Nehemiah, King Josiah, at Pentecost, Ephesus in the NT and other relevant Biblical passages.

It also takes into account historical revivals; like the Welsh revival that emptied prisons and bars, or the Great Awakenings that contributed to the abolition of slavery, or the Civil rights movement that started in church prayer meetings. Most of this research was the result of the work of J. Edwin Orr, who had three doctorates in revival-related studies.

Finally, a statement from A.W. Tozer, "I contend that whatever does not raise the moral standard of the church or the community has not been a revival from God."

The way that we think about revival will determine our attitude toward revival. Some people aren't interested in revival because they think about revival as a short-lived, hyped up, emotion-based experience, rather than something that is sustained and productive.