COVER STORY 29 APRIL 2023 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida Edition Is it really revival? Bernie Cueto, vice president of spiritual development at PalmBeachAtlantic University (PBA), said, “God is definitely doing something unique,” but he added, “the historian in me would like to wait and see before we call this a revival.” Cueto referred to Jonathan Edwards, the Great American puritan theologian who wrote a treatise on signs of revival during the first GreatAwakening in the mid-1700s.According to Cueto, Edwards would say there are certain things that need to happen in revival. In addition to a desire and hunger for God, there's always prayer; there's always worship. It’s always gospel centered, and there are always fruits of repentance…Many would argue there should be a measurable change that took place as a result. And while extended times of worship can be good, they don’t necessarily mean revival. “What we do know that happened at Asbury was a very sovereign, gentle move of the Holy Spirit that is more wordship centered,” said Cueto. “Ironically at PBA, we had two 12hour prayer services and then another service that was supposed to be 40 minutes that went seven hours, so there's definitely a hunger for the presence of God and a hunger to experience God even here at PBA.” Anew generation This awakening amongGen. Z counters trending statistics aboutAmerica’s youth, which has been called “the least Christian generation inAmerican historywith only about four percent holding a biblical worldview and more teens identifying as agnostic, atheist or not religiously affiliated than previous generations,” according to a Barna study. However, Mike Blanc, chaplain for the University of Miami football team and director of Fellowship of Christian Athletes at UM, said, “I think more young people are looking to follow God.” The attendance at their Wednesday night Bible study Huddles have doubled in recent months, and he added, “I really believe that young people are tired of all the stuff on social media, and they're hungry for the truth. They're hungry for some real foundational perspectives instead of just some influencer with his own perspective…The world is doing a really good job of pointing out our flaws, but I think people are hungry for love. I think people are hungry to receive forgiveness and grace and mercy.” Concerning Super Bowl quarterbacks Mahomes and Hurts, Blanc said, “We are seeing the future of the NFL. These two quarterbacks are in their early 20s and with Tom Brady it was 41. It’s a newgeneration.And the Super Bowl is the biggest stage, so those guys professing their faith is everything. When I think about when TimTebowwas playing the championship game and wrote John 3:16 underneath his eye, they said over 200 million people went and researched, what is John 3:16? So, yeah, that's huge influence those guys have because the world is watching the Super Bowl.” Starting a conversation Nielson estimates more than 113 million viewers watched the Super Bowl this year. One study indicates about 43 percent of the men and 60 percent of the women say they tuned in to the Super Bowl just to watch the commercials. And for the first time, Jesus was there to meet them through the “He Gets Us” ad campaign. Jordan Carson, director of communications and spokesperson for He Gets Us, said their commercials garnered 189 million impressions during Super Bowl LVII. Their first commercial, titled “Be Childlike,” showed children hugging and helping each other, overlayed with the message, “Jesus didn’t want us to act like adults.” The second ad entitled “LoveYour Enemies” depicted the violence, conflict and social disorder common in today’s news, with the message, “Jesus loved the people we hate.” Designed to pique viewers’ curiosity, both ads pointed to HeGetsUs.com to learn more, join an online discussion group or connect with a local church. “Our goal for the Super Bowl ads was to create a conversation about Jesus, his life and his teachings, and that’s exactly what was accomplished,” said Carson. USAToday’s Ad Meter, a public survey, ranked “Be Childlike” and “Love Your Enemies” at numbers eight and 15, out of 51, and Google Search Trends showed that searches for “Jesus” were higher after the ads aired than they are at Christmas. “Our research shows that many people's only exposure to Jesus is through Christians who reflect him imperfectly, and too often in ways that create a distorted or incomplete picture of his radical compassion and love for others,” Carson said. “We believe it's more important now than ever for the real, authentic Jesus to be represented by his followers as he is in the Bible. He cares about our problems because he has experienced them. He gets us. We believe that these events will encourage others to consider his life and teachings, which will in turn help improve the lives of those around them — and begin to create a kind of cascade of confounding love and forgiveness he taught us through his words and actions.” Sovereign timing Perhaps the love that drew a generation of hippies to Jesus in the early 1970’s as depicted in “Jesus Revolution” is doing it again. In its fifth week, “Jesus Revolution” remains in more than 2,000 theaters, and Coproducer Kevin Downes, with Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company, said, “the encouragement we get is when people express how the film instigated conversations, how it's literally led to instantaneous worship or these events people have in their life that are somewhat life altering, and we've seen literally hundreds of them.” Asked if he saw any parallels between the outpouring at Asbury and “Jesus Revolution,” Downes, said, “The timing of that was very interesting. We sat back and were literally in awe of what was happening not only at Asbury but in other colleges. It was really incredible… Clearly our film is about a revival that happened in the late 60s, early 70s and so how that happened- it’s only God, literally.” Prior to the movie’s release, Greg Laurie, the American pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship and author of the memoir Jesus Revolution the movie is based on, said, “In America, we've had four great spiritual awakenings. The Jesus Movement was the last. I feel like we're overdue for another. And I'm hoping that this film will inspire people to pray, 'Lord, do it again.'” Hearing reports of the revival at Asbury from friends there and seeing it take off at college campuses around the country, even secular campuses, Darren Davis, Pastor of Harbour Church in Pompano Beach and an active member of Church United, said it made him think of “Jesus Revolution.” Davis said of the movie, “I went in expecting another cheesy Christian film, but I was pretty much weeping or laughing the whole time… And the story is the same thing as today. You’ve got the older generation serving the younger ones that are in a pretty broken place away from God, seeking him and drugs, sex - just like the Jesus Movement. Then I thought, Lord you knew when this film would come out… as this stuff is going on in Asbury and beyond. I feel like we need to pay attention!” He added, “I think this movement should be seen as an invitation and permission for what's possible for us. We all know that God wants to move in South Florida, and I’m convinced of that, especially with what's going on through Church United, the bringing together and unification of pastors and leaders across this city.” A scene from "Jesus Revolution" Photo courtesy: Lionsgate Abbie Parr, AP Marcio J Sanchez, AP, Shutterstock Kansas City Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes and Philadelphia Eagles' Jalen Hurts honored God as a public display of their personal faith during Super Bowl LVII.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjE2MjU=