Paul never tells Timothy to look forward to the future for new movements of the Spirit. Rather, he tells him to look backwards to what has already been revealed. Everything we need to be fruitful and productive, to be trained in righteousness, to be adequately equipped for every good work, has already been revealed. For Paul, all the old stuff would continue to be all the right stuff.

Years back, a strange thing was happening in American churches that taught me an important lesson.

Here’s what was happening. In a number of places around the country, a so-called “laughing revival” was taking place. It was characterized by manifestations of uncontrollable hilarity, animal roars, violent shaking, and loud wailing—all supposedly heralding the imminent return of Christ. Was this a “new movement of the Spirit”?

Here’s the lesson I learned: When I face a vexing theological question, I start with what I know for sure and use that to organize the field, eliminate options, and clarify the task. I move from the known to the unknown. In this case, two sound convictions guided my assessment of the “revival.”

First, I know that mystical appearances can be deceiving. Though well-meaning believers are drawn to spiritual drama, experience is simply not an adequate test for truth.

A friend of mine had attended one “revival” service where conferees stampeded to the front for the altar call, some falling down, convulsing on the floor in front of her. She whispered to the person next to her, “In the Bible, this only happened to those who were demon possessed.” She was immediately accused of blaspheming the Holy Spirit.

This won’t do. My friend’s observation was fair, biblically accurate, and fully appropriate in light of the spiritual chaos surrounding her. Yet she was rebuked for even raising the issue. Chastisements about “quenching” the Spirit, putting God in a box, or not “touching” God’s anointed are of no help discerning truth here.

An LA Times spread at the time featured pictures of effusive worshipers in churches in Southern California. The article asked: Is this a revival in the church? It struck me that if the LA Times was looking for revival, it was looking in the wrong place. True revival is never measured by what happens inside the church, but rather by what happens outside the church.

Secular historians note that the Wesleyan revival in the 18th century so transformed the cultural landscape of England that it saved Britain from a bloody revolution like France endured.

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