Cane Ridge

A couple of weeks ago, I drove out near to the Cane Ridge Meeting House.  This place is known for birthing one of the powerful revival movements of the early 1900's.  The Disciples of Christ (also known as Christian) Church got it's start out of this revival.  I believe the church started out Presbyterian but the messy revival caused some problems between this church and the denomination.  The meeting house still stands, though a building has been erected around it.

This is the front of the church.  You will notice the cross and communion table on the floor with a raised pulpit behind it.  Not too different from what you might see in a church today.

 You can see how the balcony wraps around the sides.

 The old pump organ sitting next to the platform.

 The piano is in the back - not sure why.  Two sets of stairs heading up to the balcony.

I really was impressed with this balcony.  I guess I knew that they had a loft on "Little House on the Prairie" but it never occurred to me that a log church would have a balcony!

I recorded my thoughts on the drive home that day.  If I knew how, I would just link the recording to this page.  Since I so not, I did my best to transcribe them.  Please forgive grammar and punctuation mistakes.  This was free flow of thought.  :-) 

I know this is considered the birthplace of the Disciples of Christ or Christian Church and I watched a video that explained there are pieces of the Cane Ridge Revival that they have taken with them and there are pieces they have left behind.  And I find that interesting.

According to the video shown in the museum, the following are the values that were adopted:
Anyone to enter into worship with them, regardless of denomination.
Sharing the Lord's Supper together.
Evangelism - though they were clear that they do not identify themselves as Evangelical but are a "mainline denomination".

They talked about how, at the Cane Ridge Revival, there were multiple places where people were preaching or sharing.  I imagine there was singing and worship happening, as well, though they did not speak of that on the video.  Probably prayer ministry - thought that was also not mentioned.  What was mentioned was people falling out in the Spirit.  I don't remember how they worded it but it was clearly a charismatic experience for those who attended and, just as clearly, an uncomfortable aspect of the revival for those in the current denomination looking back on those times.  They minimized the more charismatic aspects of the revival in favor of the the three tenants listed above- and yet history reveals that things like people "falling out in the Spirit" and other such uncouth things are consistent traits of revivals around the world.  It is not containable. It is not pretty.  It is not people sitting around holding onto their pride and dignity.  Revival is gut wrenching - people crying out to God in desperation and humility that allows the Spirit free reign to do as He chooses.  And while these things may look silly and stupid from afar, they open us up to be humble to go back out into the world.  For true humility has a way of disarming the world. If we are tied in to our pride and concern of how we look and how we appear - it seems, in a true revival, God sheds that very quickly.

While they dance around a bit in regard to how the Holy Spirit manifested, they do have a liturgical red bench to represent the Holy Spirit falling during the revival.

It all just made me think about what we are to do when there is a move of God. We don't have the emotional energy to sustain the intensity of this sort of a move of God for long.  We just don't.  We are humans. And there is a place for education - teaching people how to read the word and teaching them the history of the Church - what God has done since the time of the New Testament.  How have outbreaks of the Spirit happened since then?  I believe there is a place for that.

There is a place for education. So, what is that place?  I think the answer is that education is when we give people the tools they need to connect with God, themselves - to connect with the history of the church - to connect with Biblical history and Bible study.  And we give them tools in such a way that, if we are wrong, they have the tools to correct us in future generations.  They have the tools to seek God's face - to move beyond and higher than were we moved.  Education is saying, "Here are the tools."  It is not arrogant - saying, "I will make you think like I think."  Maybe that is where we have gotten into trouble.  We have tried to make people think like we think instead of just educating them - instead of giving them tools.

We almost act like a move of God happens so rarely - that the voice of God speaking to people happens so rarely - that we can't trust that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord, not only can be saved, but can hear from God. Do we forget that the Bible says, "My sheep will know my voice?"  Do we think that God just withholds His voice from some when there are so many passages in scripture that make it very clear that God wants His people to hear His voice.  The whole point of Pentecost is that the sons and daughters and would dream dreams and have visions - that they would all hear from God.  They wouldn't be dependent on a single priest.  We became a priesthood of believers.  They wouldn't be dependent on a nation, for there is now no Jew nor Gentile.  No male no female.  No black no white, no rich no poor, no educated and uneducated.   The Bible makes it pretty clear that we are truly on level ground.  All of us as Christians share - and yes, some are more educated, and some are called to teach and preach and that is a calling given to some and not others, but that is a calling to equip - to help others know how to hear God, to help them understand the messages from God in the past - not to dictate them, not take away their free will, not to manipulate how or what they think or behave.

I find it interesting, also, that the letters and the sermons written by the pastor of the Cane Ridge revival are so free from the bounds of denominationalism. 

Such a great quote!

 The fact that when he inherited two slaves from his mother, he did not just set them free - he educated them and then set them free.  I think that is our model as Christians. As Christians, when we want to see revival, we humble ourselves.  We call on the name of the Lord. And when the Lord, Himself, calls people to Himself, we do not take those people as our own. We do not take ownership over them in the way a master takes ownership over a slave - telling them what to think and what to do.  We also don't just set them free out into the world with nothing to hold onto. We educate them and then we set them free. What a beautiful model of ministry.

This last picture is of an excerpt from a sermon written and given by Rev. Baron Stone.  Notice the upbeat nature.  It was different from many others in his day.

 In a time when many preachers were hammering the wrath of God, Rev. Barton Stone found his life changed when he heard a sermon on grace.  Clearly, grace remained a theme throughout his ministry.