1875: In the 1800s a region of New York State became known as the “Burnedover District” because it had experienced so many religious revivals that people realized once the excitement of a revival died down not much remained.
Lawyer For The Lord A Daily Devotional by J. Stephen Lang
1875: In the 1800s a region of New York State became known as the “Burnedover District” because it had experienced so many religious revivals that people realized once the excitement of a revival died down not much remained.
In fact, many people in the district became cynical about religion. This was the situation Charles Grandison Finney intended to change.
Ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1824, the former lawyer was determined to lead a real revival, with lasting results in the district. In doing so, he changed the way people think about revivals and evangelism.
Finney thought that previous revivals lacked organization. When he visited a town to preach, he had already contacted local ministers to organize prayer meetings and, after the revival, to counsel with new converts.
This is all taken for granted today, and the “advance men” who go to a location and help organize are a crucial part of any evangelist’s crew.
But this idea was new in Finney’s day, and it offended many who said that the preacher ought to rely on the Spirit not his own efforts.
Finney did not deny the Spirit’s role but insisted that revival also depended on organizing things properly for maximum impact.
Organization was only one aspect of Finney’s success. He was a tall, striking man, and though he was not opposed to emotion, he spoke more like a lawyer pleading a case than a usual preacher.
The congregation became in effect a jury, asked to render a decision on the question “Will you accept Christ?” Finney made thousands of converts, including, as he hoped, many in the “Burned-over District.” His supporters built a church, the Broadway Tabernacle, for him in New York, and it became a center of a “permanent revival.”
Finney died on August 16, 1875, and his ministry is remembered as the highwater mark of what historians call the Second Great Awakening.
Prayer: Lord, fill us with the zeal that energized the great preachers of the gospel. Amen.