richard owen roberts

Joe Thorn: 25 Marks of a Backslidden Christian

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Joe Thorn has a good post up today about backsliding, how it's not something we talk about much nowadays, and what are the marks of it. Here are some of the marks (from Richard Owen Roberts) that Joe lists. Read the whole post.

3. When the biblical knowledge possessed or acquired is treated as external fact and not applied inwardly, backsliding is present.

9. When aspirations for Christlike holiness cease to be dominant in your life and thinking, backsliding is there.

15. When the slightest excuse seems sufficient to keep you from spiritual duty and opportunity, you are backslidden.

18. When there is no music in your soul and no song in your heart, the silence testifies to your backsliding.

25. When your tears are dried up and the hard, cold spiritual facts of your existence cannot unleash them, see this as an awful testimony both of the hardness of your heart and the depth of your backsliding.

Go read 25 Marks of a Backslidden Christian

Open-Air Preaching & Revival

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Several weeks ago I had the privilege of sitting down with Richard Owen Roberts to discuss revival. He was interim at my church before I cam seven years ago and I've been able to sit with him from time to time and pick his brain. If you don't know, Mr. Roberts is a bookseller in Wheaton, IL, an author/editor, and a well-known expert and preacher on the issue of revival.

Toward the end of the conversation I asked him about open-air preaching. This was well before I wrote the five main posts on open-air preaching (as well as posting several quotes on Reformissionary and Twitter on the subject). I specifically asked for his thoughts about the role of open-air preaching and a desire for revival.

He first said that he thinks most open-air preaching is bad. His words were stronger than that, but I don't want to overstate. Then he said this (this isn't a direct quote, but close)...

I can't imagine that we will ever see revival without seeing preaching in the open-air again.

I hope to return to talk to him more about the subject.

If God Is Against Us...

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Until we come to grips with the fact that there is one unchanging God who has always hated sin and deals with it with the utmost severity, we're not anywhere close to revival. We're going to have to accept the fact that when God is grieved He turns himself and becomes his peoples' greatest enemy.

I still hear people saying, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" But that's not the issue right now. The issue is, "If God is against us, what does it matter who's for us."

Richard Owen Roberts, 2010 Forum on Revival at SBC (original source)

Books on Revival

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Here's a list of books I own on revival that I'll be using in one way or another for my current sermon series Revival: Longing for a Surprising Work of God.

I tried to list them in the order of how much I expect to use (or depend on) each one for this series. I'm referencing a number of other things as well (articles, audio, websites) but this list is for books alone.

UPDATE 2.8.11: I added some new books at the bottom, and a few comments in parentheses where I have something to say, so far.

Additions as of 1/20/2011...

Additions as of 2/8/2011...

I'd love to hear your suggestions for other books on revivals or about revival. I also assume as I peruse my personal library I could add a few to this list that I overlooked.