Drawing upon the religious writings of southern evangelicals, John Boles asserts that the extraordinary crowds and miraculous transformations that distinguished the South's First Great Awakening were not simply instances of emotional excess but the expression of widespread and complex attitudes toward God. Converted southerners were starkly individualistic, interested more in gaining personal salvation in a hopelessly evil world than in improving society. As Boles shows in this landmark study, the effect of the Revival was to throw over the region a conservative cast that remains dominant in contemporary southern thought and life.

The Power of God at WorkCharles Finney’s ministry led to some of the most amazing revivals that have ever occurred in the United States or England. In Holy Spirit Revivals, Finney recalls those events, revealing the secrets that led to the mass conversions of lost souls in his meetings throughout upstate New York, as well as in Boston, Philadelphia, and London. Finney was unafraid of offending delicate ears by addressing the problem of sin head-on, and his dedication to prayer, his understanding of Scripture, and his radical reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit are a great template for believers today. This treasured account of one of the greatest Christian preachers in history is an outstanding resource for anyone interested in seeing a revival of faith in the church.

Following the Great Awakening under the leadership of such men as jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield, the close of the eighteenth century in America saw a second period of revival which was to last longer than the first, and was brought about through the labours of many preachers, less well known than their predecessors, but following faithfully in their footsteps. 'The outpouring of the Spirit of God upon virtually all evangelical denominations could be called "waves of glory" which rolled across hundreds of churches and communities...Whole communities were transformed by the gospel virtually overnight.' One of the evangelists to emerge from this second period of revival was Asahel Nettleton. There can be little doubt that he was one of the greatest evangelists in the history of the church. Literally thousands were converted under his ministry-and spurious converts were the exception rather than the rule! This well-written and well-documented book tells the story of Mettleton's life. He made mistakes, and the author does not cover these up, but he was a powerful preacher who sought to glorify God, and God blessed his ministry. John Thornbury is pastor of Winfield Baptist Church, Pennyslvania where he has ministered for the past twenty-three years. In recent years he has attained a doctorate at Drew University, Madison, New Jersy, and his articles have been published in Eternity and other periodicals. He is married with three children.

Most twentieth-century Americans fail to appreciate the power of Christian conversion that characterized the eighteenth-century revivals, especially the Great Awakening of the 1740s. The common disdain in this secular age for impassioned religious emotion and language is merely symptomatic of the shift in values that has shunted revivals to the sidelines. The very magnitude of the previous revivals is one indication of their importance. Between 1740 and 1745 literally thousands were converted. From New England to the southern colonies, people of all ages and all ranks of society underwent the New Birth. Virtually every New England congregation was touched. It is safe to say that most of the colonists in the 1740s, if not converted themselves, knew someone who was, or at least heard revival preaching. The Awakening was a critical event in the intellectual and ecclesiastical life of the colonies. The colonists' view of the world placed much importance on conversion. Particularly, Calvinist theology viewed the bestowal of divine grace as the most crucial occurrence in human life. Besides assuring admission to God's presence in the hereafter, divine grace prepared a person for a fullness of life on earth. In the 1740s the colonists, in overwhelming numbers, laid claim to the divine power which their theology offered them. Many experienced the moral transformatoin as promised. In the Awakening the clergy's pleas of half a century came to dramatic fulfillment. Not everyone agreed that God was working in the Awakening. Many believed preachers to be demagogues, stirring up animal spirits. The revival was looked on as an emotional orgy that needlessly disturbed the churches and frustrated the true work of God. But from 1740 to 1745 no other subject received more attention in books and pamphlets. Through the stirring rhetoric of the sermons, theological treatises, and correspondence presented in this collection, readers can vicariously participate in the ecstasy as well as in the rage generated by America's first national revival.

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1742 was a year of great blessing but also of growing controversy. The Great Awakening of 1740 was still in progress, but a few dissenting voices were starting to make themselves heard. In Thoughts on the New England Revival Jonathan Edwards spoke out, not for the first time, in defence of what he considered to be 'the glorious work of God'.

We all want revival. We talk about it, pray for it, and devise every evangelism strategy imaginable. We read about the Great Awakening and recall the Jesus Movement. And today we stand at the precipice of another sweeping spiritual outbreak that could reach the ends of the earth. But are we ready? Revival Culture is an inspirational, biblical, and empowering manual for the next generation of revivalists. Michael Brodeur and Banning Liebscher have been witnessing a spiritual renewal at Bethel Church in Redding, California, and through Jesus Culture, that goes beyond slogans and high hopes to actually reaching. They have learned that transformation happens when we see the unreached as Jesus sees them and when we make revival a part of our lives rather than an event. This is the full picture of revival culture.