Renewed By the Word

Sometimes it seems as if there are almost as many different Christian churches as there are Christians. But despite widely diverse forms of worship, organizational structures, and biblical interpretations, Christianity over the last several centuries has been shaped by a number of common experiences. Arguably the most powerful and vibrant has been revivalism.

As a movement within Protestantism, revivalism is characterized by techniques of mass organization and leadership; an emphasis on repentance and conversion; and the transformation of lukewarm Christians into fervent disciples. But revival has occurred throughout Christian history and has affected all branches of the Christian Church.

From Methodism in Britain and America and the “Great Awakenings” to the nineteenth-century Catholic and Anglican revivals and the Pentecostal/charismatic movements sweeping many nations today, Renewed by the Word offers a fascinating look at the key events and people in modern Christian history as seen through the lens of revivalism. Complete with intriguing illustrations and helpful bibliography, Morris’s clear and stirring account captures the restless, continually self-regenerating character of Christianity—rooted in Scripture, but lived out in real human communities.