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CH760: Readings in Revivals and Awakenings in Global Christianity Robert J. Mayer

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Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary CH760: Readings in Revivals and Awakenings in Global Christianity

Charlotte Campus: Spring 2018

Course Description: Readings in Revivals and Awakenings in Global Christianity

provides the student with a grasp of how the four Great Awakenings of the last 300 years

have shaped American and global Christianity from 1720 to the present. This course also

helps students interact with movements of renewal that have impacted Christianity over

the past 300 years, as well as explore aspects of those movements at a deeper level

through their reading and research.

Semester beginning and ending dates: Spring 2018 semester begins on Tuesday,

January 16, 2018 and ends on Monday, May 7. May 7 is your final due date for all

Spring 2018 course work including work for this class. Let me encourage you to begin

your course reading on or before January 16.

Class Meetings: This is a readings course that will meet three times. Each class meeting

will be for two hours from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on the following three Saturday evenings:

February 3, March 3, and April 7.

Textbooks:

Richard E. Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life: An Evangelical Theology of Renewal

(Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1979), 455 pp. ISBN: 978-0-87784-626-0.

Robert W. Caldwell III, Theologies of the American Revivalists: From Whitefield to

Finney. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2017), ISBN: 978-0-8308-5165-5.

Shaw, Mark R. Global Awakening: How 20th Century Revivals Triggered a Christian

Revolution. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2010), 221pp. 978-0-8308-3877-6.

Timothy L. Smith, Revivalism and Social Reform: American Protestantism on the Eve of

the Civil War. (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2004), 254 pp. ISBN: 978-1-59244-998-9.

Course Requirements: Students who are taking the course for credit are required to

attend the three two-hour class sessions, to write two brief research papers, and to

complete at least 2,500 pages of reading related to Revivals and Awakenings. (A reading

report will be due on the last day that coursework may be submitted for the Spring

semester on May 7, 2018.) Students should consult the course bibliography in this

syllabus regarding reading choices. In addition, it will be expected that students will focus

their reading on their research for their papers. There will be no examinations.

For your course reading, approximately 1,200 pages will be from your required textbooks,

450 pages from other readings listed in the course bibliography, and your final 850 pages

from works you will read as part of the research for your two course papers. Please note

the annotated bibliography assignment described later in the course syllabus.


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Research Papers: Each student will be asked to write two research papers for the course.

Research papers should be prepared according to the standards found in the eighth edition

of Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations.

(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013). Each student should own a copy of Turabian

for consultation as you prepare your research paper.

1. The first paper (due by second class meeting on March 3. should focus on one

significant leader in a revival or awakening movement. Research should include the

reading of at least one major biography of the person and at least one major piece of

writing by that person. The paper should consist of a seven-page biographical sketch of

the person you have studied, a two-to-three page summary of specific ways (both positive

and negative) in which your individual's life and work might be of help to you in your

future ministry, and a bibliography listing the research materials you have read and cited

as part of your research. Suggestions for biographical papers include but are not limited to

Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, Charles Finney, Richard Allen, William Miller,

Phoebe Palmer, Carl F. H. Henry, Henrietta Mears, Dwight L. Moody, Timothy Dwight,

Isaac Backus, and William Seymour. (40 percent of your course grade.)

Biographical topic: At our first class meeting on February 3, 2018, the instructor will

ask you to identify the individual on whom you choose to write. Students should select an

individual for whom there is ample access to primary source material and secondary

literature. With the instructor’s approval, you are free to choose any individual related to

a major revival within evangelical Christianity over the past 300 years. If you wish to

write about someone from your Christian or denominational tradition, you are welcome to

do that with approval from your instructor.

2. The second paper (due with your reading report on the last day that work can be

submitted for the Spring semester, May 7, 2018) should describe one major revival or

explore one significant theme in the history of revivals. Length of your paper should be

15-20 pages and research should include the use of both primary and secondary materials.

The paper should consist of a description and analysis of the particular revival or theme

you have selected and a summary of its implications for ministry in contemporary life.

Include a bibliography of resources that you have consulted and cited as part of your

research and writing. Suggestions for your research paper include but are not limited to:

The Asbury Revival of 1970-71; the Korean Revival of 1907-08, the Prayer Revival of

1857; the social and cultural implications of the First Great Awakening; George

Whitefield’s preaching weekend in Northampton, MA and his visits with Jonathan

Edwards; and the Yale University revival led by Timothy Dwight. (40 percent of your

course grade.)

Research Paper Topic: At the second class meeting on March 3, 2018, students

should bring a one-paragraph description of their research topic. The instructor is

available for consultation regarding research topics for both papers and will help provide

guidance in terms of potential research topics and materials if needed.

3. Reading annotated bibliography: On the final coursework due date for the Spring

semester, May 7, 2018, each student will submit an annotated reading list of all course


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readings (including the assigned textbook). Each annotation should include a

bibliographic entry formatted according to proper Chicago/Turabian format and a four-to-

five sentence entry describing the significance of the work. With each bibliographic entry,

please include the number of pages that you have read. (20 percent of your course grade.)

Personal consultations: The instructor will normally be available both before and after

each class session and in his office on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday afternoons of each

week. He can be reached by Email at [email protected], or by phone at (704)940-5821.

Please allow 24 to 48 hours for the instructor to respond to you.

Content of class meetings:

At the first class meeting, we will look at how the First Great Awakening has shaped

American evangelicalism. At that meeting, you will be asked to identify the major revival

leader you wish to write about for your first paper. That paper will be due at our second

class meeting on March 3.

At our second class meeting, you will also be asked to prepare and submit a one-

paragraph statement of the topic for your second research paper due on Monday, May 7 at

the end of the semester. You will describe your research topic to the class at our second

class meeting. During that meeting, we will also look at the 19th century revivals and

discuss the work of Timothy Smith and Robert Caldwell in their books assigned to you.

At our third class meeting on April 7, we will engage in a discussion of the implications

of revival for global Christianity in the 21st century. By this evening, you should have

completed your reading in Lovelace and Shaw as they will form the backdrop for our

discussion. I will also ask you to identify readings that you have found especially helpful

in thinking about the implications of revival and awakening for congregational life.

Academic Standards

Cheating and plagiarism are considered serious breaches of personal and academic

integrity. Cheating involves, but is not necessarily limited to, the use of unauthorized

sources of information during an examination or the submission of the same (or

substantially same) work for credit in two or more courses without the knowledge and

consent of the instructors. Plagiarism involves the use of another person’s distinctive

ideas or words, whether published or unpublished, and representing them as one’s own

instead of giving proper credit to the source. Plagiarism can also involve over

dependence on other source material for the scope and substance of one’s writing.

Such breaches in academic standards often result in a failing grade as well as other

corrective measures. For more information, please consult the Student Handbook.

mailto:[email protected]


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ADA Policy

The seminary complies with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act. A

student with a qualifying and authenticated disability who is in need of accommodations,

should petition the seminary in accordance with the stated guidelines in the Student

Handbook. In addition, please inform the instructor at our first class meeting.

Cancellation of Class

In the event the seminary has to cancel a class meeting (impending storm, professor

illness, etc.), the Registration Office will send out an email (via the GCTS email account)

notification to all students registered in the respective course. If the cancelation occurs

the day of the scheduled meeting, the Registration Office will also attempt to contact

students via their primary phone contact on record. The professor will contact the

students (via GCTS account) regarding make-up. If a weekend class is cancelled, the

class will be made up during the scheduled Make-Up weekend (see the academic calendar

for the designated dates). For more info, consult your Student Handbook.

Extension Policy

Arrangements for submission of late work at a date on or before the “on or before the last

day to submit work for the semester” as noted on the seminary’s Academic Calendar, are

made between the student and professor. Formal petition to the Registration Office is not

required at this time. This includes arrangements for the rescheduling of final exams.

However, course work (reading and written) to be submitted after the official end date for

the semester must be approved by the Registration Office. An extension form, available

online, must be submitted to the Registration office after the last day to submit work after

the official end of the semester. Requests received after this date will either be denied or

incur additional penalty. For a full discussion of this policy, please consult the Student

Handbook.

Grades

Grades are posted on-line within twenty-four hours of receipt from the professor.

Students are expected to check their CAMS student portal in order to access posted

grades. Those individuals, who need an official grade report issued to a third party,

should put their request in writing to the Registration Office. Faculty have six weeks

from the course work due date to submit a final grade.


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Bibliographic Resources

Research in Christian History:

Christian history is a sub-discipline located within the overall context of historical studies

and as such, it uses the research and writing conventions of the academic discipline of

history. For presentation of your research papers, you are expected to prepare them

according to the standards articulated in:

Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations:

Chicago Style for Students and Researchers, Eighth edition. (Chicago: University of

Chicago Press, 2013).

Please use the eighth edition of Turabian as it includes the most up-to-date citation

formats for electronic and internet resources.

Two guides for research and writing are helpful tools for understanding use of sources

and methods:

James E. Bradley and Richard A. Muller, Church History: An Introduction to Research,

Reference Works, and Methods. 2d.ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2016)

William Kelleher Storey, Writing History: A Guide for Students. 2d.ed. (New York:

Oxford, 2004).

For a guide to historical method from a Christian viewpoint, see:

David Bebbington, Patterns in History: A Christian Perspective on Historical Thought

(Vancouver, BC: Regent College Publishing, 1990).

See also:

Robert F. Rea, Why Church History Matters: An Invitation to Love and Learn from Our

Past (Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2014).

Encyclopedia of Religious Revivals in America:

For this course, you want to become familiar with the most important reference work

relating to revivals and awakenings especially in Canada and the United States:

Michael L. McClymond, Encyclopedia of Religious Revivals in America 2 vol. (Westport,

CT: Greenwood Press, 2007). Shelf location: REF. BV3773.E53 2007.

Please make use of this important work for help in determining your research subjects

and for additional required course reading.


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Recommended reference works:

These works will help you with initial research and can be especially helpful in locating

initial bibliography for your research subjects.

Stanley M. Burgess, ed. The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and

Charismatic Movements. Revised and expanded edition. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,

2001).

Donald M. Lewis, ed. Dictionary of Evangelical Biography 1730-1860 2 vol. (Peabody,

MA: Hendrickson, 2004).

Marvin A. McMickle, An Encyclopedia of African American Christian Heritage (Valley

Forge, PA: Judson, 2002).

Daniel G. Reid, ed., Dictionary of Christianity in America (Downers Grove, IL:

InterVarsity Press, 1990).

Edwin S. Gaustad, Historical Atlas of Religion in America Rev.ed. (New York: Harper &

Row, 1976).

Nelson R. Burr, A Critical Bibliography of Religion in America, 2 vols. (Princeton, NJ:

Princeton University Press, 1961).

Charles H. Lippy and Peter W. Williams, eds., Encyclopedia of the American Religious

Experience: Studies of Traditions and Movements, 3 vols. (New York: Scribners, 1988).

Frank S. Mead, Handbook of Denominations in the United States (Nashville, TN:

Abingdon Press, most recent edition).

Collections of Documents:

Primary source documents that include many of the most important materials related to

Christianity in America.

Edwin S. Gaustad, ed., A Documentary History of Religion in America, 2 vols. (Grand

Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1982-1983).

H.S. Smith, R.T. Handy and L.A. Loetscher, eds., American Christianity: An Historical

Interpretation with Representative Documents, 2 vols. (New York: Scribner's, 1960).

David A. Hollinger and Charles Capper, eds., The American Intellectual Tradition, 2

vols. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993).

Keith J. Hardman, Issues in American Christianity: Primary Sources with Introductions

(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1993).


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Ronald C. White, Louis B. Weeks and Garth M. Rosell, American Christianity. (Grand

Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1986).

Textbooks in American Religious History:

Douglas A. Sweeney, The American Evangelical Story: A History of the Movement

(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2005).

Gary Dorrien, The Making of American Liberal Theology 3 vol. (Louisville, KY:

Westminster/John Knox, 2001-2006.

Mark A. Noll, A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada (Grand Rapids,

MI: Eerdmans, 1992).

__________. The Old Religion in the New World: The History of North American

Christianity (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2001).

Mark A. Noll, Nathan O. Hatch, George M. Marsden, David F. Wells, and John D.

Woodbridge, eds., Eerdmans' Handbook to Christianity in America (Grand Rapids, MI:

Eerdmans, 1983).

Martin E. Marty, Modern American Religion, 3 vols. (Chicago: University of Chicago

Press, 1986-1996).

Nancy Koester, Introduction to the History of Christianity in the United States: Revised

and Expanded Edition. (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2015).

Sidney E. Mead, The Lively Experiment: The Shaping of Christianity in America (New

York: Harper & Row, 1963).

Leonard I. Sweet, ed., The Evangelical Tradition in America (Macon, GA: Mercer

University Press, 1984).

The Puritans

Perry Miller, Errand into the Wilderness (New York: Harper Torch Books, 1964).

Edmund S. Morgan, Visible Saints (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1965).

Charles E. Hambrick-Stowe, The Practice of Piety: Puritan Devotional Disciplines in

Seventeenth-Century New England (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press,

1982).

Francis J. Bremer, Puritanism: A Very Short Introduction (New York: Oxford, 2009).

Perry Miller and Thomas H. Johnson, eds., The Puritans: A Sourcebook of Their

Writings (Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2001).


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James I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life

(Westchester, IL: Crossway, 2010).

Leland Ryken, Worldly Saints: The Puritans as They Really Were (Grand Rapids, MI:

Zondervan, 1990).

The First Great Awakening

Charles Chauncy, "Enthusiasm Described and Cautioned Against" (1742) and

"Seasonable Thoughts on the State of Religion" (1743) in Heimert and Miller, The Great

Awakening pp. 228-256 and 291-304. (Background material can be found in Charles H.

Lippy, Seasonable Thoughts: The Mind of Charles Chauncy (Chicago: Nelson-Hall,

1981).

Jonathan Edwards, "The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit" (1741) and

"Thoughts on the Revival of Religion" (1742), in Heimert and Miller, pp. 204-213 and

263-290. (Background materials can be found in Iain H. Murray, Jonathan Edwards: A

New Biography (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1987).

Linford D. Fisher, The Indian Great Awakening: Religion and the Shaping of Native

Cultures in Early America (New York: Oxford, 2012).

Thomas S. Kidd, The Great Awakening: The Roots of Evangelical Christianity in

Colonial America (New Haven, CT: Yale, 2007).

_______. George Whitefield: America’s Founding Spiritual Father (New Haven, CT:

Yale, 2014).

Arnold A. Dallimore, George Whitefield: God's Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of

the Eighteenth Century (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1990).

George M. Marsden, Jonathan Edwards: A Life (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press,

2003).

George Marsden, A Shorter Life of Jonathan Edwards (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans,

2008).

Iain H. Murray, Jonathan Edwards: A New Biography (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth

Trust, 1987).

Stephen J. Stein, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Jonathan Edwards (New York:

Cambridge University Press, 2007).

Lee Gatiss, ed. The Sermons of George Whitefield 2 vol. (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012).

Thomas S. Kidd, George Whitefield: America’s Spiritual Founding Father (New Haven,

CT: Yale, 2014).


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Charles E. Hambrick-Stowe, Charles G. Finney and the Spirit of American

Evangelicalism (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996).

Alan Heimert and Perry Miller, The Great Awakening: Documents Illustrating the Crisis

and its Consequences (Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill, 1967).

George Whitefield's Journals (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1989).

Nathan O. Hatch and Harry S. Stout, eds., Jonathan Edwards and the American

Experience (New York: Oxford, 1988).

Bernard A. Weisberger, They Gathered at the River: The Story of the Great Revivalists

and Their Impact Upon Religion in America (Boston: Little, Brown, 1958).

Charles H. Maxson, The Great Awakening in the Middle Colonies (Chicago: University

of Chicago Press, 1920).

Edwin Scott Gaustad, The Great Awakening in New England (New York: Harper and

Row, 1957).

Wesley M. Gewehr, The Great Awakening in Virginia (Durham, NC: Duke University

Press, 1930).

Robert G. Tuttle, Jr. John Wesley: His Life and Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,

1978).

Kenneth J. Collins, John Wesley: A Theological Journey (Nashville, TN: Abingdon,

2003).

John R. Tyson, Assist Me to Proclaim: The Life and Hymns of Charles Wesley (Grand


Leigh Eric Schmidt, Holy Fairs: Scotland and the Making of American Revivalism

(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1989).

The Great Awakening and the American Revolution

David L. Holmes, The Faiths of the Founding Fathers (New York: Oxford University

Press, 2006).

Alan E. Heimert, Religion and the American Mind from the Great Awakening to the

Revolution (Cambridge, MA: Harvard, 1966).

Edwin S. Gaustad, Faith of Our Fathers: Religion and the New Nation (New York:

Harper & Row, 1987).


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Nathan O. Hatch, The Sacred Cause of Liberty: Republican Thought and the Millennium

in Revolutionary New England (New Haven, CT: Yale, 1977).

Mark Noll, Christians in the American Revolution, 2d.ed. (Vancouver, B.C.: Regent


Thomas Kidd, God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution (New

York: Basic Books, 2010).

The Second Great Awakening and the Democratization of American Christianity

Nathan O. Hatch, The Democratization of American Christianity (New Haven, CT: Yale


Gordon S. Wood, Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic 1789-1815. (New

York: Oxford, 2011).

Mark A. Noll, America’s God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln (New

York: Oxford University Press, 2002).

Edward S. Gaustad, Neither King nor Prelate: Religion and the New Nation 1776-1826


Richard J. Carwardine, Evangelicals and Politics in Antebellum America (New Haven,

CT: Yale University Press, 1993).

Gordon S. Wood, The Creation of the American Republic (Chapel Hill, NC: University

of North Carolina Press, 1998).

Charles Hambrick-Stowe, Charles Finney and the Spirit of American Evangelicalism

(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996.

David Rowe, God’s Strange Work: William Miller and the End of the World (Grand


Daniel Walker Howe, What God Hath Wrought: The Transformation of America: 1815-

1848 (New York: Oxford, 2009).

Rosell, Garth M. Boston’s Historic Park Street Church: The Story of an Evangelical

Landmark (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2009).

The Second Great Awakening: Slavery, Segregation, and Evangelical efforts toward

Reform

Mark A. Noll, The Civil War as a Theological Crisis (Chapel Hill: University of North

Carolina Press, 2006).


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Mark A. Noll, God, Race, and American Politics: A Short History (Princeton, N.J.:

Princeton UP, 2010).

Eugene Genovese, Roll Jordan Roll: The World the Slaves Made (New York: Vintage,

1976).

Albert Raboteau, Slave Religion: The Invisible Institution in the Antebellum South 2d.ed.

(New York: Oxford, 2004).

Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave,

Written by Himself (New York: Signet Books, 1968).

John Wigger, American Saint: Francis Asbury and the Methodists (New York: Oxford

UP, 2009).

Henry H. Mitchell, Black Church Beginnings: The Long-Hidden Realities of the First

Years (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2004).

Garth M. Rosell and Richard A.G. Dupuis, eds. The Memoirs of Charles G. Finney: The

Complete Restored Text (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1989).

Charles E. Hambrick-Stowe, Charles Finney and the Spirit of American Evangelicalism


Charles Finney, Revivals of Religion (Broadview, IL: Cicero Bible Press, [n.d.]).

The Third Great Awakening and the Civil War Era

Donald W. Dayton, Discovering an Evangelical Heritage (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson

Publishers, 1988).

Allen C. Guelzo, Fateful Lightning: A New History of the Civil War and Reconstruction

(New York: Oxford UP, 2012).

Bertram Wyatt-Brown, Lewis Tappan and the Evangelical War Against Slavery

(Cleveland: Case Western Reserve University, 1969).

William G. McLoughlin, Revivals, Awakenings and Reform (Chicago: University of

Chicago Press, 1978).

C. C. Goen, Broken Church, Broken Nation: Denominational Schisms and the Coming of

the Civil War (Macon, GA: Mercer, 1985).

Lyle W. Dorsett, Billy Sunday and the Redemption of Urban America (Grand Rapids, MI:

Eerdmans, 1991).


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Keith J. Hardman, Seasons of Refreshing: Evangelism and Revivals in America (Grand

Rapids, MI: Baker, 1994).

Lyle W. Dorsett, A Passion for Souls: A Life of D. L. Moody (Chicago: Moody Press,

1997).

Collin Hansen and John Woodbridge, A God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories that Stretch

and Stir (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010).

Garth Rosell, ed. Commending the Faith: The Preaching of D.L. Moody (Peabody, MA:

Hendrickson, 1999).

The 20th Century and Evangelical Awakenings

Mark A. Noll and Carolyn Nystrom, Clouds of Witnesses: Christian Voices from Africa

and Asia (Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2010).

Mark Shaw, Ten Great Ideas from Church History: A Decision-Maker’s Guide to

Shaping Your Church (Downer’s Grove, InterVarsity, 1997).

Garth M. Rosell, The Surprising Work of God: Billy Graham, Harold John Ockenga and

the Rebirth of Evangelicalism. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008).

George M. Marsden, Fundamentalism and American Culture: The Shaping of Twentieth

Century Evangelicalism 1860-1920. (New York: Oxford, 1980).

Vinson Synan, The Holiness-Pentecostal Tradition: Charismatic Movements in the

Twentieth Century (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1997).

Cecil M. Robeck Jr., The Azusa Street Mission and Revival: The Birth of the Global

Pentecostal Movement (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2006).

Robert Wuthnow, The Restructuring of American Religion (Princeton: Princeton


Arthur H. Matthews, Standing Up, Standing Together: The Emergence of the National

Association of Evangelicals (Carol Stream, IL NAE, 1992).

Joel Carpenter, ed., The Youth for Christ Movement and its Pioneers (New York:

Garland, 1988).

Carl F. H. Henry, The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism (New York:

Garland Publishing, 1988);

Dan D. Crawford, A Thirst for Souls: The Life of the Evangelist Percy B. Crawford

(Selinsgrove: Susquehanna University Press, 2010);


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George M. Marsden, Reforming Fundamentalism: Fuller Seminary and the New

Evangelicalism (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1987);

Mark A Noll, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans,

1994).