An Eyewitness Account of the Powerful Outpouring of God at Asbury

Sarah Thomas BaldwinBy Sarah Thomas Baldwin12 Minutes

Excerpt taken from Generation Awakened: An Eyewitness Account of the Powerful Outpouring of God at Asbury by Rev. Dr. Sarah Thomas Baldwin

 

Chapter 1
Day One

February 8
Hughes Auditorium
Asbury University

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of
God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to
flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at
my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases.
You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is
going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
—John 3:5–8 niv

As the Spirit was moving over the waters
Spirit, come move over us
—“Rest on Us,” Maverick City Music

 

Early afternoon, February 8, 2023

We are still worshipping!
–12:08 p.m.

I swipe my phone open and read the text. After dropping off my lunch tray in the dining hall, I gather up my coat and bag, click on my calendar, and note I have just enough time to stop by and see what is going on. I quickly pass the student center, closed for renovations, and pass through the series of brick arches framing the walkway, then step into the back doors of the building and through the lobby, mentally reviewing what I need to get done yet that day. I pause in the doorway of Hughes Auditorium. The voices of the Asbury Gospel Choir greet me, and the stained-glass windows shine with the afternoon sun, throwing gentle light on students caught up in praise of the faithfulness and goodness of God.

Chapel has officially ended a couple of hours earlier, but about thirty students remain in worship. Some stand with hands uplifted; others kneel; a few sway to the music, arms around each other, while still others sit down, backpacks stowed under their chairs, eyes shining with tears. The worship band sits along the edge of the stage, singing about the goodness of God, their faces illuminated. I breathe it all in, sensing first the presence of Jesus and then a soft soul tug to stay and worship.

It is shortly after 1:00 p.m. on February 8, 2023. Every year a few chapel services continue past their 10:50 a.m. benediction. Students love to worship, and sometimes when the worship band continues to play and the Spirit of God feels particularly close, students stay to sing. I unfold a wooden chair in one of the front rows, my work bag at my feet, ignoring the buzz of my phone in my pocket. I settle into the seat, leaning into the peace of the moment.

Students trickle in from each entrance of Hughes. Quietly, as if pulled by an invisible hand, students drift toward the altar or join classmates in a row of seats. A few find spots alone in a row and sit or stand, drawn into the radiant worship. The breath of God exhales upon us, and it feels like the warmth of a fire snapping in the fireplace of a chilly room—you cannot help but stand beside it.

The gentle embrace of God folds in on me. Although I have a meeting in just a few minutes, I feel my shoulders release, my breathing slow.

“Your goodness is running after, is running after me. With my life laid down, I surrender now, I give you everything,” the students sing, and my voice joins in.1 I wonder whether I have to leave for an administrative meeting or if I can stay here with the students. My mind runs through the list of things that I need to follow up on. I feel the pressure of the tasks on my mental checklist, but I also feel the gentle invitation of the Holy Spirit to linger. On a small campus like ours, where staff members hold multiple roles, there is always seemingly more to do than can be humanly done. I lead the student life team, which provides support and resources for the student experience outside the classroom. With about a thousand residential students and a small team, much rests on our shoulders. A few more minutes . . . I feel the calm like a quilt wrap around me, enclosing me in love. My eyes close, and my mind stills. The soft singing tugs at my soul and my heart, my spirit wanting to enter more deeply into the moment along with the students. I realize how tired I am.

My jaw unclenches, and my daily tension headache starts slipping away. The voices and music hold the moment, holy and gentle, opening my spirit to another step into the presence of God. I look over at one of our team members, Liz Louden. Liz stands by the stained-glass window, a spectrum of gold, her palms turned up and her face tilted toward heaven. Madeline, the university chapel coordinator, leans into the worship in the middle of the students at the altar, her face shining. The beauty of the moment sears into my mind and my heart. God is so good to us. Our students drew us into worship, right into the heart of God.

Come rest on us.

It is still early in the semester, but our whole community feels the exhaustion of the grind of the academic calendar. Students drag themselves to class on the bleak February mornings, and faculty disappear into their offices, weighted down with class preparation. I too am worn out, brittle, and stretched too thin. Tears prick at the inside of my eyelids. My soul feels like my youngest daughter’s Play-Doh after being left on the counter—hardened and dried out. While I serve as a college administrator, my vocational call as a pastor energizes me to do the work of creating a community for students. But I am buried under the endless lists of student issues, campus crises, my own kids’ school runs, emails, medical appointments, and administration. My life seems like a series of obligations, not like the joy of my calling. Even in this holy moment, the sense of God’s presence begins to shift into a background melody as the tasks flood back into my brain.

Ping! My phone jumps in my pocket. Back to the real time of meetings and the calendar. I hesitate. Could this breath of God be meant for me too? Could I put everything on hold, like these students, and just rest in the presence of God? I close my eyes for another moment, wondering, savoring the space of the beautiful worship.

I like to say I never get tired of college students, and really, it is true. Most college students live in a liminal space between the reality of the responsibilities of adulthood and the relative simplicity of childhood. It is no accident that God often called people in the Bible during these formative years of emerging adulthood. Mary’s yes to God as an emerging adult brought Jesus into the world. While David cared for sheep as a teenager, Samuel anointed him as king. Joseph started the journey that eventually saved his family from starvation when he was thrown into Pharoah’s prison as a young man and began to listen to God. When she found herself in life-threatening circumstances, young Esther advocated for and championed the people of God and saved a generation. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s devotion to the ways of God almost got them burned alive, until angels intervened, and their lives became a prophetic witness even though they were “young men” (see Daniel 1:3–6). God has a habit of using young people.

College students may be more ready to respond to God than the rest of us. With hearts open to authentic relationship and willingness to receive from the Holy Spirit, young people are often God’s vessels. The emerging space of becoming allows for God to move profoundly in their lives. I experience the gifts and graces of God through students. While I have been their pastor, administrator, or mentor, it is my heart that is changed and moved through walking with them. My own spiritual formation is shaped by shepherding college students through grace, freedom, and earnest discipleship.

Ping! Another text. I jolt back to the reality of what is pressing on me. My peaceful awareness of God’s presence splinters into fragments.

I grab my work bag and head for the door. What sweet space! I am happy for our students. But I have a lot of things that must get done before the end of the day.

1. Ed Cash et al., “Goodness of God,” Victory, Bethel Music, 2018, live album.

Order your copy of Generation Awakened: An Eyewitness Account of the Powerful Outpouring of God at Asbury by Rev. Dr. Sarah Thomas Baldwin