Book Review: Penecostal Outpourings

On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, in which they were able to speak in different tongues to the people gather in Jerusalem. Of course, many of them thought the disciples were drunk. That is where Peter begin to preach the gospel which led to 3,000 people saved and began the New Testament church.

One might say this was a revival. I beg to differ because a revival is for those who are truly sons and daughters of God. Yet, there have been revivals throughout the centuries and many of them have been recorded in church history. When we mostly think about revival we think of the charismatic movement where people were jumping on pews, speaking tongues, and some other weird stuff. Steven Lawson defines revival as representing "the powerful work of the Holy Spirit in which there is recovered a new awareness of the holiness of God among His people."

In Pentecostal Outpourings, we look at the history of revivals in the reformed tradition. Editors Robert Davis Smith, Michael A.G. Haykin, and Ian Hugh Clary have put together a collection of essays from various authors addressing various times in history where revival has taken place. These authors include Tom J Nettles, Eifion Evans, and Iain D Campbell with Smith, Haykin, and Clary writing one chapter each. Such periods of history include the Calvinistic Methodist movement, Baptists in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as well as looking at the revival instinct of Jonathan Edwards.

Church history is a very important subject to read and study with fellow Christians. This book gives you a good detailed history over different perspectives on revival as it relates to the reformed community.

Thanks Reformation Heritage Books for letting me review this book.