God of Pentecost,

You are aware that some of us who lean into cynicism and doubt are making attempts to bear witness to what is going on at Asbury with more open hands and generous hearts than is our tendency. In your grace, give us strength to continue this endeavor.

As Sister Nadia has so beautifully written about Asbury, “Nothing is ever one thing.” And so, while we know what is true about how these moments have often been used and abused in the past, may we, at the same time, put on the eyes to see where your Spirit is moving. And, as has often been the case with these movements, the Spirit rarely stays in one place, but expands through time and space and is, as I write, taking hold on campuses across the country, and even across town.

Baylor University has, like Asbury, a Revival Tradition and, also like Asbury, this tradition gives its community a greater capacity and longing for moves of your Spirit. But we remember that while the most famous of these revivals in 1945 purported to bring spiritual awakening among students, it would be twenty years later before a black student was allowed to attend the university. This reminds us that there have been “revivals” of the past that have purported to enhance spiritual fervor, but which did nothing to break the chains of oppression that was the mission of your Son. (Luke 4:18)

But I also know that you are not bound to our experiences of the past.

I pray for the forthcoming Baylor revival to be a different kind of revival. In revival meetings of the past, we have always asked for “More!” The cry is “More of your Spirit! More of your Word! More of your Presence!” But the results have usually been more of the same:

More White Supremacy.

More misogyny.

More violence.

More phobia of every kind.

May this Baylor Revival be less of that, and more of a Great Expansion.

May female students who you will call to preach the word and pastor congregations have paths opened up for them and made wider than they currently are.

May black students be heard and believed when they describe how white students, professors, and administrators have been instruments of oppression.

May students who embrace other faiths or no faith at all know they aren’t just loved and welcomed, but that they belong. May their voices be elevated.

God, through your Spirit, destroy the systems we have created that place queer students on the margins and keep trans students in closets of fear. Allow us personally and institutionally to respond with a full hearted “Yes!” to your full affirmation of their humanity, sexuality, and gender expression.

When these moves of your Spirit evoke anxiety among the gatekeepers, bring peace to their hearts and give them courage and grace to say “Yes!” to you and to shepherd those in power who need more convincing.

In your mercy, bring revival.