critical-38

culture in its various forms. Certain revival features like united effort, gathering together for singing and prayer and traditional music, dance and drum became permanent features of Mara Christianity. Therefore, revival movements can be seen as the beginning of the contextualization of the Mara Christian theology of mission.

In analysing the revivals in Maraland, it tends to be unique, although somewhat comparable to charismatic or Pentecostal movements in certain other parts of the world. For instance, revival movements in Maraland have some similarities and dissimilarities to revivals in Africa.

Like Maraland, the most amazing forces that have shaped the Christian faith in Africa have been the African Revivals. Revivals spread like wildfire across Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, Congo and Tanzania. The entire Great Lakes Region was transformed. Men were falling, jumping, laughing, crying, singing, confessing and some shaking terribly.[1]  The message was one of repentance and public confession of sins. Due to revival the church in Africa grew from around 10 million in 1900 to over 200 million in 1980’s. By 2000 that number is expected to reach 400 million, half the population.[2]

The practice of giving testimonies is widespread all through in African revival just as it is in Maraland. It is considered to be so normative that hardly any serious gathering can pass without people bearing witness to what God has done in their lives. There were many who stood up in front of huge crowds and confessed their sin and announced that they were turning their lives over to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. These were not superficial testimonies with a comfortable and suitably religious overtone. They were magnificent demonstrations of God’s power to change lives.[3]

An interesting debate among the scholars is about the continuity or frequency-sporadic of revival movements in Maraland. On this opinions differ, continuity here means something which continues for a long period of times without being changed or stopped. By sporadic the author means something happening or occurring at irregular intervals, having no pattern or order in time. Though revivalism was always present, these were the times during which the phenomena peaked into great waves and spread throughout Maraland.

However, we may conclude that the revival stirrings in Maraland have both the aspects of continuity and of being sporadic. In order to have a firm conclusion regarding continuity and sporadic, one needs to have a deeper and further analytical study on revival movements in Maraland.

1.1.Revival Manual

Revival Manual was the most explicit and comprehensive response of the Mara Church to the revival movement. It was meant, as its name suggests, to provide the Christian public with guidance, and to discern the acceptable and unacceptable features of the revival. Some of the major factors leading to the publication of this Manual are stated here. To begin with, the treatise reveals the apparent contrasting natures of the revival which had been perplexing the leaders of the church for several years. On the one hand, revival entailed cultural and emotional elements which in the institutional church’s view were ‘primitive’ in character. On the other hand, it consistently contributed to church’s growth even though the credit went to the church and the mission.

Certain other factors leading to the drawing up of the Revival Manual are given in the treatise itself. Firstly, since the Mara Church had been established it had experienced continuous revivals and was in a position to understand various characteristics of the revival. Secondly, the Standing Committee of the Assembly wished to make revival a real blessing to all. Thirdly, not all the revival features were edifying to the Mara church. Fourthly, not all the revivalists in different parts of the world were the same. Fifthly, the church, therefore, had a bounden responsibility of giving guidance to the revival affected people within its fold.

Constrained by the above situations and factors, the Mara Church strongly urged its people that they should accept the Manual, however difficult that might be for some, for the good of the whole Mara church. The Mara Christians were by and large led to a deeper study of the biblical doctrine of the person and work of the Holy Spirit.

1.2.Impacts of the Revival movement

In spite of its tremendous influence and numerous conversions, the revival movement was viewed by the church with open suspicion. This was due to the identification of certain traditional practices as having anti-Christian attitudes within the revival. The increase of theologically trained Maras who shared the mission’s ecclesiastical bias, led to a more systematic analysis of the viability of the religious phenomenon associated with the revival.

---

[1] Geoff Waugh, ‘A History of Revival: Revival Fire’ [article online]; available from www.holytrinitynewrochelle.org/youth;18132.html; Internet; accessed; 21 August, 2009.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Bill Atwood, ‘Testimonies and the East African Revival’ [article online]; available from www.ekk.org/node/8; Internet; accessed; 21 August, 2009.