When God Comes to Church: A Biblical Model for Revival Today [Paperback]

Raymond C., Jr. Ortlund (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2000

What sparks revival? Learn what God can do and what the church must do to ignite a wildfire of supernatural renewal. For pastors, students, and laypersons.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

What will it take to bring genuine revival to the church? To our culture?

Why does God seem to work powerfully and supernaturally in some places and not in others?

In When God Comes to Church, Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. explores what the Bible teaches about revival. He explains what God can do to revive his people and what we must do to prepare ourselves for revival. Ortlund's conclusions provide solid guidance for church leaders and lay people who long for renewal and revival from God.

"These juicy explorations of Old Testament passages by a gifted scholar-pastor add a new breadth and depth to the ongoing evangelical discussion of revival. Disciplined, passionate, lucid, and convicting, Raymond Ortlund serves us well." -J. I. Packer, professor of theology, Regent College

"Here we learn no new techniques about how to snap our fingers to make God come down. We learn to bow down before the wisdom of God and trust that personal revival will precede cultural revival in God's time and by God's Spirit." -Bryan Chapell, president, Covenant Theological Seminary

"Fresh air to Christians who desperately need to be reminded of God's love and action in and through his people. Read it. You'll be glad." -Steve Brown, author and Bible teacher, KeyLife Network

"A rich store of fresh insight and hope. . . . This outstanding work offers a penetrating analysis of modern-day 'churchianity,' as well as a solid theological framework for understanding and promoting revival." -Nancy Leigh DeMoss, author and editor of Spirit of Revival magazine, Life Action Ministries

"A balanced and refreshing book on revival. . . . Intellectually stimulating and spiritually illuminating." -Lyle W. Dorsett, professor of evangelism and spiritual formation, Wheaton College Graduate School

About the Author

Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. currently serves as senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Augusta, Georgia. He formerly served as professor of Old Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Ortlund, who earned his Ph.D. from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, is the author of several books as well as numerous essays and articles.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Baker Books (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801063280
• ISBN-13: 978-0801063282
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #361,709 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. is the pastor of Immanuel Church in Nashville, Tennessee. He is the author of several books, including the Preaching the Word commentary on Isaiah, as well as a contributor to the ESV Study Bible. He and his wife Jan have four children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not for those prone to rashes, February 5, 2001

By 

[e-mail] (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When God Comes to Church: A Biblical Model for Revival Today (Paperback)

Like an Acts 4 prayer meeting, Ortland "shakes the walls" of modern-day churchianity with a biblical assault on "we overfed, self-absorbed, navel-gazing, thumb-sucking American Christians." The author speaks from (and, in part, to) the conservative Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) known for its reformed doctrinal purity. He masterfully challenges Christian brothers and sisters to reconsider their "uninterrupted blur of busy activities" done in the name of God who "has no intention of oiling our religious treadmill." He boldly asks: "So where are the pastors, elders, deacons, and laypeople who...can see when other events on the church calendar should be canceled so that the face of God himself may be specially sought?" Ortland's observations are numerous and incisive, and carry a refreshing wallop: "Talk of God's manifest presence makes some Christians nervous.... They feel comfortable with doctrinal cognition. And doctrinal understanding is essential! We die without it. But still, some people break out in a rash at the thought of God's immediacy as a felt experience." As an elder in a PCA church (not Ortland's), I heartily recommend this book as a breath of "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire" long needed in the mainstream of conservative, traditional Christianity.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read/Study, January 30, 2012

By 

Ernest R. Heavin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: When God Comes to Church: A Biblical Model for Revival Today (Paperback)

Except for a few authors I no longer purchase books dealing with the bible or Christianity because they are either very repetitive of other authors or lack little if any concepts for daily application. I have read many books and several from Ray Ortlund Jr. and "When God Comes To Church" is by far my favorite. I am reading for the second time at this point.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good purchase, December 19, 2011

By 

AL - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: When God Comes to Church: A Biblical Model for Revival Today (Paperback)

The condition of the book was as described, used with some markings but none of them detered from the reading of the content. This is a GREAT book and I highly recommend it.