When God Walked Among the Nations: The Leaders and Lessons of the First Great Awakening

The following is a brief description of the prevailing spiritual and moral tides that were washing over much of Europe and America in the early eighteenth century--Gods righteous name had been intolerably dishonored his pure and holy word disregarded by incompetent or unconverted clergy and the human family created to glorify God and enjoy him forever willfully and with abandon gave themselves to all manner of corruption. These were despairing times--with striking similarities to our present day. And yet in the midst of this seemingly hopeless era the omnipotent God did what no man alone could accomplish: he restored the honor due to his great name and exalted the power of his holy word through a revival that set ablaze two spiritually parched continents--God Walked Among the Nations! The pulpit was powerfully revived men and women by the tens of thousands were soundly converted and biblical renewal and social reformation flourished throughout the land. Do you wonder if a revival so vast in scope that it produces extraordinary biblical moral and social reformation throughout your nation is even possible? If youre pondering this question then it is time to read about the glorious event best known as the First Great Awakening and renew your hope. I never tire of revival literature. In fact I need it. This work is colorful motivating and accurate. Through Gleasons stories of the principal characters of the Great Awakening Im stirred to seek such a visitation from God again. Of particular value is the descriptive portrait he paints through his research of the hopeless immoral culture preceding the Awakening. This inspires new hope for our day which seems equally as depraved. Its not impossible for God to turn us around dramatically for his honor. Read and hope. --Jim Elliff President Christian Communicators Worldwide With historical accuracy theological depth and winsome prose Michael Gleason has woven together a masterpiece of storytelling by using first person accounts and primary sources to draw the reader into one of the greatest periods of early American history. It is a book that is hard to put down reminding us that Gods sovereign hand of mercy to save is always accompanied by the faithful preaching of the gospel sound doctrine and a reliance on the Holy Spirit. --Eric J. Bargerhuff Trinity College of Florida The revivals of the eighteenth century have long been regarded as paradigms of revival and rightly so. And while they have been the subject of numerous studies this new one by Michael Gleason is especially helpful for its demonstration of the present relevance of this era of church history. --Michael A. G. Haykin The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Michael F. Gleason earned MDiv and DMin degrees from Ashland Theological Seminary and has served over four decades in a variety of pastoral ministry roles within the church as well as on several university campuses as a chaplain. Additionally he taught at various schools in the fields of biblical studies practical ministry and philosophy. He is also the author of When God Walked on Campus: A Brief History of Evangelical Awakenings at American Colleges and Universities (2013).