Great Awakenings

How and why do revivals happen? Could we be on the cusp of another Great Awakening? "Great Awakenings: Historical Perspectives for Today" explores the ongoing legacy of the Great Awakenings and American revivals in contemporary evangelical movements. A host of prolific and distinguished evangelical church historians and pastors -- including Mark Noll, George M. Marsden, and Walter Kaiser -- examines the historical and theological dimensions of American awakenings, evaluating these movements of spiritual renewal that transformed the religious and social character of an entire nation. A meditation on God's work in "ages past" and "our hope for years to come," this collection of essays brings the past into conversation with the present. Drawing on missiological data, field studies, an immense depth of historical scholarship, and a heart for the flourishing of the church, this comprehensive book traces the work of the Holy Spirit from the First Great Awakening to the current blossoming of global Christianity. Great Awakenings offers readers a unique opportunity to think historically about God's work in the present and in the future thriving of Christianity. - from back of the book.