By Leslie Holmes

The last half-century of my life has been spent in these “United States” of America. I place those quotation marks around the words United States because, as I see it, we have never been more divided—in politics, church, and society—than we are right now. Whether you lean toward BLM or the Proud Boys, the truth is that these and other movements, no matter how well-intended, are merely symbols of a nation at war with itself. Jesus, “knowing their thoughts, said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste’” (Luke 11:17). Listen up, America.

History demonstrates clearly that nothing—absolutely nothing—will bring lasting change to any nation or congregation except that which is brought about by the authentic, Holy Spirit–inspired preaching of the gospel.

Revival. Now there is a word that has been kicked around a lot, but it is a good word. When I use it here, I am not thinking about a week-long event in a local church where an out-of-town preacher arrives, delivers his best sermons, sees a few professions of faith, and others get renewed. No, I am thinking about the kind of revival seen in church history and American history before—what is often referred to as a new Great Awakening.

The first example that comes to mind when I hear the word revival is when W. P. Nicholson returned to Northern Ireland in 1923 after a season in the United States. Nicholson was a straight-shooting preacher who called for increased zeal among Christians and saw large numbers of conversions. What began as a weekend guest-preaching opportunity in a local congregation turned into a nine-month nightly preaching marathon in the largest soccer stadium in the country. Thousands—including my maternal grandfather—were converted. Bars were emptied, and peace that lasted more than forty years came to a divided nation.

As a result of what local historians call the “Nicholson Revival,” a warehouse had to be built on the grounds of the Belfast shipyard of Harland and Wolff to accommodate the stolen tools and materials that newly converted, repentant workers returned. They came confessing their sins and asking forgiveness. So much material was brought back that Harland and Wolff eventually placed a one-page announcement in the Belfast Telegraph asking workers not to return any more tools because there was no longer room to store them.

“If you have tools and materials that you took without permission, you are forgiven,” the advertisement said. That building, which still stands today, is called the Nicholson Shed after the preacher.

I have seen the Nicholson Shed. My father-in-law, a shipyard employee, worked there and was inside it on several occasions. Not long before he died, he told me about the things that were stored there.

That is what I mean when I say our country needs revival. America needs a revival of Scriptural knowledge, genuine repentance, practical obedience to the Word of God, and vital piety. We need preachers who are bolder in their pulpits, church members who are more faithful in their living, and a nation that understands we will not truly be the United States until “the LORD is our God,” as the psalmist says (Psalm 33:12).

Where does it start? That oft-quoted prayer from the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem still has power: “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). Notice that it does not begin in the White House, the halls of Congress, the statehouse, or the jailhouse. It begins in the church house, where “my people who are called by my name” gather.

It may even start at your church. Why not begin praying, preacher, that it will start with you? Lead the way in your church and see what God might do. This much is certain: we will never know until we try.

Leslie Holmes is a contributing editor of Preaching and the former Moderator of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church.