The Surprising Work of God: Harold John Ockenga, Billy Graham, and the Rebirth of Evangelicalism

Abstract

and wealthy) evangelical churches in the country. Its beautiful edifice matched the respectability of its pastor. From this place Ockenga helped build an evangelical empire, consisting of a ceaseless series of revivals, the founding of new seminaries, magazines, conferences, and network organizations. His most prominent post was as the first president of the National Association of Evangelicals in .By putting the spotlight on this authoritative leader of American evangelicalism, Garth M. Rosell fulfils a promise to Ockenga's widow to write this biography. As professor of church history at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, which Ockenga served as its first president, Rosell knew his subject personally. This contact began in his childhood. Rosell's father was a close friend to Ockenga and a revival preacher. This sets the tone of admiration for this "Mr. Evangelical." Rosell used the voluminous collection of letters and , sermons that Ockenga left to this seminary. Though Rosell quotes extensively from these sources, this book mainly shows the public side of Ockenga. In a swirl of lectures, conferences, meetings, and appearances, we see here the activism of America's traditional Christians, who joined hands in reclaiming their place in the culture.This research does not lead to a new interpretation of the wave of religious excitement in the s. It brings, however, a valuable insight in the formative process of the rise of post-war evangelicalism, namely the eagerness with which these traditional Protestants waited on this revival to break out. This becomes peculiarly clear on page . In the preceding pages Rosell has summarized the revivals of the mid-eighteenth century under Jonathan Edwards and John Wesley. And then the story jumps two centuries to the figure of Ockenga overseeing a crowd in Boston in  and concluding that it has happened again. This jump in time is both the strength and the weakness of the book.Its strength is that it makes abundantly clear how deeply rooted revivalism was in the American religious psyche. The first half of the book revisits the growing anticipation of a revival. It was almost inevitable that a new outburst of this religious energy had to happen if the supporters of this event only would get together. The book shows how widespread and strong this expectation was.