Interview With Stone

May 2006 © R. D. ICE
"Yes! I'm on my way! I'll be there soon!"



INTERVIEW STONE - CANE RIDGE R.D.Ice 3-24-06
Certainly life was much different on the frontier in Kentucky when the Cane Ridge Revival took place. If we could have been there we would have been shocked by some things, but impressed that this was a work of God. Communions (annual three-to-five-day meetings climaxed with the Lord's Supper) gathered people in the dozens, maybe the hundreds. Friday, August 6, 1801- wagons and carriages bounced along narrow Kentucky roads, kicking up dust and excitement as hundreds of men, women, and children pressed toward Cane Ridge, a church about 20 miles west of Lexington, the state capital at that time. They hungered to partake in what everyone felt was sure to be an extraordinary "Communion." At this Cane Ridge Communion, though, sometimes 20,000 people swirled about the grounds -watching, praying, preaching, weeping, groaning, falling. Though some stood at the edges and mocked, most left marveling at the wondrous hand of God. The power of the Revival was the engine that drove the "restoration."

If time travel were an option, an interview with Stone might sound something like the following.

An interview between Stone and the Christian Ledger.

Ledger: Brother Stone, now that you have spent a few days in our 21st Century, what surprises you most about our culture?
Stone: I am speechless! I can't believe people can talk on what they call telephones while they drive self-propelled vehicles called cars. And $3.99 for a cup of coffee at, what is it, Starbucks ©. Americans seem too busy. No time at all for prayer.
Ledger: Now that you have visited some of our large churches and watched our Christian television programs, what do you think about the state of Christianity today?
Stone: (There is an awkward pause while he fidgets with his hat. He says nothing.)
Ledger: We can come back to that question later. Meanwhile, tell us what it was like at the Great Revival at Cane Ridge.
Stone: (He regains some composure.) The services at Cane Ridge ran almost continuously. Preachers were preaching in various parts of the area. Seeking souls were crying out to God almost any hour of the day or night. "Men and brethren what shall we do?" This went on for days. The people came to meet God.
The Revival did not depend upon human leaders. God broke hearts with the gospel, shaking strong men and women, then putting them back together again, for His glory. It was a tremendous changing process. Pride and the lust of the flesh and things that had seemed so important and just general boredom with the world could not survive there!
Ledger: That is quite a contrast with what we see in our churches today. In 2006 we like our preachers to be celebrities.
Stone: (Another long pause.) We did not even have a platform or pulpit in the beginning. All were on the same level. The preachers were servants in the true meaning of the word. We did not honor men for their advantage in means or education, but rather for their God-given gifts.
Ledger: American Christianity today is big. We like big. We are reaching millions with our television programs, our Web sites and huge churches. Doesn't that excite you?
Stone: (He strokes his beard and fidgets with his hat again. No answer.)
Ledger: This is awkward. I'm not enjoying this interview.
Stone: At Cane Ridge, the rich and educated were the same as the poor and ignorant, and found a much harder death to die. We only recognized God. All were equal before Him.
Ledger: How did you end up at Cane Ridge?
Stone: In the winter of 1796 I came from Virginia to Cane Ridge on a preaching tour and stayed a year. Then I came back in 1798 to be the preacher at the Cane Ridge and Concord Churches. But I sensed that God was about to do great things here in the wilderness.
Ledger: Why did God choose you to lead the Cane Ridge Revival?
Stone: A man can receive nothing, except it be given hin from heaven. Like Paul I hear God saying: "My strength is made perfect in weakness." Evidently the Lord found here a company of people through whom He could have the right-of-way. The time had come.
The Revival was like fire in dry stubble driven by the wind. All felt its influence more or less. It silenced contention and promoted unity for a while. It had to be of God, for lives were changed! People quit their sin and began to be righteous and holy.
Ledger: So we need more humility and prayer today?
Stone: Paul said it was God who gave the increase. The prayer life is needed much more than even church-buildings or organizations. These are often a substitute for the other. At Cane Ridge we all lifted one voice to God and asked Him to do great things! And souls were born into the kingdom through prayer! It was like the great Day of Pentecost all over again! We told them just what Peter said on that day.
And the effects did continue for some time. Revival swept across the nation. An utterly lawless community was transformed into a God-fearing one. But some men trying to save their own tottering ark put unholy hands on it. Yet God is able to use even our wrath to praise Himself, as the Psalmist writes. Like Paul, I want to know HIM and the Power of His Resurrection! And I remember how the Lord promised the church at Philadelphia an open door and no man can shut it! So I am still hopeful.
About 1844 I wrote: "We have been too long engaged with defending ourselves, rather than the truth as it is in Jesus. Let us trust our little selves with the Lord; and rest not, till by faith in the promised Spirit and by incessant prayer we receive and be filled with it, like they were of old in the ancient order of things."
Ledger: So then you would pray for Revival, Renewal, and Spiritual Awakening.
Stone" Exactly.