A column in Magnolia Tribune says the February 2023 revival at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky, prompted many students to seek “less” rather than “more,” a change Asbury President Kevin Brown described in an interview with The Plough.
The column said the two-week event, called the “Outpouring” by Asbury, followed extensive prayer and what the writer called a quiet spiritual need. The Magnolia Tribune piece said the revival later drew national media attention.
Brown told The Plough that a hallmark of the movement was that students wanted less, not more, the column said. The Magnolia Tribune writer said his son, identified as Isaiah, who led music during the Outpouring, described the experience as marked by “radical humility” and “authenticity.”
The Magnolia Tribune column argued that in a media-saturated culture of increased exposure, communication and consumption, choosing less — including leaving smartphones on the altar at Hughes Auditorium, as Brown noted to The Plough — can open space for spiritual priorities. The writer also said he recommended Richard Foster’s “Freedom of Simplicity” to a student and cited John 3:30: “He must increase, but I must decrease,” attributing the verse to the Bible.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
