I have been watching videos of this since OP posted and I'm not too sure what to make of it. While I shudder at the possibility of opposing the Spirit (Acts 5:34-39), I have to wonder if this is really His work.
It's less than impossible to peer into men's hearts via video footage. Putting aside what may be actually happening there, what we are shown is a lot of people attending and singing but not much else. We're supposed to judge a thing according to its fruits but we're not shown that. We are told that there have been many new converts and people breaking addictions but I was unable to find any testimonies from such people. If anyone knows of any, please post them. Likewise, I haven't found much from the existing Christian either about greater devotion or repentance. Everyone is so sure that the Holy Spirit is at work but nobody seems to know what He is doing. I think the best moment was when a reporter asked someone what he was hoping for when he goes home. How is this going to change him. The guy did give a decent but pretty vague answer.
I've seen people referencing Joel 2:28. If that's the case, where are these prophecies, vision and dreams? And where are their signs so we know what they report is truly from God?
There have been a few people expressing reserve about the event but they miss the mark. One guy in particular warned against it because Asbury isn't a Baptist university and they use non KJV translations. The real problem is that (again just from the perception given by what we've seen) this reduces Christianity to a set of feelings. Because that's really most of what people are reporting. It says that the essence of the faith is in participating in mass movements. It also implies that (1) the Spirit is poured out locally in special events like this and (2) we don't already have the Spirit since Pentecost. What I mean by that is seen in the people who reported coming because they wanted to experience the Spirit. If they're Christians, the Spirit should already be with them. They should know that. They can experience the Spirit every day. What I'm guessing they really wanted was a dramatic religious experience. It's a kind of Pentecostalism where the person expects dramatic, and above all visible, things as the markers of God's action in the world instead of the subtle and time-consuming work God does on our souls.
I won't say any more about that lest this become a slapfight thread. I had agonised over whether I should make this post at all and what the point of it should be. I feel no desire to "bash" this event or the people who went any more than I feel a desire to join in on the bandwagon. In the end, I'm posting because no one else has and somebody has to be the one to say this.