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Movement Christianity. Dr. Ed Stetzer, Director LifeWay Research. If and when…. Movemental Christianity happens in North America, I believe it will consist of 10 elements. Prayer. Too often, placed first out of habit—not conviction.
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Movement Christianity Dr. Ed Stetzer, Director LifeWay Research
If and when… • Movemental Christianity happens in North America, I believe it will consist of 10 elements.
Prayer • Too often, placed first out of habit—not conviction. • True movemental Christianity—prayer will have to come first. • Ask God to change us.
Intentionality • We need to show the intention of being movemental. • At the moment, our focus is defensive and incremental – not intentional.
Sacrifice • No change comes without giving something up. • No movement will happen until pressure is applied to move the church from the place of being static to a body of believers in action.
Reproducibility • Movements do not occur through large things • Big budgets • Big teams • Movements occur through small units that are readily reproducible • Reproducibility has to be seen at every level.
Reproducibility • Such reproduction requires that we resist the grandiose in favor of the reproducible.
Theological Integrity • Churches wanting to be involved in transformative movemental Christianity hold firm and passionate positions on biblical views.
Theological Integrity • The Baptists won the Western Frontier because they were passionate about their beliefs. • The Pentecostals are not de-emphasizing what they believe to win Central America.
Empowerment • Movements only occur when the disempowered are given the freedom, and then take up the responsibility, to lead.
Empowerment • In our case, the clergification of the church has marginalized those God has called—all people. • The marginalization disturbs and satisfies pastors at the same time.
Empowerment • Pastors are disturbed because they cannot get others to do the work. • They are satisfied because they are affirmed for doing the work others should be doing. • For many pastors, their identity is tied up in the affirmation that comes from a disempowered church.
Empowerment • Such co-dependence is the death-knell of movemental Christianity.
Empowerment • Instead…ordinary believers need to be expected and trained to participate in the ordinary activity of living a life surrendered to God and His movement to redeem a lost world.
Charity • Movemental Christianity is messy. • Those involved in it make mistakes. • Nobody gives her or his life for a bland belief system. • A movement of God cannot be contained in a single movement or even theological tradition
Charity • It requires charity to hold firmly held convictions while rejoicing for and speaking well about, those who hold other convictions and are being greatly blessed by God.
Scalability • Movements often are stifled within smaller communities because of the small mindedness of local believers. • When God begins to move, and believers allow movement Christianity to begin to grow, structures must be able to rapidly re-size to not stifle such movements.
Scalability • In many cases, movements will break out of structures.
Scalability • Often, organizations created to facilitate structures loose their scalability—thereby hindering the movement. • These structures become bottlenecks rather than catalysts.
Wholism • The modern evangelical separation of gospel proclamation and societal transformation is an historical oddity. • Movemental Christianity practices holistic ministry much in the way of Jesus. • Current movements and historical awakenings are and were accompanied by societal transformation.
Conclusion • I do not hold the keys to movement Christianity…but I do yearn for it.
