I was Introduced to this material by Anthony Delaney during his sessions at Spring Harvest 2015 at Skegness and rapidly found this YouTube video.
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“Movements that Change the World” book: Amazon UK
Passion of my heart is not movements or church planting but people coming to faith and the making of disciples through churches and other groups.
Whole seminar in one image: Caravaggio’s “Conversion on the Way to Damascus”:-
- Paul on his back in the dust
- does not know his name
- blinded
- world unravelled by the risen Christ
- who is in charge? who is calling the shots?
- sword lying useless
- massive steed about to tread on him
- friends holding reins not knowing what to do next
- will be blind for 3 days
- no apostle sent to help but a local believer, Ananias, to reassure him, to help him understand and baptise him
- Paul does not initiate or control anything here
What if still true today, Jesus rose from the dead and still leads the way?
Check your books and see if in there
Not about us being smart or creative enough
What strikes me here is that Jesus still leads the way and we are partners/co-workers with God
We are broken earthen vessels.
5 key characteristics of dynamic movements distilled from 20 years of Christian and business literature.
Beware thinking they are 5 buttons to press.
When God shows up and does what He does how do we participate and partner in that.
At its heart, a movement is a group of people committed to a common cause.
Some movements outside the church:-
- civil rights
- Nazi-ism
The flow we see is discontent (is God unhappy with the state of the world?). Change begins with a degree of agitation and discontent. Movement leaders raise the levels of discontent, sell the problem before the solution.
Can camp there for a little while but beware staying there as you will become cynical. A safe place to be as not doing anything about it.
Every movement goes beyond critique to a vision of a different world.
Jesus had a positive Kingdom agenda. A vision of a transformed world and fleshed that out in a local setting.
If you camp in vision, you live in a fantasy land. Nicer than critique but sickly sweet after a while.
They then move into action that embodies the dream, points to future.
Martin Luther King did not have a detailed programme and strategic plan but people just took action that fleshed out ythe vision.
No detailed manual from Jesus for this action.
Movements that have shaped the world:-
- suffragettes
- William Seymour (Azusa Street revival, birth of Pentecostalism)
- Lenin (communism)
- lifeguards (1903, William Gotcher)
- Fascism (Nazi-ism a subset)
- civil rights
- anti-war
- Women’s movement
- Shia Muslim subset of wider group
- Lech Walesa (trade union movement)
- Green movement
- Apple
Greatest movement of last century was Christianity in the southern hemisphere. Don’t worry about the decline of the church in the west as our kids will be evangelised by these guys.
A movement is like a virus, wave, wild fire, avalanche.
What did Jesus do? He founded a missionary movement that has changed and will change the world. Fishing for people. That’s what incarnational ministry looks like.
“these man have caused trouble all over the world” (Howard Marshall, Acts 17:6)
Love the upper stratosphere stuff re principles, strategy. People are pre-occupied with models.
Jesus model: wake up in a strange place, who has the Father prepared for me to meet today.
175 towns/villages in Galillee. Jesus visited all of them.
My next book should be called “Jesus Just Left Town”.
To be on Jesus’ missional incarnational community you had better be on your feet moving amongst people woith a sense of urgnecy. Jesus doing large groups and 1:1 and looking for persons/households of peace, planting seeds of the Gospel wherever he goes.
As He does this, allowing the Gospel to spread directly and via “missionaries”. The whole time He is training these people as they are the nucleus for the new people of God - the church and a missionary movement all in one.
You do not have to join a missionary movement. If you are following Jesus you are in one. You are sent with authority.
Fruit of Jesus’ ministry:-
- AD 66 - 40k people
- 100 AD - 320K
- 300 AD pre Constantine - 5-9m in Roman Empire - 1 in 10 people
This has never happened before in history. Jesus was a crucified criminal.
5 characteristics of dynamic movements:-
- white-hot faith
- commitment to a cause
Fine to be passionate but you need to do something.
cf Jesus came to get Zebedee’s sons. What gave Him this right? They will rejoice later after Jesus’ high demands.
”Humility in the wrong place” (GK Chesterton) - meant to doubt our selves and believe the Gospel instead we question the Gospel and believe in ourselves: true of Western Christianity.
Be committed to core things: truth of the Gospel and way of life that the Scripture teaches.
Comes up against society.
Early church intimidating to join.
Need a cause to live and die for. - contagious relationships
The people who are most likely to come to faith are people who have have seen a recent life change. new believers sharing with their oikos.
”woolworkers, cobblers, handy workers and the most illiterate and bucolic yokels” (Celsus from Pascal’s Wager) - rapid mobilisation
”I build builders” not all of them know Jesus yet
why can’t church be like this?
picture of boat in storm is the way Jesus trained His disciples
”don’t be afraid, from now on you’ll be catching people” (Luke 5:10)
on the job, just in time, obedience-oriented, head/hands/heart, life long
”When they saw the courage of Peter and John …” (Acts 4:13)
Oscar Muriu, Nairobi Chapel, one of the best mentor pastors I know says “I don’t plant churches, I grow sons” (some of his best sone are women) - adaptive methods
why is round ball game the world’s game? can take a round object and even a 3 year old can play
variety of games of soccer, no special equipment needed
functional, flexible, reproducible, sustainable, simple, resilient, viral, variable, uncontrollable
Incredible spread of Christianity in southern hemisphere.
Facilities and nice recordings won’t get us there.
God goes where he wants.
Africa: 1900 - 9m, 2000 - 360m, 2025 - 644m
Worldwide: 1900, 1 in 5 in Africa, 2050, 4 in 5 in Africa
Jesus rose from the dead, He sent His Holy Spirit and Word into the lives of His people and continued to grow and multiply transforming lives, Jesus is still leading a missionary movement. Everything flows from Jesus’ work on the cross. Calling us to partner with Him.
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