Movement Christianity

1. Movement Christianity Dr. Ed Stetzer, Director LifeWay Research

2. If and when… • Movemental Christianity happens in North America, I believe it will consist of 10 elements.

4. Prayer • Too often, placed first out of habit—not conviction. • True movemental Christianity—prayer will have to come first. • Ask God to change us.

5. Intentionality • We need to show the intention of being movemental. • At the moment, our focus is defensive and incremental – not intentional.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. Reproducibility • Such reproduction requires that we resist the grandiose in favor of the reproducible.

9. Theological Integrity • Churches wanting to be involved in transformative movemental Christianity hold firm and passionate positions on biblical views.

10. 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.

11. Incarnation

12. Empowerment • Movements only occur when the disempowered are given the freedom, and then take up the responsibility, to lead.

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. Empowerment • Such co-dependence is the death-knell of movemental Christianity.

16. 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.

17. 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

18. 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.

19. 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.

20. Scalability • In many cases, movements will break out of structures.

21. Scalability • Often, organizations created to facilitate structures loose their scalability—thereby hindering the movement. • These structures become bottlenecks rather than catalysts.

22. 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.

23. Conclusion • I do not hold the keys to movement Christianity…but I do yearn for it.