Movement Definitions Part II

I’ve been meaning to get back to Allen Thompson’s article on defining movements, found in the June edition of an ezine called the movement: Global City Church Planting .

In this article, Thompson discussed "church planting movements" and how they are variously defined. By way of reminder, he suggests that there are several uses of the word movement common in the literature. But those various uses imply either an organizational or sociological understanding of what a "movement" is.

He gave the following explanations of the difference in meaning between these two understandings.

Organizationally: (a) a series of organized activities by people working concertedly toward some goal; (b) the organization consisting of those active in this way; (c) the rapid pacing toward the goal.

Sociologically: (a) a tendency or trend in some particular sphere of social change; (b) doctrines, opinions, or way of thinking that can change public policy, e.g. feminist movement; (c) body of ideas on which a particular social system is based; (d) a group of people who are organized for, ideologically motivated by, and committed to a purpose which implements some form of personal or social change.

Thompson concluded in the first half of his article (see my summary here) that most church planting organizations, including Campus Crusade for Christ, operate from an "organizational" understanding of movements. He however believes that the biblical understanding of movements is much more aligned with the sociological framework defined above.

At the heart of a "gospel" movement, he maintains, is the ideology of the gospel with its twin goals of changing people and renewing culture. (Read Tim Keller’s The Gospel: Key to Change)

When understood this way, Thompson writes, "what propels the movement is commitment to a primary value, a strategic theorem if you will, that has the power to unleash millions of people once they are grasped by God’s truth." Using Redeemer Church in NYC as an example, he states that their vision is to ignite a gospel movement in New York that produces city growth and cultural renewal. Below are a couple points that Thompson makes about a "gospel" movement:

Thompson’s Two Marks of a Movement

A movement that is gaining adherents and momentum is characterized by two distinct marks: significant literature (essays, booklets, manuals) on the primary value of the movement (in our case the gospel), and evidences of commitment by its leaders to the ideology.

A Movement’s Commitment to Church Planting

Focus on the word church. Recognizing the variety of goals in Christian mission (educational, social action, medical missions, etc.), leaders of a Christian movement should be clear and cohesive with regard to its objective. Redeemer has outlined a clear objective for its church planting efforts: We are not aiming to simply evangelize the city or extend social services throughout it; rather, our mission is to start new, reproducing churches within a specified area, the city of New York. So the question emerges, what kind of church are we planting? (see next post for Thompson’s conclusions)

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