Movements and Materials

We’re seeking the historical, sociological, and economic principles behind movements of evangelism and discipleship.

Remember: a spiritual movement is the collective activity of committed, multiplying disciples of Jesus Christ who band together and trust God for an impact greater than their own individual ministries. As the Military Ministry of CCC, we are committed to building movements everywhere so every person has a chance to know someone who truly follows Jesus.

In my study of Acts and of the early church, it struck me that the early Christian movement depended upon written, transferable materials. As Luke records the story of the early church’s expansion, he mentions over and over the teaching role of the disciples. But what did they teach?

Clearly they taught the Scriptures– at this time only the Old Testament. Many, however, taught what they had seen and heard from Jesus. To avoid losing these sayings of Jesus, early Christians wrote down his words. Scholars point back to a source document Q, from which the four gospels drew material. Luke often uses in Acts the speeches of Peter, Stephen, and Paul speeches he did not hear personally, but found recorded somewhere. Paul the Apostle wrote numerous letters to the early churches as did Peter, James, Jude and John.

Many of these letters were preserved, copied, shared, and eventually taught from evolving over time into the New Testament. During the 2nd and 3rd centuries, the writings of early church fathers including manuals of instruction for new believers as well as training materials like the Didache -helped early churches handle ministry responsibilities.

Later, the creeds (i.e. Apostle’s Creed, Nicene Creed) helped protect the early Christians from heretical teachings. During the Reformation, catechisms and confessional statements helped equipped Christfollowers.

I could go on and on tracing the critical role of written materials in Christian movements. It’s not an overstatement to say that  written materials catalyzed the expansion of the Christian movement throughout history.

Written, reproducible, transferable materials may lie at the heart of all social movements.

I believe such written, reproducible, transferable materials do at least three things:

First, Materials Clarify The Movement’s Vision/Mission and Values. In Habakkuk 2:2, God tells the prophet to write down the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.  Written, materials help establish and reinforce the purpose, direction and philosophy of the movement.

Second, Materials Create an Identity for the Movement. Without printed and transferable materials, a movement has difficulty establishing its identity. Such materials often call the movement into existence (i.e. the NT for Christianity, the Communist Manifesto for Communism, the Declaration of Independence for American Democracy) creating thereby an initial identity. Later, materials help maintain the movement’s identity by providing consistent communication across the movement.

Third, Materials Equip the Members of the Movement to Accomplish Its Goals. Perhaps most important, materials help committed members reproduce themselves and thus the movement itself. Paul tells Timothy to preserve the pattern of sound teaching, to be continually devoted to teaching, and to help other faithful Christ-followers learn to teach vital truths (1-2 Tim).