What is a Movement? Part 1

I pulled this post and the next subsequent posts off Eric Swanson’s blog who took it from Marc van der Woude’s blog http://marcsmessages.typepad.com

Introduction

At its best, Christianity is a lay movement. Wherever Christianity is growing around the world, whether in South America, Asia, Africa or in Eastern Europe this single characteristic is the most significant element in that growth. That does not mean that there is no leadership, professional or volunteer but it does mean that the goal of leadership is to empower and release the whole body of Christ in such a way that the creation of movement is the result. Mobilization and multiplication not attraction and addition are the hallmarks of this kind of people movement.

But perhaps the most extraordinary aspect of these various people movements is that in many situations there was little sign of dramatic growth thirty or forty years ago. More than this, if you had talked to any of the long term leaders who were in the field a single generation ago, they would have reported to you that the work was hard, the people unreceptive and the churches lethargic. Few if any would have predicted the outbreak of movement.

That reality is bound to cause us to ask, what is it that causes the generation and growth of movement?

Before we address that question it is vital to be clear what we mean by movement.

What is a movement?

Not a fad or a fashion. We are not talking about a transient fad or fashion that is here today and disappears tomorrow. Movements do have times of growth and decline but we are talking about something which has a degree of longevity that at least lasts beyond a single generation.

Not a pressure group, campaign or cause. We are not describing a campaign or even a cause which is focussed around a single issue and which ends with the accomplishment of particular goals or outcomes.

A way of looking at the world. Rather we are talking about a change in the way people look at the world such that significant numbers of people are drawn to passionate commitment to a cause which is both significant enough to change their personal world and produces a determination to impact the whole world. Movements, especially spiritual movements, not only change a person’s worldview but have a shaping energy sufficient to impact and change whole cultures.