This is from Ed Stetzer. Movements may sound like a grand endeavor for gifted leaders only but if you’re in ministry, then you’re trying to create a movement. You may never use that language but that’s what it is. How are you doing at facilitating the below items?
- Prayer Prayer must be a conviction that establishes its priority. Before we see movemental Christianity, we will have to be praying, asking God to change us.
- Intentionality: We will also need to show the intention of being movemental (see the next 8 elements). As of now, I believe our focus is primarily defensive and incremental, not intentional and exponential.
- Sacrifice: Change will not come without giving something up.
- Reproducibility: Movements do not occur through large things (big budgets, big plans, big teams). They occur through small units that are readily reproducible.
- Theological Integrity: Churches wanting to be involved in transformative, movemental Christianity hold firm and passionate positions on biblical views.
- Incarnation: Movemental Christianity recognizes that the gospel is unchanging, but the expressions and results of the gospel will vary from culture to culture.
- Empowerment: Movements only occur when the disempowered are given the freedom, and then take up the responsibility, to lead.
- Charitability: A movement of God cannot be contained in a single movement or theological tradition. Therefore, movemental Christianity requires charity to maintain our firmly held convictions while rejoicing for and speaking well about those with whom we differ but are being greatly blessed by God.
- Scalability: 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.
- Wholism: Movemental Christianity will practice wholistic ministry much in the way of Jesus.
