Why another book on movements?

I’m writing a book on Acts and the Movement of God. My editor just asked me, “You’ve already written five books on movements. Why do we need this one?” Here’s what I wrote back.

Acts is the final test of our understanding of our part in God’s mission. If at the end of all our best thinking, strategies, planning, and implementation what we have bears little resemblance to God’s mission revealed in Acts, then we’ve missed it. We’re lost in our own imaginings and feeble efforts.

Acts is the test of whether we’ve got it right. We’re not talking about methods, we’re talking about the nature of God revealed in Jesus Christ and how he works in the world through his people. God hasn’t changed since Luke wrote Acts. Jesus rose from the dead and sent his Spirit upon his disciples with a clear mission in mind. What was true for them remains true today.

I’ve spent my adult life pursuing movements that multiply disciples and churches to the glory of God. I’ve been a practitioner, a trainer, a coach, a podcaster, a researcher and a writer. I’ve wrestled with the case studies from history and around the world. All for nothing, unless what I have aligns with the God revealed in Acts—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—and his mission.

That’s why I wrote this book because every generation must return to the beginning and learn the lessons of Acts. What Jesus began to do and teach in the Gospels continues through his disciples in Acts. The risen Lord leads the way as his Word goes out in the power of the Holy Spirit. There is no wall of division between Luke’s age and ours. Jesus reigns and is present through the Holy Spirit. As his Word goes out, the fruit is always disciples and churches from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth—every people, every place.

Why spend your life on anything else?