2. What do movements do?

Apr 6

The second of ten studies from Everywhere: How God Multiplies Disciples and Churches.

The movements in these pages have a singular focus on multiplying disciples and churches to the glory of God. Everywhere.

They express their mission in concrete activities, not abstractions. They train every disciple to make disciples and form healthy churches. Everyone knows what to do on Monday morning.

In contrast, for the last hundred years, Westerners have been redefining the nature of God’s mission in the world. Driven by a confidence in human potential, “mission” has increasingly been framed in political, economic, and social terms. This focus implies a universalism that questions the judgment of a holy God. Why seek to save the lost if we no longer believe anyone is truly lost? Under this framework, sin is not the problem; the problem is the dehumanizing structures of society.

Whenever Western Christians have turned political and social transformation into the core missionary task while neglecting the Great Commission, the result has always been decline and decay. The New Testament does not promise the transformation of society in this life. Jesus’ mission was met with opposition at every level. The people of Nazareth, who knew Jesus best, were the ones who tried to kill him (Luke 4:29). Capernaum, where Jesus spent so much time, faced judgment. They saw the miracles, they heard the teaching, and yet they would not turn (Matthew 11:21–24). Jerusalem was not transformed but must await the judgment of God (Matthew 23:37–39). Paul’s ministry was no different. None of the cities he visited were transformed—disrupted, yes, but not transformed. Instead, as the Word spread, in every place, the Spirit formed those who repented and believed into the new people of God who were witnesses to the ends of the earth. That is what movements do.

God is the chief character in the book of Acts, and his Word propels the story forward.3 Angels appear, prophets speak, prison doors open, houses shake, thousands believe, persecutors fall to the ground, the Scriptures are fulfilled. God directs his mission. At the center of this mission is the witness to the life, death, and victory of Jesus, calling everyone to turn and believe in him and leading to the formation of communities of disciples everywhere. Texas prisons are changing, but as a byproduct of a disciple making movement. When a black brother baptizes a former white supremacist, it is the overflow of a movement of God. This is not a prison reform initiative; it is a disciple making movement.

In a Lebanese region where Islamists and criminal clans vie for control, the gospel goes out and often brings blessing. Yet social transformation is not guaranteed; persecution is just as likely.

In India, husbands and wives are reconciled. In Laos, a widow forgives the officials who ordered her husband’s murder. Both are the result of a movement of God that multiplies disciples and churches. Transformation is a fruit of the gospel, but it’s not guaranteed. Jesus told his disciples they would be persecuted, and that’s what multiplying movements typically experience.

Their hope is not in the transformation of this world but in Christ and the new world to come on the other side of God’s judgment. Until then, we have Jesus’ assurance that “repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations” (Luke 24:47). That’s what movements do.