THE GREAT
COMMISSION, DOING IT JESUS’ WAY
Steve Addison in his book Movements that
change the World provides insight into the idea of movements and their
relevance for mission today.
A movement is a group of people committed to
a common cause.
Movement leaders raise the levels of
discontentment, they sale the problem even before they sale a solution.
Discontentment stirs people up to desire better. The leader then has to move
the people from the point of discontentment into a vision and then action.
This is how Jesus operated; he showed us how
much the world was in despair and then sold us a vision which then led to
action.
Jesus founded a missionary movement through
which he reached hundreds of people and commissioned his followers. The
Christian faith has remained alive in us and through us through these
missionary movements. This has to continue for the church and the Christian
faith to continue growing and all we need to do is radically obey Jesus and
commit to a journey of missionary movement, learning and allowing the Holy
Spirit to teach us along the way.
Movements change people and changed people
change the World. I am part of Christ’s missionary movement by virtual of the
fact that I am a believer in Jesus Christ. The big question is; who am I reaching
out to today?
Steve Addison challenges us to become active
members of the missionary movement by simplifying and bring to light a few
basic facts about missionary movements. In his book movements that change the
world, Steve gives five core characteristics of a church planting movement and
movements generally;
1.
White-hot Faith
God chooses
ordinary people with a longing and yearning for God. Movements often begin with
individuals whose lives have been unravelled and redirected by God’s
intervention. Their story is an inspiration to others and therefore spreads
like a wild fire fuelled by the energy of a white-hot faith. These people have
a strong faith and missionary zeal that knows no bounds. Despite opposition
from powerful forces within society and the existing church, the gospel spreads
into unreached fields.
Jesus had an
intimate relationship with God that he constantly cultivated through prayer.
Jesus was satisfied in the Father’s love and purpose that no amount of
temptation would divert him from the cause.
Steve shows us the impact of Jesus’ white-hot faith on his followers by
quoting Acts 4:13 which says;
“When they saw the courage of Peter and John
and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and
they took note that these men had been with Jesus”.
2.
Commitment to a cause
Movements
have high levels of commitment and people who change the world are committed to
a cause. Missionary movements have nothing more important than their faith in
Christ and his cause. You must have a cause that is worth dying for because the
price to pay is oftentimes high. Steve gives the story of Zebedee as an
example. In the story, Jesus goes to Zebedee and asks to take his sons to join
his cause/ movement. Zebeddee and the
wife saw in Jesus the presence of God’s kingdom and they were willing to pay
the price of seeing their sons suffer under the leadership and guidance of
Jesus Christ and this cause that they were entirely committed and sold out to.
Individuals in a movement expect a high degree of commitment from themselves
and from one another.
Movements
sometimes have to go against the norms of society and therefore will experience
resistance along the way. They however thrive and grow through such
circumstances because of the commitment of the members in the movement.
When
commitment dies out and people cease to care, the movement dies.
3.
Contagious relationships
Christianity
was and is spread by all classes of people through networks of relationships. New
believers sharing their new found faith with their Oikos. The woman at the well
was Jesus’s first missionary in the Samaritan village.
In 1998 when
I commitment my life to Christ, I had seen two extremes of life. Born catholic,
going to a catholic boarding primary school and spending some of my holidays
with my father who took us to the catholic church every morning and recited
the rosary and novena with us every morning and evening gave me a good
understanding of Catholic faith. On the other hand, my mother was born again
living life with us as openly and honestly as possible and sharing her faith
with us. Never did she ask us to give our lives to Christ, but the more I
watched her and did life with her, the more I desired to have what she had.
This drew me to committing my life to Jesus Christ at the age of 15. Many in my
mom’s network have since come to the knowledge of Christ through her.
Movements
spread through pre-existing networks of relationships. I therefore do not have
to wait for the time I can minister before a crowd. We should start with the
networks around us.
4.
Rapid Mobilization
The spread
of the gospel requires the efforts of ordinary individuals committed to
mentoring other individuals. Church movements should focus on growing leaders
who can multiply their knowledge and leadership. Steve challenges us to grow church planters and not leaders who just
plant a church. When you grow leaders from the people you reach, you are able
to reach more people and win new converts. Key leaders recruit and deploy
workers and then train them on the job with the expectation that the same
Spirit upon the leader will inspire others to follow his example. That is rapid
mobilization
Jesus grew
fishers of men who are the reason Christianity spread through the nations.
5.
Adaptive methods
Movements
use simple adaptive methods. They are ready to change everything about
themselves except their core beliefs . Movements pursue their mission with
methods that are effective and therefore an effective missionary movement will
allow you to receive the gospel without having to become a Roman. Methods and
tools that are memorable and easily duplicated are often used.
Story
telling is an example of a simple adaptive method because it can be used by
anyone. The story will be remembered and anyone who hears the story can retell
the story.
Characteristics
of adaptive methods are that they are functional, flexible, reproducible,
sustainable, simple, resilient, viral, variable and uncontrollable. These
methods outlast and even surpass the influence of the first generation of
leaders.
Missionary movements are an avenue through
which we can individually fulfil our God given purpose to make a difference in
the lives of lost people living in a broken world.
We have to be ready to share our faith with
the people around us even in our casual conversations. Every one of us has a story and God can use
these stories to encourage our hearts, strengthen our resolve and teach us
about how he works through his people.
The beauty about being part of this
missionary movement is that I do not need finances, special skills or any
special resources. All I need is an obedient and willing heart.
I am therefore committing to a life of
discipleship. I will follow Jesus and let him teach me how to make disciples so
that I may make disciples in my lifetime because that is the great commission
upon my life.
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