Movement: “A series of organized activities working toward an objective; also, an organized effort to promote or attain an end <the civil rights movement> ” (Mirriam-Webster).
I am reminded of the late Jim Russell who, troubled by the lack of biblical truth in the secular media, decided to do something about it. He bought a typewriter (this was in the mid-70’s), took a trip to Florida, and undertook to write an article with the goal of it getting published in the local press. While there he never wrote anything; instead, he conceived the idea of a national writing awards contest, where he would give out cash prizes for those authors writing thought-provoking articles which included Scripture, published in their hometown newspapers. This was to become the most popular writing awards contest in the nation, known as The Amy Writing Awards.
What this inspired was an army of known and unknown Christian writers, emboldened to come out of the closet and address current affairs from a biblical point of view. Because the word of God is living, active, and full of power, each qualified article was required to use Scripture in a skilled, relevant way, underscoring God’s position on matters of interest to the reader. Each year $35,000 was awarded to the top 15 writers, the first prize being $10,000.
I tell this story because something on this order is what is needed at this hour. The Amy Writing Awards became a movement, and the national media would never be the same as a result of it. What followed was not only the proliferation of Scripture in newspapers and magazines across the country, but also a renewed effort to produce television shows and movies promoting the good news. One such example is Movieguide, whose efforts and awards program have resulted in a huge increase in faith-based films.
Jim Russell was a businessman with a laser-like focus on the Great Commission. He advocated Christians to have a vision, a mission, and a strategy, in alignment with that of the heavenly Father. The vision, he said, was “Your kingdom come and Your will be done, here on earth as it is in heaven.” The mission—or, the central work required to fulfill the vision, was “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” And the strategy, he taught, was a Holy Spirit-inspired action, or activity, which would constitute the work needing to be done.
All three are needed to be employed by the church if it is to be God’s agent of change in our day.
To a degree, I think the vision and the mission are largely in place—at least among committed, full-Gospel churches. What is lacking seems to be a cohesive strategy for impacting our world.
The world is awash with movements—virtually all of them evil. What it needs is a Christian movement, a “series of organized activities working toward an objective.” Inspired, orchestrated, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, a strategy such as this would begin with an impartation of God’s vision and mission into the hearts and minds of Christians. It would start with a picture of something so large, so grand, and so attractive, that the masses of believers would flock to it to become a part. (As a side note, this is how the communists attracted such numbers of young people to its evil agenda.) And then it would include opportunities for involvement.
Author Elton Trueblood likens the church to a military band in his book, “The Company of the Committed.” Here, he presents evangelism to be the “unrelenting responsibility of every person who belongs, even in the most modest way, to the Company of Jesus” — that is, the church. He goes on to write about “The Strategy of Penetration,” how it is that Christians are to engage every aspect of secular society—similar what we know of as the “7 Mountains of Influence.”
Activities would most certainly include events, both large and small scale. Publishing and distributing written materials such as small books and tracts would be an effective contribution to the movement, as would be coordinated radio, television, and billboard advertisements and presentations. Free health clinics, similar to the medical tents that often accompany missionary efforts in third-world countries, would attract those unable to afford a doctor. Medical professionals, inspired by the vision, would volunteer their services to treat and minister to the poor (Note: this is being done en masse in the city of Detroit). Ministry teams could be put together and sent out to those places where people congregate, not the least of which would include impoverished areas of the city. And Christians could be taught in the churches how to develop and share their testimonies, how to share the gospel with their families, neighbors, and co-workers. Those practiced in this area could train in actual experience those who are not.
The idea is a mass mobilization of church resources, people, financial, and material, to do what we’ve prayed about doing for years, to reap a great harvest of souls for the kingdom. It would not be something we do, it would be all we do, everything contributing to the objective. The socialists are doing it; the gay-lesbians movement is doing it quite successfully; Islam is doing it, on track to take over the world. Where is the church—by nature the most powerful body of people on the earth, where is she in the mix? Where are we?
terrylhart.com 