A Movement Ethos

"In order to recover the missional vitality of the early church, we have to reawaken a virile movement ethos in so many of the organizations we inhabit. And to do that we need to "shed all that which does not matter" and get back to the uncluttered way of Jesus." -Alan Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways

Creating a movement ethos is the best way for the church of today to get past the institutionalism that has been created over the years. There is a fine line that distinguishes the difference between movement and institution. Namely, the biggest thing from my point of view is that movements call for productivity, while institutions call for maintenance. Movements are more based on fundamentals and ideals presented in the Bible for how to best follow the way. Institutions tend to be based more on rituals, traditions, and structure, even if this means compromising solid opportunities.
Movement gets back to the core of what Christianity truly is, as presented by the early church in the book of Acts. Movement involves people who are committed to change, and are willing to engage others in influencing the spread of opposition to the established form. Movements are what becomes more visible to the rest of the world because they go against the grain to drive the point home. For example, movement is exemplified in many grassroots human efforts because they take people who are less capable and help them to get back on their feet and join the cause.
Institutionalism slows down and often halts movements. This occurs when programming, organization, and administration become the main focuses and replace the vision, mission, and beliefs that once started the movement.
The difference between movement and institution is similarly seen by the difference between liquid and solid church. Liquid churches are responsive to the fluid dimension the culture of our surroundings and time period. Liquid churches flow with the culture to work effectively among those within it. Solid churches are generally ones that remain more static through the ages. They do not flow with culture because they attempt to preserve tradition and live on past successes. Solid churches are institutionalized.
Liquid churches, or movements, are more closely aligned to what is seen in the New Testament. By following this model we are able to found the church "in Christ". When Christians are joined with Christ and joined to his church because of this, then we have the "body of Christ". Liquid churches are free to express themselves however the culture sees fit, so long as they remain in Christ. Therefore, the institutional image is let go as the Church can reestablish itself as a prominent and active part of society.

Evangelicals in the US

"From 35,000 to 15,000 Feet: Evangelicals in the United States and Canada: A State/Province, Metro, and County Glimpse" is a report and powerpoint presentation put together by The Church Planting Center, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and
Dr. J. D. Payne. The presentation displays an array of statistics based on the presence of evangelicals across the nation from state to state. It also provides more specific information discussing the presence within specific counties of each state. Payne states at the beginning if his presentation that the definition of "evangelicals" used for this study was very broad, and therefore, the numbers presented are actually much higher than they are in actuality.
That being said, the presentation is somewhat alarming to the evangelical christian movement. Take my home state, Maryland, for instance. Maryland, according to this presentation has a total average of 8% evangelicals. My county, Howard County, has just 5.8% evangelicals. These numbers, along with the fact that they are likely higher than in actuality produces some disheartening information to the Christian movement. It tells us that although many would consider America to be a predominantly Christian country, we are likely more a country of agnostics and apathetics. Not every state is similar to Maryland, however. In fact there are some states, such as Arkansas, that have evangelical populations in the 40-50% range.
Whatever the trends may show from state to state, it seems to me that there is a lot of work to be done even here in the United States to ensure that the gospel is shared and Christ's love is shown to all.

The Numbers

The church movement is not all about numbers, but looking at the trends of where churches are growing, stalling, or dropping can help us to better discover why movement is occurring in the manner it is. The great commission calls us to preach the gospel to all corners of the earth, allowing others to hear the word of God and accept Christ as their Lord and savior. Below are some statistics about the condition of the American church:

Reported from American Church Statistics:
* In America, 3500 – 4000 churches close their doors each year
* Half of all churches last year did not add one new member through conversion growth
* Churches lose an estimated 2,765,000 people each year to nominalism and secularism

Excerpted from The Condition of the Church in America, complied by Andy McAdams

* 1,400 pastors in America leave the ministry monthly.
* Only 15% of churches in the United States are growing and just 2.2% of those are growing by conversion growth.
* 10,000 churches in America disappeared in a five-year period.

Looking at these statistics is alarming to me. Even though the church I go to may be seeing more people accepting Christ every month, that doesn't mean that the same holds true for everyone else. Thinking about the American church in a broader spectrum, it is alarming to think that the body of Christ is not being nourished in America right now. Most churches are not bringing in the sick and making them well. A lot of churches can't keep their members coming back. Pastors are getting frustrated and leaving the ministry.
The American church is in a crisis right now. American culture is in a crisis right now. However, it is times like these when we, as a body of Christ, start to see how much we truly need God's grace to make any of His work possible. The numbers are tedious, they show us that something is wrong, but the numbers themselves won't answer the call of God. The numbers make us lose hope, when they display the quantitative facts. However, this doesn't mean God has "stopped working" in America, we just haven't looked at the qualitative facts of what God has actually done. God will work miracles in America, we just need to trust Him and keep living out His word, no matter what the numbers may indicate.

Apostolic Leadership

Bob Roberts Jr. describes that one of the greatest challenges of apostolic leadership is communicating what you sense and where you see God leading. Actually, he describes several great challenges to apostolic leadership, but I found this one to be the most personally striking. It hits me because I realize that when put in a situation where others are dependent on understanding the God story we've encountered, we better be pretty good at explaining that God story or we'll lose those followers. Sometimes its hard to exactly sense what God is telling us or where God is taking us. I know that personally, I am particularly hesitant to tell people about a calling or encounter I think I've felt from God, because there's always that bit of reasonable doubt within me that says maybe I'm wrong. However, we have to tell a story if we want our people to move forward. We have to try and understand where God is taking us if we want to catalyze those around us into action. The story of God's calling is vital in moving forward, so as apostolic leaders, we must learn how to put together the story that God has developed.