MOVEMENTS—you sure you want to be a part of one?

I follow the Catalyst Blog and today's post struck home with me. This topic has been on my mind and I wanted to share Dave Gibbons' recent post with you.
Movements are more than temporary hype; they are meant to be a deep-rooted hunger that drives and motivates change.
Enjoy!

MOVEMENTS—you sure you want to be a part of one?


August 27, 2011

Movements.

One thought emerged as I was running the streets of Soho and Mid-town this early morning sparked by a friend a couple days ago as we were discussing the book of Acts: radical, city-wide, transforming, supernatural movements are not about our innovative, nicely packaged strategies and slick nomenclature. Perhaps not even our publicly bold, loud proclamations or initiatives. They are quietly accomplished by loving people who plant, unseen seeds of revolution in the fertile soil of poverty, suffering, chaos. They regularly water this soil with their own blood.

Death always precedes the true resurrection of a city. Rarely, does one talk about the martyrdom of Stephen being part of a strategic move of God in the transformation of Ephesus. It's not as sexy.

God, how must I die today? Maybe it's apologizing to those I've hurt or seeking human intersection beyond a digital screen. Maybe it means dying to material desires or my culture's idea of success? Maybe it means cleaning that elderly person's house down the street or buying a week's worth of groceries for her? Perhaps I need to share our home with another family or a group of singles and really do "small groups" like it was meant to be done.

Maybe the boldness is not done as much in public today but in a quiet sanctum in the city, one-on-one, prostrate before our God, alone with Him, basking in His luminous grace, grateful for the abundance in our lives, yet pleading for more miracles in our cities.

Perhaps the movement starts to grow as those who love Jesus really live like they love each other without strings. Movements and miracles happen as a result of the Spirit's initiative and as a result of humble, loving activists responding to His moves not initiating it with audacious talk or loud fanfare. Otherwise, the movement becomes like a singular pop of a firecracker not the roar of a blazing firestorm.

Dave Gibbons, Creative and Cultural Advisor. Author of XEALOTS and award winning book, Monkey and the Fish.

Follow Dave at www.twitter.com/davegibbons and www.XELOT.NET