God Brings Movements

Part 1 - Motives in Pursuing Movements

Another question Suzie asked the panel at the eLife meet-up was:

What has God taught you specifically about your disciple-making that has helped you be more effective?

My answer to this question was straight out of the Intro lesson in our 8-week DMM Training.

It’s something we all know but can easily forget. And when we forget it, it can bring discouragement, frustration, and lack of fruitfulness.

Over the past few years, I realized that I had forgotten it as well.

It’s simply this.

God brings movements, not me.

Mind-blowing, right? Ha!

You’re probably thinking, “Uhh, I already knew that. Duh.”

Yeah, it’s not about whether or not you know it. It’s about whether or not you believe it.

And, in some ways, I stopped believing it.

Here’s some evidence.

When I wasn’t seeing generational growth after significant time working in an area, I thought:

• I must be doing something wrong.

• I need to learn about that new tool/strategy.

• I need to work harder.

• I need to pray more.

• I need to give it more time.

What do all of those thoughts start with?

I. Me. What I could do better.

As if I got better, THEN movements would come. But, with that line of thinking, who would be the deciding factor in movements starting? Me! Me getter better. Me doing more. Me fixing what’s wrong.

That’s a problem.

I don’t bring movements.

God does.

Now, let me pause here for a second & address the objection you may already be thinking.

“Yeah, I agree that God brings movements, BUT, we do need to raise the sails, work hard, and so forth.”

And of course I agree with that. While we aren’t the deciding factor in whether a movement comes or not, we are certainly a cooperating factor. God works through his people. We must obey him & raise the sails. Full stop.

But, can I be honest?

I find it interesting that if we talk about God bringing movements, we need to make sure we over-qualify it, almost as if we need to defend ourselves & the role we play. But when we talk about all the things we need to do to prepare for movement, I don’t hear a lot of qualification that God is the one who actually brings it, not us.

I wrote an entire book about raising the sails, so I’m 100% a believer that we play a significant role & we have work to do. I’m just reminding us, we don’t play the deciding role.

Ok, let me return to God bringing movements, without qualification.

This is really good news!

If God brings movements, then when we’ve labored somewhere for years, raising the sails the best we know how, but seeing little in terms of multiplication, it’s not necessarily YOUR fault. You’re not necessarily doing something wrong that needs to be fixed. Of course you can keep growing in prayer, obedience, finding PoPs, and so on, but you aren’t the deciding factor, God is.

What a relief!

I’ve been coaching movement practitioners for quite a few years & it can be really discouraging & frustrating when you’ve labored somewhere for a long time without seeing what you prayed for. And if you’re not careful, you can start blaming yourself. But, if you do, it likely means you’ve forgotten that God starts movements, not you.

Should you keep getting better, trying new things, and listening closely to the Spirit’s promptings? Of course!

But, guess what?

All the leaders of the great movements in the world today need to get better at those things too! It’s not like they’re doing it all perfectly & you’re falling far short. In fact, you might be raising the sails better than some movement leaders, you’ve just found yourself in an area where the deciding factor, God, hasn’t brought movement yet. Think about that!

It gets better.

Not only do you not necessarily carry the blame, it could be that your current efforts, in a place where God IS bringing movement, would lead to 4th generation multiplication of churches in many streams. Think about that too!

I talked to a movement catalyst once who had seen God bring significant multiplication among a particular people in a particular area. When he moved to another area to work with the exact same people, he said very little happened. Then he joked that his diligence in raising the sails where God was working powerfully was not even as good as his diligence in raising the sails in the current area, yet he was seeing very little.

Same people, better efforts, less fruit. What’s going on? He learned quickly that God was the deciding factor, not him.

I hope you feel a sense of relief reading this.

If you’ve been laboring for years, honoring the Lord, doing your best to obey him & follow his promptings, and raising the sails the best you know how, don’t be discouraged. It may not have anything to do with you or something you need to get better at. Keep learning and growing, of course, but you’re not the deciding factor.

Perhaps, in the midst of all this, God will show you where HE is bringing movement & invite you to join him!

“There are basic building blocks for church planting. It is the responsibility of the church and the Church Planter to gather these building blocks and have them in place when God decides to move. Remember, we can have all these building blocks in place, but nothing happens until God decides to move.” (David Watson)