» The LifeCycle of a Movement

The Church must be forever building,
and always decaying,
and always being restored.
T. S. Eliot
The Rock, 1934

I was corrupted in my denominational theological college through the study of church history. I discovered denominations and church structures that appeared permanent, were “accidents” of history constructed in response to a particular situation.

No one form of the church is relevant across time, geography and cultures. The true Church is in a constant state of change—both decline and renewal.

The Church is like a garden. New plants are sprouting. Others are growing and reproducing. Others are dying and decaying. Ultimately what matters is the health of the whole eco system rather than any one plant.

Key to this process are movements God births for the renewal and expansion of the Church. Each follows a unique path. The typical lifecycle has five stages:

1. Birth. 
A founder or founders make a commitment and risk everything for a cause whose time has come.

2. Growth. 
The idea is effectively put to work and embodied in a growing group of people and effective forms and structures that fuel expansion.

3. Maturity. 
Success has been achieved and the movement seeks to protect its gains through stability, predictability and uniformity at the cost of innovation.

4. Decline. 
Stability, self-interest and survival are placed above the cause. Pioneering leaders are forced out or leave in frustration.

5. Death. 
Form triumphs over function. The institution is hooked up to artificial life support. Nobody remembers or cares anymore about the cause that was once so central.

There is no guarantee that a movement will move through each of these stages. Most new movements don’t survive their birth. Some remain dynamic for a century. Others swim against the tide of history and turn around decline.

In every generation the challenge is to discern where you are on the lifecycle and to discover God’s agenda for the renewal and expansion of the Church.