I love this following quote from Steve Addison: "Effective movements know who they are. They know their founding charism and safeguard it over time. Their methods may change, but the cause never does."
The second mark of a missionary movement that Steve Addison identifies in his book Movements that Change the World is Commitment to a Cause. As we move toward Reformation Day, it is a good time to reflect on how this has impacted those of us who wear the name Lutheran.
As a Lutheran, I recognize our founding charism. Martin Luther became convinced that the church of his day had lost the central truths of Christianity, the most important of which, for Luther, was the doctrine of justification — God's act of declaring a sinner righteous — by faith alone through God's grace. Teaching that salvation is a gift of God's grace through faith in Jesus as Savior, Luther also rejected the teaching of his day that the righteous acts of believers are performed in cooperation with God. He wrote that Christians receive such righteousness entirely from outside themselves; that righteousness not only comes from Christ but actually is the righteousness of Christ, imputed to believers through faith.
Unwavering commitment to that cause led Luther and those who soon bore his name to take actions which led to their excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church and put their very lives at risk.
Unwavering commitment to that cause spread reform throughout Europe, connecting people to Jesus who before had only a vague hope that the church would save them.
Unwavering commitment carried on as Lutheran disciples brought that distinctive Gospel to the shores of North America as well.
Unwavering commitment today is resulting in a rapidly growing Lutheran missional movement in Africa, leading to its prominence as the continent which will shortly have the most Lutherans. The number of African Lutherans rose from just under 13 million in 2003 to 14 million 2004 and 15 million in 2006. Almost all of that growth is happening through indigenous pastors and lay evangelists.
Steve Addison says something else in his book Movements that Change the World that struck me as profound if a missional Lutheran movement is to occur in North America. He states: "Over time every movement wanders from its founding charism and can only be renewed by returning to it in a fresh way. That return must be both true to the movements unique calling and innovative in how that calling is lived out."
That is a challenge worth exploring!
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