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THE BIBLE AND THE MOVEMENT:

The Bible can be easily read and explained to a child, yet, there are people who devote their whole lives to studying the history, authors, places, times and purposes of the varied books in it. In The Movement we are striving to be as a child reading the Bible, reading it with an open heart and mind, without presumptions, and at the same time using our minds to dissect its details. Reading the Bible is not always an easy task and people have used it for great evil and good. The problem there does not lie in the actual Bible itself, the words, accounts and stories, but in the person who is reading it. How a person approaches the Bible is the most important thing, for that will affect their interpretation. In The Movement we feel there are some ways we can approach the Bible to study it affectively, those are that: the Bible contains the words of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17), to love God and others is the primary message (Matthew 22:36-40), it should be our greatest confrontation and greatest hope (John 16:8, Mark 10:29-30), all truth can be measured against it (Acts 17:23, 28-29) and reading and understanding it is a life long journey (Psalm 119). With these things in mind, we can start asking the right questions and hearing what God is saying to us about the past, our present and future.

1ST QUESTION: What is God Saying to me, our group, our culture, and our world?

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NLT

 

The Bible claims to be the inspired word of God. Every person who reads the Bible has to eventually come to accept or reject this. Coming to this place is an intellectual and spiritual revelation. It is not something that is easy. With the help of God’s spirit and each other we are able to process and figure these things out in our own lives.

2ND QUESTION: How does this help me love God and others more?

36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”(Matthew 22:36-40)

The greatest demonstration of knowing, believing and following the Bible is when love is coming out of our lives. When we miss this point in the Bible we are missing the message of God. The Bible is not a sappy book and there is violence, suffering, doubt, adultery, injustice, rape, murder, hatred and confusion within its pages. These things happened then and our happening now, but we constantly see through all that God’s forever enduring patience, kindness, mercy, faithfulness, gentleness, joy, peace, hope and love towards mankind. All those attributes should be shown growing in life of somebody who is reading, believing and following the scriptures. Anybody who claims to follow the Bible and uses its words to not show love has missed the whole point.

3RD QUESTION: Is my way of thinking or acting contrary to what God is saying, How is God trying to better my life?

8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. (John 16:8 NLT)

29 “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, 30 will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property-along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life. (Mark 10:29-30, NLT)

We need to be convicted and confronted while reading the Bible. We need to realize our sin. This confrontation usually does not feel good, but it always leads to our benefit. Sin is the thing in the world that blinds us from seeing God, hope, love and having freedom. God’s reaction to sin is purely out of trying to replace the bad in our lives with good. This confrontation ends in hope. Like in the passage in Mark above, we might have to give things up to follow Jesus, but we will receive so much more in this life and the next.

23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.

7God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28′For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 29″Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone-an image made by man’s design and skill.(Acts 17:23, 27-29)

In the above passage from Acts we see Paul referencing writings and beliefs outside of scripture. He is quoting a poem and showing the truth that the author is saying. Paul then takes that poem and highlights and strengthens it by using the scripture. Anything if it is true, can be found and confirmed in the Bible even if its source is not directly from specific passages. We use the Bible to measure all truth.
Reading the Bible is a life long journey. It is something that is not mastered and reading it takes time and discipline, as an individual and community. We can follow the heart of David in Psalm 119, where he tells of how important God’s words are to his life. Also we can follow Jesus when He say’s, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). In the Movement the Bible is read, studied and applied.

BASIC BIBLE STUDY METHODS:
- Pray and ask God to reveal what He is saying to you today.
- Know the context of every verse: Read the sentences around it, then consider the whole paragraph, know who it is being written to, the history, culture, and then consider the passage in light of the whole entire Bible. How do these verses go with the main message of the Bible, to love God and others.

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LEADERSHIP IN THE MOVEMENT

Leadership in the movement was formed not as the idea of one individual, or a charismatic presence of a single person, but FORMED IN THE HEARTS OF A TEAM. Just as the body of Christ is made up of many parts, with all having equal importance, the core value of leadership in The Movement takes 1 Corinthians 12:11-25, literally. This is why a high importance is placed on team driven leadership.  Jesus left 11 in his place, not one, to fulfill what He started.  The various Movement groups should be made up of a team of leaders fulfilling different roles.

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!”  On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable (1 Corinthians 12:21-22, NIV).

For too long the Church has functioned in a paralyzed state, not as 1 Corinthians 12 commands.  An injury causing this is the reliance on a minority of people who make up the body of Christ, mainly: the paid clergy, ones with professional training, a Christian heritage, speaking abilities etc. The Church is supposed to be a body, with Christ as its head.  Jesus’ role is to direct the body and to tell it what to do (Colossians 1:18).  If only a few people are doing the work that Christ is telling it do, what of the rest of the body, it is paralyzed.  It is paralyzed by the lack of people fulfilling their purpose in the body of Christ.  Leadership in The Movement realizes that every person in the Church is as important as the other, and that only together can we truly function as Christ’s body.  So the main roles of leaders are to make sure and see that everybody is fulfilling their purpose.

Jesus has placed a certain call on people to guide others into their roles in the body of Christ.  We can call these people leaders. Jesus clearly lays out what this role should look and feel like:

Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves (Luke 22:24-26 NIV)

Jesus is saying that those who would lead after Him will see their position as a chance to better others, by serving them.  This opportunity is not to control every detail of people’s lives or a group’s activities.  It is not the opportunity to show people how much knowledge or abilities you possess.  It is not for showcasing all your own opinions.   It is not for building yourself up.  It is a chance to listen more and say less. It is a chance to be vulnerable with your weaknesses and your reliance on God.  It is finding the ways for other people to get the credit for good things happening.  It is a call to build others up and put them before your self.  A true leader has a heart of a servant, because Jesus the ultimate leader is a servant. Jesus said, “the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45).

The apostle Paul writes about those called to serve:

He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ’s followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ’s body, the church, until we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ (Ephesians 4:11-13 The Message).

Also another translation says:

And His gifts were [varied; He Himself appointed and gave men to us] some to be apostles (special messengers), some prophets (inspired preachers and expounders), some evangelists (preachers of the Gospel, traveling missionaries), some pastors (shepherds of His flock) and teachers. His intention was the perfecting and the full equipping of the saints (His consecrated people), [that they should do] the work of ministering toward building up Christ’s body (the church) (Ephesians 4:11-12 Amplified Bible).

The word train or equip, in the Greek, means to repair something like a broken bone; to set something straight.  The whole goal when you have been given a gift like the ones mentioned in the above scripture is to help others know their gifts, and train them in using them.  Leaders are people who are not doing the bulk of the work, but instead their main job is to see that everyone is working together and doing the thing that they are gifted at. The Holy Spirit is working through the entire Church, and when we leave only a few people to do the work, we are quenching what the Spirit is fully trying to do.

It is to be a person who is encouraging people spiritually, to have faith and hope in hardship. They can see the potential in people and are able to bring it out, even when the person doesn’t see it.  These people are a catalyst in the process of people maturing in the faith and walk with God.

The movement will have leaders. These leaders will function more often as a team of people. The apostle Paul warns against quarrels between people claiming to follow one leader or another, focusing solely on one person (1 Corinthians 1:11-13).  The Movement is not about following one person. When there is only one leader in a group, this person should quickly recognize those other people who can help with responsibilities and allow them to lead as well.  The ultimate prize for a leader is when others have become equipped to lead, and are doing the ministry alongside of them.

Closing scriptures on leadership:

This is a trustworthy saying: “If someone aspires to be an elder,[a] he desires an honorable position.” So an elder must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife.[b] He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach.  He must not be a heavy drinker[c] or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money.  He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him.  For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church?

An elder must not be a new believer, because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall.[d]  Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil’s trap.
In the same way, deacons must be well respected and have integrity. They must not be heavy drinkers or dishonest with money.  They must be committed to the mystery of the faith now revealed and must live with a clear conscience.  Before they are appointed as deacons, let them be closely examined. If they pass the test, then let them serve as deacons (1 Timothy 3:1-10 NLT)

-Josh Horvath