Underground Movement

30Jun09

I’ve noticed many “new” church movements that aren’t publicized or widely known, even in a city as small as Greenville. Prayer movements, gatherings, worship nights… All of these are going on and much of the church as a whole doesn’t realize it. The thing that disturbs me about some of these is the lack of accountability, the fact that they are run by younger people, less experienced people. Granted I believe that these guys start with pure motives, the fact remains that with little to no accountability, especially in the “waters” these guys are wading in, its very easy to become misguided and errant. What’s the proper course of action for a group of people tired of religious traditions and the church which at large doesn’t recognize them? I believe the answer is understanding. The groups being formed are not competing with the local church. The purpose of these meetings should be to enhance the spiritual growth of any given individual while encouraging them to continue their fellowship within their current church. I don’t think that any of these young leaders are trying to “steal” people from their local body, but rather give them an opportunity to focus more on Christ in a setting that may be more relaxed than a Sunday morning service. On the other hand the leaders of these events and groups must not gravitate toward a rebellion against the local church. These events cannot substitute for the gathering of believers on Sunday mornings or whenever the local church meets. Why? For one, many of the leaders of these events have little experience in teaching and leading. Many of these leaders aren’t called to pastoring or leading of congregations. They are called to come alongside the pastors and local churches as subservient ministers. Those that are called to lead and pastor should still be subservient to the seasoned and veteran pastors. We must come to a place where we begin to unite together rather than continue to faction away from one another. The Church has become like a wooden beam hit by a bullet – it continues to splinter and produce small factions of differing beliefs. We have to come to an understanding that as long as we continue to expose ourselves to this division we will continue to weaken until the point that we no longer make an impact on culture.

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