“This book is for anyone who wants to follow Jesus and change the world,” according to the back cover on Steve Addison’s book Movements that Change the World. A movement is an informal grouping of people and organisations pursuing a common cause, characterised by discontent, vision and action. Movements change people, and changed people change the world. Christianity is a movement of movements.
There is no simple formula for creating a movement, but in this book Steve tells the story of several movements and identifies several key characteristics common to them. White hot faith serves as the starting point. Those who start or join a movement show a high level of commitment to a cause. The movement grows through contagious relationships. The movement experiences rapid mobilisation. The purposes of the movement are served by adaptive methods.
Steve writes in a concise, well-researched manner. If you are just interested in running a church in a conventional manner, this book is probably not for you; but if you are interested in catching the wind of the Spirit and doing something radical and new, then you might find inspiration here. The book has an associated blog, which is well worth following for an Australian perspective on Christian movements.