John H Armstrong

Why I Am Persuaded the ACT 3 Cohort Groups Will Help in the Making of Unique Leaders

The ACT 3 Missional-Ecumenical Cohort groups are designed to provide a small group environment where learning is genuinely linked with community. There are numerous ways to teach and each way has its own merit. But not all forms of teaching produce the same fruitfulness. I have taken thousands of classroom hours over the course of my lifetime. I have heard thousands of sermons. I have taught, as a graduate level instructor, at least several hundred students. I have also preached several thousand sermons. I believe that what I remember best is from the material I taught that involved me the most directly in the learning and teaching experience itself. 

In forming the ACT 3 M-E Cohort groups I gave a great deal of thought to educational research about learning. We know, for example, that we remember about 10% of what we hear. This percentage rises to 30% when we hear and see. This is why educators utilize various graphics and visuals to improve the teaching of their students. But when something is spoken, seen and then practiced, especially in a context where the learner is deeply involved, even to the point of sharing in the teaching and practice of the content directly, then the number rises to as high as 80%. 

I learned this directly by teaching in the classroom over the last fifteen years or so. I prepared well and taught with all my heart and soul. Last summer I looked back over the  number of church leaders that I had taught in seminary and graduate school over the course of these recent years and asked, “What percentage of my students were genuinely transformed, so much so that the vision I invested in them really stuck and transformed them and their leadership?" My answer was 10-15%. I came to the conclusion that I could no longer teach the content of my vision–content rooted in the three core principles that I wrote about last week–unless I could see something like 80-90% of my students becoming serious practitioners of the missional-ecumenical vision. 

Some advisers suggested that I should teach this vision by exclusively using the vast resources of the social network and webcasting/webinars. Their arguments employed two key points: (1) My time and health would be stretched too thin by going to various places and investing so much time (an average of 32-36 hours in face-to-face meetings) in small groups, and; (2) A larger number of people could be taught more quickly by using the Internet alone. These are both good points. I carefully weighed them as I asked the Lord to guide me into the last phase of my mission.

While I believe these Internet-based tools should be used, thus they will be a major supplemental means for teaching and advancing the M-E Cohorts, I also believe deeply in the principle of incarnation. People must interface with those who teach them and with those who learn with them. This means discipleship training is best when it is rooted in the experience of life and community. I believe this community learning experience can never be replaced by these supplemental means. The Internet can bring people into a Cohort group and it can be used to help students while they are learning and after they have moved on to advanced stages of development but it can never replace face-to-face encounter that takes discipleship seriously. 

After completing my first M-E Cohort group April 17 I am more convinced than ever that this is true. A new group will begin in a few weeks, with 20-25 members. A group will begin in Philadelphia on September 20. And another group will begin in Wheaton on September 17. It is likely that I will have dates for a group in Phoenix within two weeks. 

I will travel to Dallas at the end of this month to explore the opportunity to begin a group there in the fall. 

Last Thursday (May 3) I met with leaders in the St. Louis area, both in Illinois and Missouri. It is possible a group will form there in the fall but if not then perhaps in early 2013. I really did not know how this conversation would go until I went to St. Louis and spent time with several people. The interest seems significant enough to pursue this area as a possible region for a group this year. I am also in conversation with some folks in Raleigh-Durham about a group that would begin this fall or early next year. 

I will form an ACT 3 M-E Cohort Group of 15-25 people wherever there is a sufficient minimum of people who will commit to the group. The first step is to meet/talk with several leaders who are willing to be “point” for finding friends who will form such a group. I am not investing money in advertising but rather going from person-to-person, place-to-place. The only requirement for considering a M-E Cohort group is for you to contact me and talk about determining if you have the number of people to invite me to come. 

The freedom of this approach is a great blessing for me. I do not try to force a door open, but listen and see what doors God is pleased to plainly open. If he opens it then it is open and if not then why push harder? 

If you are interested in joining such a group, or in helping me form one in your area, then please contact me directly at: [email protected]gmail.com. I will respond as soon as possible. 

 

How St. Benedict's Rule Transforms Daily Life

St. Benedict’s Rule has remained popular for centuries. I believe that this is true for one very simple reason. It answers a question that serious Christians all ask. “If the power and presence of God are real and effective, what does this mean for human experience in day-to-day life?” Put another way, “What does Christ offer to men and women and what does he ask from them in return?” How do we recognize him, know him, respond to him?

People, including most Christians, have various images in their minds about God. Some think of him as entirely and always benevolent while others think of him primarily as wrathful. Some want to know what God will do for them while others wonder what God wants from them. The real question, I believe, is this: “Can all the holy aspects of the divine Being somehow be reconciled in our minds so that our hearts are warmed by the interior reality of Christ in the human soul?” Where is God when I suffer? Is God good, truly good? Can his promises be trusted, especially when life deals us a cruel blow? 

St. Benedict answers these questions in ways that very few classical Christian writers do. He does so by appealing to what is called lectio divina (“divine” or “sacred reading”). He believed, like many after him from the fourth century down to the present, that such careful, sacred reading is essential to a deeply spiritual life. This kind of reading is more than reading a text, or scanning material for useful facts and Bible information. (This is why I despise “Bible trivia” games of all sorts!) 

There has been a magnificent recovery in recent decades when it comes to reading the Bible as narrative, or story. In this reading we are seeking to really hear the Scripture in the context in which it was written. We can even discover a plot line that leads to a climax, as in the decisive act of a drama. (This is one of several reasons we call my own mission ACT 3.) But lectio divina is a meditative approach. The reader seeks to taste and savor the beauty and truth of the passage, even of a phrase within a passage. It is contemplative reading. The reader is deeply moved and shaped by the text, not just informed and taught. This kind of reading also invites the reader into something that is beautiful and true, namely into the Trinity. 

Yesterday I mentioned the four steps of lectio divina that are stressed by St. Benedict, as well as others who have followed him. These are: (1) To read, (2) To meditate, (3) To rest in the sense of God’s nearness and, (4) To increase one’s desire for the holy Trinity wherein all that is truly lovely and unspoiled might be discovered in one’s real interior experience, not simply in the mind or by concept. This kind of reading, if you follow what I’ve said, is really prayer itself. Indeed, it is in this kind of prayer that God manifests his presence to us. 

Fifteen hundred years ago a young man studying in Rome became so totally disgusted with paganism that he decided, like others in his time, to seek a cave some distance from the city where he could live in solitude and seek God. Thomas Moore says, “In that decision Benedict enacted a fantasy that has inflamed the hearts of men and women before and since–the idea of making a life apart from the crowd, in a style at odds with the norm.” 

In some ways it is in spite of this story that Benedict came to pursue God and the development of his interior life in a way that has touched millions over the centuries. Most people will never practice Benedict’s Rule in a monastic setting. But multitudes practice it nonetheless. Why? Behind the Rule is the imagination of a pilgrim learning how to seek after God’s own Being. 

I have often been confused by various approaches to spiritual life but the Rule of St. Benedict allowed me to see that genuine spirituality can never be separated from local, real (incarnate and human) community. (This is why we read Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life Together in the ACT 3 Cohort groups.) If a deeper interior life is shaped by a constant struggle between obedience and freedom, between listening and speaking, between possessing and letting go, between clinging to stability and embracing change, then we need community in our lives. We dare not do this alone. 

The simple truth is that virtually none of the church communities that we belong to in our time foster these struggles in a healthy way. It is uncommon to find such a place where life is free but ordered. We are extremists today and we are so far out of balance that rare is the place where you find harmony. 

The spirit of St Benedict's Rule is summed up in the motto of what is called The Benedictine Confederation: pax ("peace") and the traditional ora et labora ("pray and work"). Compared to other precepts, the Rule provides a moderate path between individual zeal and formulaic institutionalism. This is why it appeals to me so deeply. It carves out a middle ground. 

It is this reality that prompted me to create the ACT 3 Missional-Ecumenical Cohort training course. I want to create a safe place where freedom and discipline are developed. I want to find ways to help hungry souls find what they desire. 

Personally, I am weary of books about theology that do not lead me to God alone as my living hope. Abstractions do not feed me, they merely give me arguments. I need a sensible, sane and practical way of becoming more like Christ. St. Benedict’s Rule has helped me. This is why we will work it into the new ACT 3 Cohort groups that are forming this year. 

 

Keeping Spiritual Formation at the Center of Missional-Ecumenism

When the first ACT 3 Cohort group finished its intensive phase on April 17 the 13 members who graduated did a discernment process so that the group could give me feedback about what could be improved. The Cohort includes 36 hours of time in the group that is spread out over eight months and concentrated in four days of meetings with me. There are three core commitments that are the backbone of the process. These are:

1. You must desire to develop your interior life in a rich texture of spiritual formation that draws from the whole Christian tradition so that you can learn how to intentionally seek after God with your whole heart, mind, soul and strength (Matthew 22:37). 

2. You must enter into the unity prayer of our Lord Jesus (John 17:20-23), a prayer for our relational oneness, and strive with all your heart to truly and faithfully love all your brothers and sisters as modeled by Jesus (John 13:34-35). 

3. You must seek to grasp what is meant by missional theology and grow into a clear understanding of why it is vitally important in order that you will practice the spiritual art of missional leadership in your local church or mission context (John 20:21).

In the critique that my first class gave to me the graduates universally said that I needed to put more emphasis on point number one. I had quietly come to the same conclusion so their feedback confirmed my sense of things in this regard. Most of us can talk about spiritual life but few of us have found patterns for deep growth that work well for us personally. We have tried "quiet times" and devotional books and Bible reading but we need much, much more. We often read the Bible with little or no deep impact and we know it. What can we do about this problem?

In the ACT 3 Missional-Ecumenical Cohort group we read two books on the interior life. The first is the little classic, Practicing the Presence of God, by Brother Lawrence. These books give us a simple and highly motivating overview of how to live simply and faithfully day-to-day. Then we read Life Together, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. But we all felt that this was not enough. We needed a good, strong guide to take us beyond these two works into a more practical way of understanding and applying the disciplines of spiritual formation to our own souls. Enter the third book in the revised syllabus: Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict (The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota, 1984). 

The Rule of St. Benedict has been a trusted spiritual guide for souls for over 1,500 years. His rules of obedience, humility and contemplation are not just prerequisites for formal religious societies but an invaluable model for anyone who desires to live more deeply and simply. While St. Benedict presupposes a certain detachment from the world he gives guidance and inspiration for anyone who is seeking peace and fulfillment in their interior life. It is no accident that serious Christians have always found him a reliable guide. 

The Rule of St. Benedict has attracted me for some time but Esther de Waal helps me understand and apply it as well as any short book I know. It is only 163-pages. Her writing style is clear and she draws out of the Rule each of the crucial elements of St. Benedict's teaching, especially his use of Scripture in the practice of the lectio divina, a practice set forth in its four stages. She further develops the three vows of Benedict in terms of their importance for (ordinary) daily life. 

Kathleen Norris says that de Waal beautifully reminds us that spirituality is grounded in remembering that the material and spiritual realms are not distinct. Even the most ordinary manual work "is a constant reminder of the reality of the Incarnation." 

This emphasis is at the very heart of the ACT 3 Missional-Ecumenical Cohort training process. We have to be deeply interior people in order to externally lead others into the unity of the Trinity and the shared missional life. These three core commitments will keep this equipping program on track even as we make changes along the way. 

If you would like to explore joining an ACT 3 Missional-Ecumenical Cohort group check out the information on our web site. 

 

"To Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before"

"Where no man has gone before" was originally made popular through its use in the title of most episodes of the original Star Trek television series. Every Trekkie knows it well. I am no Trekkie but even I have heard it and used it. The phrase refers to the mission of the original starship Enterprise. The complete introductory sequence, narrated by well-known actor William Shatner at the beginning of most episodes of Star Trek, said it this way:

Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before. 

I was reminded of this phrase last week. It made me take notice again that truly following Jesus, especially in this new century, a century that is taking us to new civilizations and to the exploration of strange new ideas, is to "boldly go where no man (or woman) has gone before." If we continue to live dull, bland lives that make an adventure out of missing the point we will end up missing out on what God intends for his people in the new global village that we call the post-modern world. I am just curious enough, and hopefully bold enough, to want to keep exploring what all this means, especially for a faithful church that dares to truly follow Jesus!

 

Why Should Christians and Churches Act Together?

One of the best known contributions on unity that has powerfully helped in the modern development of ecumenism is called the Lund Principle. It is commonly believed that this principle says, very simply, that “whatever we can do together we should do together.” While this statement is partially right, if you read it in the original context it is not entirely right. Let me explain. 

On August 27, 1952, the third world conference on Faith and Order held a meeting at Lund, Sweden. The delegates gathered there agreed on a text titled: “A Word to the Churches.” This text was released to the press immediately for world-wide publication. A key sentence posed the following question:

Should not our churches ask themselves whether they are showing sufficient eagerness to enter into conversation with other churches, and whether they should not act together in all matters except those in which deep differences of conviction compel them to act separately?

It is the second half of this question that evolved into what is now called the Lund Principle in ecumenism. Morris West, writing in The Dictionary of the Ecumenical Movement (Eerdmans, 1991), notes that “this is probably the most quoted (and sometimes misquoted!) sentence from any F & O document.” It is also provided one of the most compelling questions for Christians that was asked in the twentieth century: "Why should we act together rather than separately?"

The Lund Principle is often misunderstood because it is taken as an exhortation rather than, as is clearly evident in its original context, a question. The original intention was to challenge the churches to talk together so that they could act together as widely and effectively as possible. 

The historical context of Lund is important if we are to grasp the context of the Lund Principle. In 1947 several historic churches in South India came together to form a new union that became known as the Church of South India (1947). The momentum for this was the persistent question of mission and its relationship to unity. The churches in India believed that their divisions were an open scandal to their particular culture. Their new union was a result of deep missiological concern. The first bishop of the new Church of South India was none other than Lesslie Newbigin, my personal patron saint of missional theology. I use Newbigin more than any single source to introduce church leaders to missional-ecumenism. 

Different interpretations of the Lund Principle arose quickly after this oft cited paper was read. Morris West believes that some of these interpretations “weakened its impact.” As an example, it became a favorite quotation for ecumenical orators who used it rhetorically, somewhat like a general principle. If you check out the one line entry on this at Wikipedia you find the following: “The Lund Principle is an important principle in ecumenical relations between Christian churches. It affirms that churches should act together in all matters except those in which deep differences of conviction compel them to act separately.” 

While this statement is true it misses some of the nuance found in the original context. Many churches, particularly in local contexts, took this statement as the basis for limited and occasional relationships that avoided the full scope of the original question. Such Christians thought/think in terms of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (January) and believe that by sharing in it they have done their part in pursuing unity. As good as this week is, and it is very good and very important, it is not what the Lund Principle envisioned at all. 

The Lund Principle was intended “to be applied to the ongoing, day-to-day life of the churches,” adds Morris West. If the question is answered affirmatively, whether we have in view the church nationally or locally, the concern was for more permanent change. 

But isn’t this a mere “pipe dream” for unity? I would argue that you have to dream before you wake and when you dream deeply and then awake truly refreshed you are ready to act in significant ways. The reason so few of us are interested in deep ecumenism is because we have not dreamed about it deeply enough, at least not yet. We are still in a state of fitful sleep. In local situations, where churches and people really live and do Christ's mission, the possibilities are endless. By developing relationships (understood in biblical terms as "covenantal relationships") we can then determine how to answer the question put to us by the Lund Principle. 

I would further argue that this “pipe dream” is alive and well. More churches and leaders are now asking this question than I’ve known in my own lifetime, at least in America. And younger Christians are asking it with greater urgency and understanding than was done by my generation. This is one reason why I believe that missional-ecumenism provides a strong and compelling answer to the question posed by the Lund Principle. 

 

Who Should Become an ACT 3 Cohort Member?

The most important question you should ask, if you have any interest in our new ACT 3 Missional-Ecumenical Cohort program, is this: "Who should invest the time and money in this process and apply to join an ACT 3 Cohort group?"

Alcoholics Anonymous operates on a rather simple philosophy with a bare bones amount of structure. To join an AA Group you must have a problem, namely the abuse of alcohol. Second, you must be willing to pay the price to change your behavior by investing your time, and thus to some extent your money, in a group process where there is real learning, accountability and life-long change. Finally, you must be willing to use the famous Twelve Steps to grow toward sobriety and then to maintain that sobriety. 

The ACT 3 Missional-Ecumenical Cohort groups operate in much the same way. To join a group you must have a recognized need. You must know that you need to grow deeper in your interior spiritual life. If you have this need then you must desire to join a group that will seek to help you improve your practice of spiritual life in the Trinity. Second, you must desire to enter into the prayer of Jesus in John 17 in order to become an answer, not a barrier, to his expressed intention for unity. Third, you must desire to understand missional theology (our "sentness" which comes from God the Father) and want to learn how to live this theology out very practically in your personal and corporate lifestyle. 

The Cohort model is thus built on these three core principles. We call these our "Three Steps." 

1. You must desire to develop your interior life in a rich texture of spiritual formation that draws from the whole Christian tradition so that you can learn how to intentionally seek after God with your whole heart, mind, soul and strength (Matthew 22:37). 

2. You must enter into the unity prayer of our Lord Jesus (John 17:20-23), a prayer for our relational oneness, and strive with all your heart to truly and faithfully love all your brothers and sisters as modeled by Jesus (John 13:34-35). 

3. You must seek to grasp what is meant by missional theology and grow into a clear understanding of why it is vitally important in order that you will practice the spiritual art of missional leadership in your local church or mission context (John 20:21).

Each ACT 3 Cohort meets around these three core principles and the curriculum is built upon it. Those who are mentored in an ACT 3 Missional-Ecumenical Cohort group will continue to learn after their eight month training process is completed. Some will be called and trained to become mentors who can facilitate new ACT 3 Cohort groups as the Lord raises them up in the coming years. The mentors will be coached and then paid to lead a group(s) and thus they will become a part of the extended mission of ACT 3. 

You can learn more about these newly forming ACT 3 Cohort groups on our home page.

 

Could an ACT 3 Cohort Group Come to a City Near You?

One of the most frequently asked questions I receive about our new ACT 3 Missional-Ecumenical Cohort Groups is how we determine where to convene a group? The answer is relatively simple.

I will begin a Cohort group where 15-25 people are seriously interested in being gathered together to form such a group. To know this I first need to determine initial interest. This is usually done by one or two people asking if they could host/help with a group in their area. If they have a network of friends who are interested, and if they are situated in an area reachable by a drive of less than three hours from others we know to be interested in the group, then we consider it. The size of the actual city is NOT a determining factor though I do need to be able to get there by plane (and perhaps a short drive after my flight). Location will play a definite part, at least in these early years. Once we have hundreds of graduates, and a dozen or more mentors that have been trained, we can then go to almost any location, even to more remote places. 

Let me explain further. A friend in Raleigh-Durham (NC) spoke with me this past Sunday. He is very interested in ACT 3 and the Cohort groups. He will speak with his network of friends in his area. Several other friends in the North Carolina area, who can reach Raleigh-Durham by car in a few hours, have also expressed interest. We began a thirty day prayer experiment this week. During this time we ask you (if you are close enough to Raleigh-Durham), and anyone else who knows about this idea for this area, to reply to me or one of the local contacts. If my friends in North Carolina, and anyone else who contacts me, express serious interest then we will then go to step two. Here we will ask people to "sign up" and make a down payment by signing a student/mentor contract. I would then interview the prospective student and if we both agree they are accepted. This monetary contribution does not begin until formally accepted. The cost for a Chicago group is $1,000. The cost for a group outside of Chicago, because of travel and additional expenses, is $1,200 per student. There are creative ways to do this but the groups cannot be free. Why? We need to determine interest, commitment and seriousness. In addition, we need to reinvest this money into growing the program so we can train others and reach a very large number of people over time. 

The dates for a particular group will be determined by what works for me and the host city. Most ACT 3 Cohort groups meet four times, for eight hours each time (thus all day meetings from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. local time). These four meetings are spread over eight months to allow for reading, dialogue, small groups and the experience of how we best learn together. You can see the curriculum and watch videos on the program at the home page for ACT 3. Click the icon marked The Unity Factor. 

Right now we have an ACT 3 Cohort group planned for Wheaton (Chicago) to begin on Monday, September 17. We also have a group planned for Philadelphia (Biblical Seminary in Hatfield) to begin on Thursday, September 20. Another group will be formed in Phoenix in May that will begin in the fall (sometime in September/October). The next most likely city for this fall is Dallas/Ft. Worth (TX). Then we are "looking" with prayerful waiting at these cities to see if they come together now or, perhaps, later: St. Louis, Raleigh-Durham and Findlay, Ohio. Findlay is within two hours (all Interstate Highway) from Toledo, Detroit, Columbus and Dayton. 

Down the road we are talking seriously about Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale, New York and Boston. Nashville also came on the screen of "possible" sites just this week. All of these are in the stage of "maybe"(now or later). The actual direction for where groups will spring up depends on you (plural) expressing desire to work with me/us in developing our network for such a group in your area. Again, if you're interested let me know. You can respond to this blog, via Facebook or by email. I will then work with you to determine what we can do and when we can do it. 

We have 13 graduates from our first class, as I noted last week. We will have another local group beginning in six weeks that will have at least 20 in it. Then in the fall we will have at least three, maybe even six, new groups. By this time next year I hope to have over 100 graduates. Then I begin to identify mentors who will become my associates and lead groups around the country under the sponsorship of ACT 3. The simple idea here is one of discipleship training reproduction. We are equipping leadership for the future. The graduates will thus enter into a "lifelong learning" phase where they will be socially networked with one another and be invited to attend a large group meeting each summer. A web site is being created with a password from graduates to access a host of ongoing resources for free. Graduates can return to any group or session any time they desire without further charge. In this context we will continue to develop each graduate in three areas: (1) Interior life and spiritual discernment, (2) Ecumenism, or unity in a Christ experienced corporate life and lived out with other Christians, and (3) Missional theology and practice in local groups and churches.

You are welcome to prayerfully consider a Cohort group whether you are an elected or recognized leader or not. You have to be older than 18 years of age. The group is open to people from any Christian church, male or female and persons of all ethnic and national origins. It is, of course, ecumenical, which means this is a core value of the mission and of these groups. 

Transitions: The ACT 3 Cohort Groups and Our New Web Presence

I am presently working on developing a new blog site as well as a new ACT 3 web site. I am also working on developing a separate site for the ACT 3 Missional-Ecumenical Cohort Groups. This site will provide information about this new training program but it will also provide an opportunity for students and graduates to enter private subsections of the site for updates and important on-going interaction. Graduates will become part of a life-long learning process through this site, and learn about future gatherings, which we will provide to those who finish this course. 

Our first ACT 3 Cohort class graduated this last Tuesday, April 17. Thirteen adults completed the first Cohort that we've done. We began last October in a classroom on the Wheaton College campus. I am praying for hundreds more to follow these thirteen in the next five years. I am also working to find and equip a group of very gifted leaders who can facilitate these groups across the country as this ministry grows. The goal is to find and teach lay and pastoral leaders in three core areas of faith and practice. These are:

1. The growing development of the interior life.

This can be called spiritual formation but the term is becoming overused these days. The central idea is that no one can influence (spiritually and eternally) anyone else unless their own soul is deeply formed by the Trinity.

2. The importance and practice of deep, relational and biblical ecumenism.

This is not simply an intellectual idea or a set of doctrinal beliefs. It is a learned behavior and practice that we believe can be taught and practiced only in community and real partnerships.

3. The purpose of helping churches and missions understand and practice what is called missional theology. 

We do not believe that the missional church movement, or missional theology, is a passing fad. It is a deep, fresh discovery (the last twenty years or so) that has immense implications for the life of all Christians in the new millennium. 

Each ACT 3 Missional-Ecumenical Cohort Group exists to fulfill the purpose of this mission: "to equip leaders for unity in Christ's mission." There are several ways that we do this but the ACT 3 Cohort Groups have become the primary way that we will do this in the coming years. I will teach/facilitate in a number of cities, discipling leaders who can live and pass on these great truths, and then teach others to do the same by becoming ACT 3 facilitator/teachers. ACT 3 will become a central catalyst for this process of training. We will not control this process but we will brand it and protect it. Each group will be unique since no single group is like another and each facilitator will lead the group differently. We welcome diversity in unity. These groups will thus consist of men and women, lay and clerical, Protestant and Catholic (and Orthodox), young and old, formally educated and non-formally educated. There is no requirement for being in a group but a deep desire to be equipped in these three areas, or core commitments. If a person believes this group can help them become the spiritual leader that God desires them to become then this group just might be right.

Next week I will write more. For now I am buried in planning and creating at least five more groups over the next few weeks. (There will be two in Chicago, as well as one in Philadelphia, Dallas, Phoenix and maybe St. Louis.) Please pray. Your support, interest and gifts will help us reach this goal of training a significant number of missional leaders.  

As we rebuild our web presence and develop these new Cohort Groups would you please pray for me and those who work with me at ACT 3? We are small but we have a big idea that we believe God gave to us. We believe that we can pour money into people and training, not buildings and programs. We believe the church desperately needs such leaders right now and we are committed to doing our part in finding and training these leaders. 

You can learn more about the Missional-Ecumenical Cohort Groups, at least for now, on the home page (enter through the icon of The Unity Factor) of ACT 3. 

The Lund Principle

On August 27, 1953, at the third world conference on Faith and Order, meeting in Lund, Sweden, a text was agreed upon titled: "A Word to the Churches." This text was released to the press for worldwide publication almost immediately. A part of this statement eventually became known (in ecumenical circles) as "The Lund Principle." The statement comes from a sentence which asks: 

"Should not our churches ask themsevles whether they are showing sufficient eagerness to enter into conversation with other churches, and whether they should not act together in all matters except those in which deep differences of conviction compel them to act separately?" 

The final part of this question, which I've put in italics, subsequently became known as The Lund Principle. This may be the most often quoted statement in the history of the Faith & Order Commission. It is often used as an exhortation but in the original context you can readily see that it is a question. The intention was to challenge the churches to talk together so that they could more effectively act together. 

Lund was held after the union of churches in South India in 1947. This immensely successful venture, led in large part by Lesslie Newbigin who became the first bishop of the new Church of South India, created a high level of desire for further church unions. Following Lund interpretations of the Lund Principle arose which weakened its original impact. For example, it was used oratorically as a general principle to encourage limited and "spasmodic relationships" (Morris West), such as the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. This is a time of prayer for unity that I deeply support. But the writers of this statement intended that their question be applied to the ongoing, day-to-day life of the churches. If answered affirmatively, which the writers hoped for, it would press the question of more permanent change, both locally and nationally. Churches would be required to act, not passively talk about unity. 

There are growing signs, admittedly small ones here and there, that a new movement for unity is beginning to happen. This time it is less about a union of churches and more about the mission of Christ carried out in real unity. This is particularly true in local contexts where covenantal partnerships are forming on the ground level where people and churches actually live and function. It seems to me that the Lund Principle is alive and well. The question should still be asked today. Simply put, not as a question but as a statement of principle: "What we can do together we must do together." 

I believe this question is more vital than ever, especially in the West where the church is declining in all its historical expressions. I believe the 21st century will see the further decline of Christianity in the West, unless we see a great renewal. I believe that a true renewal will include a renewed emphasis upon the Lund Principle. This principle affirms that churches should act together in all matters except those in which deep differences of conviction compel them to act separately. If you want to understand my deep and personal resolve to work for unity remember the Lund Principle is behind my actions. I believe this principle is a burning, prophetic and Spirit-directed question for us more than ever. 

Burning Questions for Missional Christians

Christianity began as a tiny movement of Jews who believed that God had raised Jesus from the dead. They spread this message to Jews and Gentiles and planted churches across the Roman Empire in the first three centuries of the common era. There is abundant evidence that these churches were generally small and that most congregations numbered something like 30-70 people. Issues regarding how to develop and govern these churches arose over time. It seems apparent that there is no extant blueprint that has been passed on to us regarding how this should be done down through the centuries. Christianity seems incredibly adaptable to various cultures and for this reason it could spread into all cultures. 

What we do know is that in spite of many faults the church acquired it eventually provided the basis for a new era of learning, industry and civil order that arose from the impact of the church upon society. In the sixteenth century the Reformation not only divided the church in the West but it led to renewal in the Catholic Church. Eventually this resulted in a great rise in missionary activity from both Protestant and Catholic sources. By the twentieth century a worldwide exportation of products and ideas followed and this global expansion opened the door even wider for global missions. At the same time Europe's civilization began a long, slow slide toward secularism. There is an almost astonishing correlation between the decline of births with the decline of the church and its influence throughout Europe. The question remains what this will mean for North America. Will we follow this European pattern? There is growing evidence that we might follow Europe but there is considerable reason to think that America could follow a very different model. 

By 2050 Patrick Johnstone says that less than half of Europe will claim any adherence to Christianity. This leads Johnstone to conclude that there are "uncomfortable parallels between the situation in Europe today and the collapse of the Greco-Roman civilization of antiquity."

But here in America the situation does not entirely parallel that in Europe. Two centuries of Protestant immigration and numerical growth combined with periodic revivals have shaped a different kind of situation. Here church and state were never connected in the same way. The church in America was free to innovate and develop new ideas. (This is a double-edged sword I realize!) The result of these developments is a Christianity that has a huge variety in church life, teachings and worship styles. In the midst of this chaos some very good things have emerged at various times in our history. Cults have grown, for sure, but so have genuine Christian churches and movements that have given us both health and numerical growth. 

The rise of non-Christian immigration, in recent decades, and the gains of the non-religious (or "nones") in our religious demographics, makes things extremely problematic for the church going forward. (We are in a period of church decline, make no mistake about this fact.) The influence of secularism remains strong, especially in higher education and among the culturally elite. The problems these changes present will not go away anytime soon. But the separation of church and state makes for a unique opportunity for thoughtful Christians to emerge into new missional thought and practice in America. Let me explain.

Could a new kind of civilization, one not rooted in empire or in dependence upon religion linked with the state in any form, arise in the twenty-first century? Simply put, could a new kind of Christianity emerge that produces a more tolerant, less proud and more deeply caring expression of public faith? Could a vigorous, but less politically motivated, Christianity take the place of a church deeply engaged in culture wars and partisan, divisive bickering? 

I do not believe that we know the answer to these questions quite yet. There are signs that give me hope but there are signs that I find deeply troubling. This leads me to ask the question I've been asking for some years now:

"What will Christianity look like in North America when the impact the church once had upon the culture is gone and Christians must then learn how to live meaningfully in a setting where they do not get to directly determine the cultural outcomes of their society?"

How should Christians prepare for this future? 

I believe we need to train leaders who are genuine missional-ecumenists. These will be leaders who grasp the central importance of Jesus to all of life. Such missional faith is not privatized religion. It must be very public. But it is not public in the way we've known it in the past. It is not boisterous and in your face about its truth claims. What we need, especially in the face of religious pluralism, is a developed imagination produced by the Holy Spirit. This developed, Spirit-filled imagination, will guide is in knowing how to proceed in our "brave new world." Without this we will not thrive in being faithful to Christ's mission in the decades ahead of us. With it then who knows what kind of civilization might we become under God's grace? 

One thing I am sure about in asking these kinds of questions. We cannot go back. The America I knew as a child is gone. Political elections, revival campaigns, new church plants, and a myriad of other religious and social solutions, will not bring back that America. We cannot work ourselves out of this new diverse context. It is here to stay. The question is how the church will respond and what our role will be in a new American reality?