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Measuring Insider Movements? Shifting to a Qualitative Standard by Kevin Higgins

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Measuring Insider Movements? Shifting to a Qualitative Standard by Kevin Higgins Reassessing the Frontiers Measuring Insider Movements? Shifting to a Qualitative Standard by Kevin Higgins n the world of mission, the topic of movements is in vogue. Books about movements, training programs to equip people to produce movements, and organizations claiming to catalyze movements are a major growth Iindustry. We might even say we’re in the midst of a “movement-movement.” L. Waterman recently inquired into this development when he asked a very 1 appropriate question: do insider movements actually qualify as movements? His inquiry was framed by the descriptions of movements put forth by David 2 Garrison, David Watson and others, and focused on how we can know if the movement aspect of insider movements was true. This article is intended as part of the ongoing discussion of that question. Let me be clear: I am not addressing the insider aspect of such movements, but I’m asking instead just what sort of criteria we should use to evaluate the movement aspect. I begin with a quick overview of recent thinking about movements to provide some context. Then I want to narrow down the many crucial questions to the Kevin Higgins has served in the two that seem to me to be at the heart of all our measurements of movements. Muslim world in two countries of After examining those questions, I conclude with the criteria that I see used South Asia, helping to develop work in emerging movements to Jesus that in the New Testament, and apply this to my own assessment of insider move- now extend to more than a dozen ments, as movements. language groups. While serving alongside local leadership, he served as International Director of Global The Movement-Movement Teams from 2000 to 2017, and today continues to coordinate their While this appears to be quite a recent development, historically the fascina- ministries in the Asia region. He also tion with movements seems to stem from the work of Donald McGavran and oversees their involvement in Bible 3 translation, the subject of his doctoral his research in India a generation ago. McGavran was a missiologist. He had study (PhD, Fuller School of Inter- lived and worked in India, the son and grandson of parents and grandparents cultural Studies). In 2017 he became President of the William Carey who were also missionaries in India. And his concern was for how the gospel International University. Kevin and might spread throughout the great land of India. He noticed that it did spread his wife, Susan, have three grown daughters, Rachel, Sarah, and Emma. in some cases, and not in others and asked, “Why”? International Journal of Frontier Missiology 35:1 Spring 2018•21 22 Measuring Insider Movements? Shifting to a Qualitative Standard The initial impact of McGavran’s work versions of their work. Perhaps some initial survey of insider literature un- was felt more deeply in the western don’t even realize that there is a family covered no examples of such numerical church, particularly the North Ameri- tree connection between current move- criteria. He states, can church, than it seems to have been ment thinking and McGavran, much We can understand . that in an in the mission world. This impact is less the church growth movement. Insider Movement, the believers re- evidenced in what came to be known main within their prior socio-religious as the church growth movement (that While I would suggest that there are group. But I couldn’t find any numeri- word again). It seems ironic to me that major differences between current cal criteria for a “movement.”5 his thinking about movements created expressions of movement thinking and Before assessing things further, I will a movement, but not the sort he was the former church growth movement, include here the types of numerical likely to have imagined. including what I believe is much more sophisticated missiological and cultural measurements Waterman did find in For critics, there were a number of reflection, there is at least one major his exploration of other types of move- controversial elements in McGavran’s trend in common: the DNA of the ments. Waterman has summarized two thinking: his heavy reliance on social earlier church growth movement is evi- of the most widely known. He writes, science-based research, an apparent denced in the present tendency to ap- For example, David Garrison begins A emphasis on numbers, the homoge- Wind in the House of Islam with this 4 ply numerical measurement to whether neous unit principle, and his promo- something is or is not a movement. definition [of a movement]: “. at tion of the idea of focusing mission least 100 new church starts or 1,000 resources on responsive fields while baptisms that occur over a two-de- 6 holding less responsive ground with cade period.” (p. 5). minimal personnel until a responsive And, season might emerge. David Watson . ”. a minimum of The church growth movement focused one hundred new locally initiated on trying to figure out how to ap- Are there and led churches, four generations ply some of McGavran’s principles to deep, within three years.” (p. 4) In western churches. Almost all of these numerical measuring both cases, their definition enables controversial aspects just outlined them to offer a clear estimate of the number of CPMs in the world at the made their way into the church growth points for insider time of their writing (Garrison: 70 movement’s application of McGavran. movements? among Muslims; Watson: 68 total).7 In particular, his methodology of ask- ing why some churches grew and oth- The two examples cited by Waterman ers didn’t, became a key point of focus. are clear, concise, and numerical. But Later, church planting became a there is a core question buried inside priority within the church growth Numbers and Movements these statements, and the answer is not universally agreed upon among movement. This developed for a very Church growth analysts in the early practical reason: more unchurched movement proponents and trainers. In days spent a fair bit of time having to fact, the answer to the buried question people came to be “churched” as a justify for critics their use of numbers result of church planting than through has yet to be universally agreed upon in measuring the health of a church. between denominations. other methods. Today movement proponents and More recently the range of how move- researchers are asked to explain move- Questions Behind the ments are described and defined has ments in terms of numbers, or to es- Questions multiplied: church planting move- tablish the legitimacy of their research ments, disciple making movements, with certain numerical markers. Clearly one element that both these house church movements, simple definitions seek to answer is: That last point brings us full circle, back church movements, insider move- How many churches does it take to to Waterman’s questions about insider ments, less frequently, mission plant- know you have a church planting movements: given that most other ing movements, and even more rarely, movement? movement descriptions have numerical movement-planting movements. measuring points, and the ability to un- That question makes sense. These are Most of these recent examples do not equivocally determine whether there is after all, examples of church planting trace their lineage intentionally to a movement, is there something akin to movements. But this begs a question McGavran, at least not in published this for insider movements? Waterman’s about which the Christian world has International Journal of Frontier Missiology Kevin Higgins 23 been divided for centuries. Here is how I would phrase it: see the emphasis of the New Testament to be How do we know when a given “fel- qualitative in nature. This is the case when lowship” or study group is a church? I evaluating a church or a movement. This will include a number of factors, just one of which would be how many qualitative measurements as a working First, in my experience there has been people need to be in a church before assumption. What about numbers? a major issue when we have tried to as- you can count it as a church for the sess a work numerically. In the cultures purposes of answering whether there Is Counting Wrong? with which I am the most familiar, it is very difficult to ask about numbers is a church planting movement? I am not arguing that counting is always without giving very subtle messages wrong, or that it is an inappropriate In this article I will not be able to thor- that more numbers are better, and thus exercise. There is a whole book in our oughly explore this crucial question that one’s success and honor as a leader canon, after all, which has been titled about what it is that enables someone is tied to the numbers one can report. “Numbers” in English texts. While the to call this or that group of believers a This can lead to a very subtle pressure census of Israel undertaken by David church. So, for practical reasons, I will to inflate and make things sound good. in the Old Testament receives mixed reference another article by Waterman When this dynamic is added to the reviews, there is no question that the on this topic, and will use his conclu- very common element of wanting to numbers Luke provides in his account sion as a working definition: please others by reporting what will of the growing Jesus movement in A biblical church is a significant group make someone we respect happy, the Luke-Acts is an example of counting of Jesus’ followers having an identity pressure can become more than subtle.
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