Interesting thoughts read back in 2010…
“It is natural for new churches and ministries to try very hard to stay informal, non-codified, and non-centralized. But part of what makes a movement dynamic is a unified vision, and that always requires some codification and control. As time goes on, to maintain the main engine of movement-dynamics – a unified vision – a ministry must adopt some of the aspects of institutions.”
(We have since learned this isn’t true.)
“David Hurst, a Harvard scholar, summed up how movements become institutions this way—vision becomes strategy, roles become tasks, teams become structure, networks become organizations, recognition becomes compensation.”
“…A movement that does not also resist the inevitable tendency toward complete institutionalization will lose its vitality and effectiveness as well. The job of the movement leader is to steer the ship safely between these two opposite perils.”
Read the full… ARTICLE: Ministry Movements – Tim Keller
And THEN, enjoy this ARTICLE: The Fastest Growing Church
Following and Trusting 