A Polite Rebellion Against Mass Thought

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THE PROBLEM WITH MOVEMENTS

Posted September 4th, 2008


I talk to and meet a lot of people who are wanting to start movements. It seems to be the buzz word of the day. In fact, I hope to start a few myself.

 

The problem is you can’t create or start movements. Movements just happen.

 

I was in a meeting last week and I compared it to creating a wave in a wave pool vs. the ocean.

 

An ocean wave you simply get on and ride. You get your surfboard, you wake up early in the morning and ride. You have a responsibility to show up and do your part but you don’t create the wave.

 

However, a wave in a wave pool requires a bunch of work. You have to build a big wave creating machine, have engineers draw up plans, have lawyers discuss liability, have a business plan so you don’t go bankrupt, and countless other items to make the wave (or movement) happen. Btw, you still have to bring your surfboard.

 

So let us be clear about something. You DON’T create or start movements. That’s a dream, not a strategy. Movements just happen like ocean waves. And sometimes they are 3 footers and other times they are tidal waves. Both are valuable and important.

 

As people who want to make the world a better place, our only comittment is to get on our surfboards, be in the ocean, and enjoy the ride.

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7 Responses to “THE PROBLEM WITH MOVEMENTS”



Good post, good thoughts.

I’ve got a few dreams/movements of my own and can’t wait to ride them!

Posted by Kevin Davis on September 5th, 2008 at 4:59 am


Mike…great post. Enjoyed it! I think it might be the longest on the Ethur blog for quite some time! :)

Posted by Kyle Stickens on September 25th, 2008 at 8:51 pm


Great post. i’ve been running into a few of those movement-starters myself. I guess I’m in that boat, too, because I want to be a person of influence. i’ve got more projects than I can handle, hoping one of them will take off, but if they don’t, I still think I’ve done what I was put on this earth to do… start things. I’m okay with that. Moreover, I think these alleged instigators of movements need to relax and not worry so much about “the movement” and worry about riding the wave, whatever that looks like for them.

Posted by Jeff Goins on October 7th, 2008 at 3:12 pm


Mike,
A polite rebellion against expert opinion: Do you say this as someone who’s started a movement which succeeded, or as someone who’s tried to start a movement that’s failed? Not that you’re wrong either way, but I think it makes a difference.
Joe
PS I want to start a movement and I’ve failed several times.

Posted by Joe Bunting on October 7th, 2008 at 5:36 pm


mike -

well said. the bottom line is that movement is up to God, not us. our job is to prepare people to see and engage in the move of God already happening.

great and needed reminder. thanks for putting it out there!

Posted by jay hardwick on October 16th, 2008 at 7:05 am


What about finding a leader (someone like Orrin Woodward, for example) who has successfully started a movement that has the makings of being a very big, very positive movement… and then adding your skills, energy, resources, attention and courage into this large movement? If all the people wanting to start movements would just put all their energy into one, big movement, it would get somewhere.

Posted by Jess on October 26th, 2008 at 2:26 pm


Hey mike, great post
I am a part of a movement… the Vineyard. I feel that sometimes the core idea behind the word movement when it was first used by the vineyard had a great intention behind it, the people wanted to move away from the religious confides of the word denomination. But I think the heart has changed where the religion of marketing and self promotion has taken the idea of movement and exploited it to their benefit. When the vineyard first used the word movement it was to describe the very nature of how God was moving at the time… and like most groupings of people we do not update our vocabulary to describe the current acts of events. I do agree with how you see the word movement being used, and even though I am a part of a movement the most I ever use the word is when I need to go to the bathroom.

Posted by bobby on October 28th, 2008 at 8:20 am


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