If you read missionary literature or some of the more inflammatory Christian magazines and websites, you will have come across the concept of “insider movements”
“that is, movements of people to faith in Jesus as Saviour and Lord, while remaining “inside” their former and surrounding faith communities, or at any rate not leaving those communities in a visible way by joining an established Christian church (or creating one in the traditional image).”
Again, depending on which literature you read, you might have strong views on these movements. You certainly don’t have to go far to find people hurling all sorts of invectives at them.
In missiological circles, the debate has raged over whether insider movements should simply be recognised (where they are even visible to “outsiders” at all), with a humble acceptance of the sovereignty of God’s Spirit to work where and how he wishes, or whether such insider movements should actually be fostered and encouraged as a matter of mission strategy, or actively discouraged as a betrayal of the gospel and a serious threat to people’s genuine salvation. And for some of us, another question arises: What gives those of us who live in the West, who live and breathe one of the most syncretized forms of Christian faith the world has seen, the right to dictate what does or does not “count” as “real” allegiance to Christ in very different cultures where God is at work? Why must we, in our habitual urge to manage and strategize, be the ones to provide the labels and taxonomies and criteria?
I just wish that I’d said it. The quotes come from Christian Mission in the Modern World by John Stott, updated by Chris Wright (emphasis mine).
25 replies on “Who Are We To Judge?”
This argument is actually unfair. We can’t silence critical voices simply because they’re imperfect. https://t.co/zYwyHiSeVo
Spot on! I think I may need to revisit that book… 🙂
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Crag Lough from Steel Rigg car park?
Give that man a coconut! Yes, I couldn’t think of an appropriate photo, so I just went for one of my favourite places.
It’s a very small step from here to asking, What gives us the right to say how “Son of God” should be translated for an insider movement? With the same answer, Who are we to judge?!
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Interesting quote. I recently read a blog post you had linked to by a blogger writing shortly after Stott’s death who said his star would quickly fade because he represented western Christianity, with the emphasis on western. Seems at odds with the quote here.
This quote is actually from Chris Wright who has updated Stott’s work. That being said, I’m not sure that I would agree with the blogger’s point of view. I’m doing a lot of research into his thought in the 1970s at the moment and he has a very international view for someone of the period.
That was me, I think. I didn’t think his star would fade, but I still consider a lot of how he handled education and training of non-Western Christians (for which he did have a very genuine concern) to be inadvertently theologically colonialist.
At a gathering I was at a few years back we decided that we needed insider movements within the West, and within our churches: people who would genuinely follow Jesus within apathetic (and sometimes hostile) contexts.
Or that ‘our way’ of doing things is even ‘working’ (what ever we mean by working’ now in the UK/west at the moment anyway.
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RT @kouya: Who Are We To Judge?: Thoughts on insider movements … https://t.co/Kq8EmxTT7t
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I rarely listen to people who uncharitably hurl invectives in the name of Christ. There’s a lot in the Bible about how we are supposed to speak, but little of it is heeded by some of those most ardent to defend their view of how Christianity ought to be lived, whether by IMs or others.
There are some forums where people gather in humility to share and discuss IMs.
I rarely listen to people who uncharitably hurl invectives in the name of Christ. There’s a lot in t… https://t.co/Az3gCYKFob