Transformation. It’s the core of true discipleship and all missional endeavors. And transformation leads to movements. Is there a powerful connection between all of these?
If you want to see movement, from one thing to another, from unbelief to belief, from static to active, from traditional to missional, from consumerism to active participation… here are five steps that all movements follow. And we can’t afford to miss a single step!
[Read on to get free resources]
Think of a situation you are currently in where you are trying to introduce change or see movement happen. Now look at these five steps and see how they naturally flow from one to the other and create change.
➤ Expose: People and organizations first need to be exposed to new ideas, practices and structures. This may seem obvious at first, but often we try and lead people or organizations to adopt new beliefs or practices before they have been exposed to new ideas or thinking long enough to choose a new possibility.
➤ Embrace: Some will reject these new ideas, but many will embrace and accept them. This is where the head knowledge and acceptance moves to the heart. This is key to all movements. Merely agreeing that something is good or true is not enough. It needs to be embraced.[clickToTweet tweet=”Merely agreeing that something is good or true is not enough. It needs to be embraced and engaged.” quote=”Merely agreeing that something is good or true is not enough. It needs to be embraced and engaged.”]
➤ Engage: Some percentage of those whom embrace new ideas begin to engage and practice them. But not everyone. Unfortunately, not all who embrace a new idea or truth acts upon it. We all live with this belief-to-action distortion. We agree with something, but do little with the truth. Focus on those that actually engage with you, those that step out. These will be the “yeast in the dough” within your community or organization.
➤ Equip: Once new practices are engaged in, a need and desire for more equipping arises. “I love this, but I don’t know what I’m doing…help!” Like anything we desire to grow in, at first we don’t really know what we’re doing. We need to be equipped and then practice our new skills “in the field”. The Engage to Equip move is really a loop that goes round and round as a person matures. And then…
➤ Extend: When fully equipped, true leaders expand out to expose and equip others. And the cycle begins again. This is the first sign that movement is occurring. Those that were first exposed, then engaged, have become equipped to the point of exposing and now equipping others. Boom!
Give It A Spin
Try this: think through these 5 Es as it pertains to leading a person to faith and becoming a mature disciple. Or think through how these steps unfold if you are trying to change a church or community from more traditional practices or beliefs to more missional and outward focused priorities. See how this works?
I’ve created a poster of the 5 Es you can download for free and share with others….and…
My friend and author, Matt Smay, wrote a cool book unpacking this even deeper, called Transcend.
Click here and I’ll hook you up with a free copy today and the 5 Es poster.
If we skip any of the five steps we will likely never get to movement and the transformation that we seek.
Whatever you’re working, praying and sweating over these days when it comes to change and movement, the next best time to stop and assess these 5 Es is now.
Let me ask you a favor: Leave me your thoughts or questions on this below. Also, share this with another friend or colleague and get their feedback.
