Bringing modern church movements together.... Part 2

Note: Please read Part 1 first.

Also, please feel free to comment on my representation of a number of theories if I have in any way misrepresented what these movements promote.

So what are the main ideas being presented by modern church movements?
In order to keep this discussion simple and and focused I am going to summarize two of the messages that I am hearing and grappling with.

Shane Claiborne and gang:
If you haven't read Irresistible Revolution please put this book on your reading list today.  A couple of the main ideas presented by Shane are the following:
--Being the hands and feet of Jesus in real world problems (defending the homeless in our cities, standing up against slavery in undeveloped nations, etc...)
--Living as simply as possible (living on day to day resources, promotion of voluntary poverty)
--Community based living (emphasis on freely sharing our possessions)
--Strong proponents of world peace
--Advocates for energy conservation and other aspects of the "Green" movement
--Little energy put into patriotism and nationalism and protection of personal rights
--As a movement I feel that they put a lot of energy into solving the social problems of our times but put could probably put more emphasis on making sure they and they people they minister with have the correct theology.  Most direct examples for how to live are based on the life of Jesus.  Interesting note: Shaine Claiborne grew up, I believe, in a fundamental evangelical home but would at first glance be more closely associated with someone from the hippie movement today although I am not trying to say that Shane is a hippie.

Fundamental evangelical movement:
I feel this movement is summarized well by the Harris family (Gregg, Josh, Brett, and Alex).  If you haven't read their books please add these to your reading list as well.  Next up for me is Dug Down Deep by Josh.  Some of the main ideas of this movement are are as follows:
--Becoming leaders in our country in the different spheres of influence (family, church, government, and business)
--Following Biblical principles of wisdom and character and managing resources wisely
--Doing everything with excellence for the glory of God
--Little energy put into the "Green" movement
--Strong advocates for American patriotism and national defense as well as protection of personal rights
--Wisdom and the pursuit of wisdom being one of man's highest callings
--Emphasis on living life according to a particular pattern.  "If you follow the correct curriculum for your life, you will succeed."
--As a movement I feel this group puts a large amount of emphasis on closely following the directives of the Bible, solving the problems of the world through leadership in the major spheres of influence, and living correctly so one can receive God's blessings.  Most direct examples for how to live are based on stories and advice from the book of Proverbs.  Interesting note: Gregg was a hippie, "Jesus Freak" during his youth but has since converted to a more fundamental evangelical Christian position.


How do these ideas fit together?  
Let me insert one more concept that I've been thinking a lot about over the past week and was also discussed during my holiday (see Part 1 of this blog).  Last fall I attended W.I.L.D. (Wilderness Institute for Leadership Development) and part of their curriculum is an analysis of four ways that people respond when trying to undertake a new task or solve a problem.  If I can, let me summarize here my rendition of the concepts taught at WILD.  In the chart below people who are type 1 typically are visionary and are looking for new ideas for the future.  People who are type 2 are most concerned with gathering information that has already been validated.  People who are type 3 are most interested in finding immediate real world solutions, and people who are type 4 are most concerned with immediate solutions but their focus is often on improving the method more than the actual task.

In bringing together the ideas that I'm hearing from men like the Harris family and the ideas from Shane Claiborne, I feel that what we really may be seeing is a Type 3 and 4 movement (Shane) (see chart above) versus a Type 1 and 2 movement (the Harris's).

In our churches and Christian circles we often have the tendency to throw out one movement in order to keep the ideas of another movement when sometimes these two movements may just be presenting two aspects of the same thing.  I don't mean to be the next advocate for the ecumenical church movement, but I do think that far too often in our churches we spend too much of our time finding where we are different from another person, organization, or group, rather than realizing that maybe God laid slightly different burdens on different people's hearts because he has a slightly different message that he wants to each person to share.

Caution!!  However, I do not believe that any of what God's lays on one man's heart will contradict what he lays on another man's heart.  When there are differences between individuals and movements I believe these differences can often be attributed to our poor human representation of the message God has given us.  We should constantly try to represent Christ more clearly but at the same time I feel we need to be careful not to unnecessarily shoot down other people's ideas and passions when, if we look closely enough, it may be a different aspect of the same greater issue that we are passionate about.  I really wonder if when we get to heaven we will wish we had made a bigger deal out of small issues or if we will wish that we had just been more concerned about joining forces to allow as many people as possible to hear and feel the gospel. 

My facetious proposal: What we need is a conference where the Harris family, Shane Claiborne, Mark Driscoll, and Francis Chan would all share on the issues of where their passions lie.  Maybe we should get an Anabaptist voice in on the main topics: enter Val Yoder, Tod Neuschwander....  And oh we need some music:  I wonder if Tenth Avenue North could sing along with Garments of Praise.  Maybe add some Lecrae for flavor (I digress).