It’s a Movement. It’s a Reformation. It’s #JESUSFIRST.

What is #JESUSFIRST. ?

#JESUSFIRST. is a term that I have created in my Desire for A new Christian Church Reformation. Where did I get this idea? Why do I wish for a new Christian Reformation?

Yesterday, my author friend Sheila Wray Gregoire posted an article titled, “Are We Headed for a New Reformation.” You can click that title to read the article.

What was most interesting to me as I read the article is, how I felt my inner Spirit yearn and Desire for a New Reformation.

As you read Gregoire’s article, one must keep in mind that her focus is Evangelicalism, yet her audience is worldwide, the USA being her primary market. Knowing Gregoire for the past 10 years, in simple terms, I am most positive Her Desire is for Christian Unity and Equality for ALL, across the globe.

Gregoire believes there is or has been a fault line developing in Evangelicalism. She believes a major turning point involves “our attitudes towards power and how we think of justice.” She then writes a graceful 5-bullet point list of deep questions that challenges ALL believers to move beyond self-centered or exclusionary views of faith by asking these questions:

Is true faith about love?
Is true faith about empathy?
Is true faith about seeing God’s image in everyone?

Or

Are we focused on preserving identity, beliefs or status?

Gregoire paints the picture of this fissure from her evidenced based biblically backed work, using mainstream social media evidence in her article. It is posed as us vrs them.

The Good

“The notion that it’s wrong to critique a fellow Christian has largely fallen by the wayside on social media. People know a lot of harm has been done. People know many pastors are predators, and that our attitude towards women and power has enabled that.”

The Bad that might just be coming from the Good in some ways.

“What happens when people who are supposed to be in your group start saying that your group is wrong? You work doubly hard to silence them, because they’re a threat to your way of life. And so you start defending doctrines, like male headship and authority, that you never defended before.” 

Primary Thesis

“Right now one side is crying out for living out the way of Jesus towards health and wholeness and justice, and the other side is saying that the way we serve Jesus is by preserving power for the “right” people.”

Closing Article Statement Summary

Gregoire expresses her hope for Unity and Equality for ALL who love Jesus and seek the truth with their heart.

After I read Gregoire’s fascinating article of where and why she thinks we are Heading for a New Reformation, I started doing some research on this topic. I started doing some of my own thinking on this topic because it tugged at my heart.

Gregoire is Canadian. I am from the United States. She is very much aware of what happens here in the States, but when you live here you certainly can have a different perspective.

Gregoire uses multiple survey data sets some of which have been per-reviewed along with social media evidence she has compounded. I for one agree with Gregoire’s Analysis and her Solution that includes JESUS, LOVE AND UNITY AND EQAULITY FOR ALL.

I personally am seeing the tides change here in the US not from social media per se, but an insider’s view of personal interactions with fellow Americans. While there is still a heavy presence of power dynamics that I view, I see Political party members changing their positions. People that I know are seeing the harmful things that are happening. People who I know stand with the power dynamic are complaining about what is happening to them.

When we use power dynamic thinking it bears bad fruit. This is the story we see over and over again in the bible. However, it repeats itself over and over again, because power dynamics serves SOME and not ALL. The SOME relish in their power. The power hungry followers who want power see that, gravitate and support this thinking in hopes they too will gain power. However, POWER hungry people tend to hold the power for a minute as we see the dynamics with the Kings in the Old Testament. That is, until God intervenes. People who stand with the power dynamic will also eventually be harmed as well. When they see this, when the harm affects them too, then they will speak up. And they have been. I have heard it. Then they change. That is what I am starting to see here in the USA.

Gregoire references the toxic power messages that are creeping in from secular society that has entered our politics and has crept into our churches. This has been happening across America. It has happening in silence. Until…

WE CALL IT OUT.

I concur with Gregoire. Gregoire’s work gives us a label with Solution on this developing quagmire.

The label is Power centered thinking over Jesus centered thinking. The Solution?

REFORMATION.

#JESUSFIRST.