H.R. Niebuhr notes, "there are essential differences between and institution and a movement: The one is conservative, the other progressive; the one is more or less passive yielding to influences from the outside, the other is active in influencing rather than being influenced; the one looks to the past, he other to the future. In addition the one is anxious, the other is prepared to take risks; the one guards boundaries, the other crosses them."
As I came across this quote I could not help but think of the Apostolic movement my own tribe (United Methodism) at one time exhibited. When did we stop being a movement and start being an institution? It is amazing how much it effort it takes to recover the missional focus that has been taken captive by the institutional monster. One can only ask, is it even possible? With God all things are possible!!
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