A few blogs back while writing on the GCR of the SBC, I mentioned a contrast between fads and those movements with more permanency. Which raises the question how to distinguish between the two. I’ve thought over this for the past several days and hope the following suggestions might be of benefit to help us all give our lives to those things which have the mark of permanency upon them instead of wasting precious time, energy, and resources on those things which are momentary and passing.

Just to be sure you and I are on the same page, I am referring to things within the evangelical world, not to worldliness vs. godliness. What I am suggesting here is that not every idea or program or method that comes along deserves our undivided attention and wholehearted devotion. Even though they are “good,” they may not have the trait of permanency about them. They may just be another fad that sweeps us up, builds up our hope, drains us of all our resources, and then ends up feeling more like a lot of nothing. The danger is that overtime, pursuing fad after fad will eventually cause us to lose heart in giving ourselves to anything at all! Even worse, it may endanger our faith and cause us to question if God is even working at all. We become so convinced by the reasoning of the fad’s spokesmen, the largeness of the fad’s publicity, and the seeming endorsement of the fad from reported numbers, that if we try and fail, then evidently we are to blame for its lack of success.

This is why I call us to examine everything carefully, weigh it fully, and look for signs of permanency in methods, programs, visions, etc. before you give yourself to them! Here are some qualities I believe accompany the things that will last and prove eternally profitable.

1. Is the movement, idea, method, etc. biblically grounded? Is it rooted in sound interpretation of biblical texts or is it rooted in human reasoning, extensive surveying, pragmatic philosophy, or “successful tools” mentality. Now none of those things are necessarily bad if they are a means to RIGHTLY apply biblical truth. But more times than not, someone comes across an idea or method that seems to attract attention, and then a Bible verse is attached to it somehow. In this way, we are the source of our actions and are using the Bible to justify our sale of these actions to other believers. The more excellent way is to study the Bible and allow our applications to flow from the text. In this way, our methods, ideas, etc. are grounded in transcendental truths and not come-and-go tactics. This is one reason why the GCR document caught my eye. It is grounded in biblical directives. This lends permanency to any movement.
2. Have the proponents sincerely embraced the goals, methods, ideologies, etc. that they espouse? I mean not just on the surface. I mean are there any indicators that these people really “live” these things when they are not on a platform somewhere speaking about them? Or when they are not around people watching them? Is this their way of living? Their way of conducting church, evangelism, etc.? How long have they pursued this? 10 years or 6 months? The answer to that makes a huge difference. In other words, are you following people who follow fads or are you following people who invest their entire lives in biblical truth? Is this a passing phase for them or is it a way of life?
3. Finally, is this Spirit-led or just another hunch from the gut? Every “good” idea does not have to be pursued! We must learn to be more discerning in what we pursue, when we pursue, and how we lead others to follow. It may be that this “good” idea is worthwhile, but it is just not the right timing. An example of this that I have seen over and over is young men receiving a call from God for ministry and then launching right out in the pulpit with no preparation, mentoring, education, nothing, and more time than not it spells disaster! It is not that God hasn’t called them, it is that the timing is not now but later after the much needed preparation. In the same way, these programs and methods that come along are often “good” ideas in some sense of the word, but that does not mean they MUST be pursued now or maybe even at all! What does clue us in to timing and whether or not to pursue an idea is to lean upon the Spirit for guidance. Is this idea from the Spirit or from imagination? Does this come from laboring prayer and meditation or ingenuity? Were you led here or did you come here and then invite the Spirit’s blessing? Given the overall circumstances, is this the right time or would later be a better fit?