A Woman, a Well, a Postmodern Movement

Gordon struggled to listen to the criticism without letting it define her. While debriefing with Schaupp, they discovered they were testing too many ideas too quickly. The process of change became overwhelming.

The failure led them to try again with a tighter focus and a better understanding of how to lead change—or, at least, how not to.

Gordon had an epiphany while reading Jim Collins’ book Great by Choice. A particular axiom struck her: Fire bullets first, and then calibrate cannonballs. Because cannonballs were large, expensive and often failed to hit the side of a boat, bullets were first fired to test the speed of ships and the effect of the wind. Once a bullet hit the side of a boat, a cannonball could be more accurately calibrated.

In the same way that Everts focused on building momentum through witness “pockets,” Gordon encouraged leaders to focus on specific change processes. Gordon helped develop the leadership cycle of Vision-Structures-People to implement focused and balanced change.

“A vision to love people has to be incarnated and lived out in real time,” she says.

“A vision needs to have flesh. Structure is where the community gathers and lives out life together.”

In applying the five thresholds, focused change moves in the relationship between Vision-Structure-People. At first, techniques often feel awkward, stiff or even forced. Over time, however, the culture changes and yields a more powerful and mystical reality of God moments—the places and times the Spirit moves people through another threshold on the way to faith in Jesus.

God Moments and God Movements

After moving through the threshold of change, the woman at the well hoped salvation was on the way. When she spoke to Jesus, she was seeking a real Savior.

“I do know that the Messiah is coming. When he arrives, we’ll get the whole story.”

“I am he,” said Jesus. “You don’t have to wait any longer or look any further.”

Just as she crosses a threshold, the disciples returned.

Stunted by great prejudice and small appetite, they failed to see the God moment.

They were shocked. They couldn’t believe he was talking with that kind of a woman. No one said what they were all thinking, but their faces showed it.

The woman took the hint and left. In her confusion she left her water pot.

As the woman headed back to her community, Jesus patiently attempted to teach effective evangelism. When his disciples sought to hand him his lunch, we pick up the story.

He told them, “I have food to eat you know nothing about.”

The disciples were puzzled. “Who could have brought him food?”

Jesus said, “The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work he started. As you look around right now, wouldn’t you say that in about four months it will be time to harvest? Well, I’m telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what’s right in front of you. These Samaritan fields are ripe. It’s harvest time!”

In the narrative, the woman’s testimony in her community formed a bridge between a God moment and a God movement.

Back in the village she told the people, “Come see a man who knew all about the things I did, who knows me inside and out. Do you think this could be the Messiah?”

God on the Bus

In her role as regional director for InterVarsity New England, Val Gordon chose to apply years of research to test the effectiveness of the five thresholds in the specific context of a successful service project in New Orleans.

Every March since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Louisiana coast in 2005, New England InterVarsity sent teams of more than 500 students from many campuses. The project attracted many non-Christians, eager for social justice. Deep trust built in the sharing of kingdom work. Great curiosity led to questions about Jesus as a revolutionary. Momentum, numbers and impact increased.

Given all the great success, there were so few new followers of Jesus.

A year ahead of the 2012 service project, Gordon began to meet with the program directors. Together, they developed curriculum and programs designed to apply the five thresholds and facilitate the process of coming to faith. They played basketball to build relationships. They told Jesus-riddles to pique curiosity. They studied Mark 8 and repeated the question of Jesus: Who do you say I am? They invited people who loved making a difference to follow the greatest change agent of all time.

The numbers of conversions during the service project doubled from previous years.

Yet Gordon believes there is another—more surprising—story to be told.

As a man named Adam boarded the bus for the 24-hour trip from New Orleans to Rhode Island, he prayed to confess his disappointment. Alone among the other teams, the people he led witnessed no new believers. It’s so difficult to be left out of a bombardment of God moments.

During his prayer, Adam sensed an urgency and expectancy.

God could just as well show up on the bus.

Adam met with his team leaders and encouraged them to debrief with their friends about the week and he would do the same.

Nick was the first person Adam talked with. His questions were simple enough. What was your favorite part of the week? How did you experience God? As they talked, it became clear that Nick was drawn to the gospel, but still confused. Adam helped him clarify his quest.

When Adam asked Nick if he wanted to follow Jesus, he said yes.

A God moment erupted into a God movement.

After Nick returned to his seat to share his story with seeking friends, Adam texted his team leaders the good news, and asked them to pray and debrief with their friends.

He then fell into a deep sleep and awoke when his phone began to explode with texts about other new believers.

In the God movement, six of their friends came to know Christ.

In Gordon’s analysis, they could have huddled together to commiserate but knew enough to follow the leading of God in love for his people.

Savior of the World

Many of the Samaritans from that village committed themselves to him because of the woman’s witness: “He knew all about the things I did. He knows me inside and out!” They asked him to stay on, so Jesus stayed two days. A lot more people entrusted their lives to him when they heard what he had to say. They said to the woman, “We’re no longer taking this on your say-so. We’ve heard it for ourselves and know it for sure. He’s the Savior of the world.

Read more: Breaking the Huddle: How Your Community Can Grow Its Witness by Don Everts, Doug Schaupp and Val Gordon (InterVarsity Press, December 2016).

Rob Wilkins, an Outreach magazine contributing writer, is the founder and creative lead for Fuse Media in Asheville, North Carolina.

Rob Wilkins
Rob Wilkins

Rob Wilkins, an Outreach magazine contributing writer, is the co-founder and creative lead for Fuse Media in Asheville, North Carolina.

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