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Four Catalysts For Reviving Movements
by Steve Bussey
Every great revival and reform in
history shares a common DNA. It doesn’t begin with committees
or clever branding - it begins with consecrated hearts and
holy fire.
If we want to see The Salvation Army
(or any movement) rediscover its original power, we must
return to these four essential catalytic principles:
1. Consecrated leaders.
2. Clarified doctrine.
3. Contagious practices.
4. Catalytic structures.
Let’s explore why each of these
catalysts are essential:
1. CONSECRATED LEADERS
Revival never starts with structures;
it starts with surrendered lives. Leaders who are fully
yielded to God - heart, mind, and mission - become living
altars where the fire falls. Consecration is costly, but
without it, all strategy is hollow.
No programs or policy reform alone will
produce revival - it always begins with people fully
surrendered to God. Structures can organize a movement, but
only consecrated hearts ignite it.
A consecrated leader is more than
competent; they are consumed by holy love, willing to lay down
ambition, comfort, and reputation for the glory of God and the
salvation of souls.
Consecration might sound nice, but it
is costly. It demands:
• Full surrender of self - not partial
obedience, but absolute availability.
• Purity of motive - serving for God’s
glory, not personal advancement.
• Courage to obey - even when obedience
means swimming against institutional currents.
Such leaders become living altars where
the fire of the Holy Spirit falls. Their lives radiate
holiness and mission, creating a gravitational pull that
awakens others. Without this, all strategy is hollow - because
revival is not engineered; it is birthed through yielded
vessels.
History confirms this: Wesley, Booth,
Brengle, and countless others were not perfect, but they were
consecrated. And through them, God shook nations.
If we long for a new awakening, we must
start here: leaders on their knees, hearts ablaze, lives fully
surrendered.
2. CLARIFIED DOCTRINE
Movements drift when their message
blurs. We need a clear, compelling theology that anchors us in
Scripture and our Wesleyan-Salvationist roots: holiness of
heart and life, the urgency of salvation, and the
inseparability of evangelism and mercy. Doctrine isn’t dry -
it’s the fuel for devotion and mission.
We lose their power when our message
becomes vague. Drift begins quietly - when conviction gives
way to convenience, and the core truths that once fueled
passion are diluted by cultural trends or institutional
pragmatism.
Revival requires a return to clarity: a
theology that is biblical, compelling, and actionable.
For The Salvation Army and other
Wesleyan - rooted movements, this means:
• Abandoning popular gospels driven by
a theology that is so tailored to accommodate our ‘modern
sensibilities’ that they become syncretic contradictions that
cut the cords with the historic faith and implode global
unity.
• Returning to an emphasis on holiness
of heart and life - not as an abstract ideal, but as a lived
reality through the Spirit’s sanctifying power.
• Embracing the urgency of salvation -
a burning conviction that eternity matters and that Christ’s
redeeming grace is for all.
• The inseparability of evangelism and
mercy - saving souls and serving suffering humanity as one
gospel witness.
When truth is clear, worship deepens,
courage rises, and mission accelerates. Without clarity, even
the most innovative strategies collapse under the weight of
ambiguity.
History proves this and can be
recovered in seminal documents that provide the breadcrumbs to
find our way home:
Rediscovering the authoritative Word of
God, reading Wesley, the Booths and other great holiness and
Salvationist writings, seriously studying our Articles of War,
digging deep into our classic Wesleyan-rooted Handbook of
Doctrine (I recommend pre-1969), examining historic Orders and
Regulations to discover strategic practices and disciplines -
these critical tools didn’t just inform the minds of early
Salvationists; they ignited a worldwide holiness movement!
If we long for revival, we must recover
a theology that is unashamedly biblical, radically holy, and
relentlessly missional.
3. CONTAGIOUS PRACTICES
Revival doesn’t spread through mere
theory - it spreads through habits that embody the gospel. Any
exploration of the past without a vision for the future is a
sad form of nostalgic (and archaic) navel gazing! Hindsight
from the past must provide insight into our present state to
cultivate foresight for the future!
These practices are not optional
extras; they are the rhythms that make holiness visible and
mission tangible. Our history shows us what works when the
Spirit moves:
3A. KNEE DRILLS: Prayer That Shakes
Heaven
Prayer is the engine of revival. Not
perfunctory prayers, but agonizing intercession that storms
the mercy seat and refuses to let go until heaven answers.
These gatherings are not filler - they are fire. When God’s
people pray with desperation and faith, movements awaken. If
we cannot make time for prevailing, toiling prayer we cannot
expect revival power from on high.
3B. COMPANY MEETINGS: Bands and Classes
That Transform
Wesleyan-style bands and classes were
the backbone of early Methodism - and they remain vital. These
are not casual small groups; they are covenant communities
where believers confess, learn, and obey. Scripture is studied
not for information but for transformation. Leaders ask hard
questions, and members take concrete steps toward holiness and
mission.
In the early Army, these company
meetings (bands) and soldier’s meetings (classes) were
mobilized through brigades, boot camps that moved recruits
from the classroom to soldiers and officers united in action
in the mission field.
Imagine what would happen were we to
once again operate with increased clarity, intentionality,
accountability, and speed? We would storm the forts of
darkness - pulling down the devil’s kingdom wherever he holds
dominion and raise the glorious standard of the blood of Jesus
and the fire of the Holy Spirit in total victory in this
generation!
3C. OPEN AIR: Bold Public Witness
Revival is never ashamed of the gospel.
Open-air meetings - whether on a street corner, in a park, or
online - declare Jesus unapologetically. This is not about
spectacle; it’s about presence.
When believers step into public spaces
with courage and clarity, the gospel breaks out of the
building and into the world. We cannot be ashamed of the
gospel - it is the power of God for salvation. The world needs
it, and this alone will set it right!
3D. LEAGUES OF MERCY: Love in Action
Acts of mercy are not charity projects
- they are apologetic acts that validate the gospel. When we
roll up our sleeves to serve the poor, visit the lonely, and
fight injustice, we demonstrate that salvation is not
theoretical - it is a practical pathway of hope for the
whosoever. These works must be Spirit-driven, not functionally
atheistic, so that every act whispers: “Jesus loves you, and
His kingdom is near.”
Contagious practices create a culture
of holiness and mission. Such practices make holiness visible
and mission tangible.
They turn doctrine into devotion, and
devotion into action. They are simple, reproducible, and
Spirit-filled - and when multiplied, they become the
scaffolding for revival.
4. CATALYTIC STRUCTURES
Fire needs a fireplace. Passion without
structure burns out; structure without passion freezes over.
Revival thrives when Spirit-led frameworks channel energy
without quenching it. These structures must be simple,
scalable, and sanctified - designed to accelerate obedience,
not bureaucracy.
What is needed is not institutional
choke points; but rather missional scaffolding that is
flexible enough to adapt, strong enough to sustain growth, but
true to the never - changing essentials that define our
identity, purpose, doctrine, spirit, and discipline.
Headquarters exists not to control but
to serve the frontlines. Its role is to resource, replicate,
and remove barriers. When catalytic structures are in place,
the Army moves from power-grabbing self-service to sanctified
symmetry - every level aligned for one purpose: the glory of
God and the salvation of the world.
Why does this matter? Why is it
necessary? Without catalytic structures, revival fizzles into
chaos or calcifies into bureaucracy. With them, consecrated
leaders, clarified doctrine, and contagious practices can
scale into a Spirit-driven movement that transforms nations.
But this is not just true at
headquarters, but in every frontline location. Why must these
principles be applied everywhere?
Revival cannot be sustained if it is
confined to the top of an organization. Headquarters may set
tone and provide resources, but the frontline is where the
mission lives and breathes. If catalytic structures - those
simple, Spirit-led frameworks that multiply disciples and
mobilize mission - exist only at HQ, the movement becomes
top-heavy and fragile.
4A. Revival Must Be Localized:
Corps, outposts, and community
ministries are the places where souls are saved and lives
transformed. Without structures that enable prayer,
discipleship, witness, and mercy at this level, revival
stalls.
4B. The Scalability of Revival Depends
on Replication:
A single center cannot carry a global
movement. Structures must be reproducible so every unit can
implement them with minimal resources.
4C. A Culture of Revival is Shaped from
the Ground Up:
When frontline units embody holiness
and a passion for revival, the entire movement shifts from
maintenance to mobilization.
Final thoughts:
Did you know that the first name of The
Salvation Army (before we were called the Christian Mission)
was that we were the “Revival Society?” Maybe it’s time to
rediscover the seed idea!
History leaves no doubt: when leaders
are consecrated, doctrine is clarified, practices are
contagious, and structures are catalytic, movements awaken.
This is how God has worked before - and how He will work
again. But this is not automatic. It demands courage,
sacrifice, and holy resolve.
We stand at a crossroads. Will we
settle for maintenance, or will we contend for awakening? Will
we cling to comfort, or will we embrace consecration? Revival
will not come through clever programs or polished branding. It
will come through surrendered leaders, clear truth, embodied
practices, and Spirit-led frameworks - in every corps, every
division, every headquarters.
Start where you are.
• Consecrate yourself afresh - be the
altar where the fire falls.
• Clarify the message - teach and live
the gospel of holiness and mission.
• Practice the gospel - pray, disciple,
witness, and serve until it becomes contagious.
• Build catalytic structures - simple
systems that multiply obedience and mobilize mission.
These are not optional extras; they are
the scaffolding for revival. When multiplied, they create a
culture where holiness is visible, mission is tangible, and
the Spirit moves freely.
The time is now. The call is clear.
Will you rise to it?
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