What is the Renew.org Network?
What is RENEW.org Network, and why does it exist? We’ll answer those questions. But first, a story. The 19th-century Restoration Movement was an attempt by Christians such as the father-son duo Thomas and Alexander Campbell to leave behind denominational identities and simply be Christians who unify around biblical teachings.It would have been easier for the talented Thomas Campbell to settle into a successful lifelong ministry in his Presbyterian denomination in Ireland.
Yet the divisions within the Irish Presbyterian Church disturbed him. First, there was the division between “seceders” and “non-seceders” over whether a church could select its own minister (seceders believed they should be able to). Then there was the division between “Burghers” and “anti-Burghers” over the oath that the magistrate (the burgess) of a particular city had to take: Was the oath merely a profession of Protestantism in general (Burghers) or did it include unbiblical, establishment views (anti-Burghers). Then came the Old-Light and New-Light controversy over how tightly the church should hold to its governing principles.
So, to be precise, Thomas Campbell could have settled into a successful lifelong ministry in an Old-Light Anti-Burgher Seceder Presbyterian church. After all, he tended conservative and felt that churches should choose their own minister without control by the magistrate.
These were not unimportant questions, but Campbell grew troubled by the disunity they caused in the church.
When he immigrated to the United States and saw these same divisions in American churches—divisions based in the politics of a faraway island—he realized something had to change. Over the next few years, Thomas and his son Alexander led a movement of “Christians only” whose loyalty would be based in Bible truth, not denominational or political divides. No one individual or group of individuals were in charge; the central core drawing people together was a commitment to unify around biblical beliefs.
Our Own Cultural Chaos
“Old Light Anti-Burgher Seceder Presbyterian” might sound bizarre to us. Yet it is no less bizarre than the factions today’s American church finds itself being ripped into based on the faraway politics of federal politicians and national media. These titans of statecraft and news will never know our names or love our congregations. Yet many of us value their opinions enough to allow them to carve beloved congregations into bleeding slices.
(We need only think back to the battles between the “Never-Trump Pro-Mask Social Distancers” and the “Pro-Trump Anti-Mask Fox News Renouncers.” As for the latter, a friend of our living in a rural midwestern town humorously told me (Daniel) that the people in his town can be divided into those who watch Fox News and those who think Fox News is too liberal.)
What should we unite around?
When it comes to politics and policies, it’s not as though these are unimportant questions. Some are actually questions of great importance. But mark this well: No politician or pundit ever deserves the power to be the dividing line through a church of Jesus Christ.
“This movement was built on the concept of “unity in truth,” but it goes well beyond this. The early leaders of the movement sought more than simply unity or truth. Their desire was to reach the world for Christ.”
Into this cultural chaos, RENEW.org Network has stepped in order to help Christians unify around solid theology in order to fuel Jesus-style disciple making. Note how historian Rick Cherok describes the Restoration Movement in “Lessons from Restoration Movement History,”
“This movement was built on the concept of “unity in truth,” but it goes well beyond this. The early leaders of the movement sought more than simply unity or truth. Their desire was to reach the world for Christ.”
What better principles could there be to unify around? What more important antidote to the cultural chaos than to unite on biblical truth in order to make disciples of Jesus? What more important theology could we possibly champion than a theology which undergirds and fuels Jesus-style disciple making?
So, at RENEW.org Network, we unify around the teachings of Jesus in order to make disciples. We want to do our part so that every person on planet earth can embrace the Gospel of Jesus to receive salvation and then grow to become more and more like Jesus (our guiding lights are John 3:16; Acts 2:28 and Galatians 2:20). So we try to make Jesus’ final commands (Matthew 28:18–20; Acts 1:6-8; John 20:3)) our first priority. Yes, there will be times when intelligent, good-hearted Christians disagree with us at various points of doctrine, but we will always seek to major in the majors, as we encourage each other toward faithfulness to King Jesus.
So, what is RENEW.org Network?
At core, we are a network of church leaders, churches, and disciples of Jesus. Yes, we publish daily digital content and publish books and host events. But at the core, we are a network of Christians encouraging each other to faithful and effective disciple making. The majority of the network belongs to a Restoration Movement church, but people outside the RM movement have joined RENEW.org because they found our mission and theology inviting, as we unify around the teachings of Jesus in order to fuel disciple making.
With Jesus-style disciple making as the “road” we want to point people to, there are a couple “ditches” on either side of that road Christians sometimes veer off into. On the one side is an ineffective traditionalism which doesn’t give much thought to cultural effectiveness. On the other side is an unfaithful progressivism which doesn’t give much thought to biblical faithfulness. If you care about fueling disciple making that is both culturally effective and biblically faithful, then we invite you to consider making RENEW.org your network.
What does RENEW.org Network do?
So, what does RENEW.org do? How does the network accomplish this mission of fueling effective and faithful disciple making? There are six main channels:
1. Daily Digital Discipleship
As disciples who make disciples, we at RENEW.org publish daily posts, videos, eBooks, and podcasts. We send out weekly newsletters promoting our beliefs and missions to tens of thousands of disciples of Jesus, many of whom are church leaders.
2. Theology and Discipleship Books
We create and publish books for church leaders, churches, and everyday disciples. Our books, as with everything we seek to create, focus on good theology through culturally relevant engagement. We seek to educate church leaders, serious laypeople, and parents so they can be disciples who make disciples.
3. Learning Communities for Senior Ministers/Pastors
We have close to 300 senior ministers/pastors who cluster together in our many learning communities for support and training opportunities once every two months (in-person or online). The mutual support and engagement in our shared mission are just as important as the teachings and trainings.
4. National and Regional Gatherings
We host a national Gathering each year for connections, support, teaching, inspiration, and encouragement. Additionally, we recently launched regional gatherings, which are led by church leaders from local RENEW.org Network churches in strategic regional areas.
5. Mentoring for Church Leaders/Elders
Through RENEW.org Network partnerships, connections and strategic relationships, we offer mentoring/coaching for church leaders and/or elders in various models and strategies that increase the effectiveness of the local church.
6. Renew Movement Church Planting
Biblical disciple making means growth and multiplication, so network members banded together to catalyze Renew Movement Church Planting. Our vision is churches collaboratively working together planting churches – actually, our vision is disciple who make disciples who plant churches that make more disciples and plant more churches. Each church will be launched with the same DNA and will be encouraged to freely associate with and help build the network.
An Appeal
Regardless of whether you connect with RENEW.org Network through our events, content, etc., we want to encourage you to respond to cultural chaos and denominational disunity in your context by bringing the focus back to Bible-based theology to fuel Jesus-style disciple making. The more we strive to be disciples of Jesus who make disciples of Jesus, the more we play a part in Jesus’ prayer for us “ they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me” (John 17:22b–23a). Check us out and learn more at renew.org.
