There’s something missing in the leadership atmosphere of denominational life these days. Name your faith tribe—it’s true in every corner of North America. That “something” is an overwhelmingly clear, unquestionably compelling, big idea of why the “collective” exists. It’s the esprit de corps of “what makes us unique.” • In Steven Addison’s book Movements That Change the World, he identified it: “Each new movement has a unique contribution to make to the kingdom—its ‘founding charism’ or gift of grace.”

The beauty of the founding charism is often best seen at a movement’s start—when it’s in the air and you can’t help but breathe it in.

If you could have asked one of Jesus’ 72 disciples, “What are you doing?” how clear do you think the answer would have been? If you could have talked to someone who experienced the early 1900s revival at Azuza Street, how magnetic would you have found the response to be?

Now it’s your turn. Why do you belong to the EFCA? What is the EFCA to you in 10 words or less? Go ahead—grab a dinner napkin and write something down.

As you think about your response, allow me to share a few guidelines to shape your “napkin sketch” answers.

Guideline one: Don’t answer with glittering generalities. If you tell me that the EFCA exists to glorify God and make disciples, that’s great. But so does every other denomination, association and church-planting network. Go deeper and get more specific. Don’t be a restaurant whose only vision is to “serve food.”

Guideline two: Don’t let personal passion be your only criteria. The thing you write down—as passionate as you may feel about it—may or may not be what makes the EFCA unique. The “uniqueness of us” comes before and informs the “passion of me.”

Now, why are these questions so critical?

The EFCA’s founding charism is like a new car or a new pair of shoes. Through rugged use and unintentional neglect, the vivid awareness of our reason for being fades away. Eventually, leaders engage in things like strategic-planning processes that add layers of objectives and goals to the equation. Then we add more denominational structure and programs. Then this, then that.

As the organization matures, complexity eclipses clarity. Before long, the half-buried treasure of a movement’s identity is completely lost beneath the surface of its conscious focus and energy.

“The safe­guarding of the movement’s identity and primal force is key to the movement’s ongoing existence.”

The safeguarding of the movement’s identity and primal force is key to the movement’s ongoing existence. Without it, activity is amoeba-like. A movement without a crystal-clear DNA would be better called a mush-ment.

Ultimately, the decision to move with clarity or to mush around “doing denominational stuff” comes down to a choice: Do we live, work and play with the large calling of God guiding our way? Do we actually believe the kingdom is better with an organized faith expression called the EFCA?

These are bold questions. And our day demands a courageous response. It’s courageous to move ahead with bold vision. It’s likewise courageous to acknowledge if the EFCA has fulfilled its purpose in its time. Should we call it a day and disband?

I don’t think so, but that’s easy for me to say as an outsider. I hold my position not from studied discipline but from a consulting companionship. I have spent time with your leaders, and I have heard your stories. Perhaps most importantly, I have heard the stories of many other faith tribes, and I can say that what the EFCA has to offer is unique, beautiful and powerful.

About 18 months ago I spent a day with EFCA leaders. Afterward, I reclined on my hotel bed to catch a 30-minute rest before a late dinner. But I couldn’t rest. I began to literally see words in my mind. EFCA words.

I grabbed a hotel notepad and scratched out: connected nonconformists. Then I added:

• Spirit dependence with a bias for prayer
• humble orthodoxy with a prophetic tone
• movement mindset that finds frontiers
• radical flexibility centered in the gospel
• biblical anchoring that releases laymen
• ultimate freedom that chooses interdependence

I realized I viewed the movement as a bunch of connected noncomformists with this six-part “glue” holding them together. The next day, these points generated continued dialogue and enthusiasm among the leaders. Something about my napkin thoughts began to unlock stories not often repeated.

If I dug up these gem-stories to highlight these points, I would rob you of the joy of rediscovery. That’s your work to do. But even more, that’s your opportunity.

The journey of clarity is never easy, but it’s always rewarding. Why does the world need the EFCA? Don’t move ahead until you can answer this question for yourself, and for those you lead.

Will Mancini is founder of Auxano, a consulting ministry that focuses on vision clarity. He is also author of Church Unique and Building Leaders.