Monday, December 16, 2013

CPM/DMM: The Other 99 Sheep

Church Planting Movements: Community Development vs. Access

The Other 99 Sheep


Cross cultural (cc) acclimatizing for the glory bearer (missionary) can sometimes reveal the most poignant of opportunities for deeper trust in the Father. Without the foremost hunger in our own hearts for daily transformation we simply and easily can fall pray to “doing ministry” the way they taught us in our home cultures.
                  
A foreign laborer on our island had formed a partnership with a local ministry leader. From the years of investment the foreigner had made into this leader’s life he assumed that loyalties to God’s ways were at equal passions for both. 
                  
A supporting fellowship from another country desired to be further connected to the Lord’s purposes among the Muslim Unreached People Group in this same cc context. They labored with the on-site missionaries in prayer, resources, and supportive ways. However, in their enthusiasm to be more directly connected, though at a distance, they began engaging with the national partners without coordinating with partnering missionaries on site. Long term workers, in most cases, have much insight which can be shared in what potentially may or may not be the most effective ministry approaches in any given people group. Indigenous partners have this same great potential. However, we are discussing CPM efforts among heretofore Unengaged/and or Unreached People Groups. In other words, this usually means that there are no near culture or indigenous laborers available in these groups with whom to consult.
                 
We have the Great Sheep Debacle to remind us of the desperate need any one of us has, in humility, to continue to be learners in any and every cc context ministry opportunity.
                  
Roughly $12,000 was invested by this foreign supporting Fellowship in what they thought would be the purchase of 99+ head of sheep to be raised as a project to help access a Muslim community. The vision which the national leader cast to them was the purchase of these sheep would afford him to place another national worker into that Muslim area as a consultant for the caretakers of the sheep and thus have a platform for sharing the gospel. That was the vision pitched. This same national leader had already been caught in financial embezzlement and deception as leader of a local branch of a national evangelical Bible School. The missionaries knew this information but were not consulted in the process of the foreign Fellowship’s intent.
                  
In Church Planting Movements approach, this would have been considered a huge financial investment to one area and would have been questioned as to having been an effective “access” project or not. The foreign supporting church was more interested in “just doing it” without considering or weighing the potential effectiveness or not in opening up households in that community. However, at this time in the process of ministry among this UPG, ministry tended toward more traditional approaches. At this point in time, roughly 20 years ago, we had already been hungering for what the Church Planting Movements (CPM) approach helped to frame for those of us on the mission field among UPGs.
                  
The difference between CPM approach to a community versus a Community Development CD approach is simply put:

Access Ministry versus Community Development CD
Goal CD:  improve the quality of life of a community seeking the opportunity to share Christ
Goal of CPM: Access to a given community is practiced in accordance with Luke 9, 10 and Matthew 10 approach. The desire: rapidly plant house churches of obedience based disciples of Jesus which plant house churches. Transformed obedience based oikos (households) of disciples begin to transform their communities. In other words, in obedience to Christ, in a process as these oikos come to know and grow in Christlikeness, they will begin to obey His heart. In response to God’s heart and the leading of the Holy Spirit they will offer indigenously driven solutions to the development issues in their communities and beyond for the advancement of the glory of God, while focused upon disciplemaking movement.
                      CPM marries nicely with CD. Households transformed in obedience based discipleship begin to transform their communities
                      CPM is making reproducing households of disciples in a process

Funny thing is, all those 99 sheep and all the money was “habis” (gone) upon follow up inspection by the sponsoring foreign Fellowship. The national ministry leader who had convinced these folks of the efficacy of this investment simply shrugged his shoulders and just mentioned that maybe all the sheep must have died. Thus, the Great Sheep Debacle of 1997 remains legendary in the minds of that Fellowship.

                  
Sometimes the greatest lessons learned in -cross-cultural CPM efforts come in the form of two-by-four packages. 

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

CPM/DMM: Big Haired Counterintuitive Lifestyles Part II

CPM/DMM: Big Haired Counterintuitive Lifestyles Part II

CPM/DMM: Being Catalysts—A Necessary Role 

Being counterintuitive game changers is the norm for the follower of Christ.

To live out the Biblical patterns of obedience based discipleship is to be the norm for those who follow Christ. Being counterintuitive game changers for the glory of God is the norm for one as a follower of Jesus.

When one chooses to embrace in loving obedience the commands of God, empowered and filled by the Holy Spirit, then one becomes a game changer for His Kingdom. One becomes a precision built strategic weapon for God’s transforming power to be displayed and to be declared in all Acts 1:8 applications. (“but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”)



Being Catalysts; A Necessary Role in Launching Church Planting Movements-CPM

Sp and I celebrate 22 years of life among Muslim Unreached People Groups.  As we continue to trust God to launch a rapidly reproducing movement of house fellowships among the Muslim Unreached Peoples in which we serve, it is important to consider returning over and over again to the strategic steps of CPM.



Critical Elements in CPM

1. Vision-God’s Glory

2. Extraordinary Prayer

3. Word of God Foundation, Holy Spirit dependence

4. Evangelism: Finding the POP and oikos

5. Discipleship: DBS style, Oikos

healthy House Fellowships

6. Baptism of followers

7. Leadership: equip indigenous leaders

8. Rapid reproduction of House Fellowships

9. Persecution Preparation

10. Ruthless Grace-Filled Evaluation 

Though we are forever grateful for the wisdom of those who had attempted great things for God’s glory prior to our arrival to our region of service, we have come to realize that there are also opportunities for on-going healthy evaluation necessary.
As believers, we are all invited to trust God for being a catalyst in the essentials of movements for His glory. The area of Extraordinary Prayer is one essential element of CPM, which I want to focus upon in this writing.

As you gaze upon the term extraordinary prayer and consider what it may mean to be catalytic, what comes to mind? Consider the ideas that follow as ways to further appropriate God’s intent in the area of the practice of extraordinary prayer.

 Counterintuitives in extraordinary prayer to consider;

1   .     Forget Tradition-What has been done in former attempts to reach an Unreached People Group (or target group in home cultures) may or may not be the pattern that God has in mind to embrace presently. Most of the laborers (catalysts) who have seen significant Church Planting Movements among heretofore resistant Unreached People Groups spend up to 3 hours per day, on average, in specific intercession.

2    .     Base All Prayer Upon God’s Word and the Holy Spirit’s Leading-Read through the book of Acts and do a Discovery Bible Study[1] on Prayer. Use the patterns of prayers lifted up in the Epistles, the book of Nehemiah, for starters. Pray Scripture back to God. What follows is a specific example of ways to pray through Scripture on behalf of a people group excerpt taken from my husband’s book entitled Strategic Intercession for the Sumbi;

Overcoming the Enemy

By faith bind the Evil One so that he cannot prevent people from hearing and believing the Gospel or blind them from the Truth (2 Corinthians 4:4).    Ask the Holy Spirit to expose the lies and deception of the Evil One.

Cancel and render all curses and spells powerless and void in Jesus name
(Deuteronomy 18:10-11, Isaiah 47:9, 12).

.     Be Intentional in Prayer-Ask God to teach your heart how to intercede. Go and be taught by those who model intercession. As one of many examples to my heart, one band of intercessors has gathered to pray for God’s heart for Acts 1:8 themes for over 15 years at one of my dearest heart friend’s home. Come hail or high water, they have gathered weekly. They have wept as well as labored in prayer for the glory of God to be declared and displayed in their homeland and to the ethne peoples of the earth. Find a discipler or group of disciplers in this area of intercession and learn to be catalytic for God’s glory.

Summary

What once was, in terms of attempts to reach the Unreached People Groups of the earth, can be evaluated with heaps of grace and mercy. As one evaluates former attempts, to reach a given people group, it is with much fear and trembling to consider what was effective in former approaches and what could have been a hindrance.

Be careful what you set in motion in terms of what you model as the norm of walking with Jesus, while depending or not upon His Holy Spirit to lead. We have seen UPG efforts, which have been seemingly hindered by the ones who continue to really upon self-life, self-effort, and self-reliance.

Be intentional in the essentials of Church Planting Movements on a personal level as well as modeling to others and expect God to move in power, in His timing.

Extraordinary prayer, as one of the main essentials of CPM, is predicated upon a heightened personal and corporate dependence upon God to be God.

The Christian music industry hit many crossroads moments, when catalytic artists intentionally chose the higher unknown road of equal risk of personal gain or personal loss.  They took the best of the former things available and pitched out the non-effective methodologies in terms of music.

As those who desire to be the Biblical norms of catalytic eternal game changers among the peoples of the earth, your course is more challenging. Expect push back, and then respond in grace and humility. Expect God to move, lean not into your own understanding, and watch God rip the heavens open and come down in a given Unengaged/Unreached People Group or target population.

Remember, sometimes “big hair” ways are simply trends and not substantive in nature. Then again, catalytic fire starters of Christ-centered movements are willing to be counterintuitive, at all costs. Choose God’s blueprint of counterintuitive ways in the area of extraordinary prayer and watch His hand move in power.
                                   
‘til the Ethne Worship,
RA         rra@gcnow.org
ActBeyond





[1] Discovery Bible Study (DBS)-methodology used in Church Planting Movements approach. Asking the following questions; what does this passage say about God? What does it say about man? What does it say about me and what am I to obey in response to this passage? When will I obey this and whom will I share this truth with? When?