A CPM Launched: Why Not Now?

A CPM Launched:Why Not Now?

Living With Great Expectation/Anticipation

“Dare I go where I don’t understand and do I dare remember where I am? I stand before the great eternal throne….I’ve been invited as a son, I’ve been invited to come and believe the unbelievable, receive the inconceivable and see beyond my wildest imagination

Lord, I come with great expectations….” – Steven Curtis Chapman

Do I truly realize that what I am about as a missionary finds its life and breath defined in God’s glory being the reason? If I did embrace this kingdom reality, then I believe I would quit deciding what can and can’t work before God speaks it thus. As a pattern in CPM (Church Planting Movements) it seems to be consistent that a discipled/trained/leadership-developed insider is more effective than a trained outsider. Were we really expecting this as a missions community? All of this is dependent upon a choice to deliberately cling to a Biblical model to focus upon the oikos (close community family) rather than upon the individual. When one begins with the End Vision, while one attempts to establish new foundations of discovery Bible methodology, God is the teacher through the power of His Word and His Holy Spirit. In CPM approach, one must embrace the kingdom reality to do “whatever it takes”. At the same time one needs to be willing to commit to “how ever long it takes” for His glory to be expressed among the UPGs.

The forming fellowships are trained with DNA encoded from the beginning of pre-belief leading to trusting and growing in their faith as they place their trust in Christ with a sense of an urgency to obey Christ’ commands. “Immediate, costly, obedience” is the desire though it comes as a process. The role of the forming streams of groups to self correct, basing their correction upon Scriptural patterns along with God’s grace and mercy, and to then model accountability to jointly obey the passage is indeed a process. From the inception of the forming groups they will understand the commands to disciple the lost, and to then see themselves as delighting in being called of the Father to one of the greatest joys known to man.

The process of changing our mindset, as some of those called to be the instigators of what God has promised among these Unreached People Groups (UPG’s), is of prime import. To see that we are about “planting pregnant churches” is a paradigmic shift at all levels. Our desire to find where the Father is already working in the given Unreached People Group and join in His processes as He leads but move on when time to move on is crucial. To be about what others might call “ruthless evaluation” of which I better like the term “relentless grace-filled evaluation” is essential. Some have commented that a “UPG’s opportunity to have abundant life for here and eternity comes down largely to our growing sensitivity to the moving of the Holy Spirit.” Something to think about for sure. Though the Sovereign hand of the Father in partnership with what He desires to birthe in and through His Bride has much to do with this as well as His timing and Perfect Will. Part of End Visioning in the CPM processes is really reminding ourselves that God was and is on the scene long before we were brought into the mix. How freeing, and yet, how amazing all at the same time.

Bottom line is, do we truly expect God to be about movements? Are we really expecting that they will be reproducing? There seemed to have been a consistent theme song echoed from the over 70+ former foreign missionary colleagues who have since come and gone in our UPG area. The thought simply is this, “this is just a hard place to see anything happen.” Others have commented, “it is just really hard to reach this upg” was the common mindset of those who have come and gone and notably those who saw very little fruit, if any.

If God has not seemingly been at work, instead of asking the question, “how long?” in our mindset, do we rather need a totally different speak to embrace and believe the Father? Instead of “how long, O Lord?” or “this is just too hard of a place, how could we see anything happen among this UPG?”, could we not ask the question of the Father, “God, based on Your Glory and Fame and Renown, why not do a work here among these UPG’s? Why not among these people? For Your namesake, according to Your great promises in Revelation 5 and 7 and beyond we ask You and believe You for a movement.” The question begs my heart to consider, do I really expect that God is about movements? According to His timetable?

Sometimes the seeming lack of vision (end visioning of what the Father has laid on our hearts to join/partner with His Holy Spirit to accomplish) and the issue of faithfulness have been confused. We sometimes see slugging it away as faithfulness and the vision gets somehow lost along the way. However, as we continue to be faithful to the End Vision He has placed upon our hearts then we see persevering faith come into view with greater clarity. We have known and seen folks being faithful in our years on the field and yet they have lacked any clarity in End Vision and Evaluation thereof.

The Lord will accomplish His purposes,that is no question. However, the greater question begs if we will be involved in slowing His purposes down or even hindering, though His purposes will be fulfilled in the end. There is a growing sense in our area to continue to say, “Why not, Lord!!” Honestly, by helping to cast the End Vision of not aiming for fledgling groups of individual MBB’s (Muslim Background Believers) forming here and there into house fellowships but rather embracing the End Vision. That End Vision has in part the planting of pregnant house fellowships from the beginning. We have an entirely new crop of M’s here whom we are coaching into asking, “if this is so, what must I do to engage in His purposes?” And sometimes the quite opposite is happening as we interact with other foreign m’s where, because of considering the End Vision in greater measure we are able to coach them into asking the Father, “what must I cease doing that is not what this UPG needs to be able to hear and respond and move with the glory of the gospel of Christ?”

Transformation is always just that. It is process and it is the process of surrendering over the totality of our hearts so that the Father’s heart is more readily modeled, by reliance upon His Holy Spirit, in and through our lives. How many of the UPG I am called to today will have access to hearing and interacting with the Word of God? How many will see the demonstration of the message of the beauty of Christ in and through those called to love them? By what I am engaging in today, how will this be accomplished is the more relevant question to my heart. Also, the area of fear needs to be addressed deeply before the Father on-goingly, if we are to be vessels of His power being expressed.

Indeed, one of the greatest hindrances of past teams we had opportunity to see led from several different orgs here on the SOLI focus was the level of immobilizing fear which kept these teams from proclaiming Christ. This fear they allowed to immobilize them from openly modeling (one of the key elements of CPM is Model, Assist, Watch, leave/letter/love) in context sensitive specific ways. This apparent lack of boldness brought many years of a shutdown to the gospel going forward here. Largely fear is intended by the Evil One to be immobilizing of our worship of God and therefore crippling on many levels. The SOLI focused nationals caught the fear bug and then passed it on to the few they were trying to reach and so forth.

Healthy evaluation can catch these tendencies if we are relentless and willing to acknowledge where fear leads us versus End Vision of “God desires to be glorified among the ethne peoples of the Earth.

Why not, here? Why not  now?”

The urgency for obedience flows from the throne room of His grace and mercy as we continue to spend time with Him, we know Him more fully. As we continue to reign with Christ, we appropriate utter desperate dependency upon His Spirit alone. As we know Him more fully, we trust Him more implicitly. “Perfect love casts out fear.” What would we be and do if we truly knew and believed we are loved, without reserve? Dependency upon God in complete unbridled definitive ways is vital. When we examine the Lord’s movements throughout history there are always these same commonalities. Why not now? Come, LORD Jesus, Come.

RA