Church Planting Movements: Bunny Apparitions at Midnight

Bunny Apparitions at Midnight

Scars. Who wants them?

At close to midnight a white bunny invaded our backyard gate. Five foot long monitor lizards settling into nesting positions in our backyard, yes, but wild bunnies, a first.

The Lord so sweetly ministered to my heart that night. At that season of time my husband and I had been through a tough challenge on the mission field. There was pain, there was sorrow, and there was sadness.

For that particular evening, my husband met with a group of men he trains in CPM. Grabbing my guitar to enjoy a time of worship was on the menu for me this night. I set up a chair in the middle of our backyard in order to enjoy the presence of the Lord under the canopy of the brilliant southern hemisphere night sky.

I remember a white bunny. I also remember how the Lord met me and ministered to my heart that evening. The very essence of who Christ claims to be commands and demands our response. Worship is the very epicenter of trust and obey expressed, of devotion delighted, of breakthroughs confided by the Almighty author and Perfector of our faith.

Real Lives, Transformed Hearts--Worship

Time with Nyn—she could not stop speaking of all God was doing in her life, through her life. From the moment I picked her up when she had barely sat still in the shotgun seat, she non-stop poured forth a mighty tale of God’s hand in her life. As we concluded our hours together, I marveled that 98% of the time this precious woman was not able to stop speaking of God’s goodness. Was God desiring to launch a movement in and through this precious woman, you bet. However, what seemed moved, first and foremost, was the passion of her transformed heart before a Holy and loving God.

In the book of Acts, they had the same experiential knowledge of God’s goodness…”how can we stop speaking of that which Christ has done."(paraphrased)

In the process of pressing into deeper aspects of worship, there are times of effusive declarations. Then, there are times of silent reflection, adoration filled worship.

“Profane Him if you dare,

Disdane Him if you must,

But to ignore Him is not an option.”-C.S. Lewis

Practical Steps in Coaching Indigenous Leaders in CPM

1.      Invest an average of 1-2 hour time frame weekly with those you are training in CPM.

2.      Divide the time into 1/3’s. The first 1/3 spend time in framing the first of 8 DBS questions: (1)What are you thankful for? (2) What are your challenges? (Worship together in intercession over these areas)

3.     The second 1/3 of time utilize diagram of their present DBS and/or House Fellowship efforts. Walk through the next of the 8 DBS questions and how their groups are progressing.:   (3) Review the DBS story from last week and how they applied? How did their POPs they are training apply in obedience as well?

4.     The last 1/3 of time of coaching them; go through the next story together with them 2x read through, 2x put in own words. Challenge them on their POP contacts as to when they will meet and facilitate these DBS during this coming week?  What is working? What is not? Intercede together over these POPs/DBSs/House Fellowships areas.

           

Close in intercession over them, care deeply for them, and invest in mutual accountability in their lives and yours.   

  

‘Til the SaSumbi worship,

RA

Church Planting Movements: Persecution, the Norm

A Fingernail, A Locket of Hair, A Photo

“A fingernail, a locket of your hair, and a photo of yourself!” demanded the mass of students who surrounded Nitha’s dorm room. Nitha had come to this Islamic University for an education. On school break back in her home village, Nitha and her Muslim family members have become strengthened to follow Jesus through what is called a “Discovery Bible Study.” What she received was an opportunity for personal transformation. She returned to her University with a newfound passion for Jesus (Isa Al Masih=Jesus, the Mesiah). 

Frequently, her college friends oppose her when she shares her faith. Even so, Nitha knows to trust the Lord to bring Persons of Peace (Luke 10, Matt. 10-households whom God is preparing) into her life.

And now, those same college friends falsely accused her of theft. In their worldview, to discover guilt or innocence was in the hands of the local dukun (shaman/witch doctor). Nitha refused to give them what they demanded. She knew their false accusations, if “confirmed” by the dukun, would result in her public humiliation and a severe beating. “Was this what Jesus went through?” she thought. She chose to surrender her fears to her newfound Lord and Savior.

Pray for God to give an increase of the ability to hear, listen, and obey His voice to the SOLI/Sumbi Muslim households who are choosing to follow Isa Al Masih. Ask God to increase their worship of Jesus which fuels one’s passion to be bold, to be strong in endurance and obedience, so that they can withstand persecution.—RA

Isaiah 32: 17

The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.

Church Planting Movements: Cultivation of Catastrophizing

Cultivation of Catastrophizing

The process of equipping the indigenous leader follows this simple pattern as illustrated below:

Facilitator CPM       POP/Natural Facilitator of Oikos         DBS Oikos/Household/Affinity 
Finds POP                                                                                                            Group

Equipping the Indigenous Leaders

As you and I trust God to launch a Church Planting Movement (CPM) among a given UPG or even among reached peoples in home sending countries, the tendency to catastrophize at times runs rampant.

The book of Numbers is replete with examples of catastrophizing rather than anticipating what God promises to be and to do for His people and through His people among the ethne.

Here is a sample of present day paraphrasing of the followers of God fresh from miraculous deliverance in the book of Numbers.

This could never happen here…sure, God ripped the heavens open and came down to get us out of Egypt but not here, not now…we will be left to die here…who died and made Moses leader?…why do we have to?...we need…we should have…we have not…we deserve better than this…we have the right to…we know what is best for ourselves, not God…kill the beast, burn their bones, and let’s control our own destiny…

The process of the development of indigenous leaders, especially those, along with their oikos, whom have yet to place their trust in Christ, can feel like a slippery slope. Admittedly there is a tension here. The tension is felt palpably between the command to honor and handle accurately the inerrant Word of God and the reality that those whom we facilitate in CPM, initially, are non-believers handling the Word while we rely upon the Holy Spirit to lead them.

Sacred Cows Long to Be Fed

Along these lines, during CPM trainings of foreign as well as national partners, one of the best fed of sacred cows always raises its foreleg for a common question. “How does one equip a non-Christian in their facilitation of a Discovery Bible Study (DBS/DG) when that POP is not yet committed to God, His Word, nor dependent upon empowering of the Holy Spirit? Great question.

With vision—is a good answer. Our role as facilitators/catalyst of CPM is to cast vision in all aspects of the CPM process—which needs to infect every bit of how we equip the indigenous leaders of their respective households (oikos). This answer in no way is meant to skirt the use of healthy and accurate handling of the inerrant Word of God.

What We Have Seen and Heard

A summary of a recent gathering of those among UPGs who have seen and are seeing CPMs to 4^th generation multiplication and beyond addressed this area. Though the topic is Vision and how to inject God’s Vision for His glory into the DNA of these CPMs, the truths are relevant to how we see the training and equipping of the indigenous leaders.

1.Vision casting from the very beginning


2.Vision to reach everybody – every man, woman, child


3.Movements include great vision by inside leaders [like Knox: "Give me Scotland or I die”]
(All CPMs included near-culture or same-culture “drivers” of vision: They led a host of true insiders who owned and were able to implement the vision)


4.Memorable and recitable vision (goal is for everybody to have this vision)


Vision is cast each meeting and the goals the participants set through prayer are challenging

Another colleague recently mentioned how her leadership  cast the following vision in terms of raising up their next generation of leaders. “Our vision is to make our ceiling of faith the floor of faith for the next generation of leaders.”

In similar ways, one of the most rugged of crossroads terrain to traverse as a catalyst for CPM/DMM is to assume that God’s Word and the Holy Spirit are the keys to transforming the hearts of men.

John 6:44-45, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me.”

If you desire to plant obedient pregnant house fellowships which are then able to reproduce, you and I must firmly believe in the Kingdom reality of the above truths. The organic/natural state of all living organisms is coded in their DNA to reproduce. In John 6:44-45 we see the Father teaches others. The ownness is upon each of us to train these oikos’s, through their POPs and/or natural facilitators (leaders) to rely upon the Holy Spirit and God’s Word to teach them.  Our role is to always guide them back to Scripture and the leading of the Holy Spirit as healthy parameters in the pursuit of honoring the integrity and purity of the Word of God.

A practical tool you can use in equipping the facilitator of the DBS is when they come upon a question;  “I don’t know” is a discovery type response of the CPM catalyst. The overall response of those who have seen CPMs is that they direct the indigenous leader to a general section of Scripture while withholding of the tendency to proof text. The CPM catalyst instructs the indigenous leader to pray, seek the Lord, read the Word and ask the Father. Again, this is obedience based discipleship we are desiring to DNA into the fabric of these DBS streams. As these DBSs are transformed into desired healthy pregnant house fellowships which multiply as the norm, the concept of being a true worshiper is to both love and obey God. 

RA

Church Planting Movements: The Darkness of Babel and Extraordinary Prayer

Contents:

Each posting features suggestions in points of engagement in CPM based upon:

Critical Elements in CPM/DMM

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 pregnant House Fellowships

9. Persecution Preparation

10. Ruthless Evaluation

The Darkness of Babel and Extraordinary Prayer

"How do you feel about the building of this Islamic Training Center?" I queried. The young SOLI boy stood before us quite befuddled. At the mention of the desire to hear his thoughts, he scrambled for his handphone.

For a week's time frame, we recently prayed and fasted over the Sumbi/SOLI UPGs in partnership with our national teams. On this particular day of the fasting time we ventured a prayer walking time around the recent construction project of the Provincial governor's making.

As we prayed we sensed the parallels of this project with the Tower of Babel. One of the directions of prayer seemed to follow asking the Father to reveal to the SOLI Muslims the ugly faces of the spirits of Islam which hold sway over them…that upon coming near to this building there would be a visual appearance and revelation of that darkness to which they are in bondage.

The little boy we encountered on the perimeter of the project begged our attention. After asking him the question of how he felt in regards to the building, his handphone was his answer. He said that when he looks at the building, he sees the image of what he captured on the outside of the building's pillars. He explained that he sees a demonic image each time he looks the way of the Islamic Training Center. The photo he showed us was his personal proof.

We saw sketchy blurry images. However, the greater clarity was given that we are to pray with extraordinary anticipation that God will reveal to the hearts of those in bondage that which keeps them there. And that God is a God of no compromise. He will not give His glory to another. Ever. 

As followers of Christ, we have this confidence that He will fulfill His promises. Resultantly, though doubts may come as one implements CPM among a given UPG, dare to intercede based upon God's promises. The Persons of Peace want to be found...their oikos' are being drawn by the Holy Spirit as well...the resources are in the harvest of the field in which one labors...Satan has been defeated but is still active at present...God has given the victory. One's prayers will be transformed in the process as we ask in alignment with God's character, His Word, and His purposes among the ethne. 

RA