DMM: Moving with the Movers, Loving the Lingerers

DMM: Moving with the Movers, Loving the Lingerers

 

“Where are you? You have left us abandoned. We need help to grow. Plus, we have started new Discovery groups and they are ready to believe…”

 

Two of our formerly engaged DMM local partners who were meandering through life in the past 2 years came to us with fresh vision and fresh commitment.

 

The reason?

 

They were rebuked by some of the former new followers (down to 3^rd generation DG and 2^nd generation housefellowships) which they had formerly been coaching (as we coached them for next steps). We had seen this couple become distracted while leaving these new followers to fend for themselves.  After realizing that we needed to attempt to get into that community to help those new house fellowships continue and to reproduce on-goingly, this newer follower directly confronted our national partners. As we considered how best to re-train the remaining followers…(this is area where our visits bring higher level of scrutiny from area cousin leaders)…we were prepared to enter in there but knew this would bring un-needed attention by doing so…This is when, by the HS leading, the new followers rebuked our zero generation.

 

Thankfully, our zero generation couple in those streams awakened to what they had abandoned and are on track to coach these newer DGs. One of these new Discovery Groups has believed and been dunked. Huge levels of intimidation have come to these newer followers to which they have stood against…Luke 12:11-12

 

Pray with us for these streams to flourish to multiple generations in that region.  Pray that our zero generation partners would never choose to forget to be diligent to not allow their hearts to be distracted from what the Father has entrusted.

 

 

DMM/CPM: Becoming the Kind of People Whom God Uses

By Dottie Collins with R Nyman

For the last decade or so, I have had the honor of praying with both men and women working on the mission field in many different nations. I have seen in my many conversations and prayer times that living life on the field is not simple or easily understood. Challenges include not only cultural differences but also issues closer to home: dealing with teammates, spouses and children, organizations, and loneliness.

Becoming Transformed Ones

No matter how much head knowledge we have or how well we can accomplish tasks, if our heart is not transformed and healed we can burn out quickly and become easily offended and bitter. I believe we can many times do things from a sense of obligation and not from a place of love – receiving the love God gives us as His precious sons and daughters so we can pour out His love on others. We struggle with getting things right and can easily slip into faulty attempts to earn God's love, rather than receiving and resting in His love. I don’t mean that if you feel burned out and at the end of your rope you are doing something wrong! I desire to see both men and women healed and hearts transformed before they go to the mission field so the pain can be minimized. I have seen this as one of the costs of going to the field and one of the greatest sacrifices "sent ones" make: the tendency to pour themselves out until they have nothing left to give.

I hope for men and women heading overseas to have as much of their heart healed as possible before going. If the past is not addressed, it is even more difficult to deal with the stresses of the present. I have repeatedly heard misguided Christian leaders say that Christians don't need counseling. As a result, those whom these leaders influence tend to show up on the field with “land mines” from their past which Satan eagerly triggers. 

Hearts Transformed…Hearts Released

How can hearts be transformed and greater damage prevented? The issues which seem to surface most frequently, tend to be triggered by past hurt and pain. The past experiences of not feeling heard, validated, or valued tend to be strong areas of wounding. Also, I very often see a tendency to carry unforgiveness. Whether birthed through major trauma, taking offense, or from molehills that have been coddled as mountains. These choices to not forgive others, when unchecked, become significant opportunities for strongholds to take root. Small things, when unforgiven, eventually pile up into large things.

Through my own experience of feeling misunderstood and not heard, I have realized how such feelings can turn into unforgiveness, hurt, feeling rejected, feeling as though everything you do is wrong, resentment and anger.

Launch of Movements or Taking on Water?

Cultivating a heart that God can use is crucial to the launch of cascading movements to Christ among UPGs of the world. In reality, we will all be misunderstood and unheard at times. So, how do we deal with it? I recommend that we first recognize times when we have felt misunderstood and taken up an offense.  If we haven't dealt with such issues from our past, they tend to be exacerbated in the present. This can lead to feeling rejected and hopeless, and often self-pity enters in. Once we recognize these feelings, we can take them to God and talk honestly with Him about them. The Lord has reminded me repeatedly how gravely He was misunderstood and yet He has great compassion. It helps me to be reminded of how deeply our Savior was misunderstood and yet He did not defend himself. Yielding to Christ’s ways empowers me to let Him defend me and to choose to not defend myself.

Practical Steps to Become the Person Whom God Uses

§   If you have someone in your life who is safe and trustworthy, share with him or her how you feel and have them pray with you and for you.

§  Ask the Lord to show you any places where you have not recognized a hurt or offense.

This leads us to a second area in our lives: unforgiveness. When we don't forgive those who have wronged us, it becomes an obstacle to receiving the forgiveness and freedom the Lord has for us.

Identifying the Usual Suspects

These are the main areas of unforgiveness I have seen occurring among mission field workers, both expat and local:

§  Unforgiveness toward those who have wronged us (people or organizations).

§  Unforgiveness toward God.

§  Unforgiveness toward ourselves.

Step by Step…A Transformed Life

Here are some steps to take toward forgiveness:

§  First, name the person who has been hurtful to you.

§  Name each event, big or small, that God brings to your mind. After you name the person and the event,

§  Verbalize how you felt as a result of interaction with this person or event. For example it could be something like: “My father didn't come to my graduation and it left me feeling unworthy, unloved, rejected, and unimportant.” We often tend to rationalize rather than facing all the reasons the father couldn't come. We tend to not admit how badly we have been hurt. That is why it is important to list every person, event and emotion God brings to your mind. This doesn't mean you need to dig up and ruminate on everything ever done to you; simply focus upon the things revealed to you as you pray.

Many other traumatic things can happen in our lives and forgiveness alone doesn't bring total healing. However, the pathway to move toward healing ways is to honestly acknowledge and repent of any reactions we personally need to own, and to begin to replace those thoughts. This allows us to move into and receive the comfort and compassion that our heavenly Father wants to give us.  The areas of trauma and abuse especially need to be addressed with a safe and compassionate counselor.

Why might a human sometimes need to “forgive” God? Obviously God can do absolutely no wrong. Yet sometimes we hold things against Him because life didn’t go the way we wanted or imagined. Sometimes the simple reality that life has been much harder than we expected can build a wall of distrust. I personally have experienced holding unforgiveness toward God, admitting anger toward Him and needing to let go. Then, the healing can begin and freedom can flow.

 Another area of forgiveness is toward ourselves. In intercession with others, I have seen a tendency to hold it against ourselves when our ministry doesn’t succeed the way we thought it should. Especially among full-time global workers, I have seen that when our children have difficult lives resulting from their own sinful choices, we sometimes tend to blame ourselves and/or God. As parents, we can fall under the weight of self-condemnation. This is a common area where we need to forgive ourselves. Obviously we need to take responsibility for our mistakes. But once they are confessed, the Lord forgives us and wants us to forgive ourselves and receive His forgiveness; not to walk in condemnation and guilt.

If our relationships are not right with others, it will be much harder to have an impact for the Kingdom. When we walk in woundedness and offense, we see life through a filter that is clouded. We have an enemy, Satan, who helps fuel our woundedness, pain, offense and self-pity. He would love for us to live from a victim spirit, inviting us to take offense at every turn.

Andrew Murray describes well these realities in "With Christ in the School of Prayer": 

"When God's forgiving love takes possession of our hearts, we live in love. God's forgiving nature, revealed to us in His love, becomes our nature...If great injury or injustice occurs, try first of all to assume a Godlike disposition. Avoid the sense of wounded honor, the desire to maintain your rights, and the need to punish the offender. Take the command literally: 'Even as Christ forgave, so also do you'.........Our forgiving love toward men is the evidence of God's forgiving love in us." In John 13: 34, 35 Jesus says: "A new commandment I give you that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."  

We can advance God's kingdom by loving each other: through forgiveness, mercy, grace, compassion and love.

God births movements. We, as followers of Christ, need to become the kind of vessels whom God uses in order to partner with His Spirit for the launch of these movements.

Women Involved In Church Planting Movements (CPM)-Just Do It Scared!

Women Involved in Church Planting Movements (CPM) 

Contents: Each post features suggestions in points of engagement in CPM based upon:

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 as groups (oikos-households/affinity groups
7. Leadership: equip indigenous lay leaders
8. Rapid reproduction of House Fellowships
9. Persecution Preparation 
10. Ruthless Grace-filled Evaluation 

   

Just Do It vs. Do It Scared by RA

Just Do It as a motto perhaps would motivate many a heart to attempt the seeming impossible on a physical level. Yet, as a dear missionary colleague BB reflected recently, “I got to the point of my time on the mission field where I was becoming more fearful of being and doing what the Father was inviting. I thought of the Nike company phrase, Just Do It, and that seemed to not really connect with the honest process of the feelings part of our beings as we consider trusting God for the impossible. Instead, the Father gave me a phrase which helps me to be honest with the vulnerable areas of fear I face in attempting to facilitate CPMs among UUPGs and UPGs. He spoke to my heart, 'Dear child of mine, Do It Scared. Do all that I ask of your heart in surrenderedness and trust in the power of My Holy Spirit to enable you.”

Personal Reflection: What areas do you feel the Father is inviting you into deeper trust and obedience? How might trusting God in these areas release you to engage further in CPM efforts?

Extraordinary Prayer
Take a prayer walk around your neighborhood. Keep a diagram of the area; when you express Shema statements, personal story of God's story shared, other approaches to offer to find a Person of Peace. Make note also if you were able to offer the start of a DBS with their oikos. Bring someone you are coaching in CPM in the desire to model MAWL (Model, Assist, Watch, Love/Letter)

Ideas
Invite other Kingdom partners in your setting to join you in setting aside 2-3 days at agreed upon time monthly for prayer and fasting. Share insights in intercession the Lord gives to all involved. 

  

  

DMM: Extraordinary Prayer, the Cultivation of a Listening Heart

Listening Well Precedes Loving Obedience

So Paul warned them, 10 “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.” 11 But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship.-Acts 27

It can be said that listening is more important than doing. The Apostle Paul was one who exemplified the practice of God’s presence as well as a desire to listen and obey His voice at all costs.

Intimacy with God is always Plan A to be cultivated and experienced by those who follow Christ. Extraordinary Prayer in the process of Church Planting Movements occurs not through anemic levels of intercession. Prayer is simply dialogue with the God who is, and was, and always will be. We talk to God, He talks to us. We cultivate intimacy or we remain largely disconnected to ABBA: those are the two choices for the believer. What one does for Christ is to be done out of the overflow of a daily growth in the practice of intimacy in Christ.

Recommended Study for the Cultivation of Extraordinary Prayer: 

• Read the book of Acts
• list out what the followers of Christ did and how/what they prayed. Be amazed at the anticipatory nature of their intercession, predicated upon the promises, purposes, sufficiency and nature of God. 

Listen to discern God’s ways

Several times weekly we search for Persons of Peace (POP) as delineated by Christ in Luke 10 and Matthew 10. As we walk through our respective days, we trust the Holy Spirit with anticipation to lead us to anyone, anywhere, and anytime. In most cases, we are intentionally with our national partners together in this pursuit.

On one particular day, my husband and I were enroute to an overlook located at the northwestern part of our island. Usually, we have found loads of Sumbi, Soli, and other Unreached People Groups as they take in the ocean side view. On the hour’s drive to this spot, we prayed for however the Father desired to lead. We listened. We prayed through the 10 essential elements to trust the Holy Spirit to launch a Church Planting Movement (CPM). 

On this day, no one we met was readied to start a Discovery Bible Study (DBS) with us but interestingly so, a group of female dentists from Mksr and Mmj areas of Eastern part of our country were there visiting.

After we established that we are followers of Isa Al Masih we talked with them about the reality that many Islamic peoples have not taken the opportunity to explore the stories from the prophets in the Bible, though the 4th letter of the Koran (4:136) admonishes Muslims to do so.

These women were scheduled to return to their area of this country the next day. We exchanged cell phone numbers and asked if we could contact them on our planned survey trip to their area and go through some of these stories upon meeting again.

Our vision and passion is to continue to train, coach, be practitioners of CPM among the Sumbi and Soli. In addition, for the past several years, we have been able to train more indigenous college students as professionals (doctors, teachers, fisheries specialists, and such) to prepare them to launch CPM teams among the Unengaged/Unreached People Groups (UUPGs/UPGs) of other parts East in this country.

The other Strategy Trainer team we are recruiting is for the area from where these gals above mentioned originate. In a couple of weeks we plan to meet with a potential couple whom God may lead to facilitate CPM among UUPGs/UPGs in the southern area of the Eastern region. (note: we have since taken that survey trip with the said couple. This couple is now settled on being led to this Cluster of UPGs and are raising support)

Prayer focus…

• Ask God to rip the heavens open and come down in provision for those from within this country to be equipped and sent, as well as strategically placed foreign catalysts of cpm. 

DMM: Vision Casting for UPGs

Worship/casting vision for Disciple-Making Movements among UPGs

Prayer module:

1.  Print out small 3x5 cards of various UPG profiles from Joshuaproject      https://joshuaproject.net/resources/prayer_cards

2.   Prep room in Prayer cover before worship time.

3.   Place cards, one by one on each seat.

4.   People will come in and take seats. Ask them to read over their cards and just have them in hand as we enter into worship.

5.   7-8 of seats will not have cards on them.

6.   These will be your ones representing those who are believers.  Those who live in regions of the world, people groups, who have access to the gospel.

7.   Instruct the others, when all have come together, that they will be representing being one of the UPG in the card which they hold. Define Unreached People Groups, if the group is not yet understanding.

8.   As such, explain that only those who have access to the gospel can access worship…so, everyone who is representing a believer may stay in their seat.

9.  The rest, with cards in hand, are to get up and go to the back of the room, with their backs to the front, as representing being outside the access to the gospel and cannot yet know true worship.

 Start worship songs, sung by just the few together:

• Revelation Song
• How Great is Our God

 10.   As facilitator, keep interjecting how wonderful it is to read the Bible, to worship Jesus together…Read Matthew 28:18-20 (go, make disciples of ALL ethne!)
Ask them how this will happen with current pattern of reaching individuals? What does it mean that ALL ethne are to be made disciples of? 
How does Jesus model reaching households? How does Book of Acts contain examples of reaching households?

11.   Read Rev. 5:9

12.  Now, go therefore and invite others to follow, not to come to church, but the church to go and make disciples of ALL Ethne, invite them to discover worship…take them by the hand...

13.   Debrief the group….

• For the ones who worship, representing those who have the gospel…
• How did you feel as you worshiped? 
• Describe what you felt like doing?
• What new thought did you have in this process?
• For the ones who represented the UPGs of the world…
• How did you feel as you were outside of worship?
• How did you feel about the ones represented on the cards representing UPGs?
• What new thought did you have in this process?

Worship all together as an act of declaring God's fulfilment for the knowledge of the glory of God to go out among all the ethne (peoples) of the earth…prayer response time…focus on asking God what needs to be done personally, in our families, in our fellowships, in order to obey these commands?

John Piper…”when it comes to Matthew 28:18-20, three responses for the believer: go, send, or disobey!”

Ask the Holy Spirit what He is impressing on your heart to obey?

Listen together to song (optional) song Yours, by Steven Curtis Chapman https://mp3jax.com/mp3/Steven-Curtis-Chapman-Yours

Much Fruit…received on May 2017

Hey beautiful friend,

Last week at ________ I had the opportunity to talk to a lady named Wendy. She and I are both and children's leadership but we have never had the chance to sit and talk.

We spoke a lot about her heart and her passion for missions and she shared with me her most recent trip to India and the darkness that is over there. I shared with her some of the experiences another friend of mine has written about recently from their time in India.

Wendy asked me by any chance was I talking about R!?!?

Wendy heard you speak about six or seven years ago at a ______ retreat. She said you had cards up on a table and asked for people to take one. Below is a picture of the card she continues to carry around in her wallet, along with names of people she has met on her trips.  I just love this!! Wendy has been on many mission trips since then.

I thought that this would warm your heart.

Love you dearly,

Neyle