Women are hugely gifted in relational acumen. However, one of the greatest hindrances I observe in training/coaching women is in the area of “how” to lovingly be more intentional in those relationships which they pursue. In moving with the movers: finding potential Persons of Peace, training/coaching fellow laborers, and in making of reproducing disciple-makers who love, hear and obey Jesus.
In answering the oft asked question in CPM efforts, “Lord, what needs to be done?”, we need to be intentional to equip women (and men) to more effectively learn how to leverage the gift of relational acumen for God’s glory.
When we pay close attention to the process which Jesus Modeled-Equipped-Watched-Left/Lettered/Coached on-goingly, we see this pesky little phrase “shake the dust off your feet”. (Luke 9:5, Matthew 10:14) Then, there is the practice, which looks like a “norm” for Paul and the other “sent ones” whom we observe in Acts 13:49-51, obeying this command of Jesus.
The concept of Move with Movers, love the Lingerers is generated from these patterned norms of Jesus with His disciples.
The following are some tips on the “how” of “shaking the dust off your feet” in existing and future relationships, while you listen to the Spirit of God to discern who to invest in as a potential Movement Catalyst.
• figure out your context and come up with an acceptable excuse…
• aim to have 5 people you are pursuing…even if someone is not open if they are willing to go through the stories process then that is a great foundation for us to be sharpened in order to continue to train and equip others
• context is important, feelings are hard…when Jesus said “shake off the dust off of your feet,” this is tough
• POP’s are out there and they want to be found!
Consider the Following Ways to be more strategic in relationship investments
1. When getting started in CPM/DMM implementation in an area where there are not yet near-neighbor DMM Catalysts with whom to partner, how many new ladies should we realistically try to meet on a weekly/monthly basis?
Suggestions:
- 15 contacts, offer the DBS stories to them,
- Share oral “pocket story” from the Word, e.g, Jesus calming the wind and waves, Healing woman with issue of blood, deliverance of demoniac,
- Start with a Felt Need DBS story set or go straight to DBS core Creation to Christ story set,
- Approach people you already know in your spheres of connections,
- Maximize your schedule, (as you go on errands leave a few minutes early, create margins, deliberately choose the longest line, the most crowded spot, the waiting gathering holes, bathe in prayer, lifestyle making disciples is lifestyle creating margins which weave in all the rich pieces of your season of life)
- Be intentional, be deliberate
- Set a faith goal, ….talk to 2 people each day in search of POP’s is one idea…take kids on prayer walk together and ask the Lord lead you all to those seeking Him. If single, borrow the kids of a teammate, or set a time where you go out with married gals, while husbands watch the kids.
2. How do we avoid putting pressure on women to be meeting scores of new local women and follow up with them?
Women missionaries want to be found! My experience is that women who are called to the field want to be more engaged than they are presently. They may not have the support from their husbands, their Team Leaders, or their agencies. Husbands need to be coached into ways which bring their wives into points of engagement in this process. That means that they can be a great asset in helping their wives to flourish as they free up time for their wives to engage, to be part of the team meetings, the DMM coaching/trainings. The men on the team will also have a significant role in seeing that the single women are being equipped and coached as CPM Catalysts, as well as making sure they are intricately involved in strategy discussions.
For married couples, tag team mindset to love and invest together in their kids is a great model to pursue. Assume that women want to discover their unique voice in the kingdom of God for His glory among UPGs. Grace abounds, I have gone through all of these stages of life: seasons of raising children from infancy to launch them to being empty nesters. The End Vision informs all. The goal is to delight in the Father and walk in that intimacy, out of the overflow of that daily practice of basking in Him, His Word, we are to both/and be and do the heart of the Father. Often times it comes down to helping women to consider what time they have available to be engaged in the essential of making reproducing disciples. It behooves each organization who desires to see whole peoples reached to help coach women laborers in their various seasons in order to make the most of it for God’s glory.
Tapestry Weaving of Relationships
My husband and I, along with our local partner CPM Teams see relational, emotional healthiness, deliverance, healings as fairly frequent needs. Each time we model, we try and think to the 4th generation in all aspects of what we MAWL. Emotional needs, physical needs, relational brokenness, financial burdens are spiked about every 3 months in the lives of those whom we know. For those POPs we search for outside our relational connections, we try and model lifestyle looking for POPs, anyone, anywhere, anytime. For example, in our zero generation of national partners, 20 out of 25 of them have walked through emotional healing for sexual abuse from childhood.
We use emotional healing DBS format material.
• Model to local partners what it is to see women engaged in making disicples who reproduce
• Be careful what we model to them…in our context, people tolerate noisy children, …children come in and out all the time,…you go with it…they are not segmented out…
We see relational, emotional healthiness, deliverance, healings as fairly frequent needs.
Each time we model, we try and think to the 4th generation in all aspects of what we MAWL. Emotional needs, physical needs, relational brokenness, financial burdens are spiked about every 3 months in the lives of those whom we know. For those POPs we search for outside our relational connections, we try and model lifestyle looking for POPs, anyone, anywhere, anytime.
Consider your relationship pool from the perspective of seeing the Holy Spirit equip you to leverage for His glory. To Move with the Movers, spend time looking for Persons of Peace whom God is raising up and investing time discipling them to commitment and to reproduce. To Love the Lingerers, you are intentionally "shaking the dust off your feet", but loving them well while keeping the door open as you express to them that any time they have a stirring to want to discover more of God's heart for them then please contact you. For those whom you meet in your circle of relationships in the category of Lifestyle (As you are going), you are looking for those whom God is stirring with longings for His ways.
Be intentional. Be tethered to the Word of God. Be empowered by the compelling lead of the Holy Spirit.
Be expectant that God will give you tangible ways to both demonstrate and declare the ways of Jesus. Be confident in the Lord's tender ways as you learn to move on to those relationships whom God is stirring with longings for their households to come to know Jesus.
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