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,
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?
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