Nine issues concerning CPM methodology (#1 of 9)

Mid America Baptist Theological Seminary's, Journal of Evangelism and Missions, features "Church Planting Movements" (commonly referred to as CPM) in its Spring 2007 issue. Therein is a balanced selection of articles praising, explaining, and questioning CPM.

The first article is probably the most controversial with an IMB missionary, Jeff Brawner, making 9 tough observations about the IMB's CPM methodology. You will either find yourself saying AMEN to what he writes or watch your blood pressure rise in disagreement!

In AN EXAMINATION OF NINE KEY ISSUES CONCERNING CPM, Brawner's first observation is...

1. The movement often pushes missionaries to plant churches and disciple leaders more quickly than the biblical pattern. Sitting at the IMB International Learning Center a few years ago during my first furlough, a CPM trainer explained to me how to approach discipleship on the field. He used the illustration of a mother duck and her ducklings. The mother duck leads (representing the missionary), and she guides the first duckling. Each successive duckling follows their sibling in front of them rather than the mother duck. Each duck stays a few steps ahead of the other. As missionaries, we should teach our disciples sound principles, and each disciple should begin to pass those principles to others as quickly as possible. In this form of discipleship, each disciple stays one step ahead of the next generation of disciples. I questioned the speaker on the biblical pattern of discipleship. After all, if Christ invested three years in his disciples, doesn’t that mean we should spend a great deal of time with our disciples? In my view, a young disciple is not ready to lead others immediately...Christ was preparing leaders that would go out and start multiple churches around the world. Is that not exactly what missionaries are supposed to do today?...how can we, in good conscience, not thoroughly pattern our ministries after Christ’s example?...Should we take three years with our disciples? Scripture does not mandate that we spend that length of time; however, one can see from the Gospels that it takes time to mold solid, godly men. From experience, one can see that Scripture holds true-new believers are extremely susceptible to temptation, backsliding, and heresy. Is it not obvious that Paul understood this as he gave us guidelines of who to promote to leadership levels in 1 Timothy 3?

We would fall somewhere in the middle on agreeing with this first of nine critiques. What is the biblical pattern for discipleship? When is a disciple ready to plant a church and/or disciple leaders? From our experience it has little to do with the amount of time one is a believer. We have had new believers who have been Christians only a few months begin new works. Likewise we have seen believers with years in the faith start new churches. To us the key is more about how much the believer obeys and puts into practice that which they know. It doesn't take a lot of knowledge to "go, make disciples, baptize, and teach..." What it does take is obedience. Those who put into practice the little (or much) that they know, will bear fruit.

The idea that CPM "pushes" otherwise unready believers into the harvest fields has not been our experience. What HAS been our experience is that we can't expect ALL believers (new or old) to realistically go out and start new works. It would seem some believers are "wired" to do this kind of work, and others are not. Our task is to find, motivate, equip, and send out those chosen few. To find those few "wired" individuals, we have to train and deal with a lot of people. While not anywhere near exact, it would seem that about one out of every ten believers we train (whether new or old) turn out to be effective church planters/workers/laborers/disciplers, etc. What that means is that if we want to see ten new churches started this year, we are looking at having to spend the time and train around 100 potential willing-to-be-trained workers.

Any comments or observations about #1 above from your own perspective and experience?

Reggie McNeal's six tough questions for the church

The longer we are engaged in missional church planting, the more I find myself going back to Reggie McNeal's, The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church. This courageous book first came out in 2003, and has been challenging my thinking ever since. In the book McNeal describes the church in terms of six "new realities." The related questions to each of the realities are ones we find ourselves struggling with in our own life and ministry.

1. The collapse of the church culture.

• Wrong question: How do we do church better?
• Tough question: How do we deconvert from Churchianity to Christianity?
  

2. The shift from church growth to kingdom growth.

• Wrong question: How do we grow this church?
• Tough question: How do we transform our community?
  

3. A new reformation: Releasing God's people.

• Wrong question: How do we turn members into ministers?
• Tough question: How do we turn members into missionaries?
  

4. The return to spiritual formation.

• Wrong question: How do we develop church members?
• Tough question: How do we develop followers of Jesus?
  

5. The shift from planning to preparation.

• Wrong question: How do we plan for the future?
• Tough question: How do we prepare for the future?
  

6. The rise of apostolic leadership.

• Wrong question: How do we develop leaders for church work?
• Tough question: How do we develop leaders for the Christian movement?

Of these six, the one we are focusing upon the most in our own ministry is #4. We are passionate about developing followers of Christ who understand the difference between religion and relationship. In our own context there are 800,000+ believers sitting in the pews of churches all across this nation. It is my conviction that "followers of Christ" were not made to sit in pews week after week. Their relationship with Christ calls for a response like that of Isaiah, "here am I, send me." We are actively seeking to deconvert disciples from "Churchianity" to Christianity.

Which of Reggie's six points above resonate with you? What are you doing to address these issues in your own life and ministry?

21st Century Churches

I first saw Dave Black's description of a Twenty-First Century Church on Alan Knox's blog. Here is Dave's description:

What, then, might the renewed church of the twenty-first century look like?

• It will be a serving church.
• Its organizational structure will be simple, unencumbered by bureaucrats and bureaucracies.
• Its financial priorities will reflect a commitment to missions, local and global.
• Capital expenditures will be reduced and the savings earmarked for discipleship.
• Jobs that are currently salaried positions will be filled by volunteer help or eliminated.
• Denominations will make drastic reductions in funds spent on publications that are a waste of the church’s money (bulletins, Sunday School quarterlies – the Bible will be used instead – and glossy magazines).
• Church buildings will be used for primary and secondary Christian education.
• Believers will gladly work transdenominationally and cooperatively, especially at the local level.
• The church will proclaim the Good News of the Gospel as its first priority while not neglecting the cultural mandate.
• A full-fledged lay ministry will replace clericalism.
• Individual believers will be expected to assume specialized ministries according to their giftedness.
• Churches will provide regular lay training (with the seminaries assisting them) and build voluntary programs of education into their structures.
• Worship will no longer be confined to a single time or place.
• Preoccupation with church buildings will be seen for what it is – idolatry.
• The church will no longer cling to its prerogatives but take the form of a servant.
• It will refuse any longer to shun the secular.
• Trained pastors will become humble assistants to the “ministers” – every member.
• In this renewed church we will encounter disciples who take the going forth as seriously as they do the gathering.
• New members will be asked to specify a regular community involvement (neighborhood council, PTA, volunteer library staff, nursing home visitation, etc.) in addition to their commitment to a ministry in the church.
  

Any comments on any of the above? Do you see your church moving in these directions, or are you convinced that the current way we do church is adequate?

London Baptist Confession 1644

We celebrated my 51st birthday this past weekend by inviting over some new friends who are missionaries with the British Baptist Missionary Society, one of the world's oldest Protestant mission organizations (founded in 1792 by William Carey, the father of modern missionary movement). In our conversation the subject of "Baptist Identity" came up. What makes a Baptist a Baptist? Is it our traditions and practices? Our programs? Exactly what is it that determines if one is truly a Baptist or more some other group of evangelical believers?

Is it not our convictions and beliefs as we understand the Scriptures teach? For nearly 400 years we have been trying to put into words what it is that makes us Baptists. I Googled one of the earliest Baptist confessions known as the London Baptist Confession 1644/1646. While it is too long to quote in its entirety, I pulled out a few of the articles that caught my attention. It seems to me we have gotten away from several of the original convictions of our Baptist forefathers. After each article are my own comments in italics. Some of my observations are particular to our own context here in Ecuador and not necessarily issues in other parts of the world.


XXXVI
BEING thus joined, every church hath power given them from Christ, for their wellbeing, to choose among themselves meet persons for elders and deacons, being qualified according to the word, as those which Christ hath appointed in His testament, for the feeding, governing, serving, and building up of His Church; and that none have any power to impose either these or any other. Acts 1:23,26,6:3,15:22.25; Rom.12:7,8; 1 Tim.3:2,6.7; 1 Cor. 12:8,28; Heb.13:7,17; 1 Pet.5:1,2,3, 4:15.

"...choose among themselves" seems to be the pattern of those who preceded us. The idea of importing trained professionals from outside the congregation does not fit this article. Those who served are "home grown". The idea of calling a "pastor" is more correctly described as "elders and deacons"--PLURAL--not a single "Senior Pastor" which seems the norm today in most Baptist churches.

XXXVII
THAT the ministers lawfully called, as aforesaid, ought to continue in their calling and place according to God's ordinance, and carefully to feed the flock of God committed to them, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. Heb.5:4; John 10:3,4; Acts 20:28,29; Rom.12:7,8; Heb.13:7.17; 1 Pet.5: 1.2,3.

"...ought to continue in their calling and place..." means to me that if they are a school teacher, they are to continue in that profession and not abandon it for the ministry. Our modern idea of having full-time professional church ministers seems out of tune with this earlier confession of Baptist belief and practice.

XXXIX
BAPTlSM is an ordinance of the New Testament, given by Christ, to be dispensed upon persons professing faith, or that are made disciples; who upon profession of faith, ought to be baptized, and after to partake of the Lord's Supper. Matt.28:18,19; John 4:1; Mark 16:15,16; Acts 2:37.38, 8:36,37,etc.

"...to be dispensed upon persons professing faith..." is the only prerequisite for baptism. In our Baptist context, here, other prerequisites are often added to that of "professing faith"--usually in the insistence that the person requesting baptism be legally married (not living in adultery/fornication) before consideration is given to their profession of faith.

XLI
THE person designed by Christ to dispense baptism, the Scripture holds forth to be a disciple; it being no where tied to a particular church officer, or person extraordinarily sent the commission enjoining the administration, being given to them as considered disciples, being men able to preach the gospel. Isa.8:16; Eph.2:7; Matt.28:19; John 4:2; Acts 20:7,11:10; 1 Cor.11:2, 10:16,17; Rom.16:2; Matt.18:17.

The administrator of baptism are disciples. No where in Scripture is baptism tied to a particular church office. Our modern practice (especially overseas where this is an issue) of only ordained, recognized church leaders being the only ones authorized to baptize seems to be out of tune with our Baptist forefathers.

XLII
CHRIST hath likewise given power to His Church to receive in, and cast out, any member that deserves it; and this power is given to every congregation, and not to one particular person, either member or officer, but in relation to the whole body, in reference to their faith and fellowship. Rom.16:2; Matt.18:17; 1 Cor.5:4,11,13;12:6;2:3; 2 Cor.2:6,7.

Again, what caught my attention is that "power" is in the Church, and not in one particular person (usually the pastor) like it is in many Baptist churches here in Ecuador where the pastor calls all the shots and no one dare contradict or question.

XLVII
AND although the particular congregations be distinct, and several bodies, every one as a compact and knit city within itself; yet are they all to walk by one rule of truth; so also they (by all means convenient) are to have the counsel and help one of another, if necessity require it, as members of one body, in the common faith, under Christ their head. 1 Cor.4:17, 14:33,36,16:1; Ps.122:3; Eph.2:12,19: Rev.2:1; 1 Tim.3:15, 6:13,14; 1 Cor.4:17; Acts 15:2,3; Song of Sol.8:8.9; 2 Cor.8:1.4, 13:14.

While meeting in various geographic locations around the city, the "several bodies" are to "have the counsel and help one of another..." How I wish we could get back to this basic practice of understanding that we are all one in Christ and in need of one another. We are to be there for one another and not separate ourselves from our brothers in our own little church kingdoms.

Jesus doeth all things well

If life is a story, chapter 51 begins today, September 8, my fifty-first birthday. I believe the story of our lives is better understood in bite-size segments. The "chapters" don't usually correspond to the day with our birthdays, but are rather like the divisions in a good book. Some chapters are longer and others shorter. Some are filled with action, adventure, and excitement. Others are relatively quiet and uneventful.

As I reflect back on this past year, if there is an appropriate title to Chapter "50" it would be Fanny Crosby's immortal line, "For I know what e'er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well" from "All the way my Savior leads me." What a great hymn.

The lesson of this past chapter has been that nothing--absolutely nothing--is beyond Christ's control and redeeming love. William Cowper expresses this so beautifully in what has to be another of my favorite hymns "God moves in a mysterious way"...

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

Everything that happens to us, both good and bad, is fashioned by Him into something good. He has a way of taking all the confusing fragments of my life and somehow puts them together into something truly beautiful.

The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

Understanding God's works and ways is indeed a mystery. But it is in the mystery of his ways that He makes everything plain. His ways aren't usually instantaneous, or entirely comprehensible, but faith is teaching me that my Lord has the final word on every situation, person, and longing of my heart. Indeed, Jesus doeth all things well.

My tendency is to get bent out of shape by all the things I can't control. Take, for example our 15-year old son. I can't control his moods, the choices he makes, or what goes on in his mind. I do my best to influence and reach out, but it seems to fall far short, so ineffective. Yet, in the midst of it all, I keep hearing the Spirit whisper, "Jesus doeth all things well."

So as Chapter "50" comes to a close, the song that lingers in my heart is the one I have been singing most of this past year. Instead of wishing me "Happy Birthday" and singing the traditional "Happy birthday to you..." song, will you join me instead in singing this great hymn?

All the way my Savior leads me,
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt his tender mercy,
Who thro' life has been my guide?
Heav'nly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in him to dwell.
For I know whate'er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well.

Success is...

...working yourself out of a job. There are many ways to measure success, but for the missionary, one is when others take over those tasks, roles and responsibilities that we are filling. The missionary is left wondering what to do next. Success is essentially coming to the point when, I (the missionary), am no longer needed.

The following thoughts come from Working Yourself Out of a Job

1. Let them watch you do the job.
This is the step where potential leaders are recognized. In this step, existing leaders notice those who naturally stand out and seem to attract others through natural charisma, knowledge and abilities. These individuals are not necessarily destined to be leaders, but they exhibit leadership traits. It’s at this step that a new candidate is chosen.

2. Teach them to do the job.
At this stage, the candidate helps the leader perform his duties, learning the trade along the way. The leader will impart valuable insight and maturity throughout this process, instructing the trainee as they work together. A good example of this would be an electrician’s apprentice.

3. Make room for them to do the job.
This is where the trainee gets all his practice. A wise leader makes room for failure, allowing the trainee to learn the hard way, by making mistakes, and shape his own philosophies and tendencies. An effective leader will not quench opposing ideas, but will corral these philosophies and traits toward a commonly-held positive goal, teaching the trainee how to use those qualities to have a positive influence on those that are being led.

4. Get out of the way and let the new leader do the job.
This is the final step. The trainee has matured and gained valuable wisdom and insight through the training process. They’ve made mistakes and learned the hard way. They have established a rapport with those they’re to lead, who look to the leader for direction. At this point the leader can step back and allows the protege to do the job without individual restraint. New ideas and philosophies flow into the arena, and the new leader can begin to look among those he leads for people that exhibit the qualities of a future leader. And so the cycle continues.

In CPM (Church Planting Movements) methodology the above four steps are referred to as MAWL (Model-Assist-Watch-Leave).

I confess these steps are easier to write about than to put into practice. Having the attitude of John the Baptist, "He must become greater; I must become less" takes a large dose of spiritual maturity. We want to be the ones needed, recognized, looked to, called upon, invited, and sought out. When others begin to fill the roles we once had, it is a hard pill to swallow.

After all, we gave up a lot to come to the mission field. We're used to being the one people call upon and look to for answers, direction, training, etc. We want our lives to count. Yet, how much more will our lives count when we multiply ourselves into others and they begin filling the roles once held by us? The best we can do for others is model for them what is needed to be done, assist them in doing the task, watch from a distance as they continue doing the task, and finally leave them alone as they take our place and begin doing the task we once did ourselves.

The Dance

I love the arts. They are most powerful when used to communicate spiritual truths. I first saw this moving video at GodGrown where drama, dance, and music combine to answer the question, "If life is a dance, then who is our partner?" Watch this video to the end. I guarantee you won't be sorry.

Guayas Cantones for Christ

Guayas, with 3.3 million people is the largest province in Ecuador. The province is divided into 28 cantones (counties). By far the largest counties are Guayaquil and Durán with 67% of the total provincial population.

Most of the attention over the past 50 years has centered on outreach to the two largest counties of Guayaquil and Durán, accounting for most of the evangelical presence in the province.

In the remaining 26 counties (population 1.09 million) there is an unknown, but considerably lower percentage of evangelical Christians and churches.

The “Guayas Cantones for Christ” project seeks to focus prayer, investigation, training, evangelism, discipleship, and church planting on the remaining unreached/under-reached counties of Guayas province.

The project entails at least two churches partnering together to establish reproducing churches in each of the remaining 26 cantones. One of the two churches will be a local national church. The other will be a Stateside/international partner church or missions outreach team.

Together, the national church and their international partners, will adopt and engage one of the under-reached 26 counties. They will collaborate and work together to come up with a viable strategy for reaching their adopted county for Christ. More than likely this would be a 1-2 year commitment by both partnering churches.

The Guayas Strategy Coordinator (me) and Guayas Mestizo Team will facilitate and be available for help, but the responsibility for completing the task lies with those who come saying, "here we are Lord, use us according to your will."

The definition of “reached” is planting a minimum of three networking churches in the canton. Most likely these will be “simple churches” or “house churches”.

Simple/house churches are N.T. churches without all the extras that typify modern churches today (buildings and property, paid staff, etc.) The following documents help describe what we are talking about.

What do we mean by ‘simple church?’
What kind of churches are we planting overseas?
Simple churches need simple plans
Church planting lessons learned along the way
Simple church interviews (YouTube video from House2House)

Interested? Any churches or missions teams reading this post that would prayerfully consider partnering with us in this project, please contact us through the email address found in our profile (top right-hand side bar.) Reaching Guayas with the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a bigger task than we can possibly handle by ourselves. WE NEED HELP from those willing to come and take on the full responsibility for reaching an entire county for Christ. Is this something God might be touching you and your church to come do?