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What are we going to do?
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We are going to
discuss the following:
o How does the CDMCPM meet Jesus spec of discipleship
as laid out in the Great Commission?
o How does the CDMCPM integrate the principle of
spreading the gospel that Paul gave Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2?
o The process of reproducing discipleship, reproducing
leaders as disciple makers and reproducing churches
repeats itself within the CDMCPM.
o A CDMCPM can proceed only under the authority of the
bible and can be birthed and sustained only by prayer.
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What are we going to do?
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How does the CDMCPM meet
Jesus spec of discipleship as laid out in the Great Commission?
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When he was with the twelve
disciples, Jesus would correct them when they conducted themselves in a way
that was not characteristic of him. That
was the advantage they had when Jesus was with them. With his presence comes the continual
conforming of the disciples to the image of the Son of God. That is the crux of Jesus promise in the Great
Commission.
Matthew 28:19-20 (King James Version)
19Go ye therefore, and teach
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Ghost:
20Teaching them to observe
all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even
unto the end of the world. Amen.
Only Jesus has the perfect
plan of discipleship. All other plans
fall short. However, for the sake of the
Great Commission, Jesus would work with us even with our less-than-perfect
plans of discipleship, on the condition that we teach the disciples to obey all
things whatsoever he has commanded because, then, he
promised to be with the disciples always, perpetually conforming them to the
image of the Son of God. That is the
promise we have from Jesus when we follow his spec of discipleship as laid out
in the Great Commission.
It is not our plans of
discipleship that make discipleship happen; it is Jesus making discipleship
happen when our plans meet his spec of discipleship. We do our part that is humanly possible and
that he requires, and he will do the rest that is humanly impossible. So we don t need to
seek after and join the perfect plan of discipleship because it does not exist
anymore with Jesus departure. We can
come up with various less-than-perfect plans that meet Jesus spec of
discipleship as long as we teach the disciples to obey
all things whatsoever he has commanded.
In the document The
Catechized Disciple-Making Church-Planting Movement we discussed how an Online
Catechized Bible Studies Library (OCBSL) can be set up to host catechized bible
studies that can be used for teaching disciples what Jesus has commanded. We also discussed how the OCBSL has the potential to grow into a library
that increasingly reflects the meticulous exhaustiveness of all things
whatsoever Jesus has commanded and that is readily and widely available. When supplied by an adequate OCBSL, the
CDMCPM will be able to meet the requirement of the meticulous exhaustiveness of
teaching the disciples all things whatsoever Jesus has commanded.
In every CDMCPM session
disciples are asked after discussing the CBS passages to voluntarily set goals
of obedience for the next week, if the Holy Spirit so
directs them. In the same CDMCPM session
they are mutually held accountable for goals of obedience set in the previous
session. Every peer enforcer of
accountability for obedience in a CDMCPM session needs to have been praying
throughout the week since the previous session for another participant s stated
goals of obedience and to state in the current session that he/she has indeed
been praying for the other participant before he/she is ready to perform the
accountability function on the participant.
It is accountability that is lovingly enforced and not just a chore to
be completed in the CDMCPM session.
There is also weekly coaching
from the overseer of a parent church to the overseer of a child church to
ensure that the latter properly performs the accountability function for
holding participants in the child church accountable for obedience. The overseer of the child church answers checklist
questions from the coach for the accountability function for obedience to stay
on track in the child church. The use of
the checklist ensures that deviations from sound enforcement of accountability for
obedience are detected and corrected early.
Discipleship takes place
within the CDMCPM session that is hosted by a CBS group or a church that has
been formed from the group. The leader
of the CBS group that starts the group is the disciple maker of the group. To start a CBS group is to become the leader
of the group as the disciple maker of disciples in the group. The CBS group or the church that has been
formed from it is the unit of discipleship in the CDMCPM. The CDMCPM with replicated units of discipleship
being supplied by an adequate OCBSL and with built-in mechanism for enforcing
accountability for obedience to Jesus commands meets the requirement of Jesus
spec of discipleship in its meticulous exhaustiveness of teaching the disciples
to obey all things whatsoever Jesus has commanded.
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How does the CDMCPM integrate
the principle of spreading the gospel that Paul gave Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2?
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2 Timothy 2:2
2And the things you have
heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who
will also be qualified to teach others.
The things referred to in 2
Timothy 2:2 is the gospel in accordance with the context of 2 Timothy chapter
1. Paul charged Timothy to spread the
gospel by reproducing leaders who will also be qualified to teach others. Please note that the future tense of reliable
(a quality in itself) people acquiring the qualification to teach others means
that they need to be trained. Please
also note that teaching others is taken to mean that others as potential
leaders are to be trained to become leaders for spreading the gospel as reliable
people are.
From Paul s perspective that
churches are being established is the sign and natural consequence that the
gospel is spreading because the church is the pillar and foundation of the
truth which includes the gospel.
1 Timothy 3:15
15if I am delayed, you will
know how people ought to conduct themselves in God s household, which is the church
of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.
Paul was a very effective
missionary church planter, which was a testimony of his great effectiveness in
spreading the gospel where it had not been preached. His effectiveness did not come from doing
things all by himself. Apparently he did not think that it was effective for the
sake of spreading the gospel for the leaders he reproduced (Timothy) to simply
preach the gospel by themselves either, nor even for the leaders Timothy in
turn reproduced (reliable people) to simply preach the gospel by themselves. It was imperative for the sake of effectively
spreading the gospel that
Paul mobilized
the leaders he reproduced (Timothy) to mobilize the leaders they in turn
reproduced (reliable people) to mobilize potential leaders (others) to become leaders.
The leaders Paul
reproduced (Timothy) mobilized the leaders they in turn reproduced (reliable
people) to mobilize potential leaders (others) to become leaders.
The leaders Timothy
reproduced (reliable people) mobilized potential leaders (others) to become
leaders.
The three mobilization chains
spanning four generations of disciples for spreading the gospel through mobilizing
the 4th generation of disciples to become the 4th generation of leaders as laid
out in 2 Timothy 2:2 undergird Paul s effectiveness in spreading the gospel and
planting churches. Please note that the
three mobilization chains are focused on the 4th generation of disciples becoming
the 4th generation of leaders. The idea
is that it is more effective for the sake of spreading the gospel and planting
churches to focus on that.
The reason Paul mobilized Timothy
to mobilize reliable people to mobilize others to become leaders but did not go
any further is probably that mobilization becomes less effective when the mobilization
chain gets beyond four generations.
Setting the length of the longest mobilization chain to four does not
mean that the effect of mobilization does not reach beyond the first four
generations. In fact
when others become the 4th generation of leaders and yet others become the 5th
generation of disciples, the three mobilization chains spanning four
generations of disciples for spreading the gospel through mobilizing the 5th generation
of disciples to become the 5th generation of leaders will come into play. The longest of these three mobilization
chains comprises Timothy mobilizing reliable people to mobilize others to mobilize
yet others to become leaders, with Paul now being out of the picture. So the three mobilization
chains always exist to energize the most peripheral generation of disciples to
become the next generation of leaders who will spread the gospel further. This is how the three mobilization chains
drive the spreading of the gospel and the planting of churches in Paul s
strategy.
Next we are going to find out how the three mobilization
chains are integrated in the CDMCPM.
As the progenitor disciple at
the root of a disciple generation tree in the CDMCPM starts the first CBS group
and invites uncommitted disciples to the group, some uncommitted disciples
become committed as they go through the CBS of the Gospel of Mark (Please refer
to the document CDMCPM Is a Large-Scale Application of the Parables of the
Kingdom of God for a discussion of the disciple generation tree). Upon completion of the Short-Term Discipleship
Series for Church Formation the first CBS group becomes a church
and the progenitor disciple becomes the overseer of the first church on the disciple
generation tree. The overseer as the
facilitator of the CDMCPM session mobilizes disciples in the first church to
start their own CBS groups.
As a disciple in the first
church starts a child CBS group and invites uncommitted disciples to the group,
the disciple becomes the leader of the child CBS group. The leader of the child CBS group has
observed how the overseer of the parent church facilitates a CDMCPM session and
been given ample opportunity to become sufficiently proficient in executing the
responsibilities of being a facilitator so that he/she will have no
difficulties facilitating his/her own church that will be formed from his/her
own group. Furthermore
guidelines for the facilitator have been documented in sufficient details to
assist the leader of the child CBS group in fulfilling his/her future role as
the overseer of his/her church. There will
also be weekly coaching from the overseer of the parent church to hold the overseer
of the child church accountable for properly discharging his/her responsibilities
and to advise him/her on problems he/she encounters. Please note that the future tense in 2 Timothy
2:2 of reliable people acquiring the qualification to teach others means that reliable
people need to be trained. The leader of
every CBS group is indeed given the training 2 Timothy 2:2 requires.
In the course of time some uncommitted
disciples in the child CBS group become committed as they go through the CBS of
the Gospel of Mark. Upon completion of the
Short-Term Discipleship Series for Church Formation the child CBS group becomes
a church and the leader of the child CBS group becomes
the overseer of the child church. The overseer
of the child church as the facilitator of the CDMCPM session mobilizes
disciples in the child church (grandchild disciples) to start their own CBS
groups just as the overseer of the parent church used to mobilize him/her to
start his/her CBS group. The overseer of
the parent church starts providing weekly coaching for the overseer of the
child church after the child church has formed, which includes holding the
latter accountable for mobilizing disciples in the child church (grandchild disciples)
to start their own CBS groups.
As a disciple in the child
church (grandchild disciple) starts a grandchild CBS group and invites
uncommitted disciples to the group, the disciple becomes the leader of the grandchild
CBS group. The leader of the grandchild CBS
group has observed how the overseer of the child church facilitates a CDMCPM session
and been given ample opportunity to become sufficiently proficient in executing
the responsibilities of being a facilitator so that he/she will have no
difficulties facilitating his/her own church that will be formed from his/her
own group. Furthermore
guidelines for the facilitator have been documented in sufficient details to assist the leader of the grandchild CBS group in
fulfilling his/her future role as the overseer of his/her church. There will also be weekly coaching from the
overseer of the child church to hold the overseer of the grandchild church accountable
for properly discharging his/her responsibilities and to advise him/her on
problems he/she encounters.
In the course of time some uncommitted
disciples in the grandchild CBS group become committed as they go through the CBS
of the Gospel of Mark. Upon completion
of the Short-Term Discipleship Series for Church Formation the grandchild CBS
group becomes a church and the leader of the grandchild
CBS group becomes the overseer of the grandchild church. The overseer of the grandchild church as the
facilitator of the CDMCPM session mobilizes disciples in the grandchild church (great
grandchild disciples) to start their own CBS groups just as the overseer of the
child church used to mobilize him/her to start his/her CBS group. In fact the overseer
of the child church starts providing weekly coaching for the overseer of the
grandchild church after the grandchild church has formed, which includes
holding the latter accountable for mobilizing disciples in the grandchild
church (great grandchild disciples) to start their own CBS groups.
Please note that weekly
coaching from the overseer of the parent church to the overseer of the child church
also holds the latter accountable for mobilizing the overseer of the grandchild
church to mobilize disciples in the grandchild church (great grandchild disciples)
to start great grandchild CBS groups. So the mobilization for disciples in the grandchild church (great
grandchild disciples) to start great grandchild CBS groups originates from
multiple levels:
The overseer of the
parent church to the overseer of the child church to the overseer of the
grandchild church to disciples in the grandchild church (great grandchild disciples)
to start great grandchild CBS groups.
The overseer of the
child church to the overseer of the grandchild church to disciples in the
grandchild church (great grandchild disciples) to start great grandchild CBS
groups.
The overseer of the
grandchild church to disciples in the grandchild church (great grandchild disciples)
to start great grandchild CBS groups.
The three mobilization chains
spanning four generations of disciples for disciples in the grandchild church (great
grandchild disciples) to start great grandchild CBS groups are for mobilizing the
4th generation of disciples to start the 4th generation of CBS groups. For a disciple to start a CBS group is to
become the disciple maker of the group as mentioned earlier. To reiterate, the three mobilization chains
spanning four generations of disciples for disciples in the grandchild church (great
grandchild disciples) to start great grandchild CBS groups are for mobilizing the
4th generation of disciples to become disciple makers of the 4th generation of CBS
groups. Let s rephrase the three
mobilization chains in terms of making disciple makers:
The overseer of the
parent church mobilizes the overseer of the child church to mobilize the overseer
of the grandchild church to mobilize disciples in the grandchild church (great
grandchild disciples) for
o Disciples in the grandchild church (great grandchild disciples)
to become disciple makers.
o The overseer of the grandchild church to become disciple
maker of disciple makers.
o The overseer of the child church to become disciple
maker of disciple makers of disciple makers.
The overseer of the
child church mobilizes the overseer of the grandchild church to mobilize
disciples in the grandchild church (great grandchild disciples) for
o Disciples in the grandchild church (great grandchild disciples)
to become disciple makers.
o The overseer of the grandchild church to become disciple
maker of disciple makers.
The overseer of the
grandchild church mobilizes disciples in the grandchild church (great
grandchild disciples) for
o Disciples in the grandchild church (great grandchild disciples)
to become disciple makers.
Please note that the three
mobilization chains are focused on the 4th generation of disciples becoming disciple
makers of the 4th generation of CBS groups.
In the process disciple makers, disciple makers of disciple makers and disciple
makers of disciple makers of disciple makers are made. The idea is that it is more effective for the
sake of making disciples to focus on mobilizing the 4th generation of disciples
to become disciple makers of the 4th generation of CBS groups just as it is
more effective for the sake of spreading the gospel and planting churches to
focus on mobilizing the 4th generation of disciples to become the 4th
generation of leaders. In fact becoming a disciple maker is becoming a leader. Therefore with the
three mobilization chains the CDMCPM integrates the principle of spreading the
gospel as laid out in 2 Timothy 2:2.
When the 4th generation of disciples
become disciple makers of the 4th generation of CBS groups and start making the
5th generation of disciples, the three mobilization chains spanning four
generations of disciples for disciples in the 5th generation of disciples to
become disciple makers of the 5th generation of CBS groups will come into play. The longest of these three mobilization
chains comprises overseer of the child church mobilizing overseer of the
grandchild church to mobilize overseer of the great grandchild church to
mobilize disciples in the great grandchild church (great great
grandchild disciples) to become disciple makers of the great great grandchild CBS groups, with the overseer of the parent
church now being out of the picture. So the three mobilization chains always exist to energize the
most peripheral generation of disciples to become the next generation of leaders
as disciple makers as the number of generations grows, which drives up the generation
height of the disciple generation tree and sustains the growth of the tree.
The importance of the
principle of focusing on the 4th generation of disciples becoming the 4th
generation of leaders as disciple makers and starting the 4th generation of CBS
groups for the sake of effectiveness in making disciples as laid out in 2
Timothy 2:2 has been borne out by findings on mission fields. An article entitled
24:14 Goal: Movement
engagements in every unreached people and place by 2025 (88 months)
by Stan Parks, Curtis Sergeant and Steve Smith
was carried in the September-October
2018 issue of Mission Frontiers. It
states:
When consistent (multiple-stream) 4th generation reproduction of churches
occurs, church planting has crossed a threshold to becoming a sustainable
movement. While it may take years to begin, once a movement starts, we usually
see this 4th generation threshold crossed within three to five years.
Multiple-stream in the above depiction means multiple disciple
generation trees. It can be deduced from
the depiction that focusing on the 4th generation of disciples starting the 4th
generation of CBS groups and becoming leaders of the groups as disciple makers
on multiple disciple generation trees is conducive to attaining a sustainable disciple-making
church-planting movement. It confirms
the validity of the principle laid out in 2 Timothy 2:2.
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The process of reproducing
discipleship, reproducing leaders as disciple makers and reproducing churches
repeats itself within the CDMCPM
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When a CBS group is started
and uncommitted disciples are invited to the group, discipleship takes place
and some uncommitted disciples eventually become committed as they go through
the CBS of the Gospel of Mark. In the
process the leader of the group turns into a disciple maker. Upon completion of the Short-Term
Discipleship Series for Church Formation the CBS group becomes a church. Some disciples from the church will start new
CBS groups and the whole process of reproducing discipleship, reproducing
leaders as disciple makers and reproducing churches
repeats itself within the CDMCPM, because the three mobilization chains always
exist to energize the most peripheral generation of disciples to become the
next generation of leaders as disciple makers.
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A CDMCPM can proceed only
under the authority of the bible and can be birthed and sustained only by prayer
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In conclusion that every CDMCPM
session is a CDMCPM session and that the CDMCPM is based on Jesus spec of
discipleship as laid out in the Great Commission and on Paul s principle of
spreading the gospel as laid out in 2 Timothy 2:2 places the movement under the
authority of the bible. A CDMCPM can proceed
only under the authority of the bible. Furthermore every CDMCPM session is permeated with
prayer. Every enforcer of accountability
in a session needs to have been praying throughout the week since the previous
session for another participant before he/she is ready to perform the
accountability function on the participant.
A CDMCPM can be birthed and sustained only by prayer.
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