The worst thing about CPMs and DMMs

I don’t get credit for what I’ve invested.

The outsider goes to the place. He (or she) spends days – weeks – months – years – walking the place. Learning the language. Growing to understand and even love the culture. Praying for people, sometimes hours per day. Being a blessing.

But when the first person of peace is found, the outsider pours into them – in the background.

In the Discovery Bible Study model, the outsider doesn’t craft nice sermons that are well received. Instead, the outsider teaches the disciple to go to the Scripture, read the stories, and ask what to obey. To do it by themselves.

The outsider functions in the background of the DBS model. After a few DBS sessions, the outsider steps away. Lets them carry on by themselves.

Because they can. Because the believers don’t need the outsider – they need the Holy Spirit.

And – in the background – the outsider still relates to the insider – but insists that the insider make disciples. Not the outsider.

The insider makes most of the first generation of disciples–not the outsider. The insider baptizes those disciples–not the outsider.

So the outsider – who has perhaps invested years of effort in seeing the CPM started – at the very moment that it does, the outsider loses control, credit, glory.

Outsiders must decrease. Their work falls into the ground – and dies. Unseen by most. Unrecognized. Uncredited. Unknown. Lost to the annals of history.

And if the disciples made – and the disciples they made – and the disciples made by the disciples of the disciples – if all of these follow the same pattern, of dying, of enabling the next generation, then the CPM will rapidly explode beyond counting and control.

Messy things can happen, but this is the way of it. Even Peter acted like Satan once.

It’s all very uncertain. And sometimes, when bad things happen, we get the blame – everyone knows our name and how we messed up – but if good things happen, we don’t get the glory.

And while this is a very good thing, it can also be the very worst thing – from the perspective of trying to recruit people to start movements.

But then again, it can be the very best filter.