http://fide-o.com/2009/09/book-review-church-planting-movements/ Jason Robertson's Articles, Sermons, and Discussions Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:24:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 http://fide-o.com/2009/09/book-review-church-planting-movements/comment-page-1/#comment-950 Mark Ellis Sat, 23 Jan 2010 07:40:46 +0000 http://fide-o.com/?p=913#comment-950 Ed, I know you wrote this last year, but I'm just finding this review in 2010. I'm in IMB missionary in Brazil, and for years we were forced to put all our ministry plans into Garrison's categories. Interestingly enough, in spite of forcing our entire missionary force in Brazil to adopt CPM methodology, we never had a verifiable CPM in Brazil. The Assembly of God has. The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God has. Both of which stress tremendous pastoral authority, and buildings, for goodness sake. Now, CMP has disappeared. Quietly. But it is gone. It didn't work. And now the truth is coming out. A CPM manufactured in France by a missionary who was finally sent home because he suffered a mental breakdown under the pressure of his supervisor. Statistics manufactured by third world record keepers who were smart enough to know if the numbers went up they had job security. Missionaries from China who have personally told me that where they registered thousands of churches in the past, not one stands today. They either disappeared, or were taken over by cults. You can't shortcut Scripture, and Scriptural imperatives. Where is Garrison today? (I know the answer to that question, by the way. And it's a lonely one.) Brazilian Baptists, who would agree with everything you have written here, rejected our attempts to force them to use CMP as good ol' American pragmatism. Ed, I know you wrote this last year, but I’m just finding this review in 2010. I’m in IMB missionary in Brazil, and for years we were forced to put all our ministry plans into Garrison’s categories. Interestingly enough, in spite of forcing our entire missionary force in Brazil to adopt CPM methodology, we never had a verifiable CPM in Brazil. The Assembly of God has. The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God has. Both of which stress tremendous pastoral authority, and buildings, for goodness sake. Now, CMP has disappeared. Quietly. But it is gone. It didn’t work. And now the truth is coming out. A CPM manufactured in France by a missionary who was finally sent home because he suffered a mental breakdown under the pressure of his supervisor. Statistics manufactured by third world record keepers who were smart enough to know if the numbers went up they had job security. Missionaries from China who have personally told me that where they registered thousands of churches in the past, not one stands today. They either disappeared, or were taken over by cults. You can’t shortcut Scripture, and Scriptural imperatives. Where is Garrison today? (I know the answer to that question, by the way. And it’s a lonely one.) Brazilian Baptists, who would agree with everything you have written here, rejected our attempts to force them to use CMP as good ol’ American pragmatism.

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