Critical Resources Table

What is egalitarianism? Egalitarianism and complementarianism are terms that refer to two different views on the role of women in the church. Egalitarianism, meaning “equal,” is the view that men and women have equal roles and that women can serve in any capacity a man can, or vice versa. Complementarianism, …

In this article, Kenneth Hayward and Matt Rhodes compile a list of resources on the proclamational model and planting healthy churches. Many of them are critical CPM/DMM resources. In the authors’ own words: “We wanted one document listing key resources for proclamational missionaries needing to find tools on planting healthy …

Bhojpuri Breakthrough: A Movement that Keeps Multiplying (WIGTake, 2019) is a case study of a movement (or movements, plural) in northern India. You can gain insight into the characteristics and methods of this movement as well as the Indian culture (or cultures) in this region. I personally learned more about …

Focus on Fruit! Movement Case Studies and Fruitful Practices (2018) is an unpublished book by Trevor Larson. It presents DMM case studies from the lens of twelve “fruitful practices.” The case studies come out of one particular Muslim country and are shared by national believers of that country. The movements …

The Missions Podcast (hosted by Alex Kocman and Scott Dunford) interviewed Zane Pratt on April 21, 2022 at the Together for the Gospel (T4G) conference in Louisville, KY. Zane Pratt is IMB’s vice president for global training. The main topic was on the issue of defining church in CPM/DMM movements. …

Jackson Wu, a critic of church planting movements, writes an overwhelmingly positive review of Matt Rhodes’ critical CPM book No Shortcut to Success: A Manifesto for Modern Missions (Crossway, 2022). Wu calls it “a long-needed corrective to several decades of missions literature” (para. 9). The review appears in the April …

This is one of the very few full-length book responses to church planting movements. Matt Rhodes critiques CPM and DMM in Chapter 3—and if you’re only looking for critique, you only need to read that chapter. The book, however, is not merely a critique; it positively advocates for professionalism in …

Brooks Buser is the president of Radius International and a vocal critic of CPM and DMM. In this episode of the Defend and Confirm Podcast, co-hosts Sean DeMars and Russell Berger ask Brooks the following questions (paraphrased): Brooks, tell us a little about who you are and what you do. …

Alex Kocman and Scott Dunford with The Missions Podcast host Chad Vegas to discuss and define the proclamational model. This model is in contrast to the “discovery” model used in DMM methods. This podcast episode also touches on person of peace methodology, the definition of church, and raising up national …

Missions by the Book contains a light critique of CPM/DMM but is probably a response to it. Rather than a critique, it is written from a positive stance advocating a biblical basis of missions (and thus the book’s title). One of the main points is that the Bible gives us …

Russell and Sean with the Defend and Confirm Podcast discuss whether the churches planted in CPMs actually fit the biblical definition of a church. One interesting point was that the IMB defines a church differently than the Southern Baptist Convention. Watch it here and then come back and leave a …

Alex Kocman and Scott Dunford, co-hosts of The Missions Podcast, discuss the concept of obedience-based discipleship that is found in CPM/DMM resources. They acknowledge the importance of obedience in discipleship but express concerns that it is related to works-based righteousness. The podcast references Alex Kocman’s article posted here. Listen …

In this episode of the Defend and Confirm podcast, Sean and Russell critique obedience-based discipleship. Key points include: Obedience before conversion isn’t possible. Only regenerate people can obey. Obedience before conversion results in nominalism and false conversions. The priority is on “doing” rather than knowing or believing. This is unbiblical. …

This episode from the Defend and Confirm podcast critiques the methodology of finding a person of peace. Watch …

In this article, Alex Kocman, Director of Advancement and Communications for ABWE, critiques obedience-based discipleship (OBD). In it, Kocman affirms the importance of obedience but takes issue with OBD because it conflates law with the gospel, separates discipleship from conversion, and means that the unconverted may still be obedient disciples—among …

Robert Kelbe critiques disciple-making movements from the perspective of a Reformed Presbyterian. He does so using the outline of the seven elements of disciple-making movements as found in David and Paul Watson’s book Contagious Disciple Making (2014, Thomas Nelson). Kelbe concludes: “As Reformed Presbyterians, we might rather have to sacrifice …

This panel discussion between ABWE and Radius International took place at Bethlemen Baptist Church in June 2021. Both organizations have been openly critical of CPM and DMM. Panelists included Chad Vegas, Brad Buser, and Wayne Chen from Radius International, and Paul Davis, Alex Kocman, and Scott Dunford of ABWE. Questions …

This episode is divided into two parts. In part one, co-hosts Sean and Russell argue that current church planting movement thinking started with Charles Finney and the Second Great Awakening. While not cited, this historical connection was made earlier by David Sills in his book Reaching and Teaching. In part …

In June 2021, The Missions Podcast interviewed an anonymous missionary who serves in Southeast Asia about what he has witnessed regarding movement practices in his own organization. This podcast addressed pragmatism, relationships with other missionaries, and insider movements among others. The questions included (paraphrased): Tell us a little about who …

Russell Berger and Sean DeMars, co-hosts of the Defend and Confirm podcast, begin their series critiquing church planting movements with this episode. This episode is meant to introduce the issues, but they actually jump in with their critique. A couple of their points seem slightly off base—namely, that nearly all …

Caleb Morell, currently the Senior Pastoral Assistant for Research at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., reviewed Steve Addison’s 2019 book, The Rise and Fall of Movements: A Roadmap for Leaders (100Movements Publishing). Morell takes issue with several DMM elements featured in Addison’s book, including obedience-based discipleship, definition of …

Alex Kocman, Director of Communications and Media for ABWE and co-host of The Missions Podcast, addresses the person of peace methodology in this article from January 2021. He says that the biblical context of Luke 10 and parallel passages have a redemptive-historical context and are not meant to be prescriptive …

Mack Stiles is the pastor of a church in Iraq. In this short article on the Desiring God site, Stiles begins with the positives about CPM and then mentions six weaknesses. They include: sloppy definitions of church vulnerability to error and heresy temptations to pragmatism lack of clarity (on definitions …

Abner completed this PhD dissertation in December 2019 as a student of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He argues for an “embryonic ecclesiology” which “identifies the core elements of a church that, when given appropriate attention, will enable a new church plant to flourish where it is planted” (p. 50). …

Caleb Morell critiques Jerry Trousdale and Glenn Sunshine’s popular DMM book, The Kingdom Unleashed.[1] One of his main criticisms is that the authors redefine the historical Protestant definition of a church. Read it here. [1] Jerry Trousdale and Glenn Sunshine, The Kingdom Unleashed: How Jesus’ 1st Century Kingdom Values Are …

Brooks Buser, president of Radius International, interviews Mark Dever regarding church planting movements. It’s evident that Mark Dever is, well, not a fan. Dever mentions CPM’s roots in American pragmatism and the problem of false conversions. Watch it …

The Mission Podcast hosted Andy Johnson, pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. and author of Missions, How the Local Church Goes Global. The podcast was posted June 2, 2019. Major topics included pragmatism, prioritism, and how local churches can do a better job of sending missionaries. Questions …

A. Matthews (DMin, Asbury) raises questions about the CPM/DMM methodology of finding persons of peace. Matthews discusses definitions of persons of peace, addresses prescriptive/descriptive hermeneutical issues, and argues that Luke 10 and Matthew 10 and finding persons of peace are not missionary methods we should be employing. He suggests the …

In this debate, Ted Esler and Chad Vegas the CPM and “proclamational” models of missions. Ted Esler is the president of Missio Nexus and Chad Vegas is the founding board chairman of the missionary training organization Radius International. While Esler sides with the “church planting movement” model, he actually seems …

The Missions Podcast co-hosts Alex Kocman and Scott Dunford interview IMB Vice President for Global Training Zane Pratt. The interview addressed disciple-making movements (DMM), syncretism, and obedience-based discipleship. Questions included: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your ministry. What is a disciple-making movement? What about the Great Commission’s …

Chad Vegas’ A Brief Guide to DMM has been one of the most popular critiques of DMM. Propempo International called it the “best critique of DMM to date.” Vegas is the pastor of Sovereign Grace Church in Bakersfield, CA and the chairman of the board of Radius International. His DMM …

Steve Jennings is the pastor of Immanuel Church of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. In this article posted on the 9marks website, Jennings addresses the “madness” of looking for the “perfect formula for explosive, exponential kingdom growth” (para. 2, conclusion para. 1). He mentions the “person of peace” approach, …

In this article, Zane Pratt, vice president for global training for the IMB, addresses rapidity in church planting movements. His three key points are: (1) rapid multiplication is biblically possible, (2) rapid multiplication is not normative, and (3) rapid multiplication is something we should desire. Pratt cautions against sacrificing discipleship, …

When this article was published, George Terry was serving as a professor at Malaysia Baptist Theological Seminary in Penang, Malaysia. This article, which critiques T4T methodology, recalls Paul Hiebert’s famous 1982 article named “The Flaw of the Excluded Middle.” Terry writes that T4T “undervalue[s] the influence of context” (p. 335) …

Andy Johnson is an associate pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. He interviews two Asian church leaders from Central and East Asia. This conversation is posted on the 9Marks website. Beginning at the 19:08 minute mark, the conversation focuses on the topic of church planting movements, namely …

Adam Coker is a former missionary with the IMB and currently serves as Assistant Professor of History and Christian Studies at Brewton-Parker College. In this article, he shares his personal experience of being trained in CPM methods as a new IMB missionary. He then critiques T4T methodology using seven T4T …

This article by a Frontiers missionary in North Africa addresses the person of peace methodology advocated by David Watson and other DMM advocates. In this article, the author, “Bob,” addresses the questions, “Did Jesus look for persons of peace?” and “Did Paul look for persons of peace?” Bob takes an …

This is the most extensive article that I’ve read about the issue of teaching, a biblical practice that is forbidden by DMM proponents (at least in theory). “Bob,” who serves in North Africa, summarizes this Radius International article by saying, “The New Testament includes a good deal of direct teaching” …

Darren Carlson reviews Miraculous Movements: How Hundreds of Thousands of Muslims Are Falling in Love with Jesus (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2012). Carlson says that the crux of the issue is Trousdale’s hermeneutics. In addition to that, Carlson lists four theological concerns which include obedience-based discipleship, the definition of church, “where …

Ed Roberts, a church planter in Central Asia, wrote a review of Contagious Disciple Making: Leading Others on a Journey to Discovery (Thomas Nelson, 2015). He says the book is “big numbers, small substance” and that he would only recommend it to others with “significant reservations.” He does, however, point …

Zane Pratt has served as an IMB church planter in Central Asia, associate professor of missions at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and the IMB vice president for global training. In this article from Global Missiology, he argues against the common CPM idea that the foundation of discipleship is obedience. …

John Michael Morris is (or was) a professor of missions at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS). In this article from SBTS’s Southwestern Journal of Theology, he contrasts two conflicting approaches to discipleship that are both based on different interpretations of Matthew 28:20, namely the phrase “teaching them to obey everything …

In this article from 2014, Michael Scott Robinson addresses the promotion of young converts to church leadership. Specifically, Robinson responds to the claim that the church in Crete was young and that Paul’s instruction to Titus to appoint elders (Titus 1) implies that Paul was permitting the appointment of new …

In this article from the October 2014 issue of Global Missiology, Jackson Wu (PhD, SEBTS) challenges the common CPM idea that church planting movements are found in the Bible. Wu looks at various definitions of church planting movements and argues that such are not found in the Bible. He adds …

John Henry Serworwora is a native Indonesian educated at Mid-America Baptist Seminary and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is also the former president of Jakarta Baptist Theological Seminary (2006-2010). In this 2014 article in the Great Commission Research Journal, he heavily critiques the ecclesiology of T4T, including using new converts …

This article by John D. Massey is one of the more frequently cited critical CPM articles. It is somewhat lengthy (38 pages), but overall an excellent critique. “Wrinkling time” is a concept that David Garrison takes from Madeleine L’Engle’s 1962 book A Wrinkle in Time. It essentially means to “shorten” …

Jeff Morton (DMiss, Biola) reviews Jerry Trousdale’s Miraculous Movements: How Hundreds of Thousands of Muslims Are Falling in Love with Jesus (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2012). Morton quotes Trousdale saying that the book’s principles are outlined and commanded in the Bible. Morton then traverses a list of principles found in the …

George Robinson (DMiss, Western Seminary) reviews T4T: A Discipleship Re-Revolution in the October 2011 issue of Global Missiology. While favorable to movements, Robinson expresses concerns with issues of rapidity, ecclesiology, definition of church, and heresy. This review contains both positive and negative aspects of the book, and Robinson concludes that …

David Sills critiques church planting movements in Chapter 7 of his book Reaching and Teaching: A Call to Great Commission Obedience. He addresses issues of pragmatism and rapidity, but one of his main points is that movements and revivals are acts of God and no one can force them into …

Lance Quinn, an elder at The Anchor Bible Church in Redlands, California, writes a short review of Bob Roberts’ book, The Multiplying Church: The New Math for Starting New Churches (2008, Zondervan), on the 9Marks website. While acknowledging a few good points, such as Roberts’ strong desire to see society …

Andy Johnson, associate pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., wrote this excellent article on pragmatism in February 2010. Using David Garrison’s CPM book as an example of a “pragmatic approach to missions,” Johnson argues that pragmatism ultimately leads to liberalism. He encourages biblical faithfulness over results and …

Ed Roberts, a church planter in Central Asia for over twenty years, critiques David Garrison’s book Church Planting Movements: How God is Redeeming a Lost World (2004, WIGTake). The critique includes issues of rapidity, pragmatism, and ecclesiology. The book review was written on July 25, 2009. Read it …

In this article, Hoyt Lovelace (PhD, Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary) critically examines several controversies over church planting movement (CPM) methodology. These controversies include: a rapidity requirement biblical controversies: strategic problems evangelistic problems ecclesiological problems missiological problems a universal solution I’d say that this is one of the top articles critiquing …

Greg Gilbert is the senior pastor at Third Avenue Baptist Church in Louisville, KY. This review of Garrison’s book is one of the first critical resources written about church planting movements. Other resources have linked Gilbert’s review to the 9Marks website, but for whatever reason, it is no longer on …