Global DMM Learning: Part 3
Episode Summary
In this episode, Brian and Cory explore how a global disciple-making movement uses simple, relational Bible studies within families and neighborhoods to drive exponential growth, bypassing traditional church structures. The conversation explores real stories from India, where local believers are creating vibrant, indigenous expressions of church that thrive outside the Western model. The episode also examines the differences between modalic and sodalic church expressions and innovative approaches that empower everyday people to lead in community-based settings.
Key Themes & Takeaways
1. Why This Conversation Matters
Cory and Brian continue reflecting on lessons sparked by Cory’s recent trip to India.
This episode focuses less on the trip itself and more on what it revealed about movement, church structures, and disciple-making in the West.
The core question is: How do we faithfully pursue movement while also honoring the broader Church?
2. A Needed Clarification: This Is Not Church-Bashing
Brian pauses the conversation to make an important clarification: Kansas City Underground is not interested in attacking the local church.
They deeply love Jesus’ Church in all its forms and want to avoid a posture of arrogance or superiority.
At the same time, they believe movement thinking asks real questions about whether current church paradigms are equipping ordinary people to make disciples in everyday life.
3. Two Church Paradigms Create Real Tension
Cory references the long-standing distinction between two kinds of church structures:
a more anchored, gathered, established form
a more sending, pioneering, movement-oriented form
Both are needed, but they function differently.
Much of the tension comes from trying to understand how these two forms can coexist, bless one another, and still remain honest about their differences.
4. What Cory Saw in India
In the movement network Cory observed, there was more creative partnership with existing church leaders than he has often seen elsewhere.
Rather than making “leave your church and join a movement” the main conversation, leaders focused on training disciple-makers, starting Discovery Bible Studies, and letting churches emerge naturally from the ground up.
This worked in part because of the communal nature of the culture and the willingness of local leaders to work together around disciple-making.
5. Why the West Struggles More
In Western contexts, movement is often slowed by:
hyper-individualism
competition between ministries or churches
reliance on centralized leadership
limited time and thin relational networks
Because of that, the shift from gathered church participation to disciple-making movement often requires more intentional paradigm work.
People are not only learning new practices; they are often having to rethink what church, leadership, and mission even mean.
6. A Helpful Question: Where Are You Spending Your Time?
One of the most practical takeaways in the episode is this: look honestly at where your time is going.
If someone is deeply committed to a church structure that leaves little room for mission, they may need to wrestle with whether their time is aligned with where Jesus is sending them.
That does not automatically mean leaving a church, but it does require honest reflection about calling, availability, and fruitfulness.
7. The Opportunity Already Around You
Brian and Cory encourage listeners to notice the spiritually curious people already in their lives—especially those who may be part of traditional churches but are hungry for something more.
Instead of trying to recruit people into a brand or network, the invitation is simply to have honest conversations and invite people into disciple-making.
Those relationships may become bridges for fresh movement in the city.
8. The City Needs Both Care and Catalysts
Cory highlights that some people are in seasons where they do not first need to be mobilized for mission—they need to be shepherded, cared for, and walked with.
This is where the broader body of Christ in all its forms is still deeply needed.
The goal is not to choose between care and mission, but to discern what kind of community or expression of church is needed in each moment.
Final Thoughts
This episode does not offer a simplistic answer to the tension between movement and the local church, but it does offer a mature one. Brian and Cory remind listeners that honoring the Church and pursuing disciple-making movement do not have to be enemies. The deeper invitation is to listen to Jesus honestly, pay attention to how you are spending your life, and ask whether your current rhythms are forming you into someone who is actually joining Him in His mission.
