Who is responsible for applying the TPM Process?

Detailed Answer:

from the preface (part 2) and Chapter 12 (Part 3 and 4)

What is the difference between a Mentor and a Mentee in TPM?

The early editions of the TPM training were focused on equipping people to minister to others like a doctor would his patients or a therapist would his clients. We mistakenly believed that one person facilitated the ministry session while the other person received ministry. However, we have since realized that the true dynamic of their relationship and responsibilities are very different! As such, the focus of the training has also shifted. Rather than attempting to train “Ministry Facilitators” to minister to “Recipients of ministry,” we now focus on equipping every member of the Body of Christ to participate with God in the faith-refining, mind-renewing, and transformational work He is doing.

Today, we use the terms “Mentor” and “Mentee” to describe the roles of those involved in TPM. A TPM Mentor does not minister to the Mentee or facilitate the TPM session. Rather, the Mentor:

● Serves in a supportive and instructive role,
● Acts as a trainer who observes the Mentee’s application of the TPM Process,
● Ensures that proper protocol is being followed during a TPM session,
● Reinforces the Mentee’s understanding of the Principles and Purpose of TPM,
● Helps the Mentee realize that TPM is a means of cooperating with God in His faith-refining work.

In reality, everyone is a Mentee, and some Mentees mentor others. There is no “them-and-us” mentality within this ministry. We are each on the same faith-refining and mind-renewing journey with God. The only potential difference between a Mentor and a Mentee is their familiarity with TPM and their experience in applying it. But there is nothing that the Mentor knows concerning the Principles, Purpose, or Process of TPM that the Mentee cannot know and apply for himself. This is an important concept worth reinforcing.

The Mentee is the person who applies the Process in every ministry session; he or she connects with emotion, recalls memories, identifies beliefs, checks for transformation, etc. He or she is the one actually applying the TPM Process (to the best of his or her ability and understanding). The Mentor, on the other hand, helps the Mentee learn how to accomplish each of these tasks, reminds him of the objective at hand by asking the prescribed questions, and offers orientation and instruction where needed.

Both roles are unique and important, and they each are focused on essentially the same thing: equipping the Mentee for his or her faith-refining journey with the Lord. The Mentee’s understanding is paramount. As you will soon discover, most potential “issues” and “obstacles” are alleviated once the Mentee knows what they are doing. Because of this, every TPM Mentor first seeks to become a well-equipped Mentee and then applies what he has learned as he mentors others to do the same.

How is TPM different from other ministries?

The defined roles and responsibilities of TPM Mentors and Mentees makes TPM distinctly different from many other forms of ministry. The primary focus of TPM is to equip you (the Mentee) to better cooperate with God as He refines your faith (belief), renews your mind, and transforms your life. Again, this book was not designed to train the Mentor to apply the ministry on the Mentee, but rather, to equip everyone who reads it with the skills and understanding needed to intentionally cooperate with God as He ministers to them.

If you desire to be a Mentor, but you do not apply this information to your own life and only seek to help the “troubled people” who are “emotionally wounded,” then you do not understand this ministry’s true value or purpose. Also, if you are not finding freedom from your own lie-based beliefs and gaining God’s perspective, the consequences of this will negatively impact your ability to mentor others. You will find yourself feeling anxious, frustrated, fearful and more during the ministry sessions when things do not go as you might desire.

Some of those who read this book will sense a call to mentor others in becoming equipped to apply this ministry. This is good and needed if this ministry is to be practiced by future generations of the church. Even so, becoming a Mentor is not a calling for everyone nor should it be anyone’s primary goal. God has assigned each of us a role in the Body of Christ and mentoring others in TPM may not be what He has for you.

Another way in which TPM is fundamentally different from many other forms of ministry is that we attempt to honestly evaluate the results of what occurs in a TPM session. Rather than assuming that God performed a miraculous work in someone’s life, we always test to see if it is so. As you will soon learn, we always check for verifiable evidence that the Holy Spirit was actually involved no matter how good, positive, productive, or even biblical something may initially appear to be. Rather than relying on subjective experience, intuition, or spiritual discernment, we look for undeniable proof. For when God does something, there is always verifiable evidence of His involvement that will hold up to any amount of scrutiny.

Simply put, we look for a change in belief. This is what the Holy Spirit was sent to accomplish, so it is also the metric that we use to evaluate what occurs in a TPM session. As we will discuss later, you may be able to distract yourself from your pain or think happier thoughts without having to involve Him. And you may be able to make better, more productive choices without first having the Holy Spirit “guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13). Just because you feel “better” or make “better” choices does not mean that the Spirit of Truth was responsible for this change. Because of this, neither emotion nor behavior, together or independently, are ever viewed as evidence of God’s work. For if you still believe what you believed at the start, this form of “change” is not a fruit of the Spirit.

We have designated an entire chapter to discuss the differences between TPM and other forms of ministry that should prove helpful.

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Who applies the Process during a TPM Session?

In the early years of TPM, we mistakenly believed that the Mentor (who we used to refer to as the “ministry facilitator”) was the one who applied the process on the Mentee (who we called the “ministry recipient”). Because of this misunderstanding, the older training was focused almost entirely upon the Mentor and his role in a TPM session. We now realize that this flawed understanding was unintentionally misleading.

Although the Mentor obviously has an important role, he is not the one who applies the Process during a TPM session. The Process consists of the specific steps and objectives that the Mentee accomplishes during a TPM session for the purpose of positioning himself so the Holy Spirit will persuade his heart of the truth. The Mentee applies the Process of TPM under the supervision of a Mentor who can offer orientation and explain the Process along the way, but nothing the Mentor does is part of the Process itself. Put simply, the Mentor is there to mentor while the Mentee applies the Process.

If you are familiar with any of the older versions of the TPM training, this shift might seem odd or unnecessary. But consider the following question: “Is it possible for a Mentee to apply the Process of TPM without the involvement of a Mentor?” The answer is obviously, “Yes.” Now, the Mentee’s ability to do this is obviously limited to his or her understanding of the Process, but it is still clearly possible.

The TPM Process can be applied with or without the involvement of a Mentor. This reality impacts both Mentees and Mentors alike. Everyone involved in a TPM session should clearly understand who is doing what. The Mentor is not there to apply the TPM process on, with, or to the Mentee. Rather, the Mentor’s role is to ensure that the Mentee understands what must be done, how to do it, and why it is important.

What you just read in the last few paragraphs is very important. This is especially true if you have been practicing TPM based upon a former edition of the training prior to 2010. Our goal is to equip people with the knowledge of how they can personally and intentionally cooperate with what God is doing to refine their faith (heart belief), renew their minds, and transform their lives.

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The Value of a Mentor and the Questions

Someone might ask, “If you can apply the Process of TPM without the use of the questions or the involvement of a Mentor, what role do these elements play in a TPM session?” Obviously, you can apply the process yourself and learn these things on your own, but it is undoubtedly helpful to have someone with you who has spent time studying and applying TPM. Your Mentor’s primary role is to support you in this endeavor by explaining the Principles, Purpose, and Process of TPM. He or she will 1) use the Map to follow your application of the TPM Process, 2) ask the prescribed questions associated with your current objective, and 3) continually equip you by expanding your understanding of the Three Elements of TPM. Your Mentor should be aware that your responses to the questions reveal what you do and do not understand regarding TPM. And he should be ready and able to offer orientation when it is necessary. It is wonderful when all things go smoothly and you receive the Lord’s perspective, but learning the three elements is crucial for the long haul.

Mentors are helpful, but Mentees can equip themselves.

Even though it is the role of the Mentor to help equip you for this journey, becoming equipped is your responsibility. This is your journey of faith-refinement and mind-renewal with God. Your Mentor is here to help along the way, but you must take full responsibility for growing in the knowledge that is freely available to you. There is no reason that you should not be applying yourself to learn all that is here. There is nothing that your Mentor knows about TPM that is not available to you. Come prepared for each ministry session by studying the principles and purpose of TPM. Memorize the questions on either the Mentee’s or Mentor’s version of the TPM Map, and familiarize yourself with the objectives on the Objectives Map.

Your Mentor is to evaluate your current understanding of TPM by observing your application of the Process as well as your responses to the TPM questions. When you are first starting out, your Mentor’s role will be much more involved as he or she provides explanations and orientation and asks the questions on the TPM Map. But even during your very first session, you (the Mentee) are applying the Process even if you are unaware that this is so.

During a TPM session, you are the one who is connecting to your emotions and focusing on what you are feeling (EMOTION Box), allowing your mind to associate to a related memory and identifying the belief that is causing you to feel what you are feeling (MEMORY Box), confirming that the identified belief feels true to you (BELIEF Box), asking the Lord for truth and perspective (TRUTH Box), and verifying that the Spirit has transformed your thinking (TRANSFORMATION Box). If you are ever feeling angry during the session, then it is your responsibility to acknowledge this and to identify when you feel any resistance or hesitancy to move forward (the ANGER and SOLUTION Boxes). And as you grow in your understanding of TPM and gain experience applying the TPM process, your Mentor’s involvement should become less and less necessary.

Likewise, the questions can help you stay on track by reminding you of where you are in the Process and what objective you are currently working on. But as you become more familiar with the objectives in the TPM Process, the questions related to those objectives will seem less and less necessary (considering you already know what to do). In fact, as you become more familiar with the TPM Process, you will likely begin accomplishing your goals before the relevant questions are even asked.

Another illustration may be helpful here. I remember feeling somewhat nervous sitting in the passenger’s seat next to Joshua the first day he was learning how to drive. I explained exactly what to do the entire time because he did not yet know how to operate the vehicle. At first, the experience was a bit challenging, a little bumpy, and it provided me with an opportunity for a few personal ministry sessions of my own.

Throughout the learning process I was in the car with him, instructing him step-by-step on what to do, but at no point was I driving the car. Even though I obviously had more experience, from the moment we strapped on our seatbelts, he was the driver, and I was the passenger. He was doing every aspect of the driving process; I was merely his mentor. Once he understood what he was supposed to do and practiced applying what he learned, I became less and less necessary to the point where he was ready for me to get out of the car.

This same dynamic is found in TPM. When you understand the Three Elements of TPM, your Mentor will become less needed or not needed at all. You can fulfill the objectives of the Process and “drive the car” whether or not the Mentor is present or the questions are even asked.

Does this mean that we can just throw out the questions? Yes and No. If you fully understand what to do at each stage in the Process then the answer is, “yes.” However, if you do not yet understand what each question is reminding you to do, then you will likely still benefit from using the questions. Joshua needed me in the car when we started, but when he mastered the driving process, I was no longer needed.

When you know where you are on the Map, which objective you are to focus on, as well as how to accomplish that objective, then you can intentionally and effectively apply that aspect of the Process, with or without the involvement of your Mentor. As you learn to do this in each location on the Map, you will be that much more effective and consistent in applying the TPM process.

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BONUS MATERIAL:

 What about following the Holy Spirit?

In response to the example above, some may begin to wonder, “What about following the leading of the Holy Spirit? Have you taken the Spirit out of the TPM Process?” And in response to that we say, “Of course not!” The Holy Spirit has a vital role to play in the TPM Process. He is the One who grants us the truth once we are positioned to receive it. If this component of the TPM Process was somehow removed, then all we could hope to accomplish would be to come to a better intellectual understanding of our need for His truth and perspective, with no hope of fixing it. His involvement is the most important part of TPM.

Apart from the Spirit granting us His truth, there is nothing that occurs (or needs to occur) in the ministry session that we do not accomplish ourselves. The Spirit grants us His perspective when we choose to position ourselves to receive it. Contrary to what many believe, we don’t need the Holy Spirit to take us to our memories, reveal things that are hidden, expose memory content, tear down walls, open doors, drive the devil away, or even offer us direction during the course of a TPM session. He also does not need anyone to speak for Him concerning the truth He wants to grant us. We will hear His voice when we are ready to listen. His “sheep” hear his voice (John 10:27) when they are in the right position to hear.

As strange as it may initially seem, there are no locked doors, walls, or barriers standing between you and the truth and freedom that God has for you. You do not need the Holy Spirit, or anyone else for that matter, to open doors, tear down walls, or destroy anything. You do not need someone to rescue you from darkness, fight the devil off, or speak on God’s behalf. Apart from your own belief and choice, nothing can keep you from receiving the truth that God has for you. (We will revisit this concept in the SOLUTION Box chapter.)

Aside from the Holy Spirit’s role of persuading you to believe the truth, every aspect of the TPM Process can be accomplished without additional involvement by the Holy Spirit. It really does come down to your own understanding of what to do and your willful decision to do it. This is not to say that the Holy Spirit is not fully involved in every aspect of the ministry session, for indeed He is. Even so, you are the one who is choosing to feel emotion, recall memories, identify beliefs, and look to God for truth and perspective.

This reality should be encouraging to you. There is nothing standing between you and the truth, peace, freedom, and transformation that He offers. Freedom is within your reach. The Holy Spirit is patiently waiting for us to position ourselves to receive what He has for us. As soon as we are in position, He graciously pours out what we need. And this book was written to help you learn how to intentionally and consistently do just that!