TPM is Distinctive from Many Other Forms of Helping Ministry
- TPM is Distinctive from Many Other Forms of Helping Ministry
You will soon discover that TPM is distinctive from other forms of Christian ministry in that it is not “healing of memories,” “deliverance ministry,” biblical counseling, or any form of therapy.Since memories are not broken nor can they be changed, nor are they the source of what we feel, there is nothing pertaining to a memory that ever needs healing. As a matter of fact, the ministry facilitator does not need to know the content of “who, what when or where” of a memory a person might access during a ministry session. TPM is focused on belief and not the memory itself.
Since Satan cannot touch the believer (1 Jo. 5:18) and because we have already been delivered (Col. 1:13), deliverance from the devil is never the focus in a TPM ministry session. As important as Christian counseling can be in its proper context, it is not employed when using TPM. A TPM facilitator never gives advise, life direction, diagnoses any mental condition, offers personal opinion or insight, nor does he offer biblical instruction during a ministry session. All these things are valid in their proper context, but not in a TPM session.
- TPM is Distinct in that It Does Not Attempt to Replace Anything Else Being Done in Other Ministry Models
TPM is not attempting to replace anything that someone might do in any other helping ministry, but rather, it is designed for a specific purpose in a specific context. There is a time and place for all we do in Christian ministry, however, bringing other approaches to ministry into a TPM session will hinder and not help. The TPM training provides what is called the Ministry Session Guidelines that will help you to know what should or should not occur in the context of TPM.
- TPM is Distinctive in It’s Purpose.
The purpose of TPM is to provide us with a means where we can purposefully and intentionally cooperate with God as he refines our faith, renews our minds and transforms our lives. It is not about managing pain. Unfortunately, people typically seek prayer ministry when they are unable to manage what they are feeling. For those who are able to “control” their feelings —that is manage them “successfully” by keeping them suppressed— seeking prayer ministry is usually not ever considered. However, more and more people are discovering that TPM is for all believers as a means for cooperating with what God is doing daily in their lives to refine their faith, renew their minds and transform their lives.
- TPM is Distinct in How It Views Emotional Pain
TPM is not focused upon trying to help a person to feel better or manage their emotional pain. In TPM negative emotion is viewed as purposeful and helpful in identifying the lies we believe. Even the mildest irritation, stress, or anxiety we might feel in any given moment is an indication of something believed that needs to be attended to. TPM views negative emotion as a God designed warning system alerting us to lies we believe from which He desires to free us. This is based upon a TPM principle that says, “We feel whatever we believe.”It is easy to blame what we feel on our spouse, unruly children, work situation, the man “stealing” our parking place or we default to saying, “I am just having a bad day.” The truth is, there are no bad days since “this is the day the Lord has made…” (Psm. 118:24) The question we need to ask is, “Why are we not rejoicing in the day that the Lord has given us?” Joy is a natural and expected outcome flowing from the truth when we believe it. So then, if I am having a bad day, it is only because of how I am interpreting what is happening through what I believe. If Jesus was physically walking with us having the same “bad” day as we were, He would be rejoicing. Why? He knows the truth and walks in it.
- TPM is Distinctive in the Roles and Relationships in the Ministry Setting
Unlike going to a doctor when you are sick, and passively sitting on his examination table as he pokes and probes your body looking for symptoms of your illness, in TPM the you with will be in the “driver’s seat” for the entire journey. The ministry facilitator should not be focused on your behavior, habits, or mental condition. The ministry facilitator will not attempt to diagnose your mental condition, look for symptoms, or treat any “illness.” The ministry facilitator will not be asking questions about your life situation, gathering any family history, offering a plan of action, or suggesting any steps to take. He will, however, try to help you to understand the basic concepts and principles found in TPM and ask a predetermined series of simple questions as you focus on your emotion, identify what you believe, and at the appropriate moment, ask the Lord for His truth.Unlike a doctor diagnosing and treating your condition, the facilitator is more like a trainer in a fitness gym helping you to help yourself. He or she is not lifting any of the weights, but he or she is instructing you in how to lift them for yourself. He or she is your “Mentor” and you are his or her “Mentee.” You are learning to do what he or she is already practicing for themselves. There is nothing that he or she knows about TPM that you cannot learn for yourself. He or she was at one time a “Mentee” as you yourself, and has chosen to apply him or herself to become equipped. You can do the same.There is a time and place for most things done in Christian ministry, however, if a ministry facilitator does any of these things before mentioned in a TPM session, then he is not doing TPM. His or her focus should be solely upon helping you to identify any lie you may believe, which is the actual source of any emotional pain you may feel. He will do this by asking you a series of predetermined questions that are a part of the process that you will eventually learn to ask yourself. Your TPM mentor should seek to help you to learn the TPM Process (what we do in a ministry session), the TPM Principles (the guiding principles that support and explain why we do what we do in a session) and the TPM Purpose (the reason for doing TPM at all.) As you gain this knowledge, TPM can become a personal life skill and frame of reference that you can apply yourself throughout the the rest of your life. The Purpose of TPM is to provide you a way to intentionally and purposefully participate and cooperate with God in the work He is doing in refining your faith, renewing your mind and transforming your life.
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