3DM & Mike Breen BACKGROUND

NOTES > 3DM

3DM Warning Part ONE

(This series was first published in 2015 and has now been viewed thousands of times.)

What every church leader and member should know before their local church gets involved with 3DMovement and The Order of Mission.

3DM warning Part ONE covers an overview of 3DM and the background of its development under the leadership of Mike Breen.

INTRODUCTION-00

Brian Williams the former nightly newscaster for NBC was caught in a series of fabricated stories that cost him his job. It is not remarkable that he was caught, but that it took so long and so many people believed him. I wish to share with you about a set of fabricated teaching and stories that is being put forward today. These are not being put forward on the general public but upon unsuspecting churches and religious organizations.

I received an email inviting me to an event where I would learn how to disciple and grow the local church using 3DM.

I was interested but wanted more information to share with my local Leadership TEAM. As I started my research I quickly discovered that 3DM was not what it was advertised to be. Since then I have spent countless hours and days researching and documenting what I consider obvious dangerous teachings and practices of 3DM and those who follow its pattern. One key example is when I spoke to a pastor of a Church of God[1] congregation using 3DM as the basis for their church structure, growth and yes, doctrines. The pastor of this congregation told me their transition and growth had been hindered by those who did not see things the 3DM way. He told me that the church was expecting to see better results this coming year. The reason? The pastor told me after helping transition the individuals who did not get the 3DM way out of the local church and into other churches in the community he expected to see growth. He is not talking about discipline of someone with a sinful nature, he is talking about getting Christians who are not picking up on 3DM to leave and go to other churches.

I submit the following information, for your consideration and evaluation. I stand firmly committed to the autonomy of each church to make decisions about ministry and that includes 3DM. I also see it as my personal responsibility to share the findings of my research up to now with any other church, pastor or Christian leader who might come in contact with 3DMovement. In the following entries I will lay out some of the information I have gathered. Some of it will be detailed, but that is necessary to show the deception and concerns I have come across in researching 3DM.

I find nothing about 3DM that makes me believe any church should in any way indorse, use resources, partner or be involved with 3DM. I would only ask you consider the following material before establishing ties on any level with 3DM. If you or your church is already involved with 3DM you may want to reconsider and sever ties with the 3DMovement.

BRIEF BACKGROUND-01

St. Thomas’ Anglican Church in Sheffield, England, is the birthplace of 3DM. “When Mike Breen joined the church in 1993, significant changes came to the community. He created a program called Lifeshapes as well as small groups where primary discipleship happened. Groups of three to seven small groups formed clusters, and these extended families created a midsize space between the small group and the larger congregation. It is at the cluster level where most growth occurred.”[2] Mike Breen went on to found ‘the Order of Mission’ to teach and live within the Rule of Life as laid out in the Lifeshapes he had created. Later he helped to form 3DM as both a fund raising arm and a way to teach the way of the Order of Mission. (This will documented shortly.) Mike Breen is an Anglican minister who is credited with creating Lifeshapes, 3DM, ‘The Order of Mission’ (TOM) and ‘the Covenant Kingdom Network’ (CKN).

What is The Order of Mission?-02

The Order of Mission[3] was founded by Mike Breen as a “religious community within the Church of England.”[4] They function as a monastic covenant organization that live according to “the Rule of Life.” They see the LIFESHAPES created by Mike Breen as “a set of practical tools for missionary living grounded in biblical insights that enables Order members to live the TOM way.”[5] These Lifeshapes are the foundation of the order. TOM follows the Nicene Creed as a foundational doctrinal statement. Mike Breen served as the Senior Guardian of the Order of Mission until January of 2015.

What is 3DM?-03

3DM or ‘Three Dimension Movement’ was created by Mike Breen as a way to spread The Order of Mission teachings to various denominations and churches. It also served as the “resourcing arm” or “business arm of TOM.”[6] It was through 3DM Mike Breen was able to raise funds for TOM and propagate its teachings to other churches and denominations. Mike Breen spoke to this in a video message where he revealed that “Many, many thousands of people are being touched with the DNA of our [Tom] life through the work of 3DM.”[7] Some of this DNA of the Order of Mission are Lifeshapes, Huddles and the covenant-kingdom teachings of Mike Breen.

Most of those involved in 3DM are unaware of the strong link between 3DM and The Order of Mission. They see 3DM as merely a training platform to help local churches and pastor better disciple their congregations. Yet, Mike Breen made it clear that 3DM was a direct connection between the teachings of 3DM and TOM. He was also clear 3DM was the way he was raising resources for The Order of Mission.

Originally called 3DMission the name was changed in 2014 to 3DMovement. This is a better name and carries with it the true nature and purpose of 3DM. It is the way used to spread the teachings of the Order of Missions and as a ‘movement’ is infiltrating churches and denominations with their doctrines and church polity.[8] This ‘movement’ is now deeply entrenched in many unsuspecting congregations and denominations as it has been sold as building a discipling culture in the local church.[9] One example of this on a national level is when Rev. Jim Lyon the General Director for the General Assembly[10] of the Church of God, Anderson, reported “exploring” 3DM as a “potential partner and resource channels for leadership, congregational, and national church development”[11]

Who is Mike Breen?-04

Mike Breen is an ordained Anglican minister who started the Order of Mission as a neo-monastic organization loosely built on 4th century monastic principles of small groups which he calls oikos after the Greek word for house.[12] He founded the Order of Mission and served as the senior guardian[13] until January 2015.[14] He is the key theologian or writer of materials used by both the Order of Mission and 3DM.

What Are Lifeshapes?-05

Lifeshapes were developed by Mike Breen while working within the Anglican Church in Sheffield England. According to the TOM website, “Lifeshapes is a set of practical tools for missionary living grounded in biblical insights that enables Order members to live the TOM way.[15]” These Lifeshapes were developed and defined as the ‘pattern’ of the Order of Missions and are presented to other churches and denominations through 3DM coaches and books. Breen was clear the purpose of Lifeshapes was, “to live the TOM way.”[16] These are one in the same Lifeshapes 3DM uses with the local churches in training their leadership. By extension, the local congregations using Lifeshapes are living The Order of Mission way. This statement alone should make any church reconsider before getting involved with this organization.

What Are Huddles?-06

Huddles are the gathering together of members of the Order of Mission. The same terminology is use or taught to any church group who are signed up to be 3DM churches. “Huddle is the structure by which every temporary and permanent member of The Order of Mission (TOM) engages with ongoing support and accountability.”[17] These same “huddles” are part of the 3DM practices used in establishing new churches. Coincidence, I don’t think so. These two organizations are linked at the hip as they pour these teaching into the churches using the 3DMovement.

Financial Ties-07

3DM learning communities are financially invested in or required to pay a monthly fee for weekly coaching. This is designed to last three years. Each TEAM of up to 3 people cost $330 per month or $3,960.[18] Churches can easily spend over $30,000.00 in three years on coaching alone. This does not include materials, travel and conferences. “Coaching includes each month: face-to-face, peer-to-peer, written, audio, video and online.”[19] The amount this may entail can be staggering when it is tied to a new church plant using the 3DM church Launch program. Various denominations and groups are using the 3DM Launch or church planting program to lay the DNA of TOM in their new churches. These groups are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to launch new churches while at the same paying 3DM to set them up on a neo-monastic base or oikos group structure as taught by Mike Breen.

Existing churches are also paying thousands of dollars to have the DNA of their churches and their leadership redefined by 3DM.[20] The stated goal is building a discipling community, while the results is building a community on the teachings of Mike Breen and the DNA of the Order of Mission.

Mike Breen said himself, “3DM is really the business arm of Tom…”[21] I am amazed that so many churches, groups and denominations as well as some Christian colleges have so tightly aligned themselves with 3DM.

Preliminary Conclusions-08

Not everyone who is involved in 3DM is a bad person and not everything they teach in 3DM is wrong. But, there is enough wrong that the results should keep any believer, pastor or church leader who is paying attention to not allow 3DM into their church. The direct link between 3DM and the Order of Mission is indisputable as shown in the words of the founder of both, Mike Breen. The Order of Mission is part of the Church of England and is at the same time a neo-monastic organization masquerading as a discipling and church training program for churches in a multitude of denominations worldwide. The harm done by bad theology created, thru the poor exegetical work of Mike Breen, along with his poor understanding of church history will be multiplied as it is taught through Lifeshapes in Huddles in churches throughout the world will be felt for decades. Even as I prepare these materials some of the web pages holding key information about the group have been erased or changed. After examining documents, books, blogs, watching videos and talking to pastors and leaders involved in 3DM I am completely convinced this is not materials that any church should use. I am hoping by showing these materials in some form of order it will allow the cloud to be lifted and the confusion to be exposed for what it is, a fabricated theology based on the teachings of Mike Breen.

The additional sections of this are devoted to the matter of 3dm, Tom and Mike Breen and contain more details with the hopes that those who have not been convinced with these basic introductory facts will take the time to discover the truth about 3DM, The Order of Mission and the connections to Mike Breen.

In Christ service

Bob Highlands III

__________________________________

[1] Church of God Anderson, IN.

[2] http://www.andyrowell.net/andy_rowell/2015/05/notes-on-3dm-and-the-order-of-mission.html Accessed July 11, 2015

[3] The Order of Mission is also referred to as TOM.

[4] http://www.missionorder.org/#!what-is-tom/c1y08 Accessed July 11, 2015

[5] http://www.missionorder.org/#!rule-of-life/c1d4d Accessed July 11. 2015

[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hISHmABoC6Y Accessed June 24, 2015 [Mike Breen recording on January 21, 2014 telling how 3dm is associated and the purpose of it being a resource arm for The Order of Mission. Payment discussion starts at the 41minute 30 second point and follows.]

[7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hISHmABoC6Y Accessed June 24, 2015

[8] Polity is in reference to church government or organization. This neo-monastic approach is proof texted from scripture using the Greek word ‘oikos’ which means ‘house.’

[9] In 2013-2015 the Pacific North-West Association of the Church of God located in Washington, Oregon and Idaho will have spent over $500,000.00 on establishing new churches using 3DM materials and polity. Another $20,000.00 was allocated to bring 3DM teachings and polity to at least two existing churches.

[10] Report from the General Director to the 2014 General Assembly 10 ‐ Month Summary – Submitted on 19 June 2014 has been pointed to by local PNA officials as proof that the GA and your office are in support of 3DM.

[11] http://www.jesusisthesubject.org/files/downloads/documents/ga/2014GAPacket-FinalSections4-7.pdf page 56 Accessed March 18, 2015

[12] Oikos will be discussed in a later document on the theology of Mike Breen, the Order of Mission and 3DM.

[13] Senior guardian is a title he make up for himself which did not exist in the Church of England.

[14] Questions surrounding his stepping down and why both the Order of Mission and 3DM removed many references to him by scrubbing their web sites of all but minimal information have gone unanswered. His sudden departure and cutting of ties is part of a pattern throughout his ministry.

[15] http://www.missionorder.org/#!rule-of-life/c1d4d Accessed July 14, 2015 emphases added

[16] http://www.missionorder.org/tom-life/rule-of-life/ Accessed August 12, 2014 (since then Breen’s name has been removed from this page and it is now a generic statement of the Order of Mission on its webpage.

[17] http://www.missionorder.org/#!huddle/cu7h Accessed July 15, 2015

[18] http://launch.3dmovements.com/communities/ Accessed August 12, 2014 According the website a TEAM of up to 5 people with tow Team Leaders cost $7,500 per year, and a TEAM of up to 7 people with 3 Team leaders will cost $10,500 per year.

[19] http://launch.3dmovements.com/communities/ Accessed August 12, 2014

[20] The Pacific Northwest Association of the Church of God in Washington, Oregon and Idaho board of directors voted to spend $20,000.00 on two scholarships for existing PNA churches to become 3DM learning communities as one of the Executive Director, Lloyd Moritz, “key objectives for 2014/15.” (from PNA Board of Directors meeting May 10th, 2014 http://www.pnacog.org/PNA/documents/board/Minutes-1405.pdf accessed on July 14, 2015) Several other events have been held to get PNA churches interested in using or becoming 3DMovement churches or learning communities.

[21] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hISHmABoC6Y Accessed June 24, 2015 [Mike Breen recording on January 21, 2014 telling how 3dm is associated and the purpose of it being a resource arm for The Order of Mission. Payment discussion starts at the 41minute 30 second point and follows.]