"We believe that there should be a place - a real, physical location - where people can learn about Jesus and find fellowship with others without being distracted by Organized Religion and "Churchianity"... a place where people can be discipled and equipped as Overcomers, trained to represent Christ and His Kingdom."

- Chip Brogden
A Problem, A Place, and A Purpose (2005)

"If you know these things, happy are you if you do them" (John 13:17).

This document is one of several documents that have been prepared along the way as the Lord gives us greater clarity concerning our particular calling, the most important of them being "Him We Preach" in March, 2005; A Problem, A Place, And A Purpose" in the summer of 2005, and the "Update On Our Vision" letter towards the beginning of 2006. These installments seem to come to us about every six months or so, and it could be that we have reached the final installment with the document you are reading now. All that is left is to implement what we have seen and heard of the Lord.

It is becoming increasingly obvious that we are entering into a new season of our walk with the Lord, and it has not been without its fair share of kicking, screaming, and resisting the Lord's inevitable direction; but like Moses who finally capitulated and agreed, we, too have decided that resistance is futile, and the only course is obedience to the Holy Ghost.

In times past when God moves on me with regard to a specific subject I would write an essay or put together a teaching and thus discharge the burden of the Lord. But that response to the Holy Spirit in the matter at hand falls short. This burden cannot be reduced to yet another writing or teaching. It must be acted upon, it must be demonstrated. Love requires, love demands, that we go further, and go deeper, towards the establishment of a practical, local expression of the Church that Jesus is building: a basis upon which we can gather together beneath the Headship of Christ and actually love God and "love one another - not just in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth" (I John 3:18) - which is the essence of real Christian community, as we see it in the Scriptures.

After much prayer and consultation with other believers who know the Lord's Purpose and share our heart, we have decided the time has come for us to open our home for an intentional, regular gathering of believers beneath the Headship of Christ. This step is actually the fulfillment of what we first described in "A Problem, A Place, And A Purpose". The purpose of this Fellowship is outlined in that writing; what follows is a brief explanation of why "it seems good to the Holy Ghost and to us" that we do this.


Seven Years of Preparation

For almost a decade now we have disseminated Kingdom truth and teachings in written and recorded messages by way of the Internet and in occasional group meetings; mostly in churches or home groups, and more recently, in weekend workshops. We had been quite content to do this work and had no desire or reason to go beyond that.

That began to change about two years ago. I have been bothered by the lack of a practical expression for the things we teach. The criticism I have of myself is this: I write about things such as loving one another and "The Ministry of One-Anothering" and "Jesus Is Building His Church" but where are the people in my life? We communicate with many people over the Internet, but where is the local expression of His Body? I have a keen sense of what is wrong with Organized Religion; I see clearly the Lord's heart and desire for His people; Scripture has plenty of examples of early Church life, and I do believe I can recognize the Body of Christ when I see it; yet for all that, here we are sitting at home every week with no fellowship, no relationship, no local Body, apart from a few friends and acquaintances that live a half hour, an hour, or two hours away. When asked why, we could only answer that the Lord was not leading us to do anything other than what we were doing.

This began to frustrate me, and eventually we discerned that this growing frustration and dissatisfaction was actually a sign from the Lord that He was preparing us to do something about it. Personally, we are very fond of the Wilderness. It was in the Wilderness that the Lord stripped us down to nothing and reduced us to Christ. It was in the Wilderness that He emptied us of all our preconceived ideas about "ministry" and taught us the truth. It was in the Wilderness that He demonstrated to us time and time again that He is Enough. It was in the Wilderness that we learned to serve Him alone and apart from others, apart from Organized Religion, and rather than dry up on the vine and die (as some predicted), we thrived. We were fruitful. We were blessed. We grew. And we were safe from other people!

But the pillar of fire that leads us seems to be moving on and it appears this season of being in the Wilderness is coming to a close. Perhaps it is significant that our journey to be with Jesus and bear His reproach "outside the camp" began in 1999, and now seven years later in 2006, He says this season is accomplished, and a new season has been ordained for us. I am thankful that it only took seven years rather than forty years!


The Necessity of Practical Expression and Application 

So why this Fellowship, and why now? Three reasons, beyond the leading of the Spirit:

First, because prophetic words, teachings, and truths must find a practical expression and application if they are to be believed. I would not say we have failed in this area, because we will not go beyond what the Lord has specifically instructed and do something just because we think it needs to be done; but I will say we have, up until this point, lacked that practical expression because we were not ready for it, and the Lord was patient.

However, if we are to be a "school" then we must acknowledge that truth is best observed in a person's actions, not just their words. Everyone knew Jesus was a good teacher, but the people respected Him all the more because "it was apparent that he was living everything he was saying - quite a contrast to their religion teachers!" (Matthew 7:28,29 from 'The Message').

There are things we desire to impart to the Body of Christ that cannot be transmitted by words alone (Rom. 1:11,12; I Thess. 3:9-11; II John 12; III John 13,14). Some things cannot be told, they must be seen and observed before they can be accepted and internalized.

Second, because this ministry, to the extent that it exists to fulfill God's Ultimate and Eternal Purpose concerning His Son, is bigger than any one individual. We know we are lacking in certain areas and we acknowledge and admit that we need others in the Body to fill up that measure which we presently lack. There is a collective wisdom that goes beyond any one man or woman of God, no matter how gifted they may be individually; and this collective wisdom is found when we recognize, affirm, and appreciate the many different gifts and callings represented by the many members which make up the larger Body of Christ.

Third, because the Christianity of the New Testament cannot find its fullest expression in a spiritual or social vacuum. I am personally a big believer in solitude, time alone and apart with God, and the benefits of the Wilderness experience. But isn't it interesting that Jesus said, "The world will know you are My disciples..." How will they know? Because of the teaching? The doctrinal purity? Everything tied up in a nice theological framework that is logical and persuasive? Or will they know we are His disciples by our mission statement, our churches, our prophetic words, our visions, our dreams, our pontifications about "Body Life" and "being the Church"? These do not persuade or convince. "They will know you are My disciples by the love you show for one another" (John 13:35). Not just teaching about love, but demonstrating love.

This kind of love cannot be demonstrated over the Internet. While it may be safe to sit behind a computer and send out teachings to people all over the world, there needs to be a practical expression of what we are talking about. In our ministry to the Lord there is that practical expression. We do minister to the Lord. We do experience His Life and His Love. There is no lack there. The lack is in our ministry to the Body of Christ - and we are convinced that the sum total of our experiences has not led us to merely have a website and send teachings to people. That is not to minimize or discredit those who do, but for us, there is more. In our selves we would prefer to keep things on that level because it is much safer than engaging people face-to-face.

Yet, the Christianity we believe in, and the Jesus we know, will simply not permit us to stay in that comfort zone. He has not called us to safety, but to radical love. And this love is not only God-ward, but Man-ward. Ministry to the Lord Himself is always our first and the highest ministry; but it is also true that "when you have done it to the least of these My brethren you have done it to Me." There is no getting around the command: "That you should love the Lord your God with all heart... AND love your neighbor as you love yourself." The first command is the easiest. God has never hurt us or harmed us, and we have no fear of Him, and loving Him is a joy. There is nothing in Him that we find objectionable or difficult to love. But keeping the second command is a risky endeavor! It requires something of us. It asks us to make sacrifices, to go the extra mile, to forgive, to be Good Samaritans, to lay down our lives.


"If you know these things… do them."

I have been burdened by this for more than two years now, and the burden continues to increase with the passage of time. The word of the Lord to us today is: "If you know these things, happy are you if you do them." We have been given a great measure of revelation, truth, and understanding. We have always considered ourselves as stewards of these things, custodians of Kingdom truths, blessed to be a blessing, and given great responsibility proportionate to the great grace that has been shown to us. Like Jacob, we really believe that we "are not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth you have revealed to your servant[s]" (Genesis 32:10ff).

But we are beginning to understand that the fullest measure, and the greatest blessing, is not just in what we know, but in what we do with what we know. If you know these things, Jesus says, do them and be blessed. Or, to phrase it as a question, if you know these things, and you teach these things, why don't you take the next step and actually do them?

And when we get before Him and examine all the reasons why we don't want to do what we know, every objection stems from these two roots: Fear and Doubt. Fear that if we open up our lives then people will hurt us, and doubt that God really will take care of us if we throw caution to the wind and really do what He says.

But even in the midst of our objections we are brought back around to the same thing that we began with: "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear" (I John 4:18) and "Love beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things" (I Corinthians 13:7). So all our objections, rooted in Fear and Doubt, are destroyed by the Love that never fails.


Invitation

If, after reading "A Problem, A Place, And A Purpose", you bear witness with what we are doing, we invite you to respond and let us know if you are interested in joining together with us in these regular fellowship meetings. Our home is in Louisburg, North Carolina, centrally located between the greater Raleigh-Durham area of central North Carolina and the greater Rocky Mount / Wilson area of eastern North Carolina. To facilitate inquiries, we have established a special feedback form located at this link:

http://www.TheSchoolOfChrist.Org/fellowship

In addition to the regular fellowship meetings, we are also working on a larger monthly gathering and additional School of Christ workshops. We will share more details about these opportunities as they develop.

We also invite you to reply to this email with your questions and we will try to answer them as soon as possible.

The love of God, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.


Chip & Karla Brogden
http://www.TheSchoolOfChrist.Org