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Hello Elaine,

This is one of the most urgently needed books I've ever written.

If we don't learn how recognize, restore, and receive from the genuinely prophetic men and women in the Body of Christ then the purity and simplicity of a Christ-centered faith will be lost.



If you think I'm overstating the problem then you don't fully appreciate the danger of our times.

Learn more and pre-order your copy today:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/the-prophetic-mandate.html





I am your brother,


Chip Brogden
http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org


P.S. If you pre-order your copy now, you can take advantage of the pre-ordering discount (reflected on the order page). But this is only for the next few days, and quantities are limited.

http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/the-prophetic-mandate.html

PO Box 552, Canandaigua, NY 14424, USA

Hi Elaine,

This week here in the United States we held our presidential
election.

If you paid attention to the results of the election then the
following trends can be seen:

- Half the people want the government to take care of them; the
other half want the government to leave them alone.

- Half the people want the government to legalize homosexual
marriage; the other half want the government to stay out of
legislating immoral, sinful behavior.

- Half the people want to be able to kill unborn babies as a matter
of personal choice or convenience; the other half believe killing
is wrong.

And so on.

Clearly, the United States is no longer united; we are now the
Divided States of America.

But this is not just an American issue.

The world as a whole is heading down a road that is morally and
spiritually bankrupt.

Personal responsibility is not popular; therefore, spiritual and
moral responsibility is equally distasteful.

The popular worldview is the attitude of, "Do whatever you want,
however you want, whenever you want, with whomever you want."

So it looks like the "let me do whatever I want to do" group has a
slight majority over the rest.

BUT HERE'S THE GOOD NEWS...

The election results also show us that:

- Half the people DO agree that our country is going in the wrong
direction.

- Half the people DO believe in Biblical, moral, ethical, spiritual
and family values.

- Half the people DO want to take personal responsibility for their
lives and DO NOT want the government to take care of them.

So...

Don't give up.

Don't be depressed.

Don't be frustrated.

Don't be swept away by the tide of negative pessimism about your
future.

The Bible says that "in *every* nation *anyone* who fears God and
does what is right is acceptable to Him" (Acts 10:35).

So this isn't just about the United States - it's about you and your
nation, wherever you live in the world.

In every nation (no matter how wicked it may be overall) God will
preserve a remnant of those with the courage to speak the truth and
do the right thing.

Will we keep standing for what is right, or throw up our hands in
despair?

Now is the time for us to love, support, pray for, and encourage
one another as members of the Holy Nation of God's Called-Out
People.

Love God, love your neighbor, and let your light shine - now, more
than ever!

And be spiritually, moral, and financially responsible with your
personal liberties by not taking freedom for granted.

Your fate does not depend upon how the slim majority votes, or how
the elected leadership chooses to rule.

Remember: "the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it
to whomever He chooses" (Dan. 4:25).

You see, I've read all the way to the end of the Book, and I've
gotta tell you...

All this is just temporary anyway.

Jesus MUST increase (Jn. 3:30); therefore, He WILL increase, and He
IS increasing. He can't be stopped.

Yes, the last days are going to be a trying time; but the Lord is
preparing you for such a time as this.

Wake up and take responsibility for building a real relationship
with Jesus; spend time with Him and get into His Word.

You can keep in touch with the news and be aware of what is going
on, but don't be consumed by it (there is a difference).

Remember: Jesus came to fulfill something much larger than any
nation on this earth, and everything is working to fulfill this
prophecy whether we can see it or not!

Eventually, Christ will inherit the nations of the earth (including
the United States); and when He does, He is going to make a few
changes.

Be ready.

Until then, let's continue to pray for His Will and His Kingdom -
not from desperate fear and frustration, but from confident hope
and expectation.


I am your brother,

Chip Brogden
http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org


P.S. What's your take? Join the conversation:
https://www.facebook.com/TheSchoolOfChrist.Org


---------------------------------

THE SCHOOL OF CHRIST is dedicated to your spiritual growth and
maturity through Christ-centered, Spirit-led, Scripture-based
discipleship that focuses on relationship, not religion.

To find out more about us, click here:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/about/welcome.html

You can also connect with us on...
Facebook - https://facebook.com/TheSchoolOfChristOrg
Twitter - http://twitter.com/schoolofchrist
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/chipbrogden


(c)2012 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for
non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

5 EVIDENCES OF A CHRIST-CENTERED FAITH
by Chip Brogden

----------------------
Evidence #3 - Increasingly Identified With Christ
----------------------

What if I told you that (perhaps as a result of some strange case
of amnesia) everything you thought you knew about yourself was
wrong? What if I told you that your real name is something else,
and you had another family in another country? And what if I told
you that the only way to re-connect with your true identity is to
forsake the only identity you've ever known?

Would you leave everything you thought you knew to find the "real
you"? Or would you be too attached to your current identity to
leave it?

The spiritual truth is not too far removed from the scenario I have
described. All of us are on a spiritual journey to re-connect with
our Creator, Who invites us to walk with Him in a love
relationship. But at some point we were separated from our real
family and our real life in Christ. We were led astray from the
simplicity of a Christ-Centered Faith and were encouraged to form
an identity around a Church-Centered Faith. This was supposed to
strengthen and deepen our relationship with God; instead, the
introduction of a religion about Jesus harmed our relationship with
Him...

READ THE REST OF THIS POST:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/articles/5-evidences-of-a-christ-centered-faith-3.html


I am your brother,

Chip Brogden
http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org

---------------------------------

THE SCHOOL OF CHRIST is dedicated to your spiritual growth and
maturity through Christ-centered, Spirit-led, Scripture-based
discipleship that focuses on relationship, not religion.

To find out more about us, click here:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/about/welcome.html

You can also connect with us on...
Facebook - https://facebook.com/TheSchoolOfChristOrg
Twitter - http://twitter.com/schoolofchrist
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/chipbrogden

(c)2012 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for
non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

Hi Elaine,

Naboth had a vineyard in Jezreel.

("Naboth" means "fruitful" and "Jezreel" means "the planting of the
Lord.")

King Ahab offered to buy the vineyard from Naboth so he could grow
vegetables.

Naboth refused to sell his inheritance for any price.

Ahab went home and pouted.

And while Ahab pouted, Jezebel plotted.

She had Naboth killed.

The vineyard was replaced with a vegetable patch.

Jezebel and Ahab got what they wanted... for the time being, anyway.

But what's the point of this story?

It's revealed in my new audio teaching, "The Jezebel Code":
http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org/jezebel

I'll give you a hint: the story of Naboth's Vineyard is a prophetic
portrait of what happened when a Christ-Centered Faith was replaced
by Churchianity.

That's what happens when you "tolerate Jezebel" (Rev. 2:20).

Now, people argue that Jezebel's Garden is "producing lots of
fruit."

And if it is "producing fruit" then it must be a good thing.

As Jesus would say, "Blind fools!"

Jesus said we do err, not because our hearts are not in the right
place, but because we don't know the Scriptures.

If we KNEW the Scriptures then we would know that we cannot defend
Jezebel's Garden (the Harlot Church system).

Something for you to think about.

Request your copy of the full teaching here:
http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org/jezebel



I am your brother,

Chip Brogden
http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org

---------------------------------

THE SCHOOL OF CHRIST is dedicated to your spiritual growth and
maturity through Christ-centered, Spirit-led, Scripture-based
discipleship that focuses on relationship, not religion.

To find out more about us, click here:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/about/welcome.html

You can also connect with us on...
Facebook - https://facebook.com/TheSchoolOfChristOrg
Twitter - http://twitter.com/schoolofchrist
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/chipbrogden


(c)2012 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for
non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

PO Box 552, Canandaigua, NY 14424, USA

A couple of days ago I released this video:
http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org/jezebel

It has (predictably) stirred up a lot of questions, so I'll try to
answer some of them.

----
Q: In your video you said anyone who has ever attended church has
come under the influence of Jezebel to one degree or another.
Aren't you painting every church with the same brush?

A: If you go to a landfill you're going to be influenced by the
stink, and you're going to take some of that stink with you when
you leave. The longer you stay in the stink, the more affected you
will be, and the more you will affect others. Eventually you'll
get so used to the stink that you won't smell it anymore. So the
fact that some churches stink less than others does not change the
fact that they are all influenced by the spirit of Jezebel to some
degree. The fact that you think your church "isn't like that" could
really mean that you've just become impervious to its religious
stench. Jezebel still stinks to God and to people with
discernment. It also stinks to the world, who reject Christ on the
basis of things said and done in His Name by the religious system.

----
Q: What's the difference between Jezebel and Babylon, or is it the
same thing?

A: From Scripture we discern that Jezebel is a spirit, while
Babylon is a city (e.g., a powerful system). You could say that
Jezebel is the religious spirit that helps drive the religious
system of Babylon. Just as a city's influence extends far beyond
its borders, Jezebel's reach extends well beyond Babylon, which
explains why those who have stopped going to church can still be
manipulated by this religious spirit without even realizing it.

----
Q: I always heard that Jezebel is a controlling female spirit that
tries to manipulate the pastor. True or false?

A: It's much bigger than that. Jezebel runs the whole religious
system and uses both men and women to perpetuate her seductions. It
is a systemic, pervasive, all-encompassing seduction that's bigger
than any one church or denomination or group. Just as Scripture
predicted: once a little leaven was introduced, the whole lump
became leavened. And although the religious spirit itself is
neither male nor female, the epidemic of effeminate men and
homosexual activity within the religious system's leadership is a
definite characteristic of Jezebel's work.

----
Q: What does this have to do with your famous "Christ-centered
teaching"? What is so Christ-centered about bashing the church?

A: Which "church" are you referring to - the True, or the False? I
am only repeating what Scripture has already warned us about: a
counterfeit Bride who is really a Harlot will seduce many people in
the last days by claiming to represent God. Helping people get
free from a religious spirit that lies, bewitches, distracts, and
seduces them away from Christ is an obvious first step towards
pointing them to Christ.

----
Q: What exactly can you "do" for someone under the influence of
Jezebel?

A: Assuming a person loves God and respects the Word of God, the
first step is to simply show them what the Bible says. That's what
this teaching is all about, and for those who really love Jesus,
that is all you need to do - show them the truth and they will
repent. Those brazen enough to nullify the Word of God in order to
defend their religious traditions cannot be helped, and won't be
helped, by this teaching.

----
Watch the video and request the full audio teaching here:
http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org/jezebel

I am your brother,

Chip Brogden
---------------------------------

THE SCHOOL OF CHRIST is dedicated to your spiritual growth and
maturity through Christ-centered, Spirit-led, Scripture-based
discipleship that focuses on relationship, not religion.

To find out more about us, click here:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/about/welcome.html

You can also connect with us on...
Facebook - https://facebook.com/TheSchoolOfChristOrg
Twitter - http://twitter.com/schoolofchrist
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/chipbrogden

(c)2012 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for
non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

PO Box 552, Canandaigua, NY 14424, USA

Hi Elaine,

Did you know that the Bible clearly predicts the rise and fall of
the modern church system?

I got tired of people saying I was making this up.

So, for the first time, I've gone step-by-step through the
prophetic Scriptures, the parables of Jesus, the letters of Paul,
and the Book of Revelation to show what the religious system is
really all about, how it affects you, and what you can expect.

All clearly written in Scripture, in advance of its fulfillment, so
we would be prepared.

I call it "The Jezebel Code."

Watch this video to learn more:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/jezebel


I am your brother,

Chip Brogden
http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org


---------------------------------

THE SCHOOL OF CHRIST is dedicated to your spiritual growth and
maturity through Christ-centered, Spirit-led, Scripture-based
discipleship that focuses on relationship, not religion.

To find out more about us, click here:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/about/welcome.html

You can also connect with us on...
Facebook - https://facebook.com/TheSchoolOfChristOrg
Twitter - http://twitter.com/schoolofchrist
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/chipbrogden


(c)2012 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for
non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

Part 2: Pursuit of the High Call of God
5 EVIDENCES OF A CHRIST-CENTERED FAITH
by Chip Brogden

----------------------
Evidence #2 - Pursuit of the High Call of God
----------------------

Florence Chadwick was the first woman to swim the English Channel
in both directions. Sometime after that accomplishment, she set out
to become the first woman to swim from Catalina Island to the coast
of California. After hours of swimming in the ice cold water,
fending off sharks and battling a discouraging fog, she gave up
just a half mile from her goal. "If only I could have seen land,"
she said afterwards, "I might have made it."

Seeing the goal of our spiritual journey is critical. God has a
goal for us, but that goal is often obscured by the fog of
religion. If we can't see the goal, we'll just give up and settle
for something lesser, something easier. This is precisely the
problem with the Institutional Church. Those with a Self-Centered
or Church-Centered Faith have essentially settled for something far
below God's full thought for them. They are satisfied to reach the
bare minimum goal with the bare minimum effort, but are unwilling
to go any further.

READ THE REST OF THIS POST:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/articles/5-evidences-of-a-christ-centered-faith-2.html

I am your brother,
Chip Brogden
http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org

THE SCHOOL OF CHRIST is dedicated to your spiritual growth and
maturity through Christ-centered, Spirit-led, Scripture-based
discipleship that focuses on relationship, not religion.

To find out more about us, click here:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/about/welcome.html

You can also connect with us on...
Facebook - https://facebook.com/TheSchoolOfChristOrg
Twitter - http://twitter.com/schoolofchrist
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/chipbrogden
(c)2012 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for
non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

5 EVIDENCES OF A CHRIST-CENTERED FAITH
by Chip Brogden

----------------------
Evidence #1 - Total Commitment to the Preeminence of Christ
----------------------

"Preeminence" means having the first, highest, chief, and best
place in a position of ascendancy over everything else. In military
terms, having preeminence means being able to go anywhere, and do
anything, without opposition. It is overwhelming, unrestricted,
absolute authority and power.

Though everyone seeks preeminence, only one Person is worthy of it,
and only He can be trusted with it. Scripture reveals that God
intends for Jesus Christ to have that kind of unrestricted
authority and power in a position of spiritual ascendancy over
everything else: "That in all things He should have the
preeminence" (Col. 1:18).

Preeminence is revealed in some of the titles of Christ. He is not
just one king among many kings, but He is "King of Kings." He is
not merely one lord among many lords, but He is "Lord of Lords." He
is not just one path to God among so many other paths of equal
significance and relevance: but Jesus is THE Way, THE Truth, and
THE Life, and He declares without apology that "no one comes to the
Father except by Me" (Jn. 14:6). Many people today consider that
exclusivity to be intolerant and closed-minded. Scripture calls it
Christ having the preeminence...

READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/articles/5-evidences-of-a-christ-centered-faith-1.html



I am your brother,

Chip Brogden
http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org


---------------------------------

THE SCHOOL OF CHRIST is dedicated to your spiritual growth and
maturity through Christ-centered, Spirit-led, Scripture-based
discipleship that focuses on relationship, not religion.

To find out more about us, click here:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/about/welcome.html

You can also connect with us on...
Facebook - https://facebook.com/TheSchoolOfChristOrg
Twitter - http://twitter.com/schoolofchrist
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/chipbrogden


(c)2012 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for
non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

5 EVIDENCES OF A CHRIST-CENTERED FAITH

by Chip Brogden

http://theschoolofchrist.org/articles/5-evidences-of-a-christ-centered-faith-introduction.html

(Introduction)

Just 400 years ago it was commonly accepted that everything in the
universe, including the sun, moon and stars, all revolved around a
stationary Earth. Not only did this seem obvious to those who lived
on Earth, it seemed to be supported by Scripture.

So when the astronomer Galileo began to spread the idea of the
earth and everything else revolving around a stationary sun, he
attracted the ire of the Roman Catholic Church. Galileo provided a
solid scientific basis for his ideas, and tried to show that his
theories did not contradict Scripture at all. Nevertheless, Galileo
was branded a heretic, forced to recant, and obliged to live the
rest of his life as a prisoner in his own home. Today we know that
the Roman Catholic Church was wrong, and Galileo was correct.

In a similar way, the Christian Religion has, for over 1700 years,
successfully convinced millions of people to adopt a
Church-Centered Faith. Scriptures are used to justify a view of the
spiritual universe that is erroneous. It is a line of thinking in
which everyone and everything connected with God is supposed to
revolve around the Church: build it, support it, attend it, and
invite people to join it. Christ, mistakenly credited with having
founded the Institutional Church, is obliged to protect, defend,
love, honor, cherish, bless, and provide for it. Those who
challenge this view are likewise seen as rebellious heretics.

The truth is that God never called us to a Church-Centered Faith.
From the beginning, God has called followers of Jesus to a
Christ-Centered Faith: a way of living that revolves around Christ
having the central, preeminent, and most important place in a
person's heart. The Assembly of Called-Out Persons (the Ekklesia)
was to be both a spiritual and a practical community of
Christ-followers who had entered into a new covenant with God and
with one another: to value, believe, teach, practice, and
experience a Christ-Centered Faith.

That is simply another way of saying that the belief and practice
of the New Testament was based upon, and centered around, a
relationship with a Person. The focus was not on the systematic
theology of a new religious group, nor was it the particular nuance
of doctrine from a breakaway splinter group within Judaism. New
Testament belief and practice was unique in that it was centered
upon a Man Who lived, died, came back to life again, and would now
rule in the hearts of men and women until He returned. You could
say that in the New Testament universe, God clearly established
that everything was to revolve around the SON.

The apostle Paul is normally described by historians as the one
most responsible for "establishing Christianity" in the Greco-Roman
world. It is therefore important to note that Paul, as the primary
spokesperson for this new Faith to the non-Jewish world, had no
intention of laying out a complicated doctrinal framework or
systematic theology. He was not primarily called to be an
apologist, theologian, or professor of religion. Quite the
opposite, in fact; he would eventually repudiate his former
fascination with religion and commit himself to a completely
different calling. But "establishing Christianity" was the furthest
thing from his mind.

What happened to Paul? The direction of his life was changed in an
instant, and we know the exact moment when his destiny was forever
changed. Something happened to Paul on the road to Damascus. What
happened? Not a mere revelation. Not just an epiphany. Not just an
awakening. Certainly, not the discovery of a particular doctrinal
or Scriptural insight that had previously been overlooked, only to
hit him in a "eureka" moment. Not the mere flashing of a light bulb
in his head, with the exclamation, "By George, I think I've got
it!" All of that deals with the realm of the rational mind, the
thoughts, the working of the intellectual process that everyone
experiences from time to time.

It is important to understand that what happened to Paul was well
beyond the realm of intellectual apprehension and rational thought.
What happened to Paul was not the result of calculation,
premeditation, or a long period of study in which he came to some
new conclusions and made a few cosmetic changes to his personal
belief system. Paul did not stumble upon an idea, a thought, an
argument, or a doctrine on the road to Damascus. Paul did not
respond to someone else's persuasive presentation or emotionally
moving message.

What happened to Paul? Simply this: Paul met a Man. Paul stumbled
upon a Person. And once Paul met the Lord Jesus, Paul adopted a
completely new set of values, beliefs, teachings, and practices
that replaced the old ways of the Jewish religion. Christ now stood
in the center of Paul's world, and everything else (including Paul
himself) would revolve around this Man.

Of course, we are tempted to hold up Paul as a peculiar, unique
example. In reality, Paul's experience with Christ, and the
resulting upheaval and re-ordering of everything in Paul's life to
revolve around Christ, is the sort of spiritual revolution that
every true follower of Jesus *should have already experienced*. If
your coming to Christ has not resulted in spiritual upset to the
status quo then you have not truly touched the Lord Himself. You
have (like many nominal Christians) merely touched an idea, or a
teaching, or a belief. You have touched mere Christianity, or more
likely, Churchianity; but these are mere shadows of the substance,
and more often than not, they do more to distract you from Christ
than to help you find Him.

No, you do not have to have a vision of Jesus and hear an audible
voice (as Paul did) to touch the Person of Christ; but you must
have touched, on some basic level, the Person Who so often is
hidden behind all the things said and done in His Name that really
have nothing to do with Him. Those who touch the things *about* Jesus
experience religion; those who touch Christ Himself experience
*revolution*. Those who touch the religion wind up in a
Church-Centered Faith; those who touch the Living Christ adopt a
Christ-Centered Faith.

How can we tell the difference? Jesus said that the tree is known
by the fruit that it produces. There are some clues, some
evidences, of a Christ-Centered Faith. There is visible, tangible
fruit. When we compare the fruit of a Christ-Centered Faith with
the fruit of a Church-Centered Faith, the differences are very
clearly seen.

TO BE CONTINUED...


I am your brother,

Chip Brogden
http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org


---------------------------------

THE SCHOOL OF CHRIST is dedicated to your spiritual growth and
maturity through Christ-centered, Spirit-led, Scripture-based
discipleship that focuses on relationship, not religion.

To find out more about us, click here:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/about/welcome.html

You can also connect with us on...
Facebook - https://facebook.com/TheSchoolOfChristOrg
Twitter - http://twitter.com/schoolofchrist
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/chipbrogden


(c)2012 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for
non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

Hi Elaine,

The turning point in my life came in 1995.

At that time I was a 24 year-old burned out pastor of a church that
had just closed.

I was a little angry, a little frustrated, and a little depressed.

As I was half-reading and half-praying, I came across a passage
that I had seen hundreds of times before: "[God] has raised us up
together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus" (Eph. 2:6).

That word "together" exploded upon my consciousness - together,
together, TOGETHER!

I finally grasped the fact that I am in Christ, and Christ is in me.

From there, everything else fell into place.

If I am seated together with Him, then I ascended together with Him.

If I ascended together with Him, then I was resurrected together
with Him.

If I was resurrected together with Him, then I died with Him.

If I died with Him, then "I was crucified with Christ" (Gal. 2:20).

I knew all those Scriptures... I had read them hundreds of times... I
had taught these things for years...

But on that day, the written Word became the Living Word.

I saw Him.

I saw myself in Him - just one of the crucified, dead, buried,
resurrected, ascended, and seated Branches of a crucified, dead,
buried, resurrected, ascended, and seated Vine.

I saw it backwards and forwards, upside down and rightside up, from
every possible angle and from every possible color.

I did not realize it at the time, but that day, and the revelation
that came to me that day, would mark the beginning of the end of my
career as a preacher for Organized Religion.

Because once I saw Christ as He truly is, I began to see the Body
of Christ as it really is - and as it should be.

I began to see what a poor, miserable substitute Churchianity has
created.

I realized I no longer "fit the suit."

But I still tried.

My mission from that day forward was to be the Grand Reformer,
another Martin Luther who was going to take this revelation into
Churchianity and turn the world upside down.

It wasn't long before my opportunity came.

The next church that extended a ministry position to me probably
thought they were getting the typical Assemblies of God pastor.

What they got instead was a disaster (at least in their mind).

From my perspective, I was just speaking the truth and keeping it
real.

I couldn't figure out why loving people and pointing them to Christ
caused so much hate and anger.

Today, of course, I get it.

I understand the difference between being Christ-centered and
Church-centered.

You see, I had always assumed that being Church-centered was pretty
much the same thing as being Christ-centered.

How naïve and foolish I was in those days.

I also assumed that everyone went to church because they wanted to
grow spiritually.

Another foolish assumption.

Christ-centered spiritual maturity is NOT the goal of Churchianity;
the goal of Churchianity is to keep people in a perpetual state of
spiritual immaturity, forever dependent upon the pastor to feed
them and the worship team to entertain them.

Scriptural integrity? Only insofar as the Scriptures agree with
their way of doing things.

As Jesus said, "You nullify the Word of God with your tradition."

And as God told Ezekiel, "They come and sit before you as My
people, and they listen to what you say, but they won't do anything
you tell them. To them you're a lovely song playing on an
instrument; they enjoy listening to you, but they won't put
anything you say into practice."

(That's my paraphrase of Ezekiel 33:31,32.)

Being kicked out of church was the best thing that could have
happened to us.

If I had not been kicked out of church, I would still be there
trying to reform it.

Trying to fix something that God never intended to be built to
begin with.

Occasionally someone says, "Hey Brother Chip, not all churches are
bad! What about all the good pastors? What about all the precious
people who still go to church? Aren't you afraid you're going to
offend someone by painting all of them with such a broad brush?"

If the price of saving a few is to offend the many, then no, I'm
not afraid of offending the many.

I am more afraid of not doing all I can to help people get
delivered from a religion ABOUT Jesus so they can discover a
relationship WITH Him.

One time, the disciples of Jesus came to him and said, "Master,
don't You know the Pharisees were offended by what You just said?"

Jesus replied: "Leave them alone. They are blind leaders of the
blind, and if the blind lead the blind, they will both fall into a
ditch."

But Lord, what about Nicodemus? Nicodemus was a good Pharisee who
supported Jesus! See, not all Pharisees are bad! Oh no, Jesus
might have offended Nicodemus by lumping them all together into one
broad, general statement about the blind leading the blind! Oh,
the shock!

Here's what Jesus knows: Nicodemus is going to have to decide if he
wants to follow Jesus or follow the Pharisees, but there is no way
for him to do both at the same time.

"To him who has an ear, let him hear."

In other words, if the shoe fits, wear it.

That goes for Nicodemus and for everyone else trying to have the
best of both worlds.

The School of Christ follows in the same spirit of Jesus: choose
whom you will serve, because you cannot follow Christ and defend
Churchianity at the same time.

If you are sold out for the Lord's purposes, you are on a head-on
collision course with Churchianity.

I'm living proof of that.

Of course, you can try - as I did.

I wish you well, but that's not my battle.

My fight is for God's Purposes to be fulfilled in God's People.

I want to see God's People delivered from a Church-centered
tradition so they can have a Christ-centered Faith.

I want to see God's People set free from the shackles of spiritual
immaturity so they can grow in grace and in the knowledge of the
Lord Jesus - spiritually mature, able to serve God and serve others.

I want to see God's People rightly handle the Word of God, able to
handle strong meat, able to exercise discernment, able to test all
things, and able to speak the truth in love without hitting people
over the head with Bible verses taken out of context.

And that CANNOT happen within the narrow confines of Churchianity.

"Come out of her, My People!" (Rev. 18:4).

The opportunity is Outside the Camp, not inside it.

The Harvest is "out there" not "in here."

Let the dead bury their dead.

It's time for us to be about our Father's business.


I am your brother,

Chip Brogden
http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org


P.S. Did you notice that in this letter I alluded to our Three
Core Values? Watch these three short videos to learn more:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/about/values.html


---------------------------------

THE SCHOOL OF CHRIST is dedicated to your spiritual growth and
maturity through Christ-centered, Spirit-led, Scripture-based
discipleship that focuses on relationship, not religion.

To find out more about us, click here:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/about/welcome.html

You can also connect with us on...
Facebook - https://facebook.com/TheSchoolOfChristOrg
Twitter - http://twitter.com/schoolofchrist
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/chipbrogden


(c)2012 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for
non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

PO Box 552, Canandaigua, NY 14424, USA

Hi Elaine,

What gets you out of bed in the morning?

What motivates you to keep going no matter what?

I just recorded some quick "backyard videos" to better explain our
inspiration for helping people at The School of Christ.

Here is the first of three videos for you:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/about/values.html

It's short (less than eight minutes) but packs a punch.

I felt it was important for you to know more about what we stand
for, and why.

Do you share these values?
http://theschoolofchrist.org/about/values.html

Please take a look, let me know what you think, and stayed tuned
for the rest.



I am your brother,


Chip Brogden
http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org


---------------------------------

THE SCHOOL OF CHRIST is dedicated to your spiritual growth and
maturity through Christ-centered, Spirit-led, Scripture-based
discipleship that focuses on relationship, not religion.

To find out more about us, click here:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/about/welcome.html

You can also connect with us on...
Facebook - https://facebook.com/TheSchoolOfChristOrg
Twitter - http://twitter.com/schoolofchrist
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/chipbrogden


(c)2012 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for
non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

PO Box 552, Canandaigua, NY 14424, USA

FIVE CRITICAL NEEDS FOR OUT-OF-CHURCH CHRISTIANS


Hello Elaine,

In my previous message, I said that God has sent The School of
Christ to help those who are burned out on religion, fed up
with Churchianity, despised, rejected, and cut off from the
Institutional Church.

If you fit into that category, my message to you is simple:

1. You are not crazy

2. You are not alone.

3. Now is the greatest opportunity of your life.

You have been set free to serve: liberated from Churchianity, free
to follow Jesus, free to love God and to love your neighbor,
without being bound by the Spirit of Religion.

Or so it would appear...

Because just as the newly liberated Hebrews wandered the desert for
forty years without entering the Promised Land, it is possible for
newly liberated Christians to wander in the wilderness for years
and never discover the purpose to which they are called.

Or like the Galatians, you can easily find yourself being set free
in Christ, only to become entangled again by the yoke of bondage to
Churchianity.

Our heart's desire is to help you STAND FAST in the liberty wherein
Christ has made you free.

To do that, we have identified Five Critical Needs for those who
have escaped Churchianity and endeavor to follow Jesus "outside the
camp."

These Five Critical Needs are the conclusions we have come to after
traveling thousands of miles, communicating with thousands of
Christians, and observing first hand nearly every variety of
church, denomination, home group, and even a few cults over nearly
30 years of ministry to people, both inside and outside of
Churchianity - the good, the bad, and the ugly.

More importantly, these Five Critical Needs are the five specific
areas in which we believe God is calling us to do something about.

Let's talk about the most obvious one first...


========================================
1. FELLOWSHIP
========================================

It is the #1 reason why people say they attend church.

It is the #1 reason given for why people who don't attend church
should attend.

And it is the #1 reason why some people who say God called them out
of church will later change their minds and go right back into the
very thing they said God set them free from.

It's a powerful force!

What is it?

Fellowship!

The need to interact with others and walk together with them is
deeply rooted in every person.

Here's the problem...

We have a "fellowship fantasy" playing around in our head about how
life will be wonderful once we find fellowship.

In real life, there is no perfect fellowship, and even if we find
it, it's not as wonderful as we thought (it's actually rather
messy).

Really, fellowship is EASY.

You can get fellowship at the local bar (or pub).

You can get fellowship at the country club or the football stadium.

Fellowship occurs when people are united together by a common
interest.

Fellowship among Christians isn't really the difficulty; the
challenge is agreeing on what the common interest is going to be.

You may have discovered that not all Christians are united together
by a common interest; therefore, it is not possible to have
fellowship with all Christians.

"But brother, JESUS is what unites all Christians!"

Theoretically, yes, that is what SHOULD unite all Christians.

But practically, you know as well as I do that Christians are
motivated by many different things - and some of them have nothing
to do with Jesus.

So whatever fellowship is, fellowship has to be more than starting
a group or having some meetings.

In my experience, that kind of fellowship is fleeting and rather
flimsy.

Same thing with "like-mindedness." What are the odds of finding
perfect agreement on everything?

Even so, we still need fellowship with others.

But it has to be the RIGHT KIND of fellowship.

For Christians called to follow God outside the camp, going back to
church will not yield the fellowship you seek - or the fellowship
you need - to take your faith-walk with God to the next level.

What does the RIGHT KIND of fellowship with out-of-church
Christians provide?

Help.

Understanding.

Advice.

Feedback.

Support.

Encouragement.

Tough Love.

But even these things won't be enough.

That's because you also need...


========================================
2. HEALING
========================================

Being crucified by Christians hurts!

Well, it's supposed to hurt.

Pain gets our attention and motivates us to make difficult but
necessary decisions - decisions like: leaving church, saying "no
more" to spiritual abuse, letting go of old "friends" who are
convinced of your backslidden, rebellious condition.

Yes, we understand pain.

In our travels and in our interactions with people, we see a lot of
Wounded. We have also been through our share of hurts.

I have seen a lot of the Wounded gathered together into home
groups, re-living their past experiences, comparing battle scars
the way the fishermen compared shark bite scars in the movie
"Jaws"...

(Rolls up his pants leg...) "See that? Got that one from the
pastor. Vineyard Fellowship, 1979."

"Oh yeah?" (Pulls up his shirt...) "Got this one in the First
Baptist
Church, 1962. Deacon Board. Ain't it a beaut?"

So they sit in a circle, picking apart their wounds, infecting one
another with the deadly bacteria of bitterness.

Yes, pain is a natural, unavoidable consequence of life.

So is healing.

As sure as sunrise follows after darkness, as sure as Life comes
out of Death, so Healing comes out of Hurt.

How could it be otherwise?

As the Scriptures say, there is a time, a purpose, and a season for
everything.

There is a time to be wounded and hurt...

Followed by a time to be healed and to get on with your life: to
get busy living, loving, learning.

God seeks a company of "Wounded Healers" who can truly minister to
those who have been hurt by Churchianity.

Once you have begin the process of Healing, you have simultaneously
begun the process of...


========================================
3. GROWTH
========================================

A middle-aged man came up to me during the lunch break at one of
our day-long workshops.

His eyes were moist and he grasped one of my hands between his two
hands.

"Brother," he said, "I just want you to know that I learned more
from you this morning than I learned going to church for twenty
years."

There was a mixture of emotions in the man: joy, for having
discovered so many new treasures to be explored; sadness, for all
the years wasted warming a pew, making no progress.

That incident has repeated itself over many years and many workshop
with many different people who each expressed the same thing.

Is it because I'm such a wonderful teacher?

Not at all.

It's due to the fact that Churchianity is content with the status
quo.

I will never, ever, ever be content with the status quo.

I know the status quo all too well: don't ruffle feathers, don't go
too far, just give people a nice, warm, fuzzy, positive,
encouraging devotional talk and be sure to get them out the door by
noon.

Spiritual growth and maturity is NOT the goal of Churchianity.

Churchianity has made Christianity into a passive spectator sport
for the spiritually obese.

In the meantime, "My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge"
(Hos. 4:6).

I believe God calls all of us to grow, to mature, to make progress,
to advance.

Living things GROW.

If you aren't growing then you're dying.

When God sets you free from Churchianity, you have two choices: get
busy living, or get busy dying.

I want you to grow, to live, and to prosper in every spiritual
blessing.

Do not set your sights on merely "surviving" when you can be
"thriving."

Your spiritual growth towards Christ-centered maturity allows you
to discard the unnecessary things you accumulated in the church
system, which means you are finally moving towards...


========================================
4. RELEVANCE
========================================

"Brother Chip, I've searched all over your website for thoughts on
[insert theological controversy here], but I can't find it. Why
don't you talk about it? How could you not address this most
important issue of all-time?"

Probably because theological controversies and deep doctrinal
debates aren't relevant to anyone but theologians.

I'm not a theologian, and I'm not trying to reach theologians.

The Faith doesn't so much need to be defended, or explained, as
much as it needs to be practiced.

Churchianity has long divided the world with its petty disputes and
religious wrangling over issues that have no relevance to a dying
world or to most Christians.

We have gotten off-track and off-message from the original mission
Jesus gave us.

If you have been set free from Churchianity then you have an
opportunity to finally become relevant - to be real, to be honest,
to live, to love, to learn, and to be accessible to people who
couldn't even find you before.

You know...

The people dressed in blue jeans who used to watch you from a
distance as you dined with your church buddies, dressed in your
Sunday best.

I know you've done it, because I've done it.

"I thank you, God, that I am not as other men are... or even as
those
people over there who obviously didn't go to church today..."

When you are set free from Religion, you can start talking with
people about Relationship.

You can start loving and reaching people that Churchianity tends to
forget about.

You can finally fulfill the original mandate to "Go into all the
world" and stop trying to get the world to come to you.

When people object that "the church is full of hypocrites" you
don't have to defend your church anymore, you can just smile and
agree - and then point them to Jesus.

As Churchianity collapses, small groups of out-of-church followers
of Jesus will carry out the unrealized goal of bringing the
simplicity of Christ to the world.

You have an important part to play in that.

And once you become relevant to the world around you, you can begin
to clearly see your...


========================================
5. PURPOSE
========================================

For the church-addicted, church defines your purpose: who you are,
your reason for living, your reason for being.

And when church isn't there anymore, it leaves a great big hole
where your purpose used to be.

Some will wander away from one church and find another church to
fill the void.

Some will wander from group to group, movement to movement, house
church to house church, trying to fill the void within the context
of their fellowship fantasy.

Some will wander away from God and look for carnal, worldly,
fleshly pursuits to fill the void.

Others will come out of Churchianity and discover a whole new
reason for living: a new identity, a new calling, a new mission, a
new way of seeing the world and one another.

You have been taught that the only place God can use a person is
within the narrow confines of the local church establishment.

But you will discover a new identity that is based on Christ.

And you will learn how to find and fulfill God's Purpose for your
life.

A Purpose that transcends who you meet with, where you meet, or
what you do when you meet.

A Purpose that transforms you from Passive Spectator into Active
Participant in the great Plan of God.

A Purpose that makes sense of all the pain you have suffered, and
for which you are willing to suffer all over again, if necessary.

A "Joseph" moment, when you realize that God permitted the pain of
rejection in order to prepare you for saving the lives of the very
ones who rejected you.

A "David" moment, when you realize that God blessed you to be a
blessing, and made you a king, not so you could be served, but so
you could serve.

An "Esther" moment, when you realize that you were brought into the
kingdom "for such a time as this."

A "Paul" moment, when your personal religious pursuits are
interrupted by the Living Lord, and you cry, "Lord, what would YOU
have me to do?"

In those moments you will find a Purpose that is bigger than you,
bigger than the meeting of your own needs.

A Purpose that makes it all worthwhile.

* * * *

Of course, meeting these needs won't be easy. Any worthy goal that
glorifies God and helps people has challenges.

In my next letter, I will explain how The School of Christ proposes
to meet the Five Critical Needs of Fellowship, Healing, Growth,
Relevance, and Purpose.


I am your brother,


Chip Brogden
http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org



---------------------------------

THE SCHOOL OF CHRIST is dedicated to your spiritual growth and
maturity through Christ-centered, Spirit-led, Scripture-based
discipleship that focuses on relationship, not religion.

To find out more about us, click here:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/about/welcome.html

You can also connect with us on...
Facebook - https://facebook.com/TheSchoolOfChristOrg
Twitter - http://twitter.com/schoolofchrist
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/chipbrogden


(c)2012 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for
non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

PO Box 552, Canandaigua, NY 14424, USA

"So, what is 'The School of Christ'?" she asked.

We were standing in line at the grocery store and I thought, that's
a good question. What is The School of Christ? How would I
describe it to someone in the "real world" who has never read or
listened to any of our teachings?

I'm not usually at a loss for words, but I was unprepared for the
question and it took me a second to think it through.

"We work with people who don't go to church - especially those who
have been hurt by church - and we help them get re-focused on their
relationship with Christ, instead of religion." That was the best I
could come up with on short notice, but I thought it was a pretty
good synopsis.

She smiled knowingly and nodded her head. "Yes, there are lots of
people who don't go to church. And I suppose there are some people
who have been hurt by church. That's a really good thing you're
doing," she said.

I waited for the other shoe to drop.

"But..." she wrinkled her forehead a bit as she contemplated the
question that had to be asked in situations like this. "But... you
DO try to get them to go BACK to church, don't you?"

I like answering a question with a question, so I asked, "Why would
we do that?"

The smile on her face drooped a bit and now she was genuinely
puzzled. "Well... because the church IS the Body of Christ..."

The conversation limped along from there. I gave her our website
address, she promised to check it out, and we parted ways.

Will she "check us out"? Maybe. Probably not.

Do I care? Not so much anymore.

Why?

Because we're not called to help people who are still in church.

If you're happy with your church, happy with Sunday morning
religion, happy with lukewarm preaching and Churchianity, happy to
have your ears tickled once or twice a week, happy and content
where you are, then far be it from me to tell you anything
different.

To whom are we sent?

We are sent to help the ones burned out on religion, fed up with
Churchianity, despised, rejected, and cut off from the
Institutional Church.

We are sent to help those starving, battered and beaten sheep who
have been abused by the goats, fleeced by the shepherds, and
attacked by the wolves.

We are sent to help the ones that the local church tries to get rid
of - the troublemakers, the ones who ask too many questions, the
ones who won't submit to the authority of their spiritually
immature pastor.

We are sent to help the ones who have had their eyes opened and
have been led by God to "come out of Babylon" while the rest of
their friends think they are crazy, rebellious, backslidden and
"just hurt."

We are sent to help the ones who have a gift, a calling, a heart, a
burden for the Body of Christ - but see no way to pursue that
calling because they've been misled into thinking that the only
opportunities for serving God are in Church Land.

We are sent to help the 1,000,000+ people every year who stop going
to church, and to the untold millions of people who are searching
for spiritual truth, and have an inkling that Jesus is that Truth,
but have no intention of going to church to look for Him there.

The fields are white and ready to be harvested - and Churchianity
has failed them.

During our trip to Costa Rica in 2003, standing amidst the
ramshackle huts where the poorest of the poor live as refugees, we
saw a big purple monster of a church casting its grim shadow over
us as we stood in the filth just across the street from it.

This "purple church" was supposed to represent royalty, I suppose.

What a picture of the arrogance of Churchianity.

Religion's response to Jesus' prayer for more workers to go into
the harvest has been to build churches and expect that the harvest
would just pick itself up and walk itself into their nice little
buildings without them having to lift a finger.

Well, the harvest didn't harvest itself. So the church buildings
supposedly constructed to "reach the Lost" have become country
clubs for born-again folk too self-absorbed and detached from the
real world to have any meaningful impact - fortresses to shut the
world out and keep the saints warm, dry, fed and comfortable.

The only real church growth these days comes from Christians
changing churches, and churches trying to be more attractive to
other Christians.

Quite frankly, ministries have also had to learn how to be more
attractive to other Christians if they want to survive.

I want no part of that.

I'm tired of trying to be attractive to other Christians. I've
never had a sinner ask for, or give two hoots about, my "doctrinal
statement."

I'm tired of trying to please church-going folk.

The School of Christ is going to focus on pleasing God and helping
people who need help.

We're not starting a new movement. We are continuing in the same
spirit of the original movement that Jesus started 2,000 years ago
when He sent His disciples into all the world with a simple
mandate: "Make disciples of all people."

Karla and I have a purpose to fulfill on this earth through The
School Of Christ. After taking some time off to pray and refocus,
the Lord has strongly reminded me to be about my Father's business
and to concentrate on the ones "to whom we are sent."

We have walked a long, hard, tiring road to come to the place that
we are at now, but "the steps of the righteous are ordered by the
Lord" - and this has been true with us, as I'm sure it has been
true with you as well.

Sufficiently rested, I am even more aware now that the time is
short and the harvest is plentiful. In these days of darkness and
confusion, when it seems like the world is falling apart and there
is no hope, we have a wide open door and a wonderful opportunity to
be a light and to bring hope to the world.

I'll be sharing more about our purpose and specific direction in
the weeks to come. In the meantime, thank you for your support of
The School of Christ, and please let us know if we can serve you in
any way.


In Him,

Chip Brogden
http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org

THE BELIEVERS AUTHORITY
by Chip Brogden

Since all disciples have spiritual authority, why doesn't every
disciple overcome? You might be asking yourself that question. You
might say, "That sounds good, I believe what the Bible says, but I
certainly don't see that happening in my life, and I don't see that
as being the standard for Christian's lives as a general way of
life. I don't see this happening. So if all disciples have this
authority, why don't more disciples overcome?"

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/articles/the-believers-authority.html


I am your brother,


Chip Brogden
http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org


---------------------------------

THE SCHOOL OF CHRIST is dedicated to your spiritual growth and
maturity through Christ-centered, Spirit-led, Scripture-based
discipleship that focuses on relationship, not religion.

To find out more about us, click here:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/about/welcome.html

You can also connect with us on...
Facebook - https://facebook.com/TheSchoolOfChristOrg
Twitter - http://twitter.com/schoolofchrist
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/chipbrogden


(c)2012 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for
non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

HOW TO YIELD TO GOD
by Chip Brogden

A brother came to me who suffered from a bad habit.

He had tried every means known to man to break himself from this
habit. No stone was left unturned.

First he tried all the "Christian" cures: prayer, fasting, binding
and loosing, exorcism, positive confession.

He had made vows to God and had threatened himself with dire
consequences if he ever broke his vows.

But break them he did.

When all these attempts to address the problem spiritually failed,
he tried some psychological remedies: visualization, counseling,
psychotherapy, self-help courses, motivational speakers, natural
remedies, prescription drugs.

He even wore a rubber band around his wrist so that he could snap
it against his skin whenever his thoughts began to go astray. In
this way (he had been told) the pain would interrupt his thought
patterns and he would "snap" back into reality. He had red welts on
his wrist from snapping the rubber band over and over.

Obviously the rubber band trick wasn't working. In fact, nothing
had worked. This is the condition he was in when he sought me out.

"I have tried everything, and I cannot break this habit! What else
can I do?" he asked...

CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE STORY:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/articles/how-to-yield-to-god.html


I am your brother,


Chip Brogden
http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org


---------------------------------

THE SCHOOL OF CHRIST is dedicated to your spiritual growth and
maturity through Christ-centered, Spirit-led, Scripture-based
discipleship that focuses on relationship, not religion.

To find out more about us, click here:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/about/welcome.html

You can also connect with us on...
Facebook - https://facebook.com/TheSchoolOfChristOrg
Twitter - http://twitter.com/schoolofchrist
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/chipbrogden


(c)2012 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for
non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

Hi Elaine! I don't actually own a Kindle device, but I have a smartphone with a Kindle app on it. Now, I didn't think I would like reading books on my phone. But I absolutely love it! Here's why: 1. Instant gratification - find the book I want, click a button, and it downloads to my Kindle. Done. 2. No browsing around at the bookstore, buying books I don't really need. 3. Actually READING the books I download, because I only buy one book at a time - and I read it before buying another. Then I thought... the only thing better than READING books on Kindle is PUBLISHING books on Kindle! For years people have been asking, "Why aren't you on Amazon?" So I wanted to let you know that my first Kindle book has been published on Amazon: "SIMPLE TRUTH: Letters to a Friend on Christian Essentials" http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/simple-truth.html Just click on the link to find out more about the book, and choose the Kindle option if you want to purchase and download instantly. (iTunes is coming soon.) We also just posted some testimonials from people who have read "Simple Truth" already. And if you still want, need, or like the old fashioned "paperback" version then we have that option too. So here's the link again: http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/simple-truth.html We'll be rolling out new titles over the next few weeks, thanks to the hard work of my editor, Lynette Woods, to whom we all owe a debt of thanks for making this happen. There's a lot of *junk* out in cyberspace. So thank you for your support of Christ-centered teaching. I am your brother, Chip Brogden http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org

May 9, 2012



Hello Elaine,


The Early Ekklesia had plenty of problems.

But one thing they had in their favor was strong spiritual leadership who could speak the truth and bring correction when needed.

Followers of Christ in those days weren't left to argue, debate, rationalize, or justify controversial moral issues based on popular opinion.


Things like fornication, adultery, and homosexuality were sins, not "mistakes" or "lifestyle choices" or "just the way I was born."


Today's Harlot Church accepts everything in the name of "tolerance" and "not judging."

To even have these questions open for debate among so-called followers of Christ is a failure of spiritual leadership, plain and simple.


It's also a failure of basic, common sense.

Scripture shows us the truth, if we'll listen.

Not only is it OK for us to judge, it is absolutely required of us.


And while we do thank God for all the spiritual blessings of love, mercy, grace and forgiveness, we still have a responsibility to honor God with our body.

How do we honor God with our body?


Here's a simple place to start: "Flee sexual immorality" (1 Cor. 6:18a).

You can spiritualize your beliefs all you want, but it doesn't get any more practical than that.


Join us for tomorrow night's webinar to learn more:


http://theschoolofchrist.org/learn/internet-bible-study-index





I am your brother,

Chip Brogden
http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org


P.S. As always, if you can't join us for the live session, you can always catch the audio replay. The advantage to the live session is you get the visual aids and the ability to participate in the question and answer session afterwards.

THE SCHOOL OF CHRIST is dedicated to your spiritual growth and maturity through Christ-centered, Spirit-led, Scripture-based discipleship that focuses on relationship, not religion. To find out more about us, click here. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
©2012 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

May 3, 2012



Hello Elaine,


The modern "church" doesn't understand how to deal with sin in the camp.

When a leader sins, it is covered up for as long as possible. Then comes the big announcement that the leader must go away to be "restored" under the supervision of (supposedly) mature brothers (fellow preachers).

In a few weeks, the leader is right back where he was before, as though nothing ever happened.

I'm all for God's forgiveness.

It's just my observation that sin was judged more quickly and thoroughly in the early Ekklesia. Grace wasn't cheap, and forgiveness wasn't offered until AFTER repentance was demonstrated.

When people lied to the Holy Spirit they fell down dead.

When people sinned, Paul's counsel was to turn them over to satan!

Today, we're so afraid we're going to judge, or condemn, or criticize, or offend, or hurt somebody's feelings, that we no longer speak the truth in love or do what is necessary. Turn them over to satan? How unloving!

But maybe the unloving thing is to do nothing.

So join us tonight for a Scriptural perspective on how we should deal with the perpetually sinning brother or sister who refuses to repent:



http://theschoolofchrist.org/learn/internet-bible-study-index





I am your brother,

Chip Brogden
http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org

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