Chris Broom

Though in the minority, I write this article for the honor of God and for the defense of my friend and brother, Kip McKean and the Sold-out Discipling Movement.  A few weeks ago, an article by Douglas Arthur featured on “ICOC (International Church of Christ) Hot News” brought up charges about Kip’s supposed slander, unwholesome talk and lack of repentance, which have led to a weakened church condition in Portland, Oregon.  I have watched the Portland situation develop during the past 12 months, and would like to offer a different perspective “according to my convictions.”  After all, “The first to present his case seems right until another comes forward and questions him.” (Proverbs 18:17)  The following questions must be answered in order to present an accurate and balanced account of the events that have taken place in Portland.

1. What is unwholesome talk and slander?
2. Why did so many people leave the Portland Church after the mission team to Los Angeles was sent out in Spring of 2007?  (And why are they still leaving?)

Douglas states, “I personally traveled to Portland in May of 2006 to admonish…Kip and the Elders (Bob Bertalot and Tony Untalan) in Portland about letting no unwholesome talk come out of their mouths.” (Ephesians 4:29)

1.  What is unwholesome talk and slander?

• Unwholesome: harmful to physical, mental or moral health.

• Slander: false statements or misrepresentations which defame and injure the reputation of another.

As far as Douglas’ charges of unwholesome talk and slander, consider the following two quotes made by present ICOC leaders, who now oppose the Sold-out Discipling Movement:

• Tom Jones, “In Search of a City.” pg 92-95:

“The first answer (as to why I joined the Boston movement, which was named the International Churches of Christ – ICOC – in 1994) has to do with great disappointment that I and others experienced with the Mainline Churches of Christ.  I read recently on a web posting…that ‘nominalism’ and lukewarmness in the Mainline Church created the ICOC.  In this statement I believe there is a world of truth.  Many of us did read the Bible on our own in the ’60s and ’70s, and we did find there, in Phillip Yancey’s words, ‘a Jesus we never knew.’  We found a Jesus who issued a radical call to discipleship.  We found a Jesus who was revolutionary.  We found a Jesus who intended for his gospel to be preached around the world and expected those of us who followed him to take it there, whatever it might cost us.  …But then when this Jesus we had never heard about in our traditional churches was proclaimed, the reaction, in our view, was as negative as it was swift.  The Jesus we never knew was a Jesus that most people did not want to know.  Most church members were involved in pursuing the American dream and were happy with the comfortable Christianity that allowed them to work Jesus in around the edges of their lives.  …In the Crossroads, and eventually the Boston Movement some of us found the one place we could go where Jesus’ high call was held out as “the normal Christian life,” to use the language of Watchman Nee.  In this movement the standard – the norm – was a high degree of commitment.  In the Crossroads Movement, the call had been for all to make Jesus Lord.  In the Boston Movement the message was for every member of the church to be a disciple …Whatever sins and mistakes would later be revealed in the Boston Movement and the International Churches of Christ, calling people to a radical commitment to Jesus was not one of them…

“The second reason I believe we united with the Boston Church was because of the vision and plan they had for world evangelism …We didn’t know anywhere else where a plan to reach the world was working…Again, I would say, whatever the mistakes have been in the ICOC, having a passion for world evangelism has not been one of them.”

• Gordon Ferguson, “Discipling: God’s Plan to Train and Transform His People.” (1997), pg 95:

“As I was learning the principles of discipleship, I was trying very hard to put them into practice in my life and trying to encourage others in the [Mainline Churches of Christ] for which I preached to do the same… I was amazed (flabbergasted would be a better term) at the lack of cooperation I received from the members.   I then went outside the church to find people with hearts to be true disciples.  I taught and baptized a number who were absolutely ‘sold-out’ for Christ.  Then another surprise came my way – they started becoming like the older ones.  I discovered that all groups have personalities, and those assimilated into them tend strongly to become like the rest of them.

“When those young members first came into the church fellowship, they asked some very hard questions.   ‘Why do large numbers come on Sunday mornings, fewer on Sunday night, and still fewer to the mid-week service?’  I began by telling them that many older members were weak and just needed to be encouraged by our example of being committed and zealous.  After the newer ones started becoming like the older ones, I changed my answers to those questions.  I told them that the others were in Biblical terms, lukewarm and losers of their first love (Revelation 2:4, 3:15-17).  And further, if they did not repent, then they would not be saved… And even those who know better will be dragged down by the overall tenor of the congregation.”

These two men wrote according to their convictions. Should we write off their testimonies about the Mainline Church as “unwholesome talk and slander” or heed their testimonies as “speaking the truth in love?” (Ephesians 4:15)  I not only agree with what these men have written, but must state clearly that the new discipling movement, the International Christian Churches (ICC), was started for exactly the same reasons these two men left the Mainline Church of Christ to join the Boston Movement (ICOC).  In the Sold-out Discipling Movement, so many of us have felt disappointment at the lingering lukewarmness in most, though not all, ICOC congregations.  We missed a central leader and leadership whose vision directed us in a clear plan for world evangelism.  We tried to be a part of reforming the ICOC from the inside for four long years.  As Gordon experienced in the Mainline, many converts in time reverted to become like the lethargic congregations they were baptized into.  Frustrated yet hopeful, God answered our prayers as we felt the Spirit compelling us to join Kip in his call to “start again.”

Here are some hard questions for most ICOC and Mainline congregations, which need Biblical answers today:

• What should we do when a great number of the members of a church don’t attend midweek services?
• What should we do when a church is divided; when campus and youth baptize their friends into Christ, but married people who are too consumed with careers are pursuing the “American Dream” to the point of being choked, unfruitful and therefore “third soil” disciples?
• What should we do when a church leadership announces an engagement to a non-Christian and it is greeted with a applause in one church and a standing ovation in another?
• What should we do when we see many couples divorcing as divorce used to be so rare in the ICOC?
• What should we do in the worship service of a congregation where one can hear a pin drop because the loss of zeal is so painfully obvious?
• What should we do when a church abandons or makes discipling (teaching and training) optional and thus disregards the command of Jesus in Matthew 28:20 which is to “teach them to obey everything” after baptism?
• What should we do with those who believe all the above situations are wrong, yet “tolerate” these sins in their church? (Revelation 2:20-21)

This is what happens when leaders of a church lead out of sentimentality or fear of men rather than the fear of God!  Some think that we should say nothing, for in their minds to address these issues would be unwholesome (harmful).  I say that the unwholesome thing is to date or marry non-Christians in the first place, and to say nothing about it is unwholesome!  If calling out sin is unwholesome talk, then Jeremiah and the other prophets would not be able to speak, and most of all, Jesus himself would be labeled as unwholesome and slanderous because the things He said were offensive to many and made many furious.  “When Jesus left there, the Pharisees…began to oppose Him fiercely…waiting to catch Him in something He might say.” (Luke 11:53-54)

Kip preaching at the 2008 World Missions Jubilee

2.  Why did so many people leave the Portland Church after the mission team to Los Angeles was sent out in Spring of 2007? (And why are they still leaving?)

Douglas writes that after the LA Mission Team left Portland, forming the City of Angels International Christian Church, 40 more people moved to LA over the next 15 months.  First of all, only 17 moved to Los Angeles over that time period, but another 25 moved to other churches in the new movement.  When Steve announced that he was no longer “partners in the gospel with Kip” another 30 immediately left the Portland Church forming the Portland International Christian Church.  The question is why?

Portland, Oregon

• Tony and Therese Untalan are one of the two original Portland Elder couples.  They served in that role until June of 2008, when the Untalans moved to Los Angeles to be with the City of Angels Church.  All in Portland hold Tony and Therese in the highest regard.  Shortly after the McKeans went to Los Angeles, they had growing concerns about the Portland Church’s zeal, love and direction.  Since January 2008, the Untalans repeatedly warned the Johnsons and the remaining elders that if they continued down the road to return to the Mainline theology of autonomy, the Portland Church would split.  Exasperated, they left Portland in tears witnessing the fastest growing church in the ICOC under the McKeans’ leadership, reduced to but a shadow of the congregation that inspired a new discipling movement.

• Juan Carlos and Betty Garcia helped build the Latin Ministry in Portland, were dismayed by Portland’s decreasing zeal and left to come to Chicago.  They have grown our Latin Ministry from 3 to 17 since January 2008.

• Anthony and Elizabeth Eckels were Region Leaders in Portland.  They left in February 2008 to start our sister church in Orlando, Florida which has grown from 2 to 17.  Despite their great love for Steve and Lisa, the Eckels asked Theresa and me to disciple them, not the Johnsons.  Anthony simply felt that “Steve’s faith wasn’t there.”

• Michael and Michele Williamson were Region Leaders.  They moved to LA in June 2008 to train for the ministry.  They also did not agree with Steve’s stance on “autonomy.”  In fact, Steve took them out of leadership in March 2008, the day after Michael called the Portland Church “lukewarm.”

• Mike Patterson left Portland in December 2007 after confronting Steve on autonomy.  Now full-time in our sister church in Phoenix, Arizona, Mike is leading an incredibly fruitful campus ministry at Arizona State University, which in nine months God has grown from 6 to 25!

• Jason and Susan Bond were an Elder-in-training and Deacon couple.  Jason was also the lead song leader for the Portland Church.  At the leadership meeting when Steve renounced the new movement, Jason confronted Steve, “Brother, you say that Portland will remain a discipling church, yet since February you and your wife were supposed to be discipling my wife and me, but we never even met for one discipling time… Steve, with autonomy we are now just another church on the corner… There’ll be no participation in an organized plan for world evangelism.”  In less than a month after this meeting, Jason and Susan moved to the Phoenix International Christian Church.  The Bonds’ daughter Rachel is one of the leaders in our new sister church in New York City, the Empire City International Christian Church.

Different from Douglas Arthur’s claims, none of the above people were “recruited.”  They left out of their own convictions.

As most would imagine, Kip and Elena were deeply hurt by a sense of betrayal and the sad events in Portland, yet Kip graciously wrote about Steve’s and the Portland Church’s departure from the new movement, over the issues of autonomy and central leadership, simply stating, “We wish them well.”  In contrast to this, many ICOC leaders want people to just write Kip and the rest of us off as “disgruntled, slanderous troublemakers.”  This was said of Paul in Acts 24:5, “This man is a trouble maker, stirring up riots…all over the world.” I say that these people are awesome and they have deep convictions that matter.  Roger Lamb would have everyone believe, as he wrote in one of his articles, that all those in the new movement have in common is their desire to be “controlled by Kip.”  Is that really all we have going for us?  Are we really all that stupid?  Consider all those who formerly served in the full-time ministry that are now in the Sold-out Discipling Movement:  in Los Angeles, California – Lu Jack and Cathi Martinez, Carlos and Lucy Mejia, Steve and Jeanne Bolin, Javier Ochoa, Victor and Sonia Gonzalez, Marty and Cathy Wooten, Sal and Patricia Velasco, Raul and Lynda Moreno, Nate Reid, Rob and Burgundie Onekea, Mike Purdy, Mike Underhill, Ken and Liliana Zindler, Jay and Angie Hernandez, and Rick and Heather Romney; in Honolulu, Hawaii – Kyle Batholomew, Jody Tyrell, Chris Teves, Albert Wagers and Joe and Mary Santos; in Las Vegas, Nevada – Dan and Deenie Triana; in Eugene, Oregon – Jeremy and Amy Ciaramella; in New York, New York – George Grima, and DJ and Kacie Comisford; in Orlando, Florida – Anthony and Elizabeth Eckels; in Phoenix, Arizona – Chris and Sonja Chloupek; in the Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo – Lola Lof; in Quito, Ecuador – Fabian and Susana Ruiz; in Paramaribo, Suriname – Brandon and Peggy Ferrell; in Tallinn, Estonia – Argo and Anu Lips; in Chennai, India – Raja and Debby Rajan and Vellaidurai Polanisanic; and in Chicago, Illinois – Roger and Kama Parlour, Jay and Barb Shelbrack, and Theresa and me.  I ask you to consider why so many former full-time leaders left the ICOC and joined the new movement?

The fact is that in the Fall of 2005, many ICOC leaders signed letters against Kip primarily to build a hedge around their fellowships so that their people would not leave and join Kip’s efforts as clearly a new movement was emerging.  Yet, didn’t hundreds of people feel similarly and therefore leave Mainline Churches to form the base of the Boston Movement during the 1980s?  As church leaders we have no control over people who are unhappy with our leadership and choose to go elsewhere.  I believe that Southwest Airlines said it best, “You are free to move about the country.”

Again I ask, why would so many people leave Portland, if they were in an awesome situation?  In fact, if you are in a situation like that then stay there.  Otherwise, pray and weigh all sides.  Come and see!  Then pick a team and get busy!  We are confident that as we “fix our eyes on Jesus” and continue with the work of the Lord (there’s more than enough to do in every city) God will bless the work of our hands

There is one more thing that we need to clear up.

Douglas states that … “In September 2006 Kip made a decision to break all ties with his former fellowship, the International Churches of Christ, and start his new ‘Sold-out Disciples Movement.’”

It is clearly documented that Kip was disfellowshipped for refusing to “repent,” or as we see it, “change” and compromise his convictions about central leadership, his 30 year stand against autonomy and the dream of evangelizing the world in our generation.  When I moved to Chicago, I called Steve Staten to see if we could meet.  Steve checked with the other Chicago Church of Christ leaders and then told me that there would be no meeting.  As long as I was in fellowship with brother McKean (whom Steve Staten and others had disfellowshipped), they would not be willing to meet with me.  Douglas, can you honestly say that we broke all ties?  You state that Portland in May 2007 sent its “best and brightest” to LA on the mission team and yet Peter Garcia of the LA ICOC called them a “movement of Satan” when they landed there.  Which is it?  Is it “best and brightest” or Satanic threat?  Are they the “best and brightest” if in the ICOC and a Satanic threat if in the ICC?  And is “Brother McKean” a brother or not?  Kip still continues to baptize hundreds, and raise up evangelists to plant churches.  Could it be, like the Pharisees who called Jesus, “Beelzebub,” the ICOC is similarly accusing Kip? (Luke 11:15)

In Douglas’ article, not only did it say Kip took all of the “best and brightest,” but it inferred that he left town with all the money, too!  Steve Johnson wrote an article to the Portland Church on March 16, 2008 that stated, “Last year this congregation did an incredible thing and raised over $150,000 to send Kip, Elena and 40 other brothers and sisters to begin a new work in Los Angeles… We can all be thankful to have been allowed to share in this good work by supporting it with our money and our prayers.”  In September 2007, just four months after the City of Angels Church was planted in LA, Kip sensed that Steve was feeling burdened about the financial picture in Portland.  Therefore, he told Steve to keep $20,000 of the $150,000 and to no longer pay for the McKean’s health insurance or retirement plan (of which they still have none to this day).  Kip did this so that Steve could afford to hire Buzz and Anita Banadyga, believing that Buzz would provide an evangelistic lift to Portland, and Anita, Lisa’s mom, would strengthen Lisa by being at her side.  Now that’s the kind of teamwork it’s going to take if we are going to meet each other’s needs as well as the needs of billions of lost people all over the world.

As for any implied sense that Kip and Elena abandoned those in Portland who desire to be active in the new movement, the 17 month old, 225 member City of Angels Church is sending their very heart, Ron and Tracy Harding, to lead the new Portland International Christian Church!  This sacrifice comes after sending out two mission teams of 30 disciples – New York City and Honolulu – just three months ago!  With all these sacrifices for others in their brief 17 month history, God has honored the City of Angels Church with almost 150 baptisms and 70 restorations!  Now that’s movement!

DJ Comisford preaching at the Empire City International Christian Church's inaugural service

Now, let us consider the recent church planting in New York City sent out by the City of Angels Church.  There are 20 million people in that city.  Even if there are a million that are already saved (and I’m not saying there are even that many) that would leave 19 million lost people!  Is there no room for more workers in the vineyard?  On September 14, the mission team of 20 had 78 at their inaugural service!  Theresa and I were able to attend the Washington, DC inaugural on that same day.  The DC Mission Team, sent primarily from the Central New York Church, also of the Sold-out Movement, had 134 in attendance and saw four added to their number that day (one baptism, one restoration and two placing membership)!  Our churches need to be shaken up rather than to drift into lukewarmness and stagnation.  Amazingly, in less than two years, the Spirit has propelled the now 32 churches of the Sold-out Discipling Movement into 13 nations!  We wholeheartedly believe that through God’s power we will evangelize the world in this generation.

As Paul rebuked Peter, let this letter be a rebuke to every ICOC leader who has sinfully grumbled against Kip and unbiblically disfellowshipped him and the hundreds of us who share his courageous vision and Biblical convictions.  I am especially disappointed in those leaders who didn’t even know Kip personally and yet signed letters against him simply because they were told to by those who were in authority over them.  I would be ashamed to have done such a thing!  Finally, it must be noted that as Jesus called for us “to turn the other cheek” neither Kip nor any in our family of churches has disfellowshipped anyone in the ICOC leadership for their differing views, as we consider them brothers.

Whether our convictions resonate with many or few – whether we are in the majority or the minority doesn’t matter.  What matters is whether we are faithful and able to elicit God’s favor by showing our love for Him as we obey His commands.  So, if you desire to be in a movement of God where every member is called to be in a discipling relationship and the vision to evangelize the world in a generation is held high, then come visit, and if you see the church of the Bible coming alive, join us!

Chris Broom
Evangelist Chicago International Christian Church

On Sunday, September 14, 2008, God worked powerfully as we celebrated the Inaugural Service for the Washington, DC International Christian Church!  Despite a triathlon that closed some of the city streets and a fire alarm that went off during service, we had 134 in attendance and four were added to our number!  Two placed membership - Conset Jefferson and Christian Carroll; one restoration - Herbert Johnson; and a University of DC student, Jeheifa Elliot, was baptized after studying for only six days!  To God Be the Glory!  Since arriving in late July, our 18-member mission team has grown to 24!  It was encouraging to see some of our dearly missed brothers and sisters from the Central NY Church of Christ and Chicago International Christian Church join us, as well as to see our brother Earl Jones, our first baptism in DC, return from his senior year at Cornell University to celebrate with us!  God is blessing the work at my former alma mater, as we also saw Hope Gbarayor, another Cornell senior, state that “Jesus is Lord” and be baptized!  How awesome to see God bless the faith of CNYCOC as they financially supported the mission team to DC, only for our first baptism to be sent back and help another to be baptized!  Most encouraging was to have my Dad, Karl Smellie, join us for service.  Despite the emotional heartache of burying my mother the previous Saturday, he traveled five hours on a bus from Long Island, NY to be with us.  He walked with me all day Saturday and watched as we shared our faith boldly throughout downtown DC.   After service on Sunday he commented in tears, “You’re doing something very special here.  I am very proud of you.”   I wept.

Conset Jefferson joins us!

Christian Carroll (left) places membership & Herbert Johnson is restored!

1. “Freedom in Christ!  We don’t have to be totally committed and seek God’s kingdom first.  How else can we cater to the world and spend time with them so they will like us?”
2. “We are mature!  We don’t need to be part of a unified movement.  We know what is best for us!  We don’t need accountability in our lives or in the church leadership anymore, we are grown!  We don’t even expect repentance from ‘mature Christians.’”
3. “Disciples are smart enough to date non-Christians and not be tempted to be impure or immoral!  We don’t have to be above-reproach.  It’s too hindering!”
4. “We don’t have time to evangelize the world in our generation!  We want to build big community churches like the ones on TV so we can focus on ourselves and make our name known!”

Jeheifa is baptized!

John MacArthur, author of the book, “The Truth War,” shared a quote from Martin Luther, who threw down the gauntlet at the feet of every Christian in every generation after him when he said:

“If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ.  When the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved; and to be steady on all the battlefield besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.”

Andrew preaching

Andrew Smellie
Evangelist

Members of the Mission Team and Friends at the Lincoln Memorial!

Perhaps you have asked the question, “Why another church in Washington, DC when there are churches seemingly on every street corner?” Our collective convictions are unique; we believe our Savior Jesus is the Son of God risen from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:1-4); the Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16); “sold-out” baptized disciples compose God’s church universal, of which we are striving to be a part (Acts 2:41-42); every member is called by God to participate in daily discipling relationships, thus creating family (Hebrews 3:12-13); the mission of each disciple is to make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20); and we believe wholeheartedly in building a movement of “like-minded” congregations (1 Corinthians 4:17) whose motivating vision is the evangelization of the nations in this generation (Romans 16:25-27).

The importance of recognizing the lack of unity on these critical issues in churches today reminds me of a book entitled, “Knowing God” by J.I. Packer, written back in 1973. The preface alone was inspiring; his conviction behind the book is that ignorance of God – ignorance both of His ways and the practice of fellowship/communion with Him – is the root of much of the church’s weakness today.  Two unhappy trends seem to have produced this state of affairs, and looking at the present state of the Kingdom worldwide, I believe these issues are more pertinent than ever before.  The rest of this article will attempt to surmise these points and apply them to the current situation of our churches.

Our First Baptism: Earl Jones! To God be the Glory!

The second trend that Packer discusses is the fact that disciples of Jesus have been confused by worldly arguments.  Due to the fact that foundational facts of the faith have been called into question, worldly arguments have abandoned all ideas of a unity of truth.  There is a unity of “fellowship” but not a unity of “discipleship.”  Sadly, this concept of unity is not unity at all.  If everyone has a different standard of life but claims to hold on to a common doctrine, what example is that for the world to see?  As Jesus stated in John 14:7,12, “If you really knew me you would know my Father as well.  From now on, you do know him and have seen him…I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.” Are we imitating the life of Jesus (1 John 2:6)?  To know the correct doctrine (Acts 2:38) is just one aspect.  We must also watch the standard of discipleship in our lives!

Kenneth & Cheryll Chin Place Membership From Delaware!

It is my prayer that by wrestling with the Scriptures, we can grow in our desire to know God, and to make Him known.  As Bruce L. Shelley, a professor of church history has stated, “Church historians often ask, ‘Is the church a movement or an institution?…The church’s mission in time calls for institutions: special rules, special leaders, special places.  But when institutions themselves obstruct the spread of the gospel rather than advancing it, then movements of renewal arise to return to the church’s basic mission to the world.”  I pray that in our day of conformity and confusion, God will use our new movement to restore the true unity and discipleship of New Testament Christianity.  And to Him be all the Glory!

Andrew Smellie
Evangelist

What is more important?  Life or doctrine?  The bible clearly states both.  An analogy that always comes to my mind is that of an airplane.  What wing of an airplane is more important to the success of a flight?  The left wing or the right wing?  The answer is obvious – both are equally important.  The railings of a bridge can also apply to this analogy as well.  If we are not walking a straight path, we can fall off if one of the railings is not present.  In the same way, we must keep God’s standards in both our “life and doctrine” in order to successfully walk the narrow path.  As Jesus states in Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter through the narrow gate.  For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” What is Jesus saying here?  That the majority of people who claim to “religious” will not be with Him?  Consider what Jesus says later in verse 21, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Only by paying close attention to our “life and doctrine” will we be sure of what God’s will is.

In 1 Timothy 4:16, the apostle Paul gives specific instructions to Timothy, his protégé and leader of the church in Ephesus.  Paul speaks in very definite terms that both life and doctrine are essential to salvation, and the perseverance of such values is crucial not only for the individual, but also for the people that hear their message.   As disciples of Christ, we are aware that the doctrine of the apostles (and Jesus) is very clear:  We must believe that Jesus is the Son of God (John 20:31; Acts 9:20), make the decision to make him Lord of our lives (Acts 2:36; Acts 10:36), repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of our sins, thereby receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38; John 3:1-5), and live a life of making disciples, baptizing them and teaching them to obey as well (Matthew 28:18-20, 1 Corinthians 5:11-13).

The “Christianity” of today debates even these fundamental issues through various “denominations” (definition: a group of the name) and factions of churches whose disunity are clearly in violation of the scriptures (1 Corinthians 1:10; John 17:20-23).  While this disunity is obvious to all, what is more frightening is the lack of standards in regards to their way of life.  If doctrine, or the authoritative beliefs of the church, are the source of confusion, how much more so must the standards of discipleship in their lives be?  In order to curtail any naiveté, I believe it is important to faithfully address these issues in order to discern what is best as we follow Jesus.

In Philippians 1:9-11, this goal of discerning what is best by God is made very clear.  Paul writes, “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.” With issues such as life, we must be able to ascertain what is best in our walk as disciples.   It is not only important for our own salvation, but our example also influences others in their discipleship as well.

So what is this “life” that we speak of?  What are the issues we need to determine?  First we must look at our authoritative beliefs, or doctrine.  Our life must coincide with what we believe.  The lordship of Jesus, repentance of sin, and Jesus’ mission of seeking and saving the lost are key directives that we have been entrusted with by God as we walk daily with Him.

With all the confusion circulating in the former ICOC churches about who’s right instead of what’s right, I feel the need to make the issues very clear for disciples who may be unaware of the key issues between the Sold-Out Discipling Movement, the former ICOC movement of churches, and those who are watching the action from afar.  While the following is not an exhaustive argument, through examining the controversy I see five clear issues of contention:

1.  Being part of a unified movement of God

The issue of a unified, geographic church is very clear in the Bible.  In 1 Corinthians 4:17, Paul speaks to the church in Corinth and states, “For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.” It is clear from this passage that the same standards of “life” were being promoted by Paul in all the churches that had been planted.  There was no “autonomy” of churches that determined their own standards.  1 Peter 2:17 refers to the “brotherhood of believers” and Acts 15:22-27 refers to the fact that when church members spoke to other churches, they needed the authorization from the leadership of the main church body in order to avoid confusion because of differing requirements / standards.  Paul was an “overseeing evangelist”, as he mentored Timothy and Titus as they led the churches in Ephesus (1 Timothy 1:3) and Crete (Titus 1:5).  In Acts 16:4-5, Paul took Timothy from town to town and delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders from the Council at Jerusalem to obey.  As a result, the churches were strengthened and grew daily in numbers.  There was no fear in having one man as leader, as long as he followed Christ!  I pray for the day when our churches can be reunited and come under the direction leadership of evangelists and elders once again.  As Hosea 1:11 states, “The people of Judah and the people of Israel will be reunited, and they will appoint one leader and will come out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel.” Jesus prayed for this “complete unity” in John 17:20-23 as well, so that the world would know that Jesus was sent by God and loves Him and us!  Our disunity and lack of a unified standard is disparaging to God!

1 Corinthians 1:10 states, “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly unified in mind and thought.” Once again the Scriptures call us to be perfectly united, not just on doctrine, or even our lives, but our minds and hearts as well.  What is the cause for such a lack of unity?  Consider the following…

2.  Being totally committed to God and His church

Being a disciple of Christ is a commitment first to God.  Every disciple in God’s Kingdom is called to the same standard.  In Acts 2:42-44, the Scriptures read, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common.” Everyone in the 1st century church was devoted.  There wasn’t a “church within a church.”  Everyone had the same standards, the same commitment because of their love and awe of God.  Sadly, there are churches where the commitment is not enforced or expected.  Correct instruction is preached, but not with the expectation of obedience, unlike Jesus’ direction given in Matthew 28:20, “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” As a result, there are churches where people are professing obedience, but their actions do not justify their claim.  Consider Ezekiel 33:30-32: “As for you, son of man, your countrymen are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, ‘Come and hear the message that has come from the LORD.’  My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain.  Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice.”

When people haphazardly miss meetings of the body (Hebrews 10:25) or do not want correction and the call of repentance in their lives (Proverbs 12:1), they become lukewarm, which does not please God (Revelations 3:16).  As a result, they drift, and if they continue to lack repentance and resist working out their salvation with fear and trembling, they can eventually wander away from God (1 Peter 2:20-22; Philippians 1:12-13).   Sadly, this unfortunate example can lead to others to think that this behavior is accepted if the leadership does not protect the flock and call such uncommitted members to repentance.   Ezekiel condemns these “false prophets” in chapter 13, verse 22, where he states, “Because you disheartened the righteous with your lies, when I had brought them no grief, and because you encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways and so save their lives…I (the Lord) will save my people from your hands.” If we can have total commitment in our marriages, why should we, the bride and body of Christ (Ephesians 5:22-33), have any less commitment to each other (the church) and to God?  Paul himself stated that the decision to repent was a necessity:  “I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.” (Acts 20:21).  These issues are not optional.  They are a necessity.  Otherwise we are in danger of turning to a different gospel – which is really no gospel at all (Galatians 1:6-7).  How can we encourage each other to stay committed, and to “obey everything that I (Jesus) commanded?” This leads us to point number 3…

3.  Discipling relationships are essential for all disciples of Christ

In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus states, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.” This is the Great Commission of God.  In Matthew 22:37-39, we see the Greatest Commandment, which states, “’Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all you mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it:  ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” The two of scriptures work hand in hand.  We cannot make disciples, baptize them and teach them to obey without love.  Yet “discipling” relationships, or accountability relationships, with the goal of helping another disciple to become more like Jesus have become non-existent or optional in many churches.  Colossians 1:28 states, “We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.” (i.d.)  Where in any of the above scriptures does God state that this is optional?  Does Jesus state that we are to “obey everything I have commanded you” when the person feels like asking for help?  If we are to love our neighbor as ourselves, we need to take care of others’ needs!  We are to encourage, admonish (to warn) and teach everyone to become more like Christ!   Is this a job only for the ministry staff of the church?  Surely not!  Consider Paul’s admonishment in Romans 15:14, “I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.” Where has all the discipling in our churches gone?  What has happened to the love that we should have for each other?  It is only through our love for each other that the world will know that we are Jesus’ disciples! (John 13:34-35).  How can we win the world if we cannot even take the time to love and take care of each other?  This leads me to point #4…

4.  Evangelizing the world in our generation

What a tremendous task!  To think that the world can be evangelized in our lifetime is quite a faithful feat, yet this is the goal Jesus had for his disciples!  Consider Jesus’ comments in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Paul states the good news of this victory in Colossians 1:6,23.  “All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth…This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.” Paul’s message to the church in Colosse is dated by scholars to be present around AD 60.  That means that after the church began in AD 30, the world was evangelized in approximately 30 years!  A generation of faith, work and love enabled the disciples to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world.  What of our world today?  Are we not urgent to spread the gospel?  What if it was our families that needed the saving?  Our sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers?  What of them?  Are we not to have to have an urgency to win souls?  Paul states his heart in 1 Corinthians 9:19,22: “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible…I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.” World evangelism does not mean that everyone is going to make the decision to become disciples of Christ.  Rather, it means that every man and woman on earth would have had the opportunity to have the gospel proclaimed to them.  If one disciple were to help make another disciple through the power of God in a year, and if they were to continue Jesus’ plan of discipleship and evangelism, the world could be evangelized in 32 years, with over 5 billion people hearing the message of Jesus.  If our convictions are compromised however, and other priorities become more important than to “seek first His Kingdom and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33), Jesus’ dream for making true disciples of all nations might not be realized in our world today.  We must be convinced that Jesus’ dream, Jesus’ plan, and Jesus’ methods will win the world, not our own.  Only then will we have the conviction and build the courage to see the world won for Jesus.  If we are not convinced, our convictions will continue to drift, leading to compromising even the most obvious of biblical standards, and especially one that can tug on our hearts.  My final point will discuss how far some churches have compromised in regards to dating and marital relationships, a compromise that deceived and misled even the wisest man to ever walk the Earth besides Jesus – King Solomon.

5.  Date & Marry only disciples of Jesus

While the topic of dating is not clearly stated in the bible, marriage is.  The principles of being “yoked” are clear, as well are relations with those who are “unbelievers” or not baptized disciples of Christ.   Consider 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1:
“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?  What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?  What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols?  For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.  Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord.  Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.  I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’ Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”

“Do not.” So clear.  It’s not an option.  “Come out from them and be separate.” Again, very clear.  This is not an opinion, but a practice out of reverence for God.  But this is not just a New Testament principle.  It is also very clear from the Old Testament as well.  King Solomon was led astray by compromising his relationships with women who did not have the God of Israel as their Lord.  (1 Kings 11:1-6).  Similarly in Ezra chapter 10 and Nehemiah 13:23-27, the Israelites weep and confess their sins of unfaithfulness to God by the compromise of their actions.  In Ezra 10:2, an Israelite by the name of Shecaniah said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples around us.” In verse 10, Ezra spoke to the entire assembly of exiles and said, “’You have been unfaithful; you have married foreign women, added to Israel’s guilt.  Now make confession to the Lord, the God of your fathers, and do his will.  Separate yourselves from the peoples around you and from your foreign wives.’  The whole assembly responded with a loud voice:  ‘You are right!  We must do as you say.’” There was no discussion.  Ezra ordered that the separation should happen, and the people responded.  In our churches today, some ministers may preach from the pulpit that non-Christian dating is wrong, yet they do not expect obedience to God’s standard.  They do not see that such a practice is against God’s will, and therefore allow this to continue.  They say they do not want to “force” people to obey God.  My answer to that is simple.  People do not have to follow God’s word.   They have to make the decision to be disciples.  Luke 14:33 states, “Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” If we are not willing to give up worldly relationships, we cannot be a disciple of Jesus, or a part of his church.

How can we be faithful shepherds if we allow the people to take precedence over God’s word?  Where have all the evangelists gone?  Did not Jesus state that “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven is forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it” (Matthew 11:12)?  One viewpoint of the above Scripture from a commentary states that entering God’s Kingdom will take courage, unwavering faith, determination, and endurance because of the growing opposition leveled at Jesus’ followers.  Where have all the forceful men of God gone?  Have the mistakes of the past discouraged us to remain unflinching and uncompromising to the word of God?  I pray the next generation of evangelists and teachers will strive to teach the unadulterated word of God so that the world will once again see a movement of God in the 21st century!  I pray that we can be inspired to watch both our lives and doctrine closely so we may save both ourselves and our hearers.  And to God be the Glory!

Andrew Smellie
Evangelist

Andrew & Patrique Smellie of DC, Kyle & Joan Bartholomew of Honolulu and DJ & Kacie Comisford of NYC!

Today marks fifteen months since the Spirit planted the City of Angels International Christian Church on May 6, 2007! Since that time God has added to our 42 member Mission Team from Portland, 121 baptisms and 62 restorations! In the past two months, 30 disciples have been sent out: Melina Zepeda to Santiago, Chile as a full-time intern; Kyle and Joan Bartholomew and the Honolulu Mission Team; and today DJ and Kacie Comisford and the New York City Mission Team. To achieve these dreams, nine months ago $71,000 was raised for the City of Angels Church to be self-supporting; then one month ago $126,000 was joyfully sacrificed for missions. Therefore, the Spirit has multiplied our one congregation into three, while taking on the support of Matt and Helen Sullivan in Santiago for $3,500 per month. Even after sending out so many powerful disciples, the City of Angels Church has 206 members with a weekly contribution of $8,500! Participating in these modern day miracles, Lu Jack Martinez, a disciple converted at Harvard in the early days of Boston, stated, “Never before, in my 22 years as a disciple of Christ, have I ever seen a single congregation do so much, for so many, with so little! Truly, these miracles of God – in the midst of Satan’s vicious attacks – evidence that we are not a movement of man, but a movement of God!”

Currently, the Sold-out Discipling Movement numbers 31 churches – 14 in the United States and 17 international congregations. Dynamically increasing disciples are the “new” church plantings: Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix, Santiago, Honolulu and soon New York City and Washington DC. The vast remainder of our sister churches are small, but heroic and resolved remnant groups – each uncompromising in the call to be sold-out disciples and more than willing to share their meager resources of people and money in sending out mission teams. Two long-established congregations that are to be especially commended are Portland, Oregon and Syracuse, New York! Portland has sent out Eugene, Phoenix and Los Angeles. From the 75 member Syracuse Church, with the assistance of Portland and Eugene, have come the Chicago and DC plantings, led respectively by Chris and Theresa Broom and Andrew and Patrique Smellie.

With the arrival of Tony and Therese Untalan, the leadership of the City of Angels Church includes: the Untalans and Nick and Denise Bordieri – as the shepherds – and Elena and me – as the ministry leaders. With the Spirit now establishing Los Angeles as the “Jerusalem” of our new movement, the time has come for a definitive plan to accomplish Jesus’ dream to evangelize the world in our generation. We dare to draw up plans for this auspicious task, greatly humbled by our need for God, as this dream has not been accomplished since the first century.

After several months of intense prayer and numerous discussions, we are setting before our fellowship The Five Year Plan! Let us remember, every movement in the Scriptures began with a remnant. Therefore, we must continue calling out the remnant of our saved brothers from our former fellowship, the mainline Churches of Christ and the independent Christian Churches. This effort, though providing the precious resources of leadership and money, must be in conjunction with the forceful preaching of the gospel to a lost world. Our long term need is for future leaders and mission team members, best supplied by unencumbered youth. Therefore, we need to greatly heighten our determination to evangelize the college campuses.

Lord willing, by the time my fruitful labor on earth ends, I envision a worldwide brotherhood where any disciple can travel from country to country experiencing the same Spirit of faith, hope and love in each of our movement’s congregations. In the first century near the end of Paul’s and the other apostles’ generation, the Spirit wrote, “All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing… This gospel has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven.” (Colossians 1:6,23) Therefore, I believe with all my heart, this same impact can and will be seen in the twenty-first century!

Paul’s ministries in Pisidian Antioch and Ephesus reveal so much of the mystery of how the gospel spread so far, so fast. After being rejected by the Jews in Pisidian Antioch, Paul preaches to the Gentiles, “I have made you a light… that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” Many Gentiles became Christians and then it is recorded, “The Word of the Lord spread through the whole region.” (Acts 13:49) When a city is evangelized, the natural influence of the city on the surrounding countryside spreads the gospel through the whole region! Using this principle – but on a much grander scale – Paul evangelized “all Asia” – modern day western Asia Minor. In “Paul left [the synagogue]. He took the disciples with him and had daily discussions in the lecture halls of Tyrannus [campus ministry!]. This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the providence of Asia heard the Word of the Lord!” (Acts 19:8-10) Let us not forget, the primary audience in the book of Revelation is “the seven churches in the province of Asia”: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. We can assume that from Ephesus, these other churches were planted in that two year span. These three principles emerge:

1. leadership targets the most influential city in order to evangelize the entire region;
2. small groups – like Jesus and the apostles – multiply into other small groups becoming churches in the surrounding smaller cities;
3. campus converts provide idealistic, unencumbered workers and future leaders.

Do not be confused, to evangelize a region does not mean everyone becomes a Christian, but merely everyone has heard… often initially through the “negative press” of persecution. Interestingly, it is while Paul is jailed in the most influential city in the ancient world, Rome, that he declares the world evangelized! (Colossians 1:6,23)

The Ephesian Church, I call a “pillar church,” for all the churches “in the province of Asia” were started by the Ephesian disciples. Upon the Ephesian Church and the other pillar churches – like Jerusalem, Antioch, Philippi and Rome – Paul and the other apostles built the entire brotherhood of believers. To evangelize the world, pillar churches will be planted in the following mega-cities: Los Angeles (20 million), New York (20 million), Chicago (10 million), London (12 million), Paris (10 million), Moscow (11 million), Cairo (15 million), Lagos (14 million), Johannesburg (5 million), Hong Kong (8 million), Tokyo (28 million), Mexico City (25 million), Sydney (5 million), Santiago (7 million), Sao Paulo (18 million), and one city in India – Mumbai (19 million), New Delhi (12 million), or Chennai (9 million). During The Five Year Plan, several more US churches must be established providing international student converts, who will “go home” to plant churches of sold-out disciples. Also, being a first world country, the US will provide mission funding for the third world.

Outlined is a brief history of the Sold-out Discipling Movement and our new Five Year Plan

2006
The Sold-out Discipling Movement was initiated in Portland, Oregon after the Hilo, Hawaii confrontation. This controversy centered on the McKeans response to Kyle and Joan Bartholomew’s plea to revive the Hilo Church. The International Churches of Christ vehemently opposed the McKeans’ influence. The now vibrant Hilo Church is led by Evan and Kelly Bartholomew. Evan is Kyle’s brother.
Phoenix (5 million/ 110,000 students) – Led by the Sullivans, the Mission Team from Portland joins the Phoenix Remnant Group led by Chris & Sonja Chloupek. The Chloupeks now lead the Phoenix Church.
Chicago (10 million/ 200,000 students) – Chris & Theresa Broom

2007
Los Angeles (20 million/ 700,000 students) – Kip & Elena McKean
Santiago (7 million/ 200,000 students) – Raul and Lynda Moreno’s gallant stand produces a new church of sold-out disciples. The Sullivans presently lead the Santiago Church.

2008
Honolulu (1 million/ 65,000 students) – Kyle & Joan Bartholomew
New York City (20 million/ 500,000 students) – DJ & Kacie Comisford
Washington DC (5 million/ 350,000 students) – Andrew & Patrique Smellie
Five Year Plan initiated – 2008 World Missions Jubilee in Los Angeles

2009
“New Hope” led by the Bordieris (2% of plantings’ weekly contribution will support this worldwide charity.)
2010
London (12 million/ 180,000 students) – Michael & Michele Williamson
Miami (4 million/ 80,000 students) – Raul and Lynda Moreno / Ken & Liliana Zindler
India (A full time couple selected to lead India, funded by the plantings.)

2011
Johannesburg (5 million/ 100,000 students) – Chris Van Staden
Mexico City (25 million/ 300,000 students) – Vic & Aurora Gonzalez

2012
Paris (10 million/ 300,000 students) – Tim & Lianne Kernan

2013
Hong Kong (7 million/ 150,000 students) – Mike Underhill

Under consideration for other US plantings during The Five Year Plan are: Boston, Houston, Denver, San Diego and San Francisco. International prayer targets without designated, trained leaders are: Sydney, Sao Paulo and Moscow. With all these plans, we remain mindful of Proverbs 16:9, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” Therefore, these plans are subject to change according to God’s purposes.

Jesus told the disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of harvest to send out workers into the harvest field.” (Matthew 9:37-38) Let us pray fervently that God continues to gather the remnant from the farthest horizons. Let us pray for the remnant to be strengthened and equally sold-out as our new converts. Then, let us pray with our deepened convictions and radical decisions from this Jubilee to “Declare His Glory Among The Nations!”

Kip McKean<br>World Missions Evangelist Kip McKean World Missions Evangelist

On Tuesday July 29, 2008 many of our church leaders from around the world gathered at the Zindler’s house. Immediately following the first reading of this article, The Five Year Plan, “the place where [we] were meeting was shaken!” (Acts 4:31) A magnitude 5.4 earthquake had hit Los Angeles! After deafening cheers and applause, we prayed for boldness to evangelize the nations in this generation! I can only imagine what magnitude of earthquake God would have sent with a ten year plan! KM

What a weekend! From Friday to Sunday, March 14 -16, the 21 disciples of the “DC Mission Team” met at the Days Inn on Connecticut Avenue in Northwest DC. This gathering of disciples from Syracuse, New York; Corvallis, Oregon; and Chicago, Illinois experienced an incredible time of inspiration and fellowship as the team was also joined by Kip & Elena McKean of the City of Angels International Christian Church (Los Angeles) and Chris & Theresa Broom of the Chicago International Christian Church!

The Washington D.C. Mission Team in front of the Days Inn!

Chuck and Elizabeth Hess are now joining the team going to D.C.!

In 2003, when I heard of the demise of the former Washington, DC Church of Christ and most other ICOC churches around the world, my idealistic view of God’s Kingdom on earth was shattered. My wife Patrique and I were heartbroken to hear the countless first-hand reports from many nations of thousands of fall-aways and lukewarmness in those that remained due largely to the desertion of discipling and the embracing of autonomy.

I started to ask myself, where is that in the Bible? Didn’t Paul teach the same standard of discipleship in every church (1 Corinthians 4:17)? Didn’t churches work together to win souls and support other churches (2 Corinthians 8)? Weren’t evangelists held accountable to each other like Paul with Timothy and Titus (1 Timothy 3:14-15; Titus 1:5)?

With these events and God’s honor in the forefront of our prayers, five married couples –Pedro and Deb Ramirez, Lee and Noni Pullen, Kenneth and Yhanihi Doles, Chuck and Elizabeth Hess and Andrew and Patrique Smellie; five campus students and one teen student – Renee Rondinoni, Yinet Montesino, Danielle LaRose, Renail Richards, Maoti Gborkorquellie, and Erica Felder; and five singles – Colleen MacKay, Daisy Stevenson, Cassel Spence, Bernard Sewell, and Scott Buzzell came together to proclaim Christ to our nation’s capital, arguably the most influential city in the world! That Friday night, Kip preached a powerful lesson from Luke 4. During the lesson, he shared great news from the newly planted congregation in Los Angeles. Since being planted on May 6, 2007 with 42 disciples, the City of Angels Church has had 88 baptisms, 55 restorations and 75 disciples place membership! They are now 217 disciples with an attendance of about 400 every Sunday! In his lesson, “The Global Revolution Begins,” he reminded us that if Nike, McDonalds, Coca Cola and Britney Spears can evangelize the world in a generation, so can disciples of Jesus! In our Sold-Out Discipling Movement, God has raised up 32 churches – 15 churches in the United States and 17 International churches since beginning in October 2006!

On Saturday morning, Chris Broom preached powerfully about planting a church of sold-out disciples in Chicago, Illinois just under two years ago! In his message, “We Can Certainly Do It,” Chris challenged us as we went out that morning to “explore the land” to bring back a faithful report according to our convictions, as did Caleb (Joshua 14:7).

Andrew and Patrique Smellie in front of the Lincoln Memorial!

Also on Saturday, Chuck and Elizabeth Hess arrived from Corvallis, Oregon! When asked by Kip & Elena to join the Washington, DC Mission Team a day earlier on Friday morning, they prayed for guidance and decided to join us! They left Oregon at 2am on Saturday morning and joined us Saturday afternoon in Washington, DC! What incredible examples of responding immediately to call to win disciples for Jesus (Mark 1:16-18)! After picking them up at the airport, we joined the rest of the DC Mission Team at the Lincoln Memorial. When we came together, everyone was excited about what they had seen and the openness of all the people they had met. Then, together we prayed for the lost souls in metropolitan DC and sang “We Shall Overcome.”

We then began walking the entire length of the National Mall, sharing and singing along the way! We passed the Vietnam War Memorial, the Washington Monument, gazed at the White House to our left and the Jefferson Memorial on our right, and finally came to the Capitol Building! It was awesome!

At church Sunday morning, I preached a message entitled, “The Lord Is Watching.” I reminded the team of the call of Jeremiah, and how God is calling us to uproot false religion and doctrine, to tear down the walls of hypocrisy and religiosity, to destroy the power of sin and Satan in our lives and the lives of others, and to plant and build churches of sold-out disciples of Jesus! The Lord asked Jeremiah in chapter 1:11 about seeing an almond tree. It is interesting to note that an almond tree blooms “first” in the year (and therefore “wakes up” early – the Hebrew word for “watching” means to be wakeful), implying that the Lord is ever watchful to make sure His Word is fulfilled!

Pray for us as we dare to dream to win all of the metropolitan DC area for Christ! Pray especially for the campuses such as the University of the District of Columbia (5,000 students), George Washington University (22,000 students) and the University of Maryland, College Park (33,000 students), where leaders for the new movement will be baptized! We look forward to being sent out in August from the World Missions Jubilee in Los Angeles alongside the New York City Mission Team! God is watching to see that His Word will be fulfilled! If you would like to join the Washington, DC Mission Team, please contact me at (315) 415-3213 or at my email at ansmellie@centralnychurch.org. Mark your calendars now as the Inaugural Service for the Washington, DC International Christian Church will be held on September 14, 2008! To God be the glory!

Andrew Smellie

Standard (n.) - A flag, banner, or ensign, especially: The ensign of a chief of state, nation, or city. (emphasis added)

Standard (n.) - An acknowledged measure of comparison for quantitative or qualitative value; a criterion. (emphasis added)

The Iwo Jima Memorial near Washington D.C., commemorating the raising of the American flag atop Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima on February 23, 1945.

In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to Him, and His place of rest will be glorious. In that day the Lord will reach out His hand a SECOND TIME to reclaim the remnant that is left of His people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea. He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; He will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth. Isaiah 11:10-12 (emphasis added)In an army, banners and flags are called “standards.” Historically, one of the most important and most honored duties of a soldier is carrying the flag. These banners and flags were not merely for decoration. They represented the army’s beliefs and served a strategic purpose.
During the American Civil War (1861-1865), troops kept the unity of their lines and knew the right direction to go by following the standard-bearer. One of the enemy’s chief goals would be to capture or destroy the standard, after which the whole army would be thrown into disarray and confusion. If the standard-bearer fell, it became the responsibility of the closest soldier to him to pick up the flag and continue the advance. “Never let the colors touch the ground” was the standing order. Dropping a rifle in battle to pick up a flag doesn’t seem to make much sense at first. But when you realize the importance of keeping the standard held high, it becomes more important than carrying a weapon. Without it the troops would be scattered and confused. The flag or the standard is the rallying point.

The march on Washington D.C., 1963.

Washington, DC has long been the rallying point to raise the “banner” of freedom in view of all the American people and the world. Major historical events have occurred at the National Mall; one of the most famous being the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom Rally at the Lincoln Memorial. It was here that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech on August 28, 1963. With estimates of the crowd as high as 500,000 people, it was one of the largest political demonstrations in U.S. history to date and still one of the most vividly remembered. James Baldwin wrote, “That day, for a moment, it almost seemed that we stood on a height, and could see our inheritance; perhaps we could make the kingdom real, perhaps the beloved community would not forever remain the dream one dreamed in agony.”My beautiful wife, Patrique and I both remember the joy of rallying to the freedom of God’s standard in becoming disciples of Jesus. We remember the privilege of being able to learn the truth about our eternal inheritance through Christ, and observe that God’s Kingdom was “forcefully advancing!” (Matthew 11:12) Patrique began studying the Bible in 2001 and was soon baptized into Christ. She began working tirelessly to expand and mature the Teen Ministry, while also balancing a hectic schedule as a corporate attorney. As a pre-med major at Cornell University, I studied the Bible and was baptized into Christ in 2000. A year later I began serving in the full-time ministry while also completing a Masters Degree in Healthcare Administration. Those days were like standing on a height, inspired to see what God could do through sinful men!

Andrew & Patrique in front of the Lincoln Memorial!

Sadly, we watched in shock as the worldwide continuity of our beloved fellowship began to dissolve in late 2002 from the decisions reached at the Long Beach Unity Meeting in Los Angeles. Central leadership was declared unbiblical and autonomy of congregations became the church government as most ICOC leaders agreed to return to a more mainline theology. From these changes, rebellion was sparked with the Kriete letter of early 2003. Our idealistic view of God’s Kingdom on earth was shattered. We agonized over the first-hand reports of lukewarmness, the rapid decline in membership in all the congregations across the nation, and the proclamation that the dream of evangelizing the world in our generation was declared “impossible.”

Yet at that dark hour, God was working on a new vision! In July 2005, I was appointed an Evangelist in God’s Kingdom, and in August of that year, Patrique and I were married! Patrique was hired into the full-time ministry in 2006. We began leading the Central New York Church, located in Syracuse, in May of 2006 after Chris and Theresa Broom moved to plant the Chicago International Christian Church.

In Isaiah 11, we see a Messianic prophecy where the Lord raises a banner and extends His hand for a “second time” to the nations, proclaiming the standard from which all people would rally and come to know God. In 1979, God similarly worked through the Biblical discipling principles of the Boston Movement to restore the standard of Christianity to the world. Now, almost 30 years later, we are called to restore the standard once again. In the Sold-Out Discipling Movement, we are learning from the mistakes of the past. Patrique and I are especially grateful for the spiritual guidance and relationship of Chris and Theresa Broom in our lives, and we also appreciate our “partnership in the gospel” with Kip and Elena McKean and the brethren of the City of Angels International Christian Church. We want to imitate the faith of the Brooms and the McKeans. In Chicago, with 16 disciples from Syracuse and four from Portland joining a remnant group gathered in Chicago, in a little over one year’s time they have multiplied to 70 sold-out disciples! In the City of Angels Church in their first six months, God has blessed this mission team of 42 from Portland, to have 43 baptisms, 42 restorations and 60 placing membership with only five fall aways!

With this heart in mind, we are moving forward with the dream to start a new church of sold-out disciples in Washington, DC, our nation’s capital! Washington, DC is truly a natural hub for planting the Word of God with the goal of world evangelism in mind! President John F. Kennedy was credited with the observation, now a cliché, that D.C. combines “northern charm with southern efficiency.” Washington, DC is very diverse, with about 800,000 area residents born in other countries. In addition to the District of Columbia, the Washington, DC metropolitan area of over five million includes portions of two states, Virginia and Maryland, which have some of the best public schools in the country - a fact that reveals the need for a strong Teen Ministry. DC is also home to 19 colleges and universities, including the famous Georgetown “Hoyas” and George Washington University in the heart of the capital.
During the Thanksgiving break, Patrique and I were able to visit her family in Maryland, as well as travel down to DC in order to pray for the church planting and view the historic sites. At the Lincoln Memorial, we actually stood where Dr. Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech! After praying on the steps, we went to the Roosevelt Memorial, where Patrique met a woman who was a photographer for a local newspaper. As we shared our dream to start a new church that focused on obeying the Bible and applying it to our lives, she shared, “I go to a church, but I was disappointed on how little they focused on the Bible. So now I listen to radio messages in order to supplement my need for the Bible.” We got her information and are planning to have dinner with her family the next time we are in town! People are starving due to a lack of Biblical conviction. The time to raise God’s standard is now!

One of my favorite movies is Glory, based on the letters of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, the commander of the first black regiment in the United States Army. The final scenes of the film recreated the heroic charge of Shaw’s Massachusetts 54th regiment on Fort Wagner, the Confederate stronghold near Charleston, South Carolina. Before the dawn assault, Colonel Shaw pointed to the regiment’s standard-bearer and said to the men, “If this man should fall, who will lift the flag and carry it on?” Thomas Earl, the boyhood friend of Shaw and the one singled out by the drill sergeant as the weakest and worst soldier in the regiment, surprised everyone by boldly stepping forward, “I will!” he said. That night the remnants of the Massachusetts 54th advanced to the perimeter of the garrison and were pinned down under heavy fire. Colonel Shaw, who led the charge out of the foxhole against the enemy line, was dead. Who would pick up the flag and lead the advance? It wasn’t the strongest and most decorated soldiers. Nor was it the newly-bold Thomas Earl. Instead it was Private Tripp - a soldier who once had deserted his regiment - who raised the standard and led the troops on.
Similarly, in our movement, God uses imperfect men and women to accomplish His purposes. He can use the weakest person - He even uses those who were once deserters from following Jesus, as He did with the apostles! God still wants to use you if you are willing to repent. Consider this: Fort Wagner was never taken by the Union regiment, but that one battle is not the point. Word spread of the bravery of the Massachusetts 54th. The stand made by a few men led Congress to finally approve the recruitment of black troops throughout the Union. Approximately 180,000 black men volunteered. President Abraham Lincoln credited these regiments with turning the tide of the Civil War. We pray that our faith and courage to hold up the standard of Jesus will inspire many others to do the same.
God willing, at the 2008 World Missions Jubilee in Los Angeles, the Spirit will send out a team of sold-out disciples to plant the Washington, DC International Christian Church. If you are interested in joining our efforts on the Washington, DC Mission Team, please contact me at (315) 415-3213 or ansmellie@centralnychurch.org. The Lord is raising His standard. We pray many will follow. To Him be all the Glory!

Andrew Smellie