Unity or Unification?
Returning to the local ground is not rebellion; it is obedience.
A report on the current situation in the Greater Belo Horizonte area and the testimony of our stand in Contagem.
Returning to the local ground is not rebellion; it is obedience.
A report on the current situation in the Greater Belo Horizonte area and the testimony of our stand in Contagem.
Beloved brothers in Christ and saints who remain faithful to the truth established by God in His holy Word,
Based on the principle that in the Bible, the churches were not defined by:
But they were defined simply by the city:
"To the church in Corinth" (1 Cor. 1:2)
"To the church of the Thessalonians" (1 Thes. 1:1)
"To the church which is in Ephesus" (Rev. 2:1)
"To the seven churches which are in Asia" (Rev. 1:11)
And this was not merely a way of speaking, it was a principle of unity and practical expression. The Body of Christ in each city was manifested as one local church, and this meant that all those who were converted to the Lord and lived in that particular city spontaneously became the church in that city, in oneness. Furthermore, the size of the BIBLICAL churches was neither smaller nor larger than the geographic boundary of the city. Based on this, I share the testimony below regarding the current situation in the Greater Belo Horizonte area and the report of our stand in Contagem.
In 2009, after the division, some brothers who had not been corrupted by Dong Yu Lan’s system separated themselves from his ministry in order to continue practicing the church life according to this biblical vision, in oneness with those who, in every place, likewise practice this vision and with all of God’s children scattered throughout the earth. This was the case in several cities in Brazil, including Belo Horizonte.
As soon as this small group of brothers from Belo Horizonte, some in the Barreiro region and others in the Pindorama region, took this stand, others joined them.
Some brothers from cities in the Greater Belo Horizonte metropolitan area who were also taking this stand, due to their small numbers and with the goal of joining forces, helping one another, and growing together, chose to do so by joining Belo Horizonte rather than gathering in their respective cities.
Among the brothers who joined the group in Belo Horizonte was Brother Sandro. At that time, there was neither an established presbytery nor a formal administrative coordination; the brothers were simply gathering in simplicity. It was then that Sandro took the initiative to organize a service meeting to address practical matters and, from that point on, began to exercise a leadership role among the brothers, promptly assuming a central position in the group.
Initially, he lived in Belo Horizonte. Later, he moved to Santa Luzia, a city in the metropolitan region. Despite the change of locality, he continued to assume the leadership role in the church in Belo Horizonte, a fact that contributed to the establishment of a regionalized model rather than one based exclusively on locality.
At first, other brothers began to get involved with Sandro in leadership matters. However, due to differences in understanding and direction, only three brothers remained in this responsibility: he from Santa Luzia, Brother Zinho from Contagem, and Brother Denison from Belo Horizonte.
These two brothers began to collaborate directly and continuously with Sandro in the church’s responsibilities, consolidating themselves as the main assistants in leadership. Meanwhile, the number of brothers from other cities in the metropolitan region joining the centralized practice in Belo Horizonte grew.
By this time, with a considerable increase in the number of brothers, two troubling biblical distortions began to develop with greater solidity:
This model clearly diverged from the practice revealed in the New Testament, in which each church is expressed locally, according to the city’s boundaries, and is led by a plural, local presbytery; that is, formed by brothers who live in and are recognized by the locality where they serve.
After some years, about three or four, a considerable group of brothers with many years in the Lord’s recovery, mostly residing in Belo Horizonte, began to raise serious concerns. They started to warn that the model being practiced, with the unification of cities in the metropolitan region under one structure and the formation of a centralized regional presbytery, did not find support in the Scriptures.
These brothers pointed out that such a configuration directly violated the biblical pattern, which establishes the church according to locality, with a plural and exclusively local presbytery. But, as you can imagine, what followed was not acceptance; it was resistance. And intense resistance.
Those who dared to address this issue began to be viewed with suspicion, marginalized, and, over time, labeled as "rebels." Criticism of the metropolitan model was interpreted as a threat to the presbytery and the church in Belo Horizonte.
In meetings and conversations among the brothers, the idea grew that a subversive movement was underway, informally referred to among the brothers as “the rebellion of the local ground”. Under this label, any mention of the need to return to the local ground was automatically discredited and suppressed.
Another idea that became widely spread was that these brothers were motivated by the ambition to be the leaders of the church in Belo Horizonte. This idea was passed on to the work and, to some extent, accepted by the co-workers, as can be seen in a passage from a letter from co-worker Sherman Robertson, sent to the church in Belo Horizonte:
"I strongly suspect that those who are making a fuss using this argument are not qualified to be in leadership."
Over time, due to his social position, financial resources, and active involvement with the brothers, Sandro gained greater access to the work in Brazil, especially to the co-workers in São Paulo, the book distributor, and the conferences organized by the work. He also began attending international conferences, such as those held in Anaheim, where the Living Stream Ministry is headquartered.
In Belo Horizonte, he rented a large meeting place in the Padre Eustáquio neighborhood, which he personally maintained. In addition, he began covering the expenses for several brothers to attend conferences, regularly funded Sunday lunches, and made significant contributions through offerings to the work in Brazil.
As a result, his presence and influence were consolidated, not only locally but also in other spheres of the work. Although such actions involved willingness and generosity, in practice they ended up contributing to the strengthening of a centralized structure largely sustained by a single brother.
It is in this context that my own story intertwines with these events.
I was born and raised in Ouro Preto, MG. There, in 2002, I received the vision of the church life. I began to meet together with my entire family and some other brothers on this basis. Those were the most precious years of my life, especially spiritually. Until, in 2009, the division caused by Dong Yu Lan drastically changed the scenario.
Spiritual chaos settled in the churches—coldness, sins, illnesses, and deaths. I struggled to realize what was happening because Dong and his co-workers brilliantly concealed crucial information from most of the churches. By 2012, I had already realized that many things were out of alignment and that the division was responsible for all of it. I resisted for a while, but by mid-2014, after a series of personal problems, I stopped meeting under Dong Yu Lan’s ministry, and in January 2015, my wife, my daughter, and I returned to the basis of unity and the fellowship of the Body.
At that time, I did not have the strength or clarity to start meeting in Ouro Preto with only my wife and daughter. So, whenever possible, we went to Belo Horizonte on the Lord’s Day, especially for the Lord’s Table. By then, the meeting place in the Padre Eustáquio neighborhood had already been rented.
In January 2016, with the goal of fully living the normal church life, we moved to Contagem. Nevertheless, due to the metropolitan unification, we continued meeting in Belo Horizonte.
When I arrived, I found a strong atmosphere of confusion in the church. Some meetings felt like true battlefields. There were accusations against Brother Sandro, meetings marked by conflicts, and an evident internal division, mainly concentrated in two groups: Sandro’s group and the group connected to Brother Alberto from the Pindorama region. The latter group persistently raised concerns about the issue of the local ground and the presbytery. Tension also spread among the elders themselves and the brothers serving the youth, leading to deep hurts, resentments, and ruptures.
A personal experience made clear to me how consolidated this division already was:
I had just moved to Contagem and was going through a period of severe financial hardship. One Lords' day, after the meeting, I needed help with a mechanical problem on my car. I approached Brother Sandro and explained the situation. That same day, during lunch at the meeting place, Brother Alberto sat with me at the table, and we had lunch together and talked calmly.
Brother Sandro, bothered by that scene, approached my wife and advised her to caution me about whom I was associating with.
At the end of lunch, as I was getting ready to leave, Brother Sandro, while arranging with me the details of the offering he would give to help me, said to me explicitly:
“Be careful, brother, look well at the group you are going to choose...”
That phrase, although spoken quietly, carried a heavy weight. It was clear that more than practical help, what was at stake was loyalty, and belonging to a side in that division.
During this period, I tried to be united with the elders and did not pay attention to the seriousness of the non-biblical metropolitan unification and the problems being raised; on the contrary, I became one of those who fought with all possible strength against the “rebels” and the “rebellion of the local ground.”
The situation was so serious that, on numerous occasions, brothers troubled by the non-biblical practice of the unified ground requested fellowship with the co-workers of the work in São Paulo, in an attempt to correct the course of things. Several attempts were made, but there was a serious obstacle: these brothers were already widely seen as ambitious, rebellious, factional, divisive, and associated with what came to be called the “rebellion of the local ground.”
My personal impression is that, because of this stigma, none of the correction attempts involving the work found real space or acceptance. The doors were already closed before fellowship even began.
The way those brothers who, based on the Word and the ministry of brothers Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, expressed concern or disagreement with the practice of metropolitan unification and the regional presbytery in Belo Horizonte, were opposed reveals the increasingly rigid and institutionalized environment that developed among us. In general, five main strategies were used against them:
Ministry messages and excerpts from books were clipped, taken out of context, arbitrarily interpreted, and used to subtly or directly oppose these brothers. This included “words of warfare” spoken during meetings, carefully targeted but disguised as general edification, when in reality they aimed to silence, expose, or embarrass.
Brothers who dared to raise questions or express their conscience before the Lord had their past dug up and exposed. Old problems, already dealt with and forgiven before the Lord and covered by the blood, were brought up again, used as ammunition to discredit their word and person before the other brothers.
As soon as someone expressed concern about the practice of the unified ground or the unified regional administrative model, they were immediately labeled as "ambitious," "rebellious," "factional," "divisive," "problematic" or even "leprous", language that created an instant and invisible barrier between these brothers and the rest of the church, preventing any sincere listening or mutual fellowship. Especially powerful and devastating were the labels "ambitious" and "rebellious," capable of disqualifying brothers more quickly and definitively, even among those who never knew them or had any prior contact.
It is striking how, upon labeling a brother, other saints immediately stop considering any explanation or defense. He comes to be seen as dangerous and even satanic, someone who urgently needs to be isolated and removed from fellowship. The process is simple: it only takes someone with some considerable position to cast the label, and the majority accept it without question.
This labeling mechanism functions as a social and spiritual sentence, eliminating any possibility of dialogue, reconciliation, or restoration. ALTHOUGH THERE ARE LEGITIMATE CASES IN WHICH IT IS NECESSARY TO CALL ATTENTION TO REAL PROBLEMS, and although there may indeed have been among us some acting with a spirit of division, sectarianism, or rebellion, in many of the cases I personally witnessed in Belo Horizonte, it was, in fact, a trap to suppress the truth, destroy the fellowship, and strengthen control.
Over time, these brothers began to be ignored, excluded from conversations, removed from service, and kept away from meetings. Direct contact was avoided, and fellowship was interrupted. Often, the mere presence of these brothers caused widespread discomfort, as if they carried some kind of “spiritual contamination.”
In extreme cases, such as the episode involving Brother Ronaldo, where the brother was literally expelled from the meeting place, with the involvement of human authorities requested, and was removed from the environment in front of the other brothers. Even without an official excommunication declaration, the practical consequences were the same: total isolation and prevention from participating in the church’s fellowship.
The video below clearly demonstrates the atmosphere that developed against the brothers labeled as 'rebels of the local ground.' It contains audio messages sent by a serving one from the church in Belo Horizonte, in response to a brother who had sent him excerpts from the ministry concerning the local ground.
After sending the audios to this brother, he himself forwarded them to me as a way of celebrating having "cut off the head" of the "rebels."
Although he states in the audios that he "lives in Belo Horizonte," this brother has never resided in the city of Belo Horizonte; rather, he is a brother from a city in the metropolitan region who was vested with a certain authority in the center to even impose such treatment, as in these audios, upon brothers from their own locality.
These audios, compiled in the video, were sent to this brother in coordination with the main leadership of Belo Horizonte.
In order to preserve the identity of the brothers, the voice was distorted and some sections muted. See below:
I believe that, due to my years of experience and involvement in the church life, the leaders began to involve me in more administrative matters and meetings since I arrived in Contagem and started meeting in Belo Horizonte. In this context, I gradually began to perceive an even more alarming situation.
Here is one of the major problems I perceived in the church in Belo Horizonte:
In my personal understanding, it is essential that every practice adopted in the church life has direct support from the Scriptures. That which cannot be clearly upheld by the Word of God must, at the very least, be deeply considered with reverence and trembling before the Lord. When we adopt models and practices foreign to what God has ordained in the Bible, we fall into a serious error, even if unconsciously, of judging the Scriptures as incomplete, insufficient, or outdated. Although this is not our heart, this is exactly the message we end up conveying. The church belongs to the Lord; therefore, its functioning, direction, and testimony must be firmly grounded in what God has already established in His Word, not in human, pragmatic, or circumstantial arrangements. Any deviation from this inevitably opens the door to confusion, division, and loss of spiritual reality.
Since the understanding of many brothers is not always like this, when one intends to adopt practices different from what has been established in the BIBLE, non-biblical, lacking clear support from the Scriptures, as is the case in Belo Horizonte with this kind of "church unification" accompanied by a "unified regional presbytery", the very least that should be required is the unanimity of the brothers regarding this path.
However, when a significant group of brothers expressed discomfort, opposition, deep reservations, and in some cases, even persistent and desperate warnings about the risks of this direction, it was a spiritual duty to stop and reconsider.
If we were dealing with something clearly ordained and established by God in His Word, the resistance of some would not invalidate the need for obedience. But in this case, what was being proposed was a practice not found in the Scriptures, and precisely because of that, there should have been even more care, more prayer, more fellowship, and above all, unanimity in the Spirit.
Carrying forward non-biblical practices, even with majority support, without discernment and without consensus, deeply wounds the New Testament principle of fellowship. And when this is done by imposition, even if under the appearance of zeal, what is actually established is a form of human governance, cloaked in spiritual language; A sure path to confusion and division.
We must also consider that if we validate, whether by understanding, convenience, or any other reason, the practice adopted in Belo Horizonte of unifying multiple cities as if they were a single church, absorbing brothers from neighboring localities while forbidding them from practicing the normal church life in their own cities, then we are, by consistency, obligated to also validate other distortions of the biblical ground. We would have to accept, for instance, denominations, neighborhood churches, churches organized around specific doctrines, or even the so-called “garage churches.” For if we accept a system that goes beyond the limits of the locality, with what justice can we condemn those that fall short of those limits? What gives us spiritual authority to rebuke lesser deviations if we embrace and legitimize greater ones, equally contrary to the Word of God?
There was yet another concerning aspect: the control over the content released in the meetings.
On some occasions, I was assigned to give the opening word in the mutuality meetings. When the weekly topic involved the ground of locality—a subject clearly addressed in the ministry messages—Brother Sandro would instruct me to avoid the topic, or, if it was truly necessary to mention it, to do so in a “surgical” manner.
The goal was not to provoke or encourage the so-called “rebellious” brothers, who might feel legitimized to express their views before the congregation. The concern was not mutual building up, but rather maintaining the stability of the leadership, preserving this different model, and containing potential dissent.
On other occasions, when I was scheduled to open the mutuality meeting, if there was any mention, even an indirect one, in the weekly Morning Revival message concerning the topic of rebellion (such as a Roman numeral, a subpoint, or even a minor statement), brother Sandro would call me for a conversation before the meeting. In that conversation, he would rehearse with me an opening word that focused almost entirely on that point, instructing me to use it as a tool to strike certain brothers labeled as "rebellious", especially the one who happened to be more prominent at the time. This kind of guidance was usually accompanied by the expression: “You’ve got the knife and the cheese in your hand.”
Over time, it became increasingly evident that the excessive concern regarding the so-called “rebellion of the local ground,” with the numerous supposed "rebels" in Belo Horizonte and the insistence on maintaining the unification model, began to affect the church life in various aspects. Constant suspicion, fear of losing control, and the effort to preserve a certain organizational structure started shaping decisions and attitudes that directly interfered with the spiritual flow. A clear example of this was the way home meetings, a vital practice in the New Testament church life, were treated.
In the Bible and the ministry in general, there is a very clear and consistent burden concerning home meetings. However, in Belo Horizonte, due to the tension surrounding the issue of the ground of locality, this practice was often discouraged by the leadership. There was fear that these less-structured environments might allow brothers considered “rebellious” to share their convictions on this matter, making it difficult for the leadership to maintain control.
On some occasions when we were able to carry out home meetings by our own initiative, there was always explicit concern and, at times, even direct interference from the leadership regarding the material to be studied. One example was a brief series of meetings held at a brother’s home near the Zoo area, where we were expressly forbidden by the leadership to study the booklet “The 96 Lessons” by brother Witness Lee and were encouraged to use only the HWMR, instead of ministry books.
On several occasions, during the service meetings, many brothers expressed a burden for the home meetings. At certain times, we even began to outline the formation of the groups. However, the leadership in Belo Horizonte began systematically discouraging this practice, using as a pretext an old phone call made by a brother from BH to the work in São Paulo, in which this brother accused the local leadership of trying to exercise human control through the group meetings. The claim was that other similar accusations could arise.
Another deeply troubling aspect during that period was the normalization of practices that violated basic principles of the Christian life, especially in regard to trust and light. One example was the recording of private fellowship, conversations, and remarks during meetings without the knowledge or consent of the brothers. These recordings were, in many cases, stored, shared, and even used as a means of surveillance, exposure, or discrediting those who expressed discomfort with the current practice. We reached the point of secretly recording brothers, including even co-workers, only to later edit their words and, if necessary, present them out of context in order to use them as evidence against them or to validate certain practices.
On many occasions, private conversations and fellowship took place in an atmosphere of simplicity and trust, with brothers opening their hearts sincerely, sharing with us their deepest feelings, doubts, and weaknesses, seeking help and fellowship, while we, even in the face of such openness, were, under the directive of the leading elder, secretly recording their words. Today, as I recall this, my heart is deeply grieved, for what should have been a space of light and mutual building became a ground for surveillance and evidence gathering. Many times, without fully realizing it, we violated the spiritual dignity and fraternal trust that should exist in the Body of Christ. I confess with shame that I took part in this practice. And for that, I also repent.
Praise the Lord, for I myself was later a victim of that very same practice. Words I had spoken in the past, defending the unbiblical practice of the unified ground; words that I now recognize were spoken in error, were recorded without my knowledge and, after I repositioned myself, were widely shared with the clear intent to expose and discredit me.
This practice, besides being worldly, directly contradicts the principles of light, fellowship, and mutual trust that should characterize the church life. With sadness, I acknowledge that for a time, I cooperated with this system, storing audio files on my own computer, thinking I was protecting the church, when in fact we were only reinforcing an atmosphere of fear and control. Today I understand that none of this has any backing in the Spirit or in the Scriptures. It was a deviation, a serious and silent one, that needs to be brought to light so that there may be repentance and restoration.
In the name of our Lord Jesus, I publicly ask forgiveness from the brothers for having taken part in this and in other evil practices mentioned throughout this page.
It is astonishing, and in some ways even inexplicable, how, in just a few years, in the name of a unification project, we managed to turn the biblical truth of the ground of locality and the model instituted by God in the New Testament for the administration of the churches into topics considered “rebellion,” into matters viewed as “death,” to be fought against with all strength. Driven by a human and institutional logic, we came to regard this truth as dangerous and managed to convince brothers, and even co-workers, that it was a matter tied to ambition and to a spirit of division found in the so-called “rebellious” ones of our region.
Once again, I publicly express my repentance and leave here my public request for forgiveness for having taken part in this, even if, to some extent, unconsciously.
To those who, whether consciously or unconsciously, continue to engage in this practice, I leave a word with fear before the Lord: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked” (Gal. 6:7). When we promote or uphold something that openly contradicts what is established in the Word, such as the ground of locality and the New Testament pattern for the administration of the churches, we are not merely disregarding brothers. We are, with such boldness or even foolishness, rising up against God Himself and His authority.
This is not merely the choice of a model; it is a violation of the divine order. And the Lord, righteous and zealous for His House, in due time, will rise up to vindicate what belongs to Him and will correct, in justice, every attempt to replace His government with human arrangements, even those cloaked in spiritual appearance.
As a result of all this, many sincere brothers in our region have been left with the painful sense that all of this has occurred with the complicity, or at least the silence, of the work, the co-workers, and the Living Stream Ministry. And a legitimate question remains in the hearts of those who have been wounded:
“Why have the work and the co-workers supported, or at least tolerated, within the scope of the Lord’s recovery, a practice that differs from what is established in the Bible, imposed without unanimity, and whose fruits, clearly manifested over the years, have been: confusion, internal divisions, spiritual coldness, human manipulation, stagnation, and selective reduction?”
Besides all these concerning facts related to the local sphere, an extremely worrying situation began to develop in Minas Gerais: any church or brother who was not validated by Belo Horizonte or who did not accept the guidelines suggested or imposed by Belo Horizonte, for example, regarding the authorization to break bread, was immediately isolated, discredited, or labeled as rebellious.
These brothers and churches began to be marginalized from the fellowship of the Body and excluded from various activities related to the work. Even while fully aligned with the ministry, practicing genuine unity and fellowship, they came to be treated as if they did not exist or as if they had abandoned the Lord’s recovery.
To this day, this reality persists: the only acceptable solution, according to the current system, is for such brothers or localities to submit to the administrative center established in Minas Gerais, otherwise, they remain under label and isolation.
Given this, a serious question must be asked: at what point did we begin to accept, almost without question, that a church from a large city holds the power to validate or invalidate, beyond its locality, practices, brothers, or even the Lord’s testimony in other local churches?
This disproportionate influence of Belo Horizonte raises an even deeper question: is the problem only with those who centralize, or also with those who, through omission or convenience, accept to be governed?
Centralization only thrives where there is passivity. Are we, as churches, choosing the easier path of submission and omission, instead of taking up, before the Lord, the responsibility of spiritual autonomy?
The idea of a headquarters church, a center that coordinates everything, is comfortable, after all, with such a system in place and our submission to it, much of our spiritual and practical responsibility is diluted.
Isn’t this vision of a “spiritual administrative center,” that validates or invalidates others, an inheritance we received directly from the model implemented by Dong Yu Lan? And if so, why do we continue to reproduce something so contrary to New Testament simplicity?
It has long been customary for some brothers from Belo Horizonte to visit other churches in Minas Gerais with the purpose of strengthening the fellowship. One of these brothers was Ronaldo, who for several years frequently warned the brothers about the deviations practiced in Greater Belo Horizonte.
His approaches were based on public readings of ministry books, notes from the Recovery Version Bible, distribution of printed leaflets containing excerpts from the ministry, and direct conversations with the brothers. This increasingly provoked negative reactions from the leadership, until at a certain point he was formally prohibited from attending meetings and any activities related to the church in Belo Horizonte.
It was precisely in this context that the project of "blending" the churches in Minas Gerais arose. Shortly before, around the year 2018, brother Ronaldo had visited some interior localities together with brothers Edgard, Carlos, and Mauro, which caused strong concern among the leaders of Belo Horizonte, especially Sandro.
Fearing that the words of these brothers might bring light to the other churches and expose the centralized structure that was consolidating, Sandro decided to act. The blending project was born there, not as a response to clear spiritual leading, but as a strategic reaction. The proposal was to expand the fellowship among brothers from different cities, but the real intention was to neutralize the work of Ronaldo and others, to contain the advance of their warnings, and to reinforce the bonds of loyalty of the localities in Minas Gerais to the leadership in Belo Horizonte.
Furthermore, shortly before the official implementation of the "Blending of the Churches of Minas Gerais" project, something very special had happened in the church in Conselheiro Lafaiete. The brothers from that locality themselves, in simple and spontaneous fellowship, organized a time of blending and fellowship among nearby churches and with some brothers whom, as they testified, the Lord had placed in their hearts. This blending took place without any participation or presence of the leadership from Belo Horizonte. The blending happened at the countryside home of a humble family from the church and, although I find no adequate words to describe that experience, the atmosphere was heavenly, full of purity, mutuality, simplicity, and absence of protagonism. It was something organic, initiated and sustained by the life of the local church itself. For weeks afterward, many brothers still rejoiced in spirit over all that was experienced in that blending.
And it was precisely shortly after this event, and as a reaction to the visits of brother Ronaldo and a few other brothers to some cities, that the officially coordinated "blending" project by Belo Horizonte was launched.
Unlike what happened in Lafaiete, when the official "blending of the churches of Minas" project was consolidated, the proposal took on a completely different nature. It became a movement widely coordinated by the leadership of Belo Horizonte, which began managing all aspects, from defining the host cities and participating churches to organizing logistics and speakers. The new model was structured in two stages:
In the first stage, an administrative meeting was held among the elders and serving brothers from the host locality, the localities that would participate, and the leadership from Belo Horizonte. In this meeting, through the administrative coordination of Belo Horizonte, the speakers (always including representatives from BH), the topics, the schedule, and all logistical details were defined. The spiritual and practical direction of the event became completely coordinated by the metropolitan leadership.
The second stage, naturally, was the blending itself, now strongly shaped by the leadership of Belo Horizonte, with a massive presence of its brothers and strong protagonism in the execution of the program. What had once been a living and decentralized fellowship among churches became large, organized, and standardized events, where spontaneity and mutuality gave way to centralized direction.
Genuine and organic fellowship among local churches, born from the very reality of the Body, was replaced by a functional model of integration, where bonds occurred in alignment with the organizing center. Although well-intentioned by some, the "blending," in this new format, became a subtle instrument of control and standardization of the churches of Minas Gerais under the influence of a centralized leadership.
Unlike other moments in my journey, on this occasion I was neither deceived nor deluded. When the idea of this project was presented to me, I knew what was being done, and I participated. I took an active part from the conception to the initial implementations. At the moment we were discussing the project’s conception, during our conversation, Sandro even said enthusiastically:
“What a weapon the Lord has given us, brother!”
That phrase did not sound strange to me at the time. I agreed. I believed we were only protecting the church’s testimony against those “rebels” who were visiting various localities.
Today, with clarity and repentance, I recognize that what we did was implement a human control mechanism while using spiritual language to justify it. When we presented the blending project to all the brothers, we stated that “the Lord had led us to this so that the churches would enter into the reality of the Body,” that “we needed to be adjusted, blended, harmonized,” and “to let go of our peculiarities.” But in truth, we were merely dressing a strategy with spirituality that had another purpose: to contain the accusations being made, to preserve the structure of influence that was consolidating, and to keep the relationship of the churches under the control of the Belo Horizonte administration. What should have been a mutual and spontaneous edification of the Body of Christ became, at that moment, a field of institutional protection.
With fear before the Lord, and fully aware of my own limitations, I leave here a sincere word to the saints. Practices such as blending under centralized coordination, even when clothed in spirituality, can produce silent yet deep effects: the consolidation of a "mother church" or "head church" practice, the weakening of the local churches’ identity and responsibility, the dilution of organic mutuality, dependence on a central organizing body, the concentration of authority, and even the exclusion of churches or sincere saints who do not align with the centralized model adopted. I pray that each church, being led by the Spirit, may discern such dangers and return in simplicity to the guidance of the Word and to the organic reality of the Body of Christ in each city.
However, I do not want to assert that there can never be occasions when a broader organization is necessary, especially in larger events or specific moments, but it is essential that each of us, individually and as a church, exercises deep spiritual discernment regarding the spirit and true intention behind such organizational settings.
At various times, including during the blendings of the churches of Minas Gerais, especially through the words of the main presbyter, the leadership in Belo Horizonte began to spread among the brothers the idea that Belo Horizonte represents “Jerusalem.” That is, a supposed spiritual center to which the brothers of the metropolitan region should submit in order to remain in full fellowship with the church. This narrative, however, is deeply mistaken and spiritually dangerous. The church, according to the New Testament pattern, is expressed locally in each city (Revelation 1:11; Acts 14:23), and there is no biblical basis for the existence of a mother church or a regional presbytery that exercises authority over other localities.
This constitutes a subtle distortion, since Jerusalem, as the ground established by God for worship in the Old Testament, typifies today, in the New Testament era, the Church, the Body of Christ. The habitation of God in its universal aspect, composed of all the churches as local practical expressions scattered throughout the earth, and which will be, in its final and fullest consummation, the New Jerusalem. In Christ, there is no longer a geographic center of worship or spiritual authority composed of a single city or a single region (John 4:21–23). Centrality is now in the Spirit, which operates in the Body that is the Church, expressed locally in each city, without headquarters or regional command. To attribute to a locality, such as Belo Horizonte, the role of “Jerusalem” today, and to require that other churches be connected to it to be considered legitimate, is a return to the shadows of the old covenant and a substitution of Christ’s authority for human centralization. This directly violates the New Testament vision and obscures the pure testimony of the church as an expression of divine life in each locality.
By 2019, the situation in Belo Horizonte had become deeply aggravated. Internal divisions multiplied in various forms. Many of the brothers who had tried to warn about the deviations had already withdrawn “voluntarily” or been rejected by the community. Still, conflicts, divisions, and internal problems continued, without any sign of stopping.
It marked a decade since the division promoted by Dong Yu Lan in 2009 and the consequent return of some brothers to fellowship and to the stand for the unity of the Body. At that time, the metropolitan unification of Greater Belo Horizonte was no longer for mutual help between localities; it had become an imposition. Woe to anyone who dared to stand against it.
In that year (2019), the church in Belo Horizonte had consolidated the unification with the cities of the Greater BH area, forming a sort of Unified Metropolitan Church, composed as follows:
A decade after the restart, this was the stable picture of growth and numbers that had been reached.
There is still a silent yet very real effect caused by the impositive unification of the churches in the metropolitan region: it hinders the advance of the church life in neighboring cities. By concentrating everything in Belo Horizonte, this model created an environment where only brothers with better financial and logistical conditions can attend the meetings at the unified center. On the other hand, countless brothers, sincere, thirsty, and willing, whom the Lord could have added to the churches, were, in practice, prevented because of this centralized structure.
Perhaps even more serious is the fact that the cities in the metropolitan area have been emptied of their spiritual calling. They ceased to be seen as legitimate localities for the expression of the Body of Christ and came to be treated only as peripheral regions subordinated to a mother church.
Today, at the time I write this testimony, more than fifteen years have passed since this unified practice began, and the result is visible: compromised testimonies and stagnant growth. And all of this, not for lack of brothers, gifts, or the move of the Spirit, but because the model we adopted prevented these churches from flourishing.
It is not just for God’s justice to require that simple and humble brothers, often with limited financial resources, assume such high logistical costs (time, transportation, food...) in order to meet and practice the proper life of the church, when they could, according to biblical ordering, practice it in their own cities. The centralization imposed by the unification of the metropolitan churches produced exactly this: a system that, in practice, excludes those who cannot keep up with the pace of centralized travel and commitments. This is unjust and contrary to the pastoral heart of the Lord, who came to seek the lost, serve the weak, and include the little ones. The church must go out to meet the brothers, not demand that they adapt to distant, rigid, and costly human structures. God’s justice cries out for a testimony that is accessible, local, and real, not for a model that sacrifices the little ones in the name of institutional unity.
Shortly after my move to Contagem, we learned of a family in Betim who was being contacted by a local brother (who, like many, regularly met in Belo Horizonte). This family opened their home for meetings, and on some occasions, the brother from Betim asked for support from the brothers in Contagem, since we were closer. We went, saw the openness of those brothers’ hearts, and perceived fertile ground for Betim to gradually have its own solid testimony of the church.
However, despite the promising start, this brother, who always had great affection for meeting in Belo Horizonte and highly valued the metropolitan unification, ended up giving up continuing the contact. Being fully integrated into the center in Belo Horizonte, and having the logistical means to come and go, he preferred to maintain this comfortable dynamic, even if it meant interrupting what the Lord was starting in his own city. Those brothers from Betim never began attending meetings in Belo Horizonte, and the process of care and spiritual advance was interrupted.
I clearly recall a specific moment, on the way back from a conference in São Roque, when this brother declared that he did not feel capable of taking responsibility for a work of the Lord in Betim and preferred to abstain. We respected his statements, but I could not help but notice that if he had been meeting right there in his city, with the few brothers who had already started, he probably would have felt the natural burden to advance and would have paid the price for it. Even though he occasionally sought fellowship in Belo Horizonte, exercising the local burden would have brought growth, edification, and testimony.
Another striking example occurred with a brother from the city of Santa Luzia who began meeting with us, showing great burden for the church life. Married, with a small daughter, he was going through a difficult financial moment and had only a motorcycle for transportation. On several occasions, he could not get a ride from brothers in his own city, and even when he came alone, the trip to the meeting place in Belo Horizonte was exhausting and complicated. In a sincere conversation, he told me sadly: “It’s very far, isn’t it, Júlio”. Words that did not reveal a lack of burden but the practical exhaustion imposed by a centralized model that disregards the reality of brothers in simple situations. Shortly after, although wishing to continue, this brother ended up distancing himself. Not out of spiritual discouragement, but because the system made his participation practically impossible.
Once at my workplace in Contagem, I shared the gospel of the kingdom with a sister from the same city. I spoke to her about the unity of the Body of Christ and the biblical vision of the locality basis, and this vision touched her deeply. She was greatly encouraged to take a stand and sincerely desired to meet with us.
However, when I indicated where she could meet, I gave the address of the meeting place in Belo Horizonte, since that was where the “unified” church of the region was centralized. She attended some meetings, but a discomfort soon arose between us: “If the biblical practice is according to the locality basis, why then is it only possible to do it by going to Belo Horizonte?” At that moment I had no answer for this legitimate question.
Besides the discomfort with this contradiction, the distance between her home and the meeting place also became a real obstacle. In the end, the strange practice of “unification”, which in reality denies the autonomy of the churches in each locality, ended up preventing this sister from moving forward. It was a regrettable loss caused by a structural inconsistency.
This experience led me to an internal reflection I could not ignore:
How can I preach the gospel of the kingdom, which calls people to a living, practical, and visible reality of Christ’s government, and present the biblical vision of the unity of the Body expressed by the locality basis, yet at the same time tell someone from Contagem that it is only possible to practice it by going to Belo Horizonte?
Therefore, it is not that the Lord cannot, or will not, bless the cities of the metropolitan region with growth, vitality, and testimony. The problem lies elsewhere: in the comfort produced by a centralized model, which exempts from responsibility those who have the means to attend the unified center. When everything revolves around a mother church, it becomes easy to set aside the local burden, abandon edification in one’s own city, and merely “consume” meetings at the center. Thus, neighboring localities, though full of potential and sincere brothers, ended up paralyzed not for lack of life but for lack of responsibility. In such a case, the progress of the local expressions of the Body is hindered not by a lack of divine power, but by the human neglect of the local burden entrusted by God Himself.
“If we are ready, defined, strong, and absolute in the Lord’s purpose in the way of the local church, He will raise others to stand with us. However, if we are neutral and lukewarm, the Lord will do nothing. He hates lukewarmness. Many do not receive the Lord’s blessing because they are lukewarm.” (W. Lee — The Practical Expression of the Church)
Faced with all the circumstances described above, and after a bread-breaking and mutual sharing meeting held on April 7, 2019, in which, even during that time of fellowship, many brothers expressed deep wounds and exposed internal divisions, I, who was in the sound booth recording the meeting, had a strong feeling in my spirit: the more we insisted on this powerful yet unscriptural system of metropolitan unification, the more divisions increased among us.
After that Lord's Day morning meeting, I felt deeply that we were on the wrong path; that the direction we were taking represented a serious deviation from the biblical principles, just as serious as the deviation introduced by Dong Yu Lan. Dong’s deviation was on a universal level; ours, on a local one.
Brother Marcelo, my uncle, who also lives in Contagem and used to meet in Belo Horizonte, came into the sound booth right after that Lord's Day meeting on April 7. We were both stunned by the “spirit” and the atmosphere that were manifested that morning. We said to each other:
“This is happening because we are insisting on something not found in the Scriptures. The church is local. We should be meeting in our own localities.”
We shared this feeling with a few other brothers.
That Sunday night, Marcelo, another uncle of mine, both from Contagem, and I went to a group meeting in Belo Horizonte at the home of the son of the brother from Contagem, who was an elder in Belo Horizonte alongside Sandro.
Also present at this meeting was another brother from Contagem named Marlon and his family, recently brought into the church life.
At the end of the meeting, after the elder’s son shared with us a dream he had concerning division, we ended up sharing with him the burden we had carried since that morning and our inclination to seek fellowship with the elders of Belo Horizonte regarding this matter.
There was, however, a great obstacle: to discuss the matter of the local ground in Belo Horizonte was deeply scandalous and forbidden, a matter of "death" and "rebellion." The movement of some brothers who tried to raise this issue had already been labeled and firmly established among us as “the rebellion of the local ground".
Immediately after we shared this feeling and the desire to seek fellowship, an intense and immediate reaction was unleashed. The very act of touching on the topic of the local ground was met with firm resistance, and insisting on this matter resulted in facing rejection, criticism, and even isolation, for any attempt to question the established system was regarded as rebellion.
After that Sunday, Marcelo and I decided to meet during the week at his house to examine the ministry books of brothers Nee and Lee, in order to consider and review our practice, as well as to recall the ministry’s teachings regarding the local ground. We desired to analyze the situation of Greater Belo Horizonte in the light of these teachings.
With every page we opened, we felt a growing despair within us. In the ministry books, from The Normal Christian Church Life, Further Talks on the Church Life, The Practical Expression of the Church, and others, we found that the current practice in Greater BH was completely out of line with what was established in the New Testament. With every page turned, as if scales fell from our eyes, the despair increased, and we were filled with a strong repentance within.
We met every day that week. By midweek, we had already seen much. It was necessary to respond to the Lord now, for to see and be negligent is very serious.
As expected, it came to our knowledge that, based on the reports of the son of the brother from Contagem, an elder in Belo Horizonte, nearly all the brothers were already considering us rebels and divisive. Among them, assumptions arose that this was happening because we had contact with others who were also regarded as rebels.
In light of this, our immediate reflection was:
“If, merely for expressing our desire to have fellowship with the elders concerning the local ground, we were already considered in this way, then perhaps those whom we have for so long regarded as rebels were in fact not so.”
We then decided to visit one of these brothers, Brother Alberto, and let him speak. We returned from there even more perplexed and deeply repentant over our unjust and unbiblical positions in recent years.
We made another decision; in view of all that we had seen in the ministry and according to the principles established in the Scriptures, we needed to begin respecting and practicing the boundary of locality, even if not officially positioned, and instead of taking the matter to the elders of BH, we decided first to have fellowship and share this entire burden with the brothers in Contagem.
Our disposition was as follows:
“Let us sit down with some experienced brothers in Contagem and present to them what we have seen. If in this fellowship they are one, we will proceed and bring the fellowship forward to the elders of BH; but if they restrain, we will also restrain and devote ourselves to prayer.”
We got in touch with Brother Sílvio from Contagem, who lives downtown, to schedule the meeting at his house for Friday night. We also invited two more brothers to participate.
At first, Brother Sílvio agreed, but for some unknown reason, he reported this meeting to Sandro, as if it were some kind of conspiracy. Then, he canceled our meeting and, together with Sandro, called another meeting for the serving brothers and elders, scheduled for Saturday morning at the Belo Horizonte meeting place, at which we were expected to be present.
On Saturday, upon arriving at the meeting place, we immediately sensed that the atmosphere was extremely tense and heavy. Marcelo could not attend; therefore, it was only my other uncle and I to face that difficult atmosphere.
The brothers avoided greeting us, the environment was one of total distrust, and the meeting aimed to severely reprimand us, in a kind of public judgment.
That day I was able to personally experience what, even with my cooperation, many other brothers had already gone through in Belo Horizonte. Because of the burden to practice the biblical vision of the local ground of the church, and precisely among those who had withdrawn from Dong Yu Lan’s degraded system to return to the Lord’s recovery, we were strongly despised, opposed, and so quickly labeled as rebels.
Even so, Marcelo and I did not lose heart, for the burden within us was very strong. In the following days we continued, praying, seeking light in the Scriptures and the ministry books. However, this other uncle chose not to continue in this burden, for everything proved too heavy for him.
Immediately after these initial events, the elders decided to remove me from any service in the church in Belo Horizonte (music, youth, sound and recording, etc...) and to place me under “quarantine.”
Marcelo and I then decided to go to the house of another brother from Contagem to have fellowship and present our burden to him. We brought some books (Additional Lectures on the Church Life, The Normal Christian Church Life, The Practical Expression). Our desire was to show him what we were seeing in the ministry regarding the local ground of the church, express our burden, and widen the fellowship. This brother was not open to what we were trying to say and did not allow us to show what was in the books. His words were: “I do not need these books; what I need is life,” implying that the content of the ministry books on this matter is death.
After our visit to this brother’s house, it became clear to us that all the brothers, especially those in Contagem, had already been, in a certain sense, “warned” against any word we might share. The label of rebellion and ambition had been carefully applied to us, so that every sincere attempt at fellowship was automatically interpreted as a threat to the unity. The narrative that we were being influenced by “other rebels” and had listened to divisive voices had already been widely spread. In light of this, there was no longer room for open dialogue; any light we tried to share was immediately met with suspicion, resistance, and distrust.
The idea quickly spread among the brothers that Marcelo and I were eager to be the first to take a stand in Contagem, driven by ambition to become elders and thus prevent Sandro from appointing any elder linked to him here. I believe this view was conveyed to other churches in Minas, to the co-workers, and to the work even before any contact between us and them regarding this matter.
Over the following days, we fellowshipped with some brothers from other localities regarding our burden to practice the local ground.
On April 28, 2019, I sent a personal letter to the elders in Belo Horizonte to express my burden and the charge the Lord had placed in my heart: to gather with my family in the city of Contagem, where we lived, for the purpose of bearing testimony to the unity of the Body of Christ in our city.
I share below the full content of the message, found in the documents section of this site, as a testimony of the burden and motivation with which it all began:
As a result of this letter, a “fellowship” was scheduled that same week with two elders from Belo Horizonte to address the matter. Marcelo and I attended that “fellowship.” The elders present were the brother from the city of Contagem and a brother from the city of Nova Lima, named Vicente, who was recently brought into the church life but, due to his maturity and consistency, was already serving as an elder. (It is worth noting here that the eldership in Belo Horizonte is unified, composed of brothers from various different localities, with Sandro, a brother from the city of Santa Luzia, being the leading one among them.)
In that meeting, our burden to practice the local ground was, unsurprisingly, rejected by both.
The brother from Contagem was even more emphatic in forbidding us from pursuing the matter any further, and he justified that he himself could neither practice the local ground nor take a stand in Contagem, saying:
“If I leave Belo Horizonte, Sandro will be destroyed; and if Sandro is destroyed, the church in Belo Horizonte will be destroyed.”
According to him, if he were to withdraw his support from Brother Sandro, the so-called “rebels of the local ground” would rise up in full force to attack him, and this would jeopardize the entire structure of the church in the capital.
Brother Vicente from Nova Lima expressed great concern regarding the financial matter. He said:
“We are barely managing to financially sustain the church in Belo Horizonte, how do you think we could also sustain Contagem?”
He said this because, at that time, the church in Belo Horizonte was financially sustained mainly through Brothers Sandro, from Santa Luzia, and Vicente, from Nova Lima. There was no meaningful financial participation from the other brothers in practical matters.
Even after that meeting, the burden within us, and everything we were seeing in the ministry and in the Scriptures, would not allow us to stop.
One of the main arguments raised by the elders in Belo Horizonte during those days was that the matter of the local church ground was something Brother Lee emphasized early in his ministry, but that in the later years of his life he released more “updated,” “flexible,” and “balanced” messages concerning this vision. They based this argument primarily on a passage from pages 79 and 80 of chapter 4 of the book Fellowship Concerning the Present Work of the Lord’s Recovery. A term frequently used by them during that time to describe our burden to take the stand on the local ground, even if not accepted or agreed upon by all, especially not by the unified administrative center, was “localism,” a pejorative term used to describe an exaggerated or exclusive emphasis on local interests at the expense of a broader or more unified vision.
By applying this label to us, they were implying that our stand was the result of stubbornness, regionalism, pride, and disobedience.
In the days that followed, Brother Marlon, also from Contagem, who had recently begun meeting with us, noticed the ongoing situation and, after praying about it, came to me. I decided to open up to him about everything. He embraced the vision and began to pray and seek light from the Lord together with us.
In the weeks that followed, we continued praying, each time with greater intensity, and the burden to practice the biblical vision and take a stand on the local ground of the church, to meet and bear testimony of the oneness of the Body of Christ in the city where we lived, increased exponentially within us.
As June 2019 approached, the burden on this matter had become so strong that we felt the need and the deep desire to have fellowship with a co-worker of the work about it.
In mid-June, we heard that on the weekend of June 22 and 23, a conference of the churches in Espírito Santo would take place and that Brother Scott, a co-worker, would be there. Marcelo and I made arrangements and attended the conference on Lord’s day morning. After the meeting, we had fellowship with Scott, who encouraged us to continue praying and to devote at least two more months to prayer. He said we should allow the Lord to carry out His will, for it is He who operates in us both the willing and the working according to His good pleasure. We decided to follow his counsel.
On July 9th, a brother named Agnaldo, who at the time lived in the Pindorama neighborhood in Belo Horizonte and was married to Brother Alberto’s niece, urgently asked me to come to his house, as he had heard vague things about the situation and wanted to know exactly and in detail what was going on.
Believing it to be a pure intention, I shared the whole situation with this brother.
Based on everything he heard, he took two actions:
On July 14th, he began sending messages through that fake WhatsApp profile. Since I was at the center of the events, all the brothers were naturally led to believe that I was the one responsible, even though the writing style and language were completely different from mine.
In this message sent by him on July 28, 2019, there is a passage where he explicitly impersonates me, as highlighted in red:
"Hello brothers!!!
Amen, Jesus is the Lord!!
Numbers chapter 2 verses 2 onward speak according to the morning revival we are studying, about the army of the Lord, the walls and gates, the book of Numbers is wonderful!!!
However, we see that each person was placed according to their tribe, that is, city, with its standard, that is, its banner. It is sad to see that brothers defending the Lord’s testimony do not see that the Lord has a universal army, but when He speaks of tribe and standard He expresses His will to have His testimony in each city!!!
Remembering that the standard of Belo Horizonte is totally different from Contagem, Sabará, Betim, etc...
Even sadder to see brothers using the microphone to speak what defends their own interests and not to prophesy God to men!!!!
If we observe carefully, we will know that the words tribe and standard spoken in Numbers refer to city and banner, but the word “city” is not used so as not to remind the saints of what concerns the local ground!!!
Brothers are being restricted to speak only what they want!!
Manipulating those who still do not clearly see their intention!!!!
Truly, we have no choice, we must be in our “tribe”=City
According to our “standard”=Banner of our city!!!!!
Oh Lord Jesus, remove the veil!!!!
THE SPIRIT WITHIN ME BURDENS ME TO RAISE UP THE LORD’S TESTIMONY IN MY CITY, THIS IS SEEN BY THE “BROTHERS” AS AN ATTACK ON THE LORD’S TESTIMONY IN BH!
Since when does raising up the Lord’s testimony in one city mean attacking the Lord’s testimony in another city??
It is clear they want to grow in their ego and position but never as the Church!!!!"
Using this fake WhatsApp, in addition to sending harsh and aggressive messages about the situation in Belo Horizonte, he contacted co-workers and brothers from other localities in Minas Gerais, personally insulted older brothers, especially the one from Contagem who was serving as an elder in Belo Horizonte, and engaged in serious disputes with some brothers, including another uncle of mine from Contagem who was not Marcelo.
He and his wife told me with laughter and mockery what he had done and that the brothers believed it was me. From the second week of sending those messages, he also began sending them to me and conversing with me from that number. For this reason, I have proof that he was responsible for this. If you want to verify, CLICK HERE.
The repercussion of this was so negative that, for example, I learned at the time that an elderly and respected sister said, in a house meeting, that by doing that, I was not a brother but a demon. (Indeed, this was a demonic work.)
Another brother from a city in Minas Gerais, suspecting it was me, questioned him on this fake WhatsApp, “Why do it this way, brother?”
During this period, the environment for us in Belo Horizonte had greatly worsened. The situation was one of isolation, distancing, and judgment. In every message, whenever we were present, there was a word directed at our situation. Our presence was harming the atmosphere of the meetings. We then decided to meet in Contagem during the week, on Wednesdays, in homes; sometimes at my house, sometimes at Marcelo’s, and also at Brother Marlon’s. Finally, we stopped attending the meetings in Belo Horizonte.
On Mondays, the three of us decided to gather to pray, and we began doing so with great intensity and fervor.
The month of July and the beginning of August 2019 were marked by intense prayer and ministry consideration regarding our inner burden, until the vision of the local ground was firmly established in us according to the following fundamental points:
We understand that the recovery of the church life requires a radical return to the biblical ground of the locality, and that a church of God in a place includes all the children of God in that place; there is fellowship and mingling, but there is no extraterritoriality regarding the churches of God, nor is there intraterritoriality regarding the churches of God.
The church, as the Body of Christ in its universal aspect, has its practical expressions divinely arranged on a local ground, and this practice is an essential part of the content of the faith delivered to us. This is a particularity of the church life that cannot be neglected or compromised. Changes to this model established by the Scriptures, even if well-intentioned, represent a serious risk to the proper life of the church, for they open the door to human concessions and deviations that, in some cases, may even become instruments of the evil one. This understanding can be confirmed in the book The Particularity, the Universality, and the Practical Meaning of the Church Life.
Thus, by this vision and the strong leading of the Spirit within us, we made the decision to meet on the morning of the Lord's day, August 11, 2019, to break bread and bear testimony to the oneness of the Body of Christ in the city where we live, Contagem, MG, thereby returning to the ground established by God in His holy Word. Amen!
After the glorious and heavenly experience we had that Sunday, we met again on Monday the 12th to pray and write letters (via WhatsApp) announcing our position to the brothers in Contagem, Belo Horizonte, the Greater BH cities, and brothers from some other cities in Minas Gerais.
On Tuesday the 13th, I received a call from the co-worker Scott and two other co-workers from São Paulo who wanted to have fellowship regarding the situation. These two other co-workers expressed great concern about two points: that I might be acting with a political spirit and that we were positioning ourselves in Contagem out of ambition to be the first to do so, in order to take the position of elders. Although we had no previous contact with them except with brother Scott, I believe this legitimate concern from these two co-workers was stirred by reports and rumors widely spread by certain people from Belo Horizonte.
During this call, the co-workers asked us to urgently write a letter of retraction, withdrawing from the matter of the Lord’s table and our position in Contagem, and to send that letter to all who had received our first letter.
After this call, we met, prayed, and had fellowship until, on August 20, 2019, we felt before the Lord and before the truth established in His Word that we could not make such a retraction.
The Lord then moved us to write not a letter of retraction but a letter of confirmation, this time sent only to the co-workers.
Thus, contrary to this new, different, and unbiblical way of practicing the ground of the church, adopted in Belo Horizonte, we took our stand for the truth, for the local ground, and for the testimony of the oneness of the Body of Christ in the city where we live, Contagem, MG.
Also, on Sunday, August 18, 2019, at the end of the meeting in Belo Horizonte, two brothers from Contagem, brother Silvio, the one who cancelled our fellowship in his home and reported it to Sandro as a kind of “conspiracy”, and brother Marcos publicly read a letter opposing our position. According to them, this letter was also signed by all the other brothers from Contagem.
Finally, I want to make it clear to the brothers that this testimony does not arise from personal grievances, nor is it intended to attack or expose specific individuals. It is a sincere cry for the recovery of the normalcy of the church life in our region, according to the pattern in the Scriptures and in the light of the ministry we have received.
After our stand here in Contagem in 2019, and despite difficult circumstances such as brother Marcelo's return to Belo Horizonte, we have continued meeting regularly, breaking bread, practicing the church life, and keeping the flame of fellowship alive in our home. My wife, my daughter, and I remain to this day, and according to the Lord’s infinite mercy, we will remain in this stand in obedience to the heavenly vision the Lord has entrusted to us, practicing the church life with simplicity of heart, on the ground of the oneness of the Body of Christ in the city where we live.
Many, upon reaching this point in the account, may ask: “But why, then, did brother Marcelo decide to return to Belo Horizonte after taking such a firm stand in Contagem?”
The answer to this question reveals yet another deep aspect of the distortion caused by this type of system: it creates a kind of safety valve. When conflicts, relational difficulties, or personality clashes arise, the path of the cross, of brokenness, and of reconciliation should be pursued. However, the centralized system offers an immediate, comfortable, and seemingly legitimate alternative: just return to the “unified metropolitan center” and everything will be resolved.
Marcelo’s decision to return to meet in Belo Horizonte, even after having taken such a clear stand in Contagem, came after a serious argument and disagreement between us.
Precisely at the moment when we should have taken up the cross, sought reconciliation, and put the self to death, this centralized metropolitan unification system was there, readily available, ready to welcome and relieve the weight of local responsibility, replacing the way of the cross in the local church with a comfortable organizational structure.
The Lord desires to form Christ in us through the Body, the cross, and spiritual responsibility—not through schemes that lessen the cost of obedience and spare us from taking up the cross and denying the self.
The Lord has shown us that one locality should have only one church, and one locality should have only one administration. So we must be limited by locality. If any brother is not one with me, I must wash his feet and beg him until he becomes one with me. Here are lessons for me to learn: My temper has to be dealt with; I need to find the reason a brother cannot be one with me and do my best to deal with it. (...) THE UNITY IN THE SCRIPTURES IS ACCORDING TO ONE LOCALITY WITH ONE CHURCH. This makes it impossible not to be one in each locality.
Watchman Nee, Palestras Adicionais Sobre a Vida da Igreja, Cap. 4
JESUS CHRIST IS OUR LORD! AMEN!
The excerpt below, taken from the book Further Talks on the Church Life by Brother Watchman Nee, published in Portuguese by EAV, 8th edition, chapter 4, pages 83 to 87, shows that this is not the first time in history that a group of brothers has attempted to unify churches around a capital city, which then becomes a powerful unified center with a centralized administration.
See the excerpt below:
During the apostles’ time, the churches were separated according to localities. I think this matter is very clear. The church in Rome, the church in Corinth, the church in Ephesus, the church in Philippi, the church in Laodicea, and the church in Colossae were all separated according to locality. The church in every locality had its own independent administration. (...)
The history of change
After the apostles, the church began to change. The churches in big cities spontaneously began to become powerful. A big city naturally had a greater population; thus, the churches in larger cities became more powerful than churches in small cities or villages. The churches in big cities were inclined to absorb churches in smaller cities and villages so that they became satellites. The big cities became centers, while the smaller cities became accessories around them. As a result, there were changes not only in the organization but also in the administration of the church. Originally, there were several elders in a church. The churches in villages or in small cities also had their own elders. After the apostles passed away, however, a group of people in the early church advocated the doctrine that the authority of the apostles had been committed to the elders or bishops who represented the apostles. This was done out of respect for the apostles. Because they honored the first group of apostles, they were reluctant to designate anyone else as an apostle. They dared not use the title apostle.
Later, they appointed one from among many elders in a big city to be the bishop. Originally, elders were all bishops (overseers); each one was a bishop. The term elder refers to the person himself, and bishop refers to his office. But gradually, among the many elders, one was chosen to be a bishop, who became not only the head of the elders in a locality but also the head of the elders in the satellite churches.
This is how the changes came about: First, the church in a big city made all the churches in the small cities and villages its satellites. Later, a head elder was designated out of the big church, who naturally became the head elder of the satellite churches. He was called the bishop. This is a title found in the Bible, but the function now associated with it was not the same as what is in the Bible. In the Bible the elders are bishops. Paul called the elders in Ephesus together and said, “Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among whom the Holy Spirit has placed you as overseers [bishops]” (Acts 20:17, 28). The bishops in the Bible were plural; the elders were also plural. But today one is picked from among many elders to become the bishop. Only one is bishop while the rest are elders, not bishops. The elders no longer have the authority of a bishop. Smaller localities were united together and given over to the rule of this one bishop. One person was made to rule over many churches, and the matter of regions arose.
This development did not stop at just this level. During this same time the Roman Empire conquered the whole world. Among the many churches, the church in the city of Rome became very big. The city was not only large but also the capital. People throughout the whole world came to Rome to see Caesar. At first a bishop ruled over many places, which resulted in a regional church. As the city of Rome became prominent, it began to claim, “We are the capital, and Caesar lives in our midst.” Consequently, the bishop in the church of Rome not only ruled over the elders of the church in Rome but also over the elders in the region surrounding Rome. He not only became the head of the elders within the entire empire but also, more particularly, the head of the bishops of the various regions. This was the pope, the product of an order of ascending rank in the form of a hierarchy. Today the meaning of bishop in various denominations is “overseer.” The head of all such overseers is the pope. The reason everyone is ambitious to be the bishop of Rome is that once one becomes the bishop in Rome, he is spontaneously the bishop of the whole world and the head of all the elders in the world. Once one becomes the bishop in Rome, he immediately becomes the pope, and he represents Christ. This trend continued until its development became fully complete in the fourth century. By that time, “the churches” as recorded in the Bible no longer existed; they were now “one church.” The churches in the whole world became one church. From that day on, “the churches of God” as mentioned in the Bible (1 Cor. 11:16) no longer existed and no longer were mentioned. “The churches of the saints,” as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 14:33, also no longer were heard of, no longer were mentioned, and no longer existed. They all became part of the one church of Rome, and all the churches throughout the world became branches of Rome. There were no longer churches associated with just localities.
Was there a scriptural basis for this development? Supposedly, the scriptural basis was the fact that the children of God should be one. Since the Lord has only one church on this earth, they thought that they should be united as “one church.” However, they forgot that the Bible speaks of “the churches.”
No one daring to break the “unity”
We must take notice of one condition that prevailed after the Roman Catholic Church came into being. We know how the Roman Church was filled with heresy, idols, filthiness, and sins. Why did no brothers or sisters in the church stand up to deal with the situation for eleven hundred years? Could it be that no brothers or sisters had seen the heresies? Could it be that they had not seen the idols? Could it be that they had not seen the filthy sins?
In the eleven hundred years following the fourth century, there were definitely some who saw the heresies, idols, and filthy sins, but not one dared to deal with them! They feared that once they dealt with these things, they would immediately break the “unity.” “The church is one,” they said. “If we begin to deal with the idols, the church will be divided.”
In this section, I share with the saints the main points we rediscovered throughout this process; points that deeply impacted us as we revisited the ministry books concerning the practice of the church and the ground of locality.
My desire is simply to present, with reverence and simplicity, what the Lord had already revealed through His servants, but which, for a time, we failed to regard with proper weight. I believe these principles are essential for the spiritual health of the local churches and for the preservation of the genuine oneness of the Body of Christ.
According to the pattern established in the Bible, the practical boundary set by God for the churches is the city. In the Bible, there are no churches smaller than the city, and no churches larger than the city; there are no denominations, nor are there district churches, unified structures, conglomerates, or regional churches. Anything that goes beyond or falls short of the biblical pattern, even if wrapped in good intentions, is a HUMAN INVENTION, a SATANIC INVENTION.
On that day a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem, and all were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
The church in Jerusalem, the first established in the New Testament, was local and distinct from the others. It was not the church of a group, a leader, a doctrine, or a network, but the church of the city.
Now there were in the church in Antioch prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen... and Saul.
The church in Antioch, one of the great cities of the Roman Empire, second only to Rome and Alexandria in size and scope, was the first church to come into being after those among the Jews and Gentiles. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called “Christians.” This church was a local Body of believers, and like Jerusalem, it took the boundary of the city as its jurisdiction. Even though Antioch was a large metropolis with many surrounding towns, there is no biblical or historical record of any kind of unification in which other churches became part of it. The Bible in no way institutes such a thing.
Acts 15:41 mentions that there were churches in Syria (plural). This indicates that even though the names of these cities are not listed, there were other local churches in the geographic region surrounding Antioch.
And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
Each city had its own local church and its own local elders.
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is serving the church which is in Cenchrea.
Cenchrea was a port city near Corinth. Despite being close to Corinth, there was no practical unification between the two. The church in Cenchrea was a distinct, local church.
To the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints...
A church identified by the city, not by denomination, doctrine, or region.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God which is in Corinth, with all the saints who are throughout Achaia.
The church in the city is distinct from the saints in the surrounding region.
Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ...
A church identified by the city of the believers.
...and to the church which is in your house.
In cities where there were few believers, the saints gathered in homes, yet still represented the church in that city.
...What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamum, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.
Seven distinct churches, each in a specific city.
And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord...
Elders (plural) in each local church. This shows that the eldership was plural and local. Each local church had its own administration.
For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city...
Each city, one local church, with a plurality of elders.
The speciality of the church life is the faith. (...) So when we say that the speciality of the church life is the faith, we mean the faith that is the object of our believing. This is what we call our Christian faith. As Christians we have a unique faith.
(...) Therefore, in the church life we have only one thing that is specific or special. That is the faith, our Christian faith, which is composed of the beliefs concerning the Bible, God, Christ, the work of Christ, salvation, and the church.
Concerning the Church
The church, composed of all the genuine believers in Christ, as the Body of Christ (1:22-23; Col. 1:24), is universally one (Eph. 4:4), and a local church as the expression of the Body of Christ is locally one—ONE CITY, ONE CHURCH (Rev. 1:11).
THE SPECIALITY OF THE CHURCH LIFE
These are the six main items of the proper Christian faith. All real Christians do not have any disputations about these items. Some may disagree with the point concerning one city, one church, but as a proper Christian we have to believe that the church is both universally one and locally one. As the Body of Christ, the church is universally one; as the expression of the Body of Christ, a local church is locally one. (...)
The faith is the speciality of the church life. This is something very specific, very special. Concerning these points of our Christian faith there should be no argument. If we are going to fight for something, we have to fight for this. There is no need for us to fight for other things. We have to fight the good fight of such a faith (1 Tim. 6:12). We have to contend for such a faith (Jude 3). We have to teach and preach such a faith.
"The question of where the Body is involves the matter of the ground of the church. (...) THE MATTER OF THE CHURCH GROUND IS VERY SERIOUS; IT IS SOMETHING OF LIFE AND DEATH, NOT MERELY A MATTER OF DOCTRINE." (ch. 1)
Seeing the Body very much involves the matter of the ground of the church. The Body is one, and this unique Body is expressed in and by the local churches. Where is the Body? Where is this unique Body? The Body is in the local churches. Both the reality of the Body and the practicality of the Body are in the local churches. If you do not have the local churches, you do not have the reality of the Body. You may have the terminology, the teaching, the concept, of the Body, but you do not have the reality. Before the New Jerusalem comes, the reality of the Body will not be in the so-called heavenly church or the universal church but in the local churches. Today the reality and practicality of the Body are in the local churches. We could only put the Body into practice by having the local churches. The local churches are the practicality of the Body. (ch. 2)
What is a local church? A local church is the Christians meeting on the unique ground of oneness IN THEIR LOCALITY, IN THEIR CITY. (...) A local church is the Christians who live in a city meeting together on the ground of oneness, the unique ground of oneness, not on any other ground. This is the local church in that city, and the reality and the practicality of the Body are in such a local church. If you have seen the Body in such a way, you will no longer be divisive. (ch. 2)
"(...) but it is essential to the very existence of a church that its members gather together in a physical way. It is in this latter sense that the word “church” is used in 1 Corinthians 14. The phrase “in the church” (vv. 19, 23, 28) means “in the church meetings.” A church is a church assembled. These believers are not separated from other believers in any respect but that of their dwelling places. (...) Christians belong to different churches for the sole reason that they live in different places. (ch. 4)
"Questions will naturally arise concerning large cities such as London. Are they counted as one unit-locality, or more than one? London is clearly not a city in the scriptural sense of the term, and it cannot therefore be regarded as a unit. Even people living in London talk about going “into the city,” or “into town,” which reveals the fact that, in their thinking, London and “the city” are not synonymous. The political and postal authorities, as well as the man on the street, regard London as more than one unit. They divide it respectively into boroughs and postal districts. What they regard as an administrative unit, we may well regard as a church unit." (ch. 4)
"It was not God’s plan to unite the churches of different places into one church, but to have a separate church in each place." (ch. 4)
"There may be unions or mergers in the commercial or political world, but God sanctions no combinations among the churches. Each separate place must have a separate church." (ch. 4)
"God’s intention is that a church in any one locality should be a unit, and in their relationship one to the other the different churches must preserve their local character." (ch. 4)
" When God’s people throughout the earth really see the local character of the churches, then they will appreciate their oneness in Christ as never before. The churches of God are local, INTENSELY LOCAL. If any factor enters in to destroy their local character, then they cease to be scriptural churches." (ch. 4)
"It was never God’s purpose that a number of churches in different places should be combined under any denomination or organization, but rather that each one should be independent of the other. Their responsibilities were to be independent and their government likewise." (ch. 4)
"When our Lord sent messages to His children in Asia, He did not address them as “the church in Asia,” but “the seven churches which are in Asia.” His rebuke of Ephesus could not be applied to Smyrna, because Smyrna was independent of Ephesus. The confusion in Pergamos could not be laid to the charge of Philadelphia, because Philadelphia was independent of Pergamos. And the pride of Laodicea could not be attributed to Sardis, because Sardis was independent of Laodicea. Each church stood on its own merits and bore its own responsibility. Since God’s children lived in seven different cities, they consequently belonged to seven different churches. And since each was independent of the other, each had its own special commendation, or exhortation, or rebuke." (ch. 4)
Rev. 1:11 – “Saying, What you see write in a scroll and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamos and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”
Rev. 1:12 – “And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me; and when I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands,”
Rev. 1:13 – “And in the midst of the lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment reaching to the feet, and girded about at the breasts with a golden girdle.”
Rev. 2:1 – “To the messenger of the church in Ephesus write: These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, He who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:”
"In the Old Testament there was only one lampstand with seven different branches, but in the New Testament there were seven distinct lampstands. Had the New Testament representation been the same as the Old, then believers in the seven Asiatic churches might have united to form one church; but there are now seven separate lampstands, each upon its own base, so that the Lord is able to walk “in the midst of the seven golden lampstands” (Rev. 2:1). Therefore, though all churches stand under the authority of the one Head and express the life of the one Body (for they are all made of gold), still they are not united by any outward organization, but each stands on its own base, bearing its own responsibility, maintaining its local independence." (ch. 4)
"Although they are unit- churches in outward management, still their inner life is one, and the Lord has made their members the members of one Body. THERE IS NO OUTWARD ORGANIZATION FORMING THEM INTO ONE BIG COMBINED UNIT, but there is a strong inward bond uniting them in the Lord." (ch. 4)
"Every church is locally governed and is directly responsible to God, not to any other church or organization." (ch. 4)
"There must be a spiritual relatedness among the churches if the testimony of the Body is to be preserved, but there must at the same time be an absolute independence of government if the testimony of the Head is to be maintained. Each church is under the immediate control of Christ, and is directly responsible to Him alone." (ch. 4)
"Since the churches of God are local, we must be careful to preserve their local character, their local sphere, and their local boundary. Once a church loses these, it ceases to be a scriptural church." (ch. 4)
" Another thing is essential for the preservation of the local character of the church; its sphere must not become wider than the sphere of a locality." (ch. 4)
"The reason God does not sanction the establishing of churches which combine companies of believers in different places is that the divinely-ordained basis for the forming of churches is thereby destroyed." (ch. 4)
" Whenever a special leader, or a specific doctrine, or some experience, or creed, or organization, becomes a center for drawing together the believers of different places, then because the center of such a church federation is other than Christ, it follows that its sphere will be other than local. And whenever the divinely-appointed sphere of locality is displaced by a sphere of human invention, there the divine approval cannot rest. The believers within such a sphere may truly love the Lord, but they have another center apart from Him, and it is only natural that the second center becomes the controlling one." (ch. 4)
"Therefore, the children of God must see to it that they have no center of union apart from Christ, because any extra-local union of believers around a center other than the Lord enlarges the sphere of fellowship beyond the sphere of locality, and thus the specific characteristic of the churches of God is lost. There are no other churches in Scripture but local churches!" (ch. 4)
THE BENEFITS OF INDEPENDENCE
- "If each church is locally governed, and all authority is in the hands of the local elders, there is no scope for an able and ambitious false prophet to display his organizing genius by forming the different companies of believers into one vast federation, and then satisfy his ambition by constituting himself its head. Rome could never sway the power it does today had the churches of God maintained their local ground." (ch. 4)
- "Further, if the churches retain their local character, the spread of heresy and error will be avoided, for if a church is local, heresy and error will be local too. (...) It is a comparatively simple matter to quarantine error in a local church, but to isolate error in a vast federation of churches is quite another proposition." (ch. 4)
- "The greatest advantage of having locality as the boundary of the churches is that it precludes all possibility of sects. (...) Sects and denominations can only be established when the local character of the church is destroyed. (...) It is still possible for a sectarian spirit to exist in a non-sectarian church, and only the Spirit of God can deal with that." (ch. 4)
"So we know now what the church is. It consists of all the saved ones in a given locality." (ch. 5)
"Whenever a number of people in any place were saved, they spontaneously became the church in that place." (ch. 5)
" If in a given place anyone believes on the Lord, as a matter of course he is a constituent of the church in that place; there is no further step necessary in order to make him a constituent. No subsequent joining is required of him. Provided he belongs to the Lord, he already belongs to the church in that locality; and since he already belongs to the church, his belonging cannot be made subject to any condition. (ch. 5)
"Now what is true of the universal Church is also true of a local church. The universal Church comprises all those who have the oneness of the Spirit. The local church comprises all those who, in a given locality, have the oneness of the Spirit. The Church of God and the churches of God do not differ in nature, but only in extent. The former consists of all throughout the universe who are indwelt by the Spirit of God; the latter consists of all in one locality who are indwelt by the Spirit.
Anyone wishing to belong to a church in a given locality must answer two requirements — he must be a child of God, and he must live in that particular locality. Membership in the Church of God is conditioned only by being a child of God, but membership in a church of God is conditioned, firstly, by being a child of God and, secondly, by living in a given locality." (ch. 5)
" Locality is the divinely-appointed ground for the division of the Church, because it is the only inevitable division. EVERY BARRIER BETWEEN ALL BELIEVERS IN THE WORLD IS AVOIDABLE, EXCEPT THIS ONE." (ch. 5)
"Most believers of today are so utterly blind to the scriptural basis of a church that if one asks another, “To what church do you belong?” The first thought of the one questioned is of the specific line of teaching he approves of, or the group of people with whom he has special fellowship, or how his group of Christians is different from others, or perhaps the name that particular group bears, or the form of organization they have adopted — in short, anything but the place in which he lives.. Few would answer that question with, “I belong to the church in Ephesus,” or “I belong to the church in Shanghai,” or “I belong to the church in Los Angeles.” It is our being in Christ that separates us from the world, and it is our being in a given locality that separates us from other believers. It is only because we reside in a different place from them that we belong to a different church. The only reason I do not belong to the same church as other believers is that I do not live in the same place as they do. IF I WISH TO BE IN THE SAME CHURCH, THEN I MUST CHANGE MY RESIDENCE TO THE SAME PLACE. IF, ON THE OTHER HAND, I WISH TO BE IN A DIFFERENT CHURCH FROM OTHERS IN MY LOCALITY, THEN THE ONLY SOLUTION TO MY PROBLEM IS TO MOVE TO A DIFFERENT LOCALITY. (ch. 5)
"All believers living in the same locality belong to the same church. This is an unchanging principle." (ch. 5)
"All the while we must maintain an attitude of inclusiveness, not exclusiveness, towards those believers who are in different sects, for they, as we, are children of God, and they live in the same locality; therefore, they belong to the same church as we do." (ch. 5)
"A church of God in any place comprises all the children of God in that place, not merely those who hold the same doctrinal views." (ch. 5)
"All that was ours in Adam has been ruled out in Christ. The whole matter hinges here — are all carnal differences done away with in Christ, or is there still a place for the flesh in the Church? Are our resources in Christ sufficient to overcome all natural barriers? Let us remember that the church in any locality includes all the believers living there and excludes all who live elsewhere." (ch. 5)
"YOU CANNOT LIVE IN ONE PLACE AND BE A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH IN ANOTHER. THERE IS NO EXTRATERRITORIALITY IN CONNECTION WITH THE CHURCHES OF GOD." (ch. 5)
"The question put by God to the world is, “Do they belong to Christ?” The question put by God to believers is, “Where do they live?” Not nationality but locality is the question raised. The churches of God are built on city ground, not on national ground." (ch. 5)
"the thought of God is that the believers in a city (...) should be self-governing, self-supporting, and self-propagating. ". (ch. 5)
"We who live in the same locality cannot but belong to the same church. This is something from which there is no escape." (ch. 5)
"(...) It affirms that the ground of the church is of two basic things-the authority of the Spirit and the boundary of locality. There is considerable emphasis today on the authority of the Spirit, but almost a complete neglect of the boundary of locality. The matter of locality is even purposely opposed by some and despitefully treated. But it is a test to the proper realization of the practice of the church life." (Preface)
"God’s children today realize that one person cannot be the church, but they may not acknowledge that one thousand people can be one thousand individuals only and thus still not be the church. Even ten thousand people can remain as ten thousand individuals and not be the church. The church before God has other requirements. Therefore, we as children of God must pay special attention to the ground of the church." (ch. 1)
"The Bible clearly shows us this one thing: The church absolutely belongs to a locality, such as the church in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1), which is a place; the church in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:2), which is a place; the church in Antioch (Acts 13:1), which is a city; and the church in Ephesus (Rev. 2:1), which is a seaport. In the Bible the ground of the church is the locality where the church is. The churches all take locality as the boundary." (ch. 1)
"Here is a special point; please pay attention to it. If the brothers and sisters in Shanghai desire to stand on the church ground, they can only stand on the ground of the Holy Spirit and the ground of Shanghai. They must stand on the ground of the Holy Spirit and also on the ground of Shanghai because Shanghai is the locality in which they live. Once we disregard locality, we immediately lose the ground of the church." (ch. 1)
"In the Bible only the smallest administrative unit is related to the church — only a locality or a city has a church. The church in one locality cannot combine with the church in another locality to become one church. Each city can only be matched with one church, just as a husband can only be matched with one wife." (ch. 1)
"The whole New Testament tells us this one thing: The church is local. We must see that the church is local. The Epistles speak of the church in Corinth and the church in Ephesus. Revelation speaks of the seven churches in Asia. In each locality there is only one church. The church cannot become independent of locality." (ch. 1)
"IF WE DO NOT CARE FOR THE BOUNDARY OF LOCALITY, EVERYTHING IS FINISHED. IF WE DISCARD THIS BASIC GROUND, WE HAVE NO GROUND." (ch. 1)
"We can never violate the boundary of locality; we can only submit. Men have no freedom in the jurisdiction of locality set up by the Holy Spirit." (ch. 1)
In the past two thousand years, if the people in the church had been willing to be limited by locality, there would not have been the difficulties and confusion. If man had submitted to God’s authority, neither Catholicism nor Protestantism could ever have been established. (...) All would have been restricted by the boundary of locality." (ch. 1)
"The clearer the ground of the church is, the richer are the spiritual blessings. In these recent years and in particular during the past one or two years, we have seen God blessing the church ground. Many brothers and sisters have begun to see the difference between the way of individualism and the ground of the church. As the authority of the Holy Spirit is manifested in all the members, causing them to serve God in coordination rather than in individual activities, we see the Lord’s blessing." (ch. 1)
"TWO GREAT MISTAKES ARE FOUND IN MEN TODAY. First, some people desire to have a church bigger than a city or a locality. They want to unite many churches in different localities and make them one big church, that is, bigger than a locality. (...) Second, some people desire to have a church smaller than the city or the locality. They want to divide one locality into many “churches,” many “assemblies,” or many “congregations.” Some euphemize these gatherings as “house churches.” But these are all of the same nature. They are divisions, the purpose of which is to establish men’s own sects according to the flesh." (ch. 2)
"If we are only slightly disobedient today, a hundred years from now — should the Lord delay His coming — this disobedience will become a great detour for the church. I hope you brothers would fast and pray for our brothers. May God turn back their hearts." (ch. 2)
"If the locality is the unit, then 1) a united church of several localities joined together is wrong, and 2) isolated divisions within one locality are also wrong." (ch. 2)
"In the Bible no church is bigger than the locality; neither is any church smaller than the locality. Whenever people gather and dwell together, there is a “locality.” A locality is where people gather and dwell together. As long as a locality is a place where people gather and dwell together, it is the boundary of the church according to the Bible. People who dwell together in one locality can be independent of other localities. It is not a matter of the number of people (believers), but a matter of locality. The basis for separation is not love or lack of love, but locality. The basis for God allowing the church to be separated is locality." (ch. 2)
"The matter of locality cuts man’s flesh to the deepest part." (ch. 2)
"During the apostles’ time, the churches were separated according to localities. (...) The church in every locality had its own independent administration. Therefore, in the Bible, Acts 14:23 tells us “they had appointed elders for them in every church,” and Titus 1:5 tells us that elders were appointed “in every city.” The elders are for the church and the church is in a city. Thus, the elders are for the church in a city. The church takes the city as the unit; otherwise, elders in a city would take care of several churches or elders in a church would take care of several cities. The boundary of a city, therefore, equals the boundary of the church, and the boundary of the church equals the boundary of the elders’ administration. This is very clear." (ch. 4)
"THE CHURCHES IN THE EARLY DAYS WERE NOT FORMED INTO A LARGER, UNITED CHURCH.. During the apostles’ time, the Scriptures acknowledge the existence of “churches” on this earth, but does not unite these churches into “one church.” There were “churches,” but not a uniting together as one church in the singular number. (...) The apostles did not unite the churches on earth into one church; otherwise, this phrase “the churches of God” would not have existed. Remember that 1 Corinthians 11 and 14 always speak of “the churches,” which means that the churches of God on earth are local. They did not combine all the churches of God on earth into one church. This was the situation during the time of the apostles." (ch. 4)
"After the apostles, the church began to change. The churches in big cities spontaneously began to become powerful. A big city naturally had a greater population; thus, the churches in larger cities became more powerful than churches in small cities or villages. The churches in big cities were inclined to absorb churches in smaller cities and villages so that they became satellites. The big cities became centers, while the smaller cities became accessories around them." (ch. 4)
"Does the Bible ever say that there is only one church on the earth? No! The Bible shows us that God establishes churches on the earth, that is, one church in each locality. Here is an important matter which we must notice before God: In the Bible, God has never united the churches in the many localities together as one church." (ch. 4)
"Now we shall go on to see the reason we stress the expression of unity in locality. This is because the church in the Bible is local. We have spoken about this for many years and have mentioned it even now a number of times. The church in the Bible is local. A SINGLE EXCEPTION CANNOT BE SEEN IN THE WHOLE NEW TESTAMENT." (ch. 4)
" If I am in a certain city, regardless of how I feel about those who are meeting there as the unique local church and regardless of how they treat me, I have no choice. I have to learn the lesson of the cross. I must learn the lesson of brokenness and self-denial." (ch. 3)
"By the Lord’s wisdom and sovereignty, wherever there is a local church, that must be the unique expression of the Lord’s Body in that city. If we are going to stay in that locality, we must be one with that church. Then we will learn the lessons, and there will be no divisions, back doors, or “fire escapes.” Every side will be closed. We must be restricted. But praise the Lord, it is by these restrictions that we are protected. The expression of the church is the local churches, and a local church is always unique. It is this unique expression of the church in every locality that is a lesson and restriction to us as well as a protection." (ch. 3)
"In the training meetings at Los Angeles in 1965, the Lord impressed us with two little phrases which we have never forgotten: in the spirit and on the ground. The one must be our life, and the other must be our standing." (ch. 3)
"WE MUST 'STICK' TO THE LOCAL CHURCH. REGARDLESS OF WHAT OTHERS TEACH, WE SHOULD NOT BE DISTRACTED. IF WE PAY ATTENTION TO ANY KIND OF DOCTRINE, IT WILL BE EXCEEDINGLY EASY FOR US TO BE CARRIED AWAY BY THE WIND OF DOCTRINE FROM THE ONENESS OF THE BODY. WE MUST BE FOR THE LOCAL CHURCH—NOTHING ELSE." (ch. 5)
"Oh, how we need to see the importance of the ground! It is only by the ground that the oneness of the church can be kept, and it is only by the ground that we can learn the lessons we need in order to experience the reality and practicality of the church life. Without the ground it is impossible to have the proper church life." (ch. 8)
"In the more than half century since 1922, the enemy has not ceased to attack the Lord’s recovery. During the past years in the United States, the attacks have always been on two points—THE SPIRIT AND THE GROUND OF THE CHURCH. The enemy has tried his best to defeat us regarding the Spirit for our experience and the church ground for our practice. Here we see the subtlety of the enemy. The points the enemy attacks are the crucial spots. If the enemy would attack any particular place, that spot must be vital. (ch. 8)
"The letter to the church at Ephesus is a letter to the city of Ephesus. Thus, the church in Revelation is not the universal church but the city church, a local church. God’s intention is to produce the church through Christ and to have it experienced in a practical way and expressed in the local churches. In the New Testament two points are very clear: that the church is practical in the local churches, and that every local church must equal the city where the church is. In other words, every locality must have just one church." (ch. 8)
" Acts 14:23 says that the apostles appointed elders in every church, and Titus 1:5 says that elders were appointed in every city. Because the church equals the city, the elders of the church are the elders of the city. In any one city there should be just one eldership. As we have already pointed out, in the last book of the Bible the churches are mentioned in relation to localities. What John saw, he wrote in a book and sent it to seven churches in seven cities. Sending the book to the seven churches was equal to sending it to the seven cities where the churches were (Rev. 1:11)." (ch. 8)
"The church in the universe is one, but this church must be expressed practically on earth in the localities where the saints are." (ch. 8)
"In the eyes of God, confusion is fornication. Fornication means that the saints are not related to one another according to GOD’S GOVERNING REGULATION. Whenever a man is related to a woman apart from the restriction of God’s governing principle, that is fornication. THIS FORNICATION PRODUCES CONFUSION, AND CONFUSION MEANS DIVISION." (ch. 8)
" The church is a pure golden lampstand, and it cannot tolerate any mixture. We all must be purified. We need to pray, saying, 'Lord, make me pure. Now that I am in Your recovery, I ask You to purify me.'" (ch. 15)
This section gathers important documents that marked the journey described on this site. These are letters and records that are essential for those who wish to understand the facts, the positions taken, and other writings that serve as a testimony.
I want to be as clear as possible. There have been many churches in the Lord’s recovery over the years that have had elders who did not live within the boundaries of the city where the church was. Brother Lee was fully aware of this fact and made it clear to all that this was not a problem. This is not a requirement for leadership. Currently, one of the main elders of the church in Anaheim does not live in Anaheim. In fact, when he returns home, he passes through two cities that are suburbs of Anaheim before reaching his home, which is in a more rural area. Where he lives is not within any defined city boundary. He has lived there for nearly 20 years. Brother Lee personally appointed this brother to the leadership and was fully aware of where he lived. There is nothing in the Scriptures that says brothers who take the lead in the church must live within the city limits where the church is. NOWHERE in the Bible is this stated. There are many other churches in the United States with the same situation. Often, due to work, children’s schooling, or other reasons, a leading brother is not able to live in the city where the church is. This is not a problem. There is no biblical basis to say this is wrong. I strongly suspect that those who are making a fuss using this argument are not qualified to be in the leadership. Where you live does not make you a leading brother. It is a matter of growth in life and the Lord’s selection, and something that is recognized by the saints. Brother Sandro was fully recognized by the saints in Belo Horizonte, as well as by the co-workers in the work in Brazil. This is nothing but an attack of the enemy (Satan) against the church in Belo Horizonte. The enemy comes through flesh and blood to damage the testimony of Jesus. I repeat once again that in many places there are responsible ones (elders) who do not live within the city limits where the church is. This has never been a problem in the Lord’s recovery—not for Brother Nee, nor for Brother Lee. Furthermore, there is NO BASIS in the Scriptures to argue this. We must guard the walls of Jerusalem. SHERMAN ROBERTSON
Note: This is a reverse translation (from English to Portuguese, and then back to English). The original English version of the letter is not in my possession, and this version was retranslated from a Portuguese copy. We kindly ask for your understanding regarding any imprecision in wording that may result from this process.
▲ Back to the testimony
“To be baptized by immersion and to leave the denominations are not great things; they are but two items among thousands that require our obedience. The main thing in the Scriptures is obedience..” (Watchman Nee, December 4, 1932)
In the link below, I share with the brothers a document I wrote on April 12, 2019, which at the time was sent to only a few brothers. My desire then, and still is, is to live the church life in normality and in obedience to the Word and to the divine order revealed in the Scriptures.
Echoing the faithful testimony of Brother Watchman Nee, in this text I expose the light I received in those days about the deviation from the biblical ground of the church; a deviation which, in our time, has deeply compromised the spiritual and practical reality of the churches in our region.
📄 DOWNLOAD FULL DOCUMENTAmen, brothers Sandro, Zinho, Denison, and Vicente! Jesus is our Lord!
“In the Scriptures, there is only one flow, one divine stream,” and therefore we must remain in this unique flow. The vision received by the apostle Paul on the road to Damascus brought him into this one current of the Lord’s work. His commission and consecration were always for this unique flow and always issued in this unique flow.
The vision we have received, the commission entrusted to us, and our consecration in this “upper room” are all for the one unique flow of the Lord’s work. Praise the Lord that today we, miserable sinners, have been brought into this unique stream.
In light of this, I would like to say that I AM ONE WITH THE BROTHERS IN CHRIST, AND TOGETHER WE ARE FOR THIS UNIQUE FLOW.
I also want to share with you what has been burning in my heart in recent days, which I understand to be the Lord’s commission:
I greatly appreciate the Lord’s arrangements in His church in our region, and I truly value the fact that all of us, having received the Lord’s commission, are consecrating ourselves to the Lord for His work in the local church in Belo Horizonte. However, in recent days, the Holy Spirit has been burning in my being and impelling me to consecrate myself, together with my family, for the Lord’s work in the city where I live: Contagem. There has been a deep burning in my inner being that my family (my wife and daughter) and I should gather to enjoy and propagate the resurrected, ascended, and all-inclusive Christ and bear testimony of the oneness of the Body of Christ in the city of Contagem.
I want to make it clear to the brothers that I do not aspire to eldership or to any kind of position in the local church.
I also want to emphasize that I understand this to be a PERSONAL calling. The brothers in Contagem, and in the entire metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte, have the freedom to continue consecrating themselves to the Lord’s work in the city of Belo Horizonte, gathering there, and even serving administratively in Belo Horizonte.
I appreciate the fact that brother Zinho lives in Contagem, gathers in Belo Horizonte, and even serves as an elder in the church in Belo Horizonte. From my point of view, this should continue. The Lord has placed him in that position. I see no problem in a brother who lives in one locality gathering and even taking the lead in another locality. God arranges the members in the Body according to His will. I am one with the elders in Belo Horizonte and will always labor diligently to preserve the oneness we have in Christ. Our oneness must be preserved even at the cost of our own lives.
This commission does not imply the end of our fellowship, on the contrary, our fellowship, blending, and intermingling should increase even more as the day of the Lord draws near. BLENDING is the divine way for the churches to enter into the reality of the Body of Christ. This is urgent for all the churches, not only in Belo Horizonte but everywhere it is possible and practical.
In light of all that was shared above, I would like to say to the brothers that it is my desire that, starting next Lord’s Day (May 5, 2019), I may already begin to obey and practice the burden from the Holy Spirit within me, to be gathered with my family on that day to bear testimony of the oneness of the Body of Christ in Contagem. However, I do not want to do anything without first receiving your blessing, brothers. I see that the blessing from the brothers is extremely important in order for us to continue maintaining oneness, blending, and fellowship in this unique flow. Everything is for the Body, and the Body is for the propagation of this wonderful, resurrected, ascended, and all-inclusive Christ.
I LOVE YOU, BROTHERS!
In Christ,
Brother Júlio.
▲ Back to the testimony
To the church of God, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, the called saints who are in the city of Belo Horizonte, grace and peace be with you in Christ Jesus our Lord!
We would like to inform you that this past Lord’s Day, August 11, 2019, we gathered together in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and were moved by the Spirit to bear testimony of the oneness of the universal Body of Christ in the city where we live—Contagem, MG.
We love all the saints and desire to be in full oneness with all the children of God in the city where we live and throughout the earth, just as the Lord Jesus prayed in John 17. We believe that the Lord commands His blessing in such oneness, and we repudiate any and every divisive practice that damages the building up of the Body of Christ.
We believe that the building up of the church in Contagem is also the building up of the universal Body of Christ, for there is no separation or distinction between the two.
We are one with the New Testament ministry, one with the ministry of our beloved brothers Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, and we are also one with all the co-workers in this ministry. We believe that the Spirit has been leading and guiding them according to God’s divine arrangement. We are one with all the churches and with all the saints and children of God scattered throughout the whole earth.
We declare that we have no special name other than the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Husband. We declare that we have no desire to adopt or practice anything sectarian or divisive. We believe that the church in Contagem must have only one administration and no other that would bring confusion or separation from the one administration of the church in the locality where we are. We are open and earnestly desirous to have fellowship with all the local churches in the universal Body of Christ. We also repudiate any hidden association with any human organization.
In Christ,
Júlio Zanelato, Marcelo de Paula, and Marlon Ferreira.
To the church of God, the sanctified in Christ Jesus, the called saints who are in the city of Contagem, grace and peace be to you in Christ Jesus our Lord!
We would like to inform you that this past Lord’s Day, August 11, 2019, we gathered together in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and were moved by the Spirit to bear testimony of the oneness of the universal Body of Christ in the city where we live—Contagem, MG.
Just as each tribe in the camp of Israel had its appointed stand according to the divine arrangement established by God Himself, we believe that we have been placed by Him in this city to carry out His purpose according to His economy, giving a full testimony here of the universal Body of Christ.
The Lord desires to have, in every city on the earth, a full expression of Himself as His complement, His bride, and His warrior to fight for His interests.
Therefore, we invite all the saints, the children of God who reside in this city, to join us so that we may, together, bear this testimony and build up the church in Contagem.
We love all the saints and desire to be in full oneness with all the children of God in the city where we live and throughout the earth, just as the Lord Jesus prayed in John 17. We believe that the Lord commands His blessing in such oneness, and we repudiate any and every divisive practice that damages the building up of the Body of Christ.
We believe that the building up of the church in Contagem is also the building up of the universal Body of Christ, for there is no separation or distinction between the two.
We are one with the New Testament ministry, one with the ministry of our beloved brothers Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, and we are also one with all the co-workers in this ministry. We believe that the Spirit has been leading and guiding them according to God’s divine arrangement. We are one with all the churches and with all the saints and children of God scattered throughout the whole earth.
We declare that we have no special name other than the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Husband. We declare that we have no desire to adopt or practice anything sectarian or divisive. We believe that the church in Contagem must have only one administration and no other that would bring confusion or separation from the one administration of the church in the locality where we are. We are open and earnestly desirous to have fellowship with all the local churches in the universal Body of Christ. We also repudiate any hidden association with any human organization.
In Christ,
Júlio Zanelato, Marcelo de Paula, and Marlon Ferreira.
Dear brothers Scott, Laerte, and Márcio, grace and peace!
First of all, we would like to thank the brothers for the love and care you have had toward us and the churches.
Regarding our stand here in Contagem, to meet based on the boundary of the city where we live, we would like to say the following to the brothers: “We are good for nothing. We are completely ruined. We have no other choice!” (W. Lee, The Practical Expression of the Church, p. 86). We are fully sold to the vision the Lord has given us.
“Oh, brothers, may the Lord be merciful to us! No one can force us to take this way, yet once we see it, no one can force us to give it up. It is so precious that we must never forsake it. If we do, we simply cannot go on as Christians. The only way to follow the Lord absolutely is to take the way of the local church,” bearing full testimony of the church in the city where we live. (W. Lee, The Practical Expression of the Church, p. 89)
We emphasize: no one can be forced to take this way, yet neither can anyone be forced to abandon it.
“As long as we stand according to the Bible and have a spirit of being one with the Lord, eventually the situation will be clarified, and doubts concerning the truth will be removed. Whether others accept the truth or not is their responsibility. We are not responsible for that. Our burden today is for the Lord’s recovery.” (W. Lee, What You Need to Know About the Church, p. 18)
Dear brothers, in light of this and the leading we have received from the Lord, we feel that there is no further need for any kind of fellowship concerning our stand. We sense that such fellowship, especially during the training, could affect the atmosphere and hinder some saints bearing the burden for that time. Nevertheless, we remain open to fellowship, and our homes are open to the brothers.
In Christ,
Marcelo de Paula, Marlon Ferreira, and Julio Zanelato
The church in Contagem
▼▼ SEE THE VIDEO TRANSCRIPT BELOW: ▼▼
"...Step by step, intensifying His dispensing and His building up among us. Thanks be to the Lord!
And through the fellowship, through the spontaneous leading of the Spirit, the Lord has been leading the saints from the neighboring cities to gather together, to strengthen this testimony of the Lord and this fellowship of the Spirit, and we can testify that we have had the fellowship of the Spirit, that the Spirit has flowed and blessed us with His great mercy.
And we, from Contagem, have had this feeling of being here with the brothers from Belo Horizonte.
May we be here, saints?
Thanks be to the Lord! For being in mutual fellowship and mutual enjoyment of the Lord, the Lord has been leading us in such a way.
In the past, at the beginning of the restoration, the brothers, in words and literature, were very emphatic regarding the locality principle.
Later, toward the end of the ministry, BROTHER LEE BALANCED THIS MATTER A BIT: the locality principle is not meant to produce division. We will see this in the letter. It cites some excerpts from the ministry.
The locality principle aims at unity. As we have seen here: There is one Body. The church is the Body.
How many churches are there on the earth, brothers? One single church.
For practical reasons, we may be gathering each in their own locality, but there is only one church. The Lord has one bride and one body. Praise the Lord!
We will read this letter. It quotes some excerpts from the ministry and the stance of the saints in Contagem, contradicting what some brothers, stubbornly, took the path to establish the table there.
We are not here declaring that we are enemies of the brothers. Just as we love all the brothers from all Christian groups established throughout the earth, who are Christians, they are our beloved brothers, but we are giving the position of the brothers in Contagem regarding this situation.
I (Silvio) will read one part, brother Marcos will read another, and we will conclude here."
Beloved brothers, to all whom it may concern,
God is our witness that, of our own free will, we have written and signed this letter.
In light of the recent event in the Lord's recovery in our city of Contagem, under the headship of Christ and the authority of the Holy Spirit, we publicly express our position regarding the entire present situation — namely, the setting up of the Lord’s table in our city, initiated by two brothers: Júlio Zanelato and Marcelo José de Paula, who were among us.
The Lord has led us to meet together with the brothers from Belo Horizonte, thus seeking to strengthen the Lord’s testimony in that city, and consequently in our region, until such testimony prevails among us.
Just as the two and a half tribes of Israel crossed the Jordan to help their brothers in the conquest of the land, and after the land was conquered, those tribes returned to their own territory.
This is the heart that has moved us to take this attitude, and we find full support for it in the ministry writings, which we will consider.
Ministry Quotation – Book: "Enjoying the Riches of Christ for the Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ"
Chapter 13 – Section 7
"There may be only 10 believers living in one city, 10 in a nearby city, and another 10 living in a different city. If all three cities are near each other, they may meet together. There is no need to be legalistic.
Some may say they 'need to take the locality,' that the 10 in one city should be the church of that city, and the 10 in the others should be the churches of those other cities. This is mere legalism.
I repeat, brothers: this is mere legalism. And it can also be an excuse to cause division.
Some may not like being with others, and so they may use this excuse to meet alone.
Do not forget that the basis of the locality is for unity.
By joining together, the 30 saints living in the three nearby cities may feel they are too small and need to unite as one expression for impact; and this is absolutely right. Then, when they grow from 30 to 200, the Lord may lead them to be three separate local expressions in the three cities; this is also right. Because they will still be one. Whether we all unite or remain as three separate expressions in three cities, we are still one. There is no division or dividing element. We are all one flock.
Today, in His recovery, the Lord will restore genuine unity. It is a shame before the Lord that His people are divided into many sects.
Pay attention:
Now, if some of His dear saints unite, are released, and emancipate themselves from all kinds of divisions, that will be a true glory! And we will glory in the Lord from now until the end of this age."
NOW, THESE ARE OUR WORDS:
The basis of the locality is for unity, not to produce division.
Our heart, the heart of the brothers in Contagem, should be to seek to give the Lord a proper expression. Something that makes an impact. This is our desire and the direction the Lord has given us. We will give this to the Lord with all our heart.
Ministry Quotation – Book: "One Body and One Spirit"
Chapter 1
With unbelievers and those not with us, we need impact. A newcomer may come to our meeting and be totally disappointed because our number is small, or because our meeting place is a garage. After coming once, he may never return.
If we have a proper meeting facility that can accommodate 300 people... — look at the ministry’s vision: 300 people — 15 small groups of saints in the surrounding area can unite for a meeting. Then, when people ask, "Where do you meet?", you can give them the street location and a description of the building. When they come to the meeting, they can see that you look like a church. This will give people the proper impression.
Now see, brothers:
We need to have a revolutionary mindset. We have to reconsider our way. This is our mentality (we from Contagem). It is with this heart that we choose to walk this way, to be with our brothers to gain this land.
We are still absolute about the local church and await the day when the Lord will establish His table among us, in Contagem, but at this moment, we have taken the path of mingling with our neighboring brothers to gain the land. Amen.
This fellowship was brought to these two brothers, not once, but several times. This fellowship was brought to these two brothers, not once, but several times, as well as the position of all the saints in our cities was brought to them, yet they took another path and by themselves established the table in this city of Contagem, indifferent to the feeling of the Body.
Ministry Quotation – Book: "Additional Lectures on the Life of the Church"
Third Edition – Pages 13 and 17
The two basic requirements for the establishment of a church are:
- The authority of the Spirit;
- The boundary of the locality.
“The Holy Spirit must have complete authority in the church. Then the entire Body will move as He desires, without any hindrance.
When each one is under the authority of the Holy Spirit, He can use everyone. Then there is no hindrance in the Body — everything flows smoothly. This is the moment when the Body is healthy.
When each one can be used by the Holy Spirit, He then has authority — and everything is very natural and spontaneous. The complete authority of the Holy Spirit is the foundation in the church where the Body of Christ is.
Everything must happen in a spontaneous manner and in the divine life. This is how our Lord operates. And it is under these conditions that the Holy Spirit finds opportunity to exercise His authority.
The boundary of the locality must never override the authority of the Holy Spirit. Amen!
THE BOUNDARY OF THE LOCALITY MUST NEVER OVERRIDE THE AUTHORITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. AMEN!"
Let us also see on page 17 of this same book:
"It is possible that some of us set up a factory under the direction of the Holy Spirit — but this will be impossible regarding the church. It does not matter whether you are a Christian or not, whether you have the life of God or not; you cannot establish a church. If it is not initiated by the Holy Spirit, it will not be a church. This is a very serious matter. No one can start to establish it, for from the beginning such a person will not have the authority of the Holy Spirit. If there is no authority of the Spirit, there is no church."
Conclusion
Here we see that this authority is found in the Body of Christ and not in a man. It is necessary that the basic requirements of unity, unanimity, and fellowship be present so that the authority of the Spirit can prevail.
Finally, we would like to emphasize that we must be the church in the place where we find ourselves. If we are in São Paulo, we are the church in São Paulo. If we are in Curitiba, we are the church in Curitiba. If we are in Belo Horizonte, as at this moment, we are the church in Belo Horizonte.
There is no such thing as "I am the church in Contagem" or "in Belo Horizonte." From the moment we are in Belo Horizonte, we are the church in Belo Horizonte. This is our testimony; a testimony of unity before God and men. Amen.
Finally, beloved, here in Contagem we still continue to have our weekly meetings in homes. We:
- We shepherd the saints,
- We preach the gospel,
- And we care for the new ones.
We commit all the words written here to the Lord. We trust in Him and take Him as the Supreme General in this journey. Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Your brothers in Christ, who have signed this letter below.
So, here we have the signatures of the brothers who live in Contagem and share the same vision.
Jesus is the Lord, we may now go have lunch.
ALTHOUGH THIS LETTER, PUBLICLY READ RIGHT AFTER THE LORD’S TABLE AND FELLOWSHIP MEETING AT THE MEETING PLACE OF THE CHURCH IN BELO HORIZONTE, DIRECTLY ADDRESSED OUR STAND IN CONTAGEM, EXPRESSING OPPOSITION FROM BROTHERS IN OUR OWN CITY, IT WAS NEVER SENT TO US.
The audio of the reading of this letter was spontaneously recorded by a young sister from the city of Belo Horizonte. When sending me this audio, she wrote the following message:
Amen dear brother!
How are you and your family?
We are one concerning the ministry of the apostles. And about not being disobedient to the heavenly vision. To love what the Lord loves and hate what the Lord hates. That is why we are against the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. I read about it in Titus 1:5
1 Corinthians 1:2 note 7.
The Normal Christian Life, Additional Lectures. Crystallization Study of Romans page 5, etc...
I was present at the meeting today.
I imagined that it would really be a situation of much attack.
I prayed a lot that the Lord would bind the evil one, and crush his head again.
I know everything is under God's sovereignty, and I desire that the Lord strengthen all of us in the inner man.
Honestly, I was very sad because we are the body and the body feels. Indeed, some years ago, I asked a brother from Contagem to send me the book The Normal Christian Life. And he sent me the PDF by email. And I think: How could he have backslidden?!
Oh Lord Jesus.
I recorded about the letter they read today. I will send it to you...
And I also took some notes from today's sharings...
A sister quoted Revelation 1:20 and Genesis 12
And spoke about stars and about the locality.
________
A brother quoted 1 Peter 2
_______
Someone quoted 1 Samuel
----------------
John 1:17
_________
This message was sent by me to brother Marcos Queiroz after learning that he was spreading an audio recording, made without my knowledge, of a misleading word spoken by me while I was still serving in Belo Horizonte, in obedience to the BH leadership and as a way to oppose the "rebels from the base."
The content of this message is very revealing and reflects the reality that had been established in the church in Belo Horizonte, extensively addressed on this site. See below:
Dear brother Marcos, Jesus is our Lord!
Beloved, today at 9:45 a.m. I received the following message from Marcelo:
**audio of the message**
During this time since our stance, I have kept silent and prayed because I sincerely believe that it is the Holy Spirit Himself who convinces a person about anything, not the effort of our words.
However, in light of the above fact, I will make a small exception to make a special confession to you:
On a Sunday close to the day I shared this, I was assigned to open the mutuality. The word of the week covered the topic regarding the local church basis, and the instructions were to avoid this topic as much as possible and/or to be very cautious when addressing it, due to the presence of brothers considered "rebels and divisive," because a careless word on my part about the topic could awaken them.
Concerned about this instruction and determined to eliminate the "rebels and divisive," and with the spirit of combating the "rebellion of the base" (as we had called the talk about the truth concerning the basis at that time), after a weak week of enjoyment, when I barely read the Morning Revival, I found myself on bus 2910 on the way to the meeting place. In my hands was the book "Further Talks on the Church Life," which I had not read for several years, more than a decade. My purpose was to extract from it something that would undermine the words of certain brothers.
Taking advantage of the fact that, just like me, most of the brothers hardly read anything, and that for most brothers this and many other books remain untouched on the shelves — as this is a strong characteristic of Brazilians — on that day, inside that bus, based on a passage completely taken out of context, I produced the lie that is in the audio you sent. I did it quickly and carelessly, because I didn't have much time. Yes, I confess with deep regret that I lied, seriously lied. I produced, based on a piece of a paragraph from a book I hadn’t read for many years, a serious lie to combat those so-called “rebels and divisive,” and I confess that I did it also because of my blindness to serve the interests of the church leadership in Belo Horizonte and to strengthen — and perhaps cooperate to firmly establish once and for all the strong Unified Metropolitan Church of Greater Belo Horizonte.
Brother, if the saints had kept the habit of reading, I would have been easily unmasked that day, since with a few pages from the same book or another like “The Normal Christian Church Life,” my lie would have been easily exposed. I repeat that exposing the lie I produced would not even require much effort. But on the contrary, the vast majority of brothers fell “like ducks” for the lie I produced, and from what I see, this lie created by Satan through me still echoes and makes victims to this day.
Look, dear brother, moreover, I am strongly impressed by the fact that this “nonsense” I said was recorded. And it was recorded without my knowledge, in secret, covertly. Brother, our way must be the way of the light. See the gravity of the point we have reached: recording brothers, even ministry coworkers, in meetings or fellowships, secretly, outside the light, to later use their words against themselves or others, words taken out of context, excerpts, patches. Yes, as absurd as it may seem, this has become our practice in the great unified church of Belo Horizonte. A worldly practice of which I was also part and became a strong cooperator. On my computer, I have audios of several brothers, without them even imagining it. Practice instituted and ordered by the church leadership and strongly embraced by me at that time. I ask: for what purpose?
Because of this, today I decided to send this text to you, openly and clearly, through WhatsApp. We do not need to document anything in the dark. "Let us then cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the daytime."
And because of this, I also deeply repent. I hope the Lord can save the brothers. May the Lord put an end to this divisive spirit that has settled in the great unified church of Belo Horizonte. Have you noticed, brother? The more we insist on this unification system, this practice of a large church under the pretext of "unity," the more and more divisions and confusions happen among us. Look carefully around you, saint; endless divisions, countless brothers from the very locality of Belo Horizonte harshly labeled as "rebels" for not agreeing with this "new" practice. Note: they live in the city, it is their city, and we from other localities call them rebels — and many brothers were labeled this way. You arrived recently, saint; I a little earlier, but in that short time before you, I saw several precious brothers from the very locality where they live being labeled this way. Brothers who became powerless before our extreme and evil arrogance. Brothers whose only voice still echoes, amid much suffering, is Ronaldo’s. And these were not few. If you want to know, ask around who they were. Only the neophytes or the neutrals remained from our "blacklist." May the Lord forgive me. I am ashamed and deeply saddened. Marcos, you have no idea how many brothers from BH today are distant and weakened because of the "new" doctrine and practice that we invented. Doctrine and practice that are not even found in the Bible. Open your Bible with an open heart and show me at least two localities that unified. Please, show me.
Sorry for such a long text, but take it as a personal confession and a sincere request for forgiveness for these things of the past. Forgive me for having helped to strengthen an unbiblical system of gathering. Forgive me for being part of and spreading the destructive deception of the evil one.
Today I realize that what I considered the incredible and strong "current" system of church unification is nothing more than the subtle demolition work of Satan.
Brother, I hope you understand that this message, at this moment, is for you, and that if the Lord permits one day, I will make this confession and request for forgiveness publicly, before all the saints.
Once again, forgive me. Jesus is the Lord!
Signed: Júlio César Zanelato.
