🕊 The Fellowship of the Burning Heart

A Constitution for the Church of the Way

Preamble

We, the pilgrims of the Narrow Way, do hereby covenant ourselves not to the constructs of men, but to the living Messiah—our Lord, our Rabbi, our King. We are drawn together by the Holy Spirit for one purpose: to worship God through our lives and self-sacrifice.

We are bound together not by denomination nor doctrine alone, but by the fire of love that flows from the heart of God and refines all who approach Him. We gather not for safety, but for sanctification—not to preserve comfort, but to confront the darkness within and without.

We form no hierarchy of pride or power. Rather, we walk side by side as those apprenticed to Jesus the Christ, learning not only His teachings, but His way of living.

This constitution is not a lawbook. It is a covenant of conscience—a flame passed from soul to soul—to shape a people after the likeness of the One who is love, justice, and truth. May it be ever held in humility, and never used to bind what Jesus the Christ has freed.

Article I: Statement of Faith

We believe the Holy Scriptures reveal God—described in part as Father, Son, and Spirit—one in essence, immeasurable in eternal relationship.

• We believe in God the Father, Creator of heaven and earth, whose holiness burns away all that is false, and whose mercy runs deeper than any sea. He desires not slaves, but sons and daughters, and calls each of us into communion with Himself.
• We believe in Jesus the Messiah, the eternal Word made flesh, born of a virgin as prophesied. He walked among us, spoke with the broken, healed the sick, and freely offered forgiveness. He was crucified as an innocent lamb, buried, and on the third day rose victorious over sin and death. Forty days later, He ascended into heaven and now sits at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn from the dead, and the Way by which all may come home.
• We believe in the Holy Spirit, the fire of God indwelling His people. He convicts, comforts, empowers, and transforms. He leads not by force, but by whisper—not with fear, but with flame.
• We believe that the Holy Scriptures, rightly interpreted in their ancient Jewish context and illuminated by the Spirit, bear faithful witness to the story of God and His redemptive work. They are not merely to be studied, but embodied.
• We believe in the Church, the living Body of Christ. She is not a building nor a bureaucracy, but a people: broken, beloved, and becoming whole. Her calling is to embody the Kingdom of Heaven in every place she sojourns.
• We believe in the restoration of all things, when justice will roll down like a river and the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.
• We believe God still speaks to those who humble themselves to listen. His voice alone leads His people—guiding not by rule, but by relationship.

Article II: Purpose of the Church

We exist not to entertain the found, but to seek the lost—not to accumulate followers, but to form disciples.

• Become like Jesus—not only to believe in Him, but to live as He lived.
• Restore the Image of God—by shedding the false self and calling forth the true.
• Live the Holy Scriptures—not as proof texts, but as an invitation to walk the ancient paths with modern feet.
• Reveal the Kingdom—through justice, mercy, hospitality, and sacrificial love.
• Make Disciples—not converts to doctrine alone, but apprentices to the living Christ.

The church is not a refuge from the world; it is a refinery within it.

Article III: Membership Covenant

To be a member of this fellowship is not to join an organization, but to commit to a journey.

• To walk in the steps of Jesus the Christ, though the path be narrow and the cost great.
• To live in mutual submission, bearing one another’s burdens and joys.
• To walk in rhythms of Sabbath rest, radical generosity, sacred study, and shared table.
• To pursue transformation through repentance, confession, and obedience.
• To open our homes and hearts, holding nothing as our own.
• To feast together, fast together, weep together, and rejoice together—until all things are made new.

We welcome the broken, the doubting, the weary, and the seeking. All may come. But none may remain unchanged.

Article IV: Leadership and Servanthood

Leadership in this fellowship is not gained by title, but by testing. It is not a crown to wear, but a cross to bear.

Those who lead must first kneel.

• Shepherds, who bind the wounds of the broken and walk beside the straying.
• Teachers, who make the Holy Scriptures come alive with clarity and fire.
• Prophets, who speak what is true—whether it comforts or convicts.
• Watchmen, who guard the fellowship against drift, deception, and division.

All leadership is shared in plurality, discerned by the community, and accountable to both Spirit and Scripture.

No one rules. Jesus the Christ alone is King.

Article V: Rhythms and Practices

Our way of life is formed by sacred rhythm, not religious routine.

• Weekly gatherings, not for spectacle, but for sacred presence.
• Prayer, in silence and in outcry.
• Baptism, as a public representation of death and resurrection into new creation.
• The Table, where the bread is broken and so are we—and Christ meets us in both.
• Celebration of the Biblical Festivals—not under obligation, but for remembrance and reformation.
• The reading of the Holy Scriptures—aloud and in community, with reverence and historical rootedness.
• Acts of mercy and justice, as worship in action.

We gather in homes, under trees, in sanctuaries or sheds. The place matters not—the Presence does.

Article VI: On Conscience and Civic Virtue

The conscience of a man is sacred. Let no institution—church or state—compel belief or quench the fire of individual conviction.

• That liberty of conscience is a divine gift and a human right.
• That the Holy Scriptures are to be read freely and lived courageously—not wielded as weapons nor withheld by gatekeepers.
• That the gospel bears public consequence—calling us to pursue justice, reform vice, educate the ignorant, and care for the poor.
• That the Church must remain free from entanglement with political power, yet engaged in the moral renewal of society.

Let every member be exhorted:

• To pursue truth, even when it disrupts.
• To oppose tyranny, even when it costs.
• To teach the young not only faith, but courage.
• To remember that no earthly nation is the Kingdom, but the Church must live within the Kingdom already here.

“Without virtue, there can be no liberty—and without religion, no virtue.” – Benjamin Rush

Article VII: Discipline and Restoration

We do not cast stones. But we do call one another to the fire.

When a member walks astray, we respond not with judgment, but with tears—and truth. Correction is not exile, but invitation.

If discipline is necessary, it shall be done:

• In humility.
• In love.
• In plurality of witnesses.
• With the goal of restoration, never shame.

Even in separation, the door remains open.

Article VIII: Revision and Reformation

This constitution may only be revised by:

1. A full gathering of the covenant body.
2. A season of prayer and fasting.
3. Unanimous discernment, tested against the Holy Scriptures and the Spirit of Jesus the Christ.

It shall never be used to enshrine comfort or to silence conscience. Where it hinders the Kingdom, it must be cast into the fire.

Final Benediction

“The Church is not made of those who agree, but those who forgive.”
“We are not safe, but we are good. We walk further up and further in.”
“Our God is a consuming fire—and yet, He is Love.”

May this fellowship be known not by its structure, but by its fire, its truth, and its love.