Welcome To The VOICE OF WISDOM INNER CIRCLE! 

In short, no. There is no cost for being apart of the Inner Circle. There will be opportunities to express generosity for the Inner Circle and also opportunities beyond the Inner Circle that may have a cost (registration, coaching, etc.). But in summary, the Inner Circle is free of any membership or activity cost. 

The Inner Circle is for those who believe that Pastor Christopher and Dr Carmen are Spiritual Mentors specifically for them. For some this will be their spiritual covering and for others this will be a part of their spiritual accountability. This should not contradict the accountability and authority of your local church Pastor. Over the years, it has become clear that some honor their local church Pastor while also submitting to additional spiritual mentors. 

And candidly, in some cases, there are some who are faithful to their local church but their Pastor has not materialized as a Spiritual Mentor and Teacher for them personally. This is not a posture of dishonor. It's a posture of acknowledgement that the local Pastor that God has called them to serve and the vision of that house doesn't automatically mean that they are called to Spiritually Mentor those individuals as well.  

The Pastor of a local church holds the spiritual authority in that local church and those that are apart of that church must honor that. The Inner Circle does not take away from that honor and accountability. Pastor Christopher and Dr Carmen have for some time now poured their lives into others and others have seen them as their primary Spiritual Mentors. This is not just a wise and practical notion, it is a Biblical one. We see it in the lives of Paul, Timothy and Titus (1 Tim. 1:2; Titus 1:4); Elijah and Elisha (2 Kings 2: 9-15); and then Paul to those that he influenced (1 Cor. 11:1; Philippians 3: 7).  

The goal here isn't excessive dependence, spiritual pride or even financial gain. In fact, we reject all these postures. Our goal is healthy community, a safe space for sound doctrine, a place to have a spiritual sounding board, and a earthly representative to hold leaders and their lives, living, and marriages in high regard.  

We recognize that spiritual authority has been abused and are committed to being the complete opposite of that abuse or arrogant authority that does harm through things like control, manipulation, isolation, and unhealthy environments.  

Beyond that, anyone who is discerning whether Inner Circle is for them, must already know that heart of Pastor Christopher and Dr Carmen and not be wondering whether their track record and heart for ministry and people are pure.  

Jesus Christ and The Bible serves as our ultimate authority and the foundation of any teaching or instruction. The Inner Circle is committed to sound doctrine and wise counsel. While it is doubtful that there will be many cases where there is disagreement, in those cases, each individual must seek the direction of the Holy Spirit on insight into the doctrine and discernment phase of their life or decision-making. 

We are advocates for the local church and encourage participation and serving your local church. At the same time we also recognize that there are also fresh expressions of local faith community including the House Church Movement and godly Networks and some may be members of movements like these. Further, we also recognize that the Inner Circle will serve as that network for some as they may have attempted to find a healthy local church or local network and have been unable to do so in this season of their life. 

In short, no you do not have to be ordained or licensed to be in this group. It is clear that many in the group will be, but this should not serve as a disqualifier if you feel led to commit to the Inner Circle.

It is important for us (The Harris') to know those who labor among us (1 Thess 5:2) and to walk in agreement (Amos 3:3) and in unity (1 Cor. 1:10). The video interview will give us an opportunity to meet you, discern your heart and collectively WITH you, discern if the Inner Circle makes sense for you. This process is about the laying on of ears (discerning, listening, hearing, and learning).

Absolutely not! While this isn't something that we will be actively promoting or "advertising", we want it to be a healthy opportunity for those who discern that the Inner Circle is something that they need and would benefit from, we want to make it available.  

 Yes! So many scriptures speak to what we hope to be the pillars for the Inner Circle. The 5 C’s: Covering, Community, Connection, Counsel, and Coaching. 

According to 1 Corinthians 4:15-17, there are “ten thousand instructors, but not many fathers.” Because of the lack of spiritual fathers, many have fallen away. The church has often focused on meetings rather than on discipleship and mentoring.  

Onesimus was a “natural” spiritual son to Paul while Timothy was a spiritual son to Paul by adoption. Paul led Onesimus to Christ while in prison (Philemon 10). Paul met Timothy while in Lystra after Timothy had come to Christ due to the influence of his mother and grandmother (Acts 16:1-3). NOTICE - Paul's relationship did not replace his mother and grandmother. Paul treated both “adopted son” Timothy and “natural son” Onesimus like spiritual sons. He was committed to helping them mature spiritually. He was their spiritual mentor.  

Spiritual Mentors are mature believers who have grown and become fruitful in their Christian walk; they are called fathers according to 1 John 2:13. They are deeply acquainted with God and have a thorough knowledge of His Word. They are in love with Jesus. They understand what it takes to be a spiritual mentors to others. 

We also see this in Christian History. On Easter Sunday in the year 387, Ambrose, the renowned bishop of Milan, baptized into the Christian faith a new convert from northern Africa whom he had catechized, discipled, and mentored. The convert’s name was Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis, better known to us as Augustine, a man who would go on to become bishop of Hippo and indisputably one of the most important theologians in the history of the Christian church. The relationship between Ambrose and Augustine was not merely one of pastor and parishioner. Ultimately, what Augustine found in Ambrose was a spiritual father. “That man of God,” Augustine recalls, “received me like a father and expressed pleasure at my coming with a kindness most fitting in a bishop.”¹ When he first arrived in Milan in the autumn of 384, Augustine was a restless and disillusioned man. He had spent the first thirty years of his life seeking satisfaction in achievement, sex, and philosophy. His ambition and quest for fulfillment led him from his backwater hometown of Thagaste to the cosmopolitan city of Carthage, then to prestigious Rome, and finally to influential Milan, which at that time was the seat of the Roman Empire. But his journey was not merely geographical; it was also spiritual. As he climbed the ladder of success, his ravenous heart consumed everything yet ended up with nothing. The turning point for Augustine was Ambrose. Through the ministry of Ambrose, Augustine came to realize that the deepest chambers of his soul could not be satisfied by ambition, self-indulgence, or the applause of others but only by the God for whom he had been made. Yet what first piqued Augustine’s interest was not Ambrose’s arguments but his kindness and generosity. The celebrated bishop of Milan was able to disciple Augustine and help him over many intellectual hurdles by first loving him as a father. 

Paul uses this language of the spiritual father-child relationship in other epistles to describe his bond with those whom he led to Christ and subsequently discipled. For example, writing to the church in Corinth, he says, “For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel” (1 Cor. 4:15, NKJV). Likewise, he calls Onesimus “my son . . . whom I have begotten while in my chains” (Philem. 10, NKJV).  

In the Inner Circle, we use not use terminology of Spiritual Father and Mother quite simply because: A) We do not want to create any confusion with the role that your Local Pastor may serve; B) We know that the terms have baggage and we want to avoid that baggage and C) Most importantly, we are more focused on discipling leaders than we are trying to "spiritually parent". 

(Other Verse: 1 Peter 5: 1-3; 1 Thessalonians 2: 7-9, 11-12)