Steve Addison's Blog, page 24

263-Multiplying Movements from the Horn to Houston

Guy Caskey updates us on multiplying movements from the Horn of Africa to Houston.

Previous interview: 180-Houston to the Horn.

Stepping out in Essex

This just came in from Russell Godward (left) in England. He writes:

This is me with Tom. We met a few years back as I was out praying and sharing the gospel in town. He asked if he could come with us and learn to make disciples. He's an ordinary guy who had spent 20 years sitting on the back row of his church wondering how he could be involved beyong turning up faithfully, giving his tithes, loving other members and helping out. Now he makes disciples everywhere, and trains others to do the same!

Last week we met, caught up with each other, prayed and studied together and then walked through town searching for people who were open to the gospel. We didn't have to go far.

There's a new housing estate being constructed and we were praying for people who might live there, that Jesus would prepare them for the gospel. Tom wants to make a start there. As we got to the site the security guy came out of his booth to meet us. We chatted and offered to pray for him, so he shares stories of crime, prison and brokenness in his life. His mate comes over and wants prayer as well. We pray for them both.

Then we share the gospel with them using the 3-Circles. “Andrew”, the first guy, tells us he was raised in a Pentecostal family and believes this message of Jesus, even though he is far from God at the moment. The other guy, “Stan”, also believes this message. We invite them to repent and follow Jesus, but they need the power to break free from their sin and brokenness, so we lay hands on them and pray more. They need to return to work, so we make plans to return and share some more.

Tom and I return the next day. As we meet Andrew, the site manager comes over to find out what's going on. We pray for “Jerry”, the site manager, as he has the funeral of his best friend the next day. We also share the gospel, and he is keen to talk but not ready to follow Jesus. Tom chats with him some more, and I get time alone with Andrew.

Andrew has had a great 24 hours! He and his partner managed to resolve some things we prayed about yesterday, and he can begin to see a way ahead for his life. We pray together again, and he gives me his address and wants me to come over and meet his partner and family. I asked him what he was thinking about the gospel that he had just seen me share with Jerry. He says, "I really believe it, and I am going to go home and share that same story with my four brothers and sister - they need reminding of the message of Jesus!" We pray together for his siblings.

I text Andrew some encouragement over the next few days, keeping in touch. Then Tom and I returned this week. Andrew was ready and excited to meet at the construction entrance. We pray together, care for each other, share a story about Jesus calling his first disciples in the book of Mark, studying the passage together. We then set goals to keep following Jesus and sharing with others, and plan to meet again in the next few days.

There are lot of books written about what it will take to engage the post-Christian, postmodern, Western context. Fortunately Russell hasn’t read them.

Why Acts Really Matters

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Why did Luke write Acts?

Of all the Gospel writers, Luke is the only one who writes the story of Jesus and the story of the early church. Luke believed both were incomplete without the other. Luke tells the one story of the birth of a movement in two parts—how it began with Jesus and how the movement spread from Jerusalem to Rome on the way to the ends of the earth.

Luke’s Gospel dealt with all that Jesus began to do and to teach. Acts covers what the risen Lord continued to do and teach through his disciples, empowered by the Spirit. In the Gospel, salvation has come through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Acts is the account of how that salvation spread from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.

The story of the early church is part of the ongoing story of salvation reaching back to the mighty acts of God in the OT, to the ministry of Jesus and forward to the end of history. It explains how this new movement is grounded in the ancient promises to Israel and how it has come to include the nations. Luke uses historical biography to tell the story of salvation. In that story, the key character is not Peter or Paul, but God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Most of God’s activity is directed towards the spread of the his Word to the ends of the earth.

Not just history

Luke is a good historian with reliable sources. His account of Jesus at the synagogue in Nazareth is the best description we have of a synagogue service in the first century. If you want to understand navigation in the first century, read Luke’s eyewitness account of Paul’s voyage to Rome. But Luke is more than a historian describing events.

Luke writes history with a purpose. He is showing us how God works in and through this movement to accomplish his purposes. He is showing us what God commands his people to do as they participate in his mission. His history is selective.

Long before Paul or any apostle arrived in Rome, there are churches there. We can speculate that they were started by Jewish believers who returned to Rome after Pentecost, but we don’t know for sure, Luke doesn’t tell us. He’s not writing a full history of the early church. He is writing an accurate history, but for a purpose. He selects his material accordingly and tells us part of the history. As John tells his readers, if we wrote down everything Jesus did, the whole world could not contain the books that would be written. The same is true for Acts. Luke the historian has a Spirit-inspired agenda.

The relevance of Acts

Acts is relevant today because Acts reveals how this movement of Jesus’ followers was brought into existence by the will and purpose of God in fulfilment of the Scriptures. Acts shows how the movement is directed by God, how he intervenes by sending angels, or prophets, or his Spirit, or the risen Lord at crucial moments.

The Word triumphs over the world and wherever it goes it brings forth disciples in community learning to follow Jesus and reaching the world around them. This expansion is not the work of exceptional leadership, or astute communication, or generous funding. At every point, it is a work of the living God.

The disciples face hardship and persecution. They are ridiculed, beaten, jailed and murdered, they run from persecution, they are shipwrecked and put on trial. Yet time and time again, God intervenes to ensure the Word goes out and communities of disciples are formed, built up and multiplied from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.

Acts ends but the story is not complete. Rome is not the ends of the earth, but the heart of the Empire. The age of salvation continues until the gospel goes to every people and every place. God continues to pursue his mission, through his people in the power of the Spirit. The Word still goes out, the Risen Lord still leads the way.

The history of the early church is not a one-off, unrepeatable era in the history of salvation. What God was doing through Jesus and through the power of the Spirit, he continues to do in every generation until the mission is complete. Luke tells us about the Peter and Paul, and the unidentified witnesses who take the gospel to Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, and others like Philip, Apollos, Lydia, Priscilla and Aquila because he wants us to learn from them and do what they did. Luke doesn’t just describe what happened in the life of the first church in Jerusalem, he is challenging us to live as they did.

Acts now

Those who deny the relevance of Acts today are confused about its purpose. Luke is not just handing us a record of what happened in the first century, he’s challenging every generation to see what should be happening now. His Gospel and Acts tell the story of the rise and spread of the movement of God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It reveals how God is at work in the world to fulfil his plan. To play our part, we are to look for principles and patterns of behaviour and teaching that we can emulate.

We can keep asking: What did Jesus do? What did he train his disciples to do? What does the risen Lord and the Holy Spirit continue to do through God’s people in Acts? What does that look like today?

Acts is about the expansion and triumph of the gospel as communities of disciples of Jesus are formed from Jerusalem to Rome despite opposition.

Acts calls every new generation back to the beginning—to a movement born in obscurity without power, wealth or influence, devoted to prayer and the spread of God’s Word, bold in the face of opposition, generous in love, experiencing God’s powerful presence, captive to his saving love in Jesus, always on the move from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.

What if Luke not just writing to say, “This is how it was.” What if he’s saying, “This is how it still is.”

pdf version with footnotes

Why Acts Matters

image

Why did Luke write Acts?

Of all the Gospel writers, Luke is the only one who writes the story of Jesus and the story of the early church. Luke believed both were incomplete without the other. Luke tells the one story of the birth of a movement in two parts—how it began with Jesus and how the movement spread from Jerusalem to Rome on the way to the ends of the earth.

Luke’s Gospel dealt with all that Jesus began to do and to teach. Acts covers what the risen Lord continued to do and teach through his disciples, empowered by the Spirit. In the Gospel, salvation has come through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Acts is the account of how that salvation spread from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.

The story of the early church is part of the ongoing story of salvation reaching back to the mighty acts of God in the OT, to the ministry of Jesus and forward to the end of history. It explains how this new movement is grounded in the ancient promises to Israel and how it has come to include the nations. Luke uses historical biography to tell the story of salvation. In that story, the key character is not Peter or Paul, but God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Most of God’s activity is directed towards the spread of the his Word to the ends of the earth.

Not just history

Luke is a good historian with reliable sources. His account of Jesus at the synagogue in Nazareth is the best description we have of a synagogue service in the first century. If you want to understand navigation in the first century, read Luke’s eyewitness account of Paul’s voyage to Rome. But Luke is more than a historian describing events.

Luke writes history with a purpose. He is showing us how God works in and through this movement to accomplish his purposes. He is showing us what God commands his people to do as they participate in his mission. His history is selective.

Long before Paul or any apostle arrived in Rome, there are churches there. We can speculate that they were started by Jewish believers who returned to Rome after Pentecost, but we don’t know for sure, Luke doesn’t tell us. He’s not writing a full history of the early church. He is writing an accurate history, but for a purpose. He selects his material accordingly and tells us part of the history. As John tells his readers, if we wrote down everything Jesus did, the whole world could not contain the books that would be written. The same is true for Acts. Luke the historian has a Spirit-inspired agenda.

The relevance of Acts

Acts is relevant today because Acts reveals how this movement of Jesus’ followers was brought into existence by the will and purpose of God in fulfilment of the Scriptures. Acts shows how the movement is directed by God, how he intervenes by sending angels, or prophets, or his Spirit, or the risen Lord at crucial moments.

The Word triumphs over the world and wherever it goes it brings forth disciples in community learning to follow Jesus and reaching the world around them. This expansion is not the work of exceptional leadership, or astute communication, or generous funding. At every point, it is a work of the living God.

The disciples face hardship and persecution. They are ridiculed, beaten, jailed and murdered, they run from persecution, they are shipwrecked and put on trial. Yet time and time again, God intervenes to ensure the Word goes out and communities of disciples are formed, built up and multiplied from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.

Acts ends but the story is not complete. Rome is not the ends of the earth, but the heart of the Empire. The age of salvation continues until the gospel goes to every people and every place. God continues to pursue his mission, through his people in the power of the Spirit. The Word still goes out, the Risen Lord still leads the way.

The history of the early church is not a one-off, unrepeatable era in the history of salvation. What God was doing through Jesus and through the power of the Spirit, he continues to do in every generation until the mission is complete. Luke tells us about the Peter and Paul, and the unidentified witnesses who take the gospel to Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, and others like Philip, Apollos, Lydia, Priscilla and Aquila because he wants us to learn from them and do what they did. Luke doesn’t just describe what happened in the life of the first church in Jerusalem, he is challenging us to live as they did.

Acts now

Those who deny the relevance of Acts today are confused about its purpose. Luke is not just handing us a record of what happened in the first century, he’s challenging every generation to see what should be happening now. His Gospel and Acts tell the story of the rise and spread of the movement of God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It reveals how God is at work in the world to fulfil his plan. To play our part, we are to look for principles and patterns of behaviour and teaching that we can emulate.

We can keep asking: What did Jesus do? What did he train his disciples to do? What does the risen Lord and the Holy Spirit continue to do through God’s people in Acts? What does that look like today?

Acts is about the expansion and triumph of the gospel as communities of disciples of Jesus are formed from Jerusalem to Rome despite opposition.

Acts calls every new generation back to the beginning—to a movement born in obscurity without power, wealth or influence, devoted to prayer and the spread of God’s Word, bold in the face of opposition, generous in love, experiencing God’s powerful presence, captive to his saving love in Jesus, always on the move from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.

What if Luke not just writing to say, “This is how it was.” What if he’s saying, “This is how it still is.”

pdf version with footnotes

Black Friday Book Sale

For Black Friday we’re dropping the price of The Rise and Fall of Movements and Your Part in God’s Story on Amazon.

50% off Kindle. 40% off print.

Click on the cover to claim your discount.

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buy on Amazon

262-Ben and Jack

The story of how God brought two men on different continents together and how their friendship resulted in movements of disciples and churches in Africa.

What's not the mission in Acts?

O Jerusalem!

In the book of Acts the mission is clear—the good news about Jesus’ life, death and resurrection proclaimed to every people and every place resulting in communities of disciples from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth (1:8).

Yet throughout the 20th Century the concept of mission in the West was expanded to include God’s plan to renew the whole creation. Our mission is to apply the power of the cross to all the effects of sin and evil in the world. Salvation involves political and economic justice, creation care, racial and gender equality. We are on a mission to transform the world.

How does that stack up against unfolding of God’s mission in the book of Acts?

Without a doubt in Acts we see lives transformed by the gospel and communities of disciples learning to follow Jesus’ example and teaching. They pray, they preach, they worship, they share with each other so everyone has enough. In Jerusalem, the city is filled with the teaching about Jesus and thousands turn to God, have their sins forgiven and are added to the community (2:36-47). Many are in awe of what God has done through miracles of healing and judgment.

If any city could be transformed, Jerusalem would be that city. Yet Jerusalem is divided. At first it’s the wealthy elites who control the Temple and the priesthood who persecute the movement, but soon the people join in and seeing his opportunity, King Herod executes the James and plots Peter’s demise (12:1-4). Once again, Jerusalem has rejected the messengers God sends.

Jesus condemned Jerusalem for rejecting the prophets, and rejecting the Messiah. He warned of God’s judgment (Lk 21:20-24). His prophecy was fulfilled in 70 AD when at the end of the Jewish uprising the Romans flattened the Temple and sacked the city. Once again the people went into exile.

Everywhere the gospel goes in Acts, the outcome is the same—division and persecution. Paul stood before Nero in chains, the Empire was not transformed.

God will renew his creation. There will be justice and peace—on the other side of his judgment. Until then he commands everyone to repent. Salvation is found in no one else but Jesus. His disciples will experience the life of the kingdom as they take the gospel to the ends of the earth. They are also promised suffering, hardship and persecution (14:22).

Acts ends with Paul awaiting trial, chained to a Praetorian guard. He is bound, but the word still goes out, “with all boldness and without hindrance!” (28:31). God’s mission is unstoppable. Read Acts and make sure you know what it is.

Acts and the power of prayer

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I’m continuing my journey through Acts. Some initial thoughts on the place of prayer in a movement of disciples and churches.

They prayed expecting

In the garden of Gethsemene, the disciples slept while Jesus prayed. When the trial came they deserted him and fled.

Now before Pentecost, the disciples gather in the upper room transformed by Jesus’ victory and the promise of the Spirit, “and they all joined together constantly in prayer (Acts 1:14). They pray because Jesus has restored them and commanded them to be his witnesses throughout the world. They pray, not to summon up the Spirit, they pray because the Spirit is coming and when the Spirit comes, the mission will begin.

A people of prayer

The first church is a praying community. As they wait for the coming of the Spirit they gather in the upper room and pray. Luke tells us, “They all joined together constantly in prayer” (1:14). Right from the start he establishing that this is typical of their life together as disciples.

And so the first church is a praying community. Prayer is an expression of their unity. In the first description of church life Luke notes that they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. The disciples meet in one another’s homes and in the temple courts and they give thanks, they worship and they pray. This is a summary statement of church life. We are meant to see in this a pattern that is repeated, not just in Jerusalem but wherever we find communities of disciples. They prayed.

When the disciples farewell Paul, they gather around, they kneel, they pray and they weep (Acts 20: 36; 21:5-6).

Over thirty times in Acts, we find the disciples at prayer. Most of these references are in the first half of the book. Luke doesn’t need to keep repeating himself, once the pattern is set he assumes we’ll fill in the gaps.

Prayer and the plan of God

They pray because this is one true God who is the Creator and Lord of history and the Father of his people. God is always at work to bring salvation and reveal his glory, his plans will be fulfilled.

Jesus’ disciples are the end-time people of God, the inheritors of all God’s promises to Israel and called to be his witnesses throughout the world.

They pray because they are dependent on God for the progress of his mission in the world. Only God can convince people of the truth of the gospel. Only God can confirm his Word in power. Only God can change the human heart.

Follow the Leader

Disciples are "those who call upon the name" of Jesus. The prayers the church offers are now centred on Jesus. He is at the Savior, the author of life, the one who grants repentance and forgiveness, the coming Judge. He is the giver of the Holy Spirit. The church as been bought with his blood. There is no salvation, but through him. Discipleship begins by calling on his name.

They draw on his teaching and example in prayer. The Spirit descended upon Jesus as he prayed at his baptism. As the disciples prayed the Spirit fell at Pentecost. Jesus prayed all night before appointing the Twelve. The disciples prayed before choosing Matthias. As Jesus prayed on the cross that his enemies would be forgiven, before he dies Stephen cries, Lord do not hold his sin against them. As Jesus committed his spirit to the Father, so Stephen, the first martyr calls out to the Lord Jesus to receive his spirit.

They prayed as they followed Jesus in obedience to the Father’s will.

Experiencing the power of God

The Lord is present with his people through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit applies the work of Christ to the life of the believer bringing cleansing from sin and transformation of character and power for witness.

The Spirit enables visions, dreams, prophetic words, unknown tongues and wisdom which guide the disciples in their life and mission. Through prayer the lame walk; Tabitha was restored to life; Publius’ father was healed; and the gospel spread to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear (Acts 3:1-12; 9:40; 14:8; 28:8). Paul prayed and fasted before appointing church leaders, yet he could say to the Ephesian elders they were appointed by the Holy Spirit.

A leadership priority

Prayer is linked with the selection and commissioning of leaders (Acts 1:24-25; 6:6; 13:1-3; 14:23). As Jesus prayed all night before choosing the Twelve, the disciples pray before choosing Judas’ replacement. When the Spirit set apart Paul and Barnabas for the work the church at Antioch sent them off with prayer and fasting. At the completing of the work, Paul and Barnabas pray and fast before appointing elders to the new churches.

When the apostles are overwhelmed with needs within the community they appoint additional leaders so they can make prayer and the spread of the Word their highest priority. Acts is about the spread of God’s powerful Word, yet prayer must accompany the Word for the messengers are dependant upon the Lord for boldness, protection and open hearts.

Praying under pressure

Like Jesus, Stephen prays to surrender his spirit to the Father as he faces death. Like Jesus he prayed that his murderers would be forgiven. When Peter is under arrest, at great risk, the church gathers to pray for his release. When Paul and Silas are beaten and thrown into prison, at midnight they are awaking and praying and singing to God as the other prisoners listen.

After Peter and John were released from arrest, the disciples raise their voices together and pray. Their prayer is grounded in the character and power of God revealed in Scripture. They pray in the power of the Spirit using the words of Scripture spoken by the Holy Spirit. They pray not for peace and safety, but for boldness. They house is shaken and they are all fill with the Holy Spirit and they speak the word of God boldly.

They pray expecting God to act, they pray committing themselves to obey his will despite the dangers.

Breakthrough prayer

Prayer plays a part at every major turning point in the story of the gospel’s advance. God fulfils his plans and promises as his people pray—the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost; the martyrdom of Stephen which led to the gospel going out from Jerusalem; the Spirit falling upon the Samaritans; Peter’s conversion to the Gentile mission began when he was at prayer in Joppa and Cornelius was at prayer in Caesarea; the release of Peter from prison and execution; the healing, baptism and commissioning of Paul by Ananias; the launch of the mission to the Gentiles out of Antioch led by Paul and Barnabas; when the mission is successful the appointment of leaders for the churches; Paul’s call to bear witness before the emperor in Rome.

Conclusion

The disciples prayed because that’s what Jesus did and what he taught them to do. They prayed because their lives were aligned with God’s purposes. They prayed because the Lord rules over heaven and earth and hears the cries of his people. They prayed because God’s will is revealed in prayer and in prayer their wills become aligned with God’s. They pray because God is with them as the Word goes out from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.

261-Motus Dei: The Movement of God to Disciple the Nations

My conversation with Warrick Farrah about a new book on multiplying disciples and churches around the world: MotusDei (Latin for the Movement of God).

Warrick Farah has brought together movement leaders, and scholars from around the world to talk about movements. Warrick has edited the input from both the academic and practitioner angles and the result is an excellent book.

There are lessons to be learned by anyone seeking to participate in the movement of God to disciple the nations.

Links for Warrick Farah and the MotusDei network:

motusdei.Network

masterclasses.ephesiology.com/courses/foundation-movement

independent.academia.edu/WarrickFarah

muslimministry.blogspot.com

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buy on amazon

 

Peter and the Shaping of a Movement Catalyst

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I’m working through the book of Acts. Some fresh (unedited) thoughts on how God shapes movement leaders over the whole course of their lives.

We have so much information about Peter’s life and development. What can we learn about how God shapes movement leaders over the whole course of their lives?

1. The call

Peter began this journey at Jesus’ feet acknowledging his weakness and sinfulness (Luke 5:1-11). The miracle of the catch of fish revealed Jesus’ power and authority in the world that Peter dominated. Peter’s response was to fall at Jesus’ feet and confess not just his weakness, but his sinfulness.

What qualified Peter was not his abilities and experience or his godliness. He was qualified because he surrendered to Jesus’ gracious call. This is the first and most important lesson of leadership in a movement. It is the foundation and heart.

Jesus gave Peter just two responsibilities. Follow me and learn to fish for people. Jesus is building a missionary movement that will go to the ends of the earth.

2. The training

Movement leaders are made on the road with other disciples learning to be like Jesus and learning to do what Jesus did.

Peter learned as he watched Jesus move from town to town, healing the sick, casting out demons, proclaiming the kingdom and calling everyone to repent and believe. Peter not only watched, Jesus sent him out to do what he did.

Yet Peter could not accept that the Messiah would die a shameful death, cursed by God and deserted by his closest companions, giving up his life as a ransom for many.

Peter had three years with unrivalled access to Jesus and yet he failed.

3. The devastation

Jesus knew Satan would sift Peter like wheat Jesus knew Peter’s faith would fail, so he prayed for Peter and urged him to turn again to God and become the rock who strengthens his brothers (Luke 22:31-32). Jesus knew that Peter would never grasp the reality of God’s grace until he had faced the reality of his sinfulness. Only then would he become a rock on which Jesus would build a movement.

Peter’s transformation did not begin with the coming of the Holy Spirit in pow- er. We forget that it began with his failure, repentance and restoration by the risen Lord.

4. The transformation

The Spirit fell upon a man who was called and trained by Jesus. A man whom God had shown the reality of his sinful heart. A man who had turned back to God and heard his call renewed. For forty days Jesus had walked him through the scriptures to explain what the Messiah had to suffer and rise again and how the gospel must go to the ends of the earth. When the Spirit fell at Pentecost, Peter was ready.

We see his transformation when he stands to proclaim the gospel at Pentecost to the city that has crucified his Lord just weeks before. We see his courage before the same authorities who handed Jesus over to Romans.

The apostle who had led the way in denying Jesus now led the way in fearless proclamation enduring imprisonment and violence. Despited the attacks every day, in the temple and from house to house, the apostles did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ (Acts 5:42).

Jerusalem was the base for an expanding movement. Under Peter’s leadership, the churches spread throughout Jerusalem, Judea, Galilee and Samaria, and on the coastal plain to the west—in Lydda, Joppa, Caesarea, Ptolemais. Through a ministry focused on prayer and the Word, Peter multiplied and strengthened disciples and church communities wherever he went.

Yet God had more for Peter.

5. The renewal

Jerusalem was the centre. Under Peter’s leadership, thousands had joined the movement across the city. The church had withstood the persecution, even thrived because of it. Surely the Gentiles now would be drawn into the light of Jerusalem as the Scriptures foretold?

It was over ten years since the command to go to the nations was given. The Samaritans and the Ethiopian eunuch represented those on the edges of Judaism. There was no focused Gentile mission, there was not certainty on how to include the Gentiles within a Jewish movement.

Peter is away from the city getting further and further into Gentile territory. Je- sus has a plan to move his mission forward. On the rooftop in Joppa and then in Cornelius’ house Peter is unravelled and remade in the space of a few days. It is a work of God, not Peter. Yet Peter remains open to what God is doing, he does not rest on his position, his achievements, his credentials. He’s in Caesarea the pagan city and centre of Roman power. He’s out on the fringes, out of his comfort zone, open to God, not relying on his past achievements.

The solution doesn’t come from Peter or any of the apostles. God intervenes and unravels Peter as the Spirit falls on Cornelius and a household of Gentiles. The Lord is still shaping and remaking Peter who will now lead the way with the Jewish believers in Jerusalem so they can embrace God’s heart for the nations and get moving again.

6. The handoff

Movements thrive when the founding figures are continually releasing authority and responsibility to new leaders and affirming new streams of discipleship over which they have no direct control. Peter had to learn how to release authority and responsibility to others and how to embrace what God was doing in raising up new leaders beyond his sphere of influence.

The Seven. Peter led the way in the appointment of the Seven who oversaw the distribution of food to widows in the community (Acts 6:1-7. ). It soon became clear that at least two of the Seven would also play a pioneering role in the mission. Stephen’s teach- ing and martyrdom prepared the way for the movement’s expansion. Philip’s unplanned mission to Samaria broke the bounds of Judaism. Peter and John we the first apostles to embrace Philip’s initiative and extend the work into new Samaritan villages.

Paul. God raised up a leader without Peter’s direct involvement who would rival him in achievement. Paul pioneered a whole new stream of Gentile disciples and churches with all the trouble it caused. Paul tells how they clashed publicly in Anti- och over Peter’s inconsistency in welcoming the Gentiles (Gal 2:11-14). Yet by the time of the Jerusalem council, Peter led the way in winning acceptance Paul’s mission to the Gentiles (Acts 15:7-10).

James and the elders. For over a decade Peter led the movement based in Jerusalem. Over time he released the leadership of the church over to James, the Lord’s brother and the elders. Then in 41/42 AD, pursued by Herod he fled the city (Acts 12:17). He was able to return to Jerusalem in AD 48, but James is in charge of the church and the proceedings at the Council.

Peter prepared the way for the Seven and for James and the elders of Jerusalem. He embraced and welcomed the Gentile mission led by Paul and others.

7. The finale

Luke doesn’t tell us where Peter went after he fled Jerusalem. Paul knows about the pioneering ministry of Peter and his wife (1 Cor 9:5; Gal 2:11-14.). Early traditions point to the northern regions of Asia Minor as one of Peter’s mission fields. His first letter is addressed to the believers in Asia Minor—those from Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. These churches may have been the fruit of his mission. Peter could also have travelled to the larger Jewish communities of Antioch in Syria, Alexandria in Egypt and Ephesus in Asia. There is a strong tradition that by the mid-60s AD, at the end of his life, Peter was in Rome where he was crucified by Nero.

Jesus shaped Peter over the whole course of his life. He learned how to make disciples and follow his Lord, on the road. God turned his greatest failure into an opportunity to transform him from the inside out. He boldly led a movement that reached the city of Jerusalem and gave away authority and responsibility to others. He kept pushing out beyond the centre of Judaism until God opened his heart and the door to the Gentile mission. He embraced the initiatives and breakthroughs of others. He refused to settle down but kept pressing into unreached fields until his life was taken from him.

UPDATE: There may be another principle called, “Unqualified". Jesus goes looking for unqualified people on the fringes. The breakthroughs in the movement of God always occur on the fringe, not the centre.