I was reading Acts 17 the other day where Paul is in Athens, and, when I read verse 21, I came up short and had to laugh, “All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.”
LOL!
Unfortunately, that description of the Athenians reminded me of what happens when “missional” Lutheran leaders get together these days. There is endless talk about the latest ideas concerning mission, discipleship, and reaching a local community with the good news of God.
But despite all this exposure to the latest ideas, the leaders go home and go back to normal. The unspoken outcome of attending such gatherings seems to be thinking about new ideas, not implementing new practices.
The result? Nothing new happens because nothing new is being done.
I say this not to make us feel bad, but to help us wake up.
Do you really want to settle for being an Athenian year after year? Because there is an alternative. And it’s a lot more exciting.
In Acts 11, you will come upon that alternative: It’s what happened in Antioch.
Acts 11:20-21, “Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.”
Do you see the difference? In Athens, all they did was discuss new ideas. In Antioch, they actually did something new. They went. They talked with people different than themselves. They told them about the very good news God had for them. And, as a result, God worked through their simple actions, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
That could be happening in your community.
Athenians discuss. Antiochians do.
Your local community does not need more Athenians. It needs some Antiochians.
Be the Antiochians. Go. Talk with people who are different than yourself (they are your neighbors, coworkers, or fellow-retirees). Look for an opportunity to serve them by offering them some very good news from God.
Don’t think about it. Go have fun doing it. And you will find out in real-time what God does when you do.
If you want to talk with me about how to set up a simple, biblical discipleship process in your congregation to prepare your people for daily action, click the contact button below. Let’s do something.