Steven

“In each of these stories, the church discovers something and is prodded into action by various elements of context. People and place, situation and need invite the church to go places it might not naturally go and to discover God at work in ways it might not expect. God meets the disciples as they witness in various contexts, for the mission of the church is the mission of God. Jesus’ declaration in Acts 1:8 (“you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”) is not an invitation to an all-night strategy session, but rather a literary foreshadowing. The disciples will know that the Spirit has come upon them when they find themselves witnessing in these places. It is a statement that only makes sense after the fact of God’s Spirit coming in power and God leading the church into the world. In Acts 1:8, the church does not yet have a self-understanding that could lead it into Samaria or Rome. It takes Saul’s methodical persecution in Jerusalem (going house to house) to spark Philip’s foray into Samaria and his encounter with the Ethiopian. It takes several visions, Cornelius’s initiative, and the surprising gift of the Spirit for Cornelius and his family to provoke church leadership to consider the fact that “God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life” (Acts 11:18).”
― Scott Hagley, Eat What Is Set Before You: A Missiology of the Congregation in Context

“The reign of God that the church proclaims is indeed present in the life of the church, but it is not the church’s possession. It goes before us, summoning us to follow. The practical implications of this will be discussed in a later chapter. Here it is enough to say that the picture given us in the Acts is one that is constantly being reproduced in the missionary experience of the church. It is the Holy Spirit who leads the way, opening a door here that the church must then obediently enter, kindling a flame there that the church must lovingly tend.”
― Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission

“The one sent by Jesus to heal and proclaim the good news of the Reign of God will be able to do so only by being dependent upon the gifts and hospitality of others. This person will graciously receive what is offered in food and shelter, while also offering the healing power and word of God. Jesus gives table manners for mission because the disciples participate in an ecosystem of gift and care; they discover people of peace even as they offer the peace of God.”
― Scott Hagley, Eat What Is Set Before You: A Missiology of the Congregation in Context

“We need to put as much time and energy into thinking about why people should come to church as we do into thinking about how to get them to come. In other words, we need to think carefully about what the church actually has to offer people who come to worship or who become members. If we are not clear about why people will be better off for the trouble of getting out of bed on Sunday morning, then we may succeed in boosting attendance for a season, but we will fall short of the long-haul renewal that we so desperately need and desire.”
― Jason E. Vickers, Minding the Good Ground: A Theology for Church Renewal