âAbout that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. A silversmith named Demetrius ⊠[said], âThis fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia.ââ Acts 19:23-26
Hi there fellow Christ-warriors! This excerpt is taken from our BIBLE. To be more specific, itâs taken from Paulâs missionary journey in Acts where he, quite literally, turned the city of Ephesus UPSIDE-DOWN culturally by preaching the Gospel. And this topic also happens to be the subject of my new video âDonât Just Do Church, Change Cultureâ at pastoraj.com. In the video I talk with pastor and friend Graham Cathers about how the church isnât thinking BIG enough about its call to disciple the nations. Did you catch that? God calls us to disciple the NATIONS. Itâs a HUGE task. And discipling the world looks like something. Yet so often we miss it. So often we cave in because weâre trying to accommodate others or not offend outsiders. The early church, on the other hand, didnât seem to share these same concerns. They were not rude or irreverent or mean spirited. Far from it. In a very graceful way, they were uncompromising in their beliefs. They were unwilling to bend on their worldview. They didnât say that unbiblical issues like evolution donât matter. Instead, they boldly taught others the truth everywhere they went and the results were INCREDIBLE. Nonetheless these results happened because they set their expectations higher and we should do the same. Hear me out on this preachers and parishioners alike ... The goal of the Gospel isnât a large church or even multiple new church plants. The goal of the Gospel is nothing short of culture-wide TRANSFORMATION. So letâs stop setting our sights short and follow their example in the way we do church today!
Application:
What do you think about the example of Paul and the early church? Ho does the contemporary church measure up?
Name one thing we see Jesus or the early do in Acts that would be considered extreme today? Have you ever done anything extreme for Jesus?
Watch my new video âDonât Just Do Church, Change Cultureâ at pastoraj.com and explain why culture-wide transformation is so important. How can you help transform your culture today?
