Where Do We Go From Here

59 WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? The Jewish church in Acts did not simply “change its mind”, it discerned what it believed to be the will of God in their contemporary context. And the multiplicity of testimonies and means of discernment evidenced in this story is a model for us about how to discern the mind of Christ in our context. Every generation of Christians faces this dilemma and must ask, “Is what we’ve always done actually the will of God?” Whether it be around slavery or the equality of women or inter-racial marriage or divorce or capital punishment or contraception or environmental stewardship or human sexuality, the Spirit is amongst us, testifying through story and memory and Scripture and lived experience - and even visions and dreams. And like the Jewish church, perhaps we too need, unexpectedly, to come to that place of “silence and praise”, where the boundaries of the world we were so certain were fixed by God forever are expanded or erased in ways beyond our current imagination. Think “If a work of art is rich and vital and complete, those who have artistic instincts will see its beauty, and those to whom ethics appeal more strongly than aesthetics will see its moral lesson. It will fill the cowardly with terror, and the unclean will see in it their own shame.” Oscar Wilde • Have you ever seen or appreciated something in a completely different way to someone else? Do you understand why? What did you do next? • What sort of ‘mission’ projects are you most likely to undertake or support? How do you think your choices are affected by your personality, your values, your culture or biases? How might we best discern what God is calling us to work with and support? Investigate Read more about Newton Theological College, PNG in the Projects section at www.abmission.org Music Carrie Newcomer, ‘You Can Do This Hard Thing’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHxRsSSeNBo