Welcome to Friday’s Podcast.  Next week my colleague Helen Ward will pick up the baton as we continue our journey through the book of Acts.  Today our reading is Acts 2: 42-47 and I’ll focused on verse 42:-

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

REFLECTION:

I’d love to think about the first three words of verse 42 – ‘They devoted themselves’.

Church growth specialists have spent so much ink writing about these verses:  The conversion of the 3000; and the practices of the fledgling early church church.  However, within this verse – actually, within the first three words – describes something that’s easily overlooked: culture.  The business guru Peter Drucker once said that ‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast.’  You can have all the fancy plans you want but if the culture, essentially behaviour, doesn’t change then the strategy is futile.

These 3 words have always challenged me.  It makes me think: what is devotion?  According to google the word describes a love, loyalty, enthusiasm for a person or activity.  It makes me think – is my life a life of devotion to God?  Our church?

Paul Scanlon, the former leader of Life Church Bradford wrote this in his book ‘Crossing Over’ :

‘I once met an ex-Baptist pastor, who after twenty years in ministry, had resigned and was now a landlord.  He told me that what led him to this radical change was twenty years of soul-destroying ministry that put him and his wife on prescription medication.  He described a church where he felt completely responsible to persuade people to get involved, but they refused.  He became worn out from the huge effort to convince, persuade, remind and sometimes beg people to get behind his vision, but they wouldn’t.

I asked him what he enjoyed about being a landlord, and his reply hit me like a hammer.  He said ‘I love this job because my drinkers are devoted all by themselves.’  He explained how we never had to persuade or remind his customers to come back.  He never had to call his absent drinkers to assure them they were missed, nor did he had to inspire them to part with their money.  Finally he said ‘my drinkers came early and stay late, but in twenty years of ministry the church did neither…’

Why is this?  We know our society is shaped by consumption.  I know that I can open an app on my phone and buy something and it will arrive the next day.  Or I can do the same with a taxi – hopefully not arrive the next day but the way we purchase, we consume is more comfort driven than before – it’s easier than ever to consume.  Marketing, advertising, those ‘blessed algorithms’ – means I can create my own entertainment – watch what I like on Netflix when I want to.  I can order whatever food I want and have it delivered to me.  I don’t even need to leave my house.

This shapes how we think and how we act – consumption and its excesses can leave us passive.  We become consumers, not creators.  And this folks is a problem when we worship the creator who has made us creative.

John Mark Comer – the American pastor from Portland, Oregon – asked his church to draw an image of a church.  They did – they drew either a church building or a theatre or a cinema style building.  He said this – if you asked someone in the early church to draw their church – they would probably draw a table – right at the heart of the home.  The church over the centuries has evolved from a table – to now a theatre style – the very symbol of entertainment.  Lights, music – speakers on platforms – working hard to inspire and entertain.  The issue with that is the responsibility falls on those on the platform not in the pews.

The image of the church gathered round the table – if you’re part of STC, think back to our summer series Big Table – is the place where we turn up, we contribute not consume – we bring something to share – we ...