Mission in Acts I-II: An Experiment in Bible Study

Abstract

Abstract This essay introduces a series of four Bible studies on the first eleven chapters of Acts; they were developed for and undertaken at the CWM Theological Education in Mission consultation. After noting the key opportunities that the Bible studies provided, the essay shares the material offered under four themes: and Mission (Acts 1 and 2); and Mission (Acts 3, 4 and 5); and Mission (Acts 6, 7 and 8); and Mission (Acts 9, 10 and 11). The essay closes with reflections on the Bible study process. ********** The planning group for the Council for Mission (CWM) consultation, Transforming Theological Education in Mission, decided that it would be appropriate to have Bible studies rather than sermons in the morning devotions. The evaluation of the consultation suggested that this was a positive experience for delegates. In this article, I have been asked to share the process and content of these studies. The vision of the Bible studies As we began to plan these studies, we saw that they would provide us with three important opportunities. In the first instance, they would provide time at the start of the day for biblical reflection and for grounding our wider discussions in the word of God. It is sometimes easy for such conferences to move quite quickly into abstract theoretical discussions, and to lose an immediate connection with the Bible. For many delegates from the South, where the immediacy of the biblical text is vital for shaping the work of the church, this is a crucial consideration. Rooted in the Bible, then, the studies would provide an opportunity to introduce the four themes at the heart of the conference, namely, Gospel and Mission, World and Mission, Church and Mission, and Formation and Mission. Second, it was decided that the Bible studies would make use of the inductive method. This method does not assume that there is only one way of interpreting the text but that we hear God speaking to us through the range of cultural, political and contextual experiences and commitments that we bring to the Bible. Inductive Bible study introduces us to the text, identifies some key themes, and then opens up space for participants themselves to contribute to what is learnt. It recognizes that there is no teacher-opposed-to-learners but that we are all teachers and all learners. This kind of Bible study seeks to undercut the language-power-knowledge dynamics that often characterize biblical interpretation, and does so by explicitly valuing all insights and inviting all to share their perspectives. It is an approach that provided an opportunity for each person at the conference to share and to listen, and thus freed up a range of different voices that could then be drawn into the wider consultation. The third opportunity that we sought to seize was the chance to engage in small group reflection with a diverse range of participants gathered for the consultation. CWM represents a collective of churches from a wide range of contexts. The Congregational and Presbyterian ecclesiologies of these churches mean that they are diverse according to the cultures and circumstances in which they have found themselves. Gathered at this consultation were people responsible for the organization of the theological education that their churches provide, as well as theological educators from the training institutions themselves. So often people are invited to such gatherings but then are forced to sit as isolated individuals and hear experts give papers to which the listeners respond as individuals. Yet, it is our experience at such consultations that in one way or another every delegate is an expert. So, we need to balance the offering of papers with the opportunity to be enriched by intentional engagement with others in a small group format. The Bible studies provided a chance for this. Bearing all of this in mind, the first eleven chapters of The Acts of the Apostles were chosen for the focus of the Bible studies. …