Mission in Acts

by Gallagher, Robert L.

• ISBN13: 9781570754937
• ISBN10: 1570754934
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-01-01
• Publisher: Orbis Books

Author Biography

Robert L. Gallagher teaches history, theology, and leadership studies at Wheaton College Graduate School, Wheaton, Illinois. He served as a theological educator in Papua New Guinea and the South Pacific Paul Hertig is professor of global studies and sociology at Azusa Pacific University and directs an urban immersion program in Los Angeles, California

Table of Contents

Preface to the ASM Series	p. xiii
Acknowledgments	p. xiv
Contributors	p. xv
Introduction: Background to Acts	p. 1
The Unique Genre of Acts	p. 2
Introduction to Luke-Acts	p. 3
Authorship and Date	p. 4
Luke's Audience	p. 6
Setting and Purpose	p. 7
Three-Part Structure	p. 8
Six-Part Structure	p. 9
Two-Part Structure	p. 10
The Structure of the Two Volumes, Luke-Acts	p. 10
The Journey Motif	p. 12
The Nature of the Reader	p. 13
The Launching of Mission: The Outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost Acts 2:1-41	p. 18
The Need for Empowerment	p. 18
The Nature of the Empowerment	p. 20
The Symbols of Pentecost	p. 21
The Crowd's Response	p. 22
Prophetic Utterance	p. 23
The Triumphant Presence of the Crucified Christ	p. 24
Convicting Power	p. 26
Community Incorporation	p. 26
Dismantling Social Barriers through Table Fellowship Acts 2:42-47	p. 29
Table Fellowship in Social Perspective	p. 29
Biblical Context for Acts 2:42-47	p. 30
Table Fellowship in Acts 2:42-47	p. 31
Christian Caring is Christian Sharing	p. 32
Contextual Observations and Conclusions	p. 33
Holistic Ministry and the Incident at the Gate Beautiful Acts 3:1-26	p. 37
The Healing Incident	p. 38
The Apostles and Setting	p. 38
The Man Lame from Birth	p. 39
The Healing at the Gate Beautiful	p. 40
Peter's Explanation of the Healing (3:12b-16)	p. 42
Peter's Appeal for Repentance (3:17-26)	p. 42
Implications for Practitioners Engaged in Holistic Ministry	p. 43
From "Doingness" to "Beingness": A Missiological Interpretation Acts 4:22-31	p. 45
Context of the Scene	p. 46
Interpretation of Acts 4:23-31	p. 47
Sovereignty over Creation	p. 48
Sovereignty over Humanity	p. 48
Sovereignty over the Present Situation	p. 50
Results of the Prayer	p. 52
Application of Acts 4:23-31	p. 54
Cross-cultural Mediation: From Exclusion to Inclusion Acts 6:1-7; also 5:33-42	p. 59
Acts 6: Dealing Openly with Conflict	p. 60
Growing Pains and Intergroup Conflict	p. 61
Heightened Otherness during Cultural Change	p. 61
Hebraic Suspicion of Hellenized Jews	p. 65
The Challenge of Preserving Hebrew Identity	p. 66
The Mediated Mediate	p. 67
Pentecost as Source of Unity and Division	p. 68
Gamaliel's Mediation	p. 68
Contemporary Emergence of Conflict	p. 69
Implications for the Immigrant Church Today	p. 70
Dynamics in Hellenism and the Immigrant Congregation Acts 6:8--8:2	p. 73
Stephen and Hellenism	p. 74
Crucial Turns in Stephen's Speech and the Immigrant Church	p. 76
The Journeys of Landless Abraham	p. 76
Joseph and Moses: Aliens in Foreign Lands	p. 77
The Rejection of Moses and God's Presence in the Wilderness	p. 77
The Tension between Old and New in Hellenism	p. 79
The Tabernacle and the Temple	p. 79
Resident-Alien Status of the Patriarchs	p. 81
The Living Law	p. 82
The Ramifications of Stephen's Martyrdom	p. 82
The Journeys of the People of God	p. 83
Stephen's Message and the Immigrant Church	p. 83
Preaching for Mission: Ancient Speeches and Postmodern Sermons Acts 7:2-53; 13:16-41; 14:15-17	p. 87
Stephen's Speech to the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem (7:2-53)	p. 90
Paul's Speech to the Synagogue in Pisidian Antioch (13:16-41)	p. 93
The Speech of Paul and Barnabas to the Gentiles at Lystra (14:15-17)	p. 95
Ancient Speeches and Postmodern Sermons	p. 97
The Magical Mystery Tour: Philip Encounters Magic and Materialism in Samaria Acts 8:4-25	p. 103
Simon the "Great"	p. 104
Form and Meaning	p. 106
Contemporary Blend of Faith and Money	p. 107
The Misuse of Power	p. 108
The Second Pentecost	p. 109
Conclusion	p. 111
The Ethiopian Eunuch: A Key Transition from Hellenist to Gentile Mission Acts 8:26-40	p. 114
An Ethiopian	p. 115
A Minister of Candace and a Eunuch	p. 117
The Role of the Story	p. 118
Conclusion	p. 120
Worshiping, Working, and Waiting: Exploring Paul's Call to Mission Acts 9:1-22	p. 123
Paul's Missionary Call	p. 125
Nature and Description of Paul's Missionary Call	p. 125
How God Communicated the Call to Paul	p. 127
How Paul Responded to the Missionary Call	p. 128
Applications to Latin American Involvement in the Missionary Movement	p. 129
Peter's Conversion: A Culinary Disaster Launches the Gentile Mission Acts 10:1--11:18	p. 133
The Relevance of Peter's Conversion	p. 135
The Focus of Peter's Conversion	p. 136
The Discourse-Level Narrative Structure	p. 137
The Heart of the Story	p. 138
The Implications of the Story	p. 140
Conclusion	p. 141
The Church at Antioch: Crossing Racial, Cultural, and Class Barriers Acts 11:19-30; 13:1-3	p. 144
A Global Challenge	p. 144
The Antioch Model	p. 146
Evangelism through Lay Leadership	p. 146
Every Member a Minister	p. 148
Care for New Believers	p. 149
Witness to Oneness in Christ	p. 149
Compassion for the Poor	p. 150
Balanced Leadership	p. 151
Elimination of Racial and Ethnic Barriers	p. 151
Mission for Others	p. 152
Radical Christians	p. 153
Hope in the Midst of Trial Acts 12:1-11	p. 157
Background of Acts 12	p. 158
Persecution of the Jerusalem Church: Acts 12:1-5	p. 158
Peter Released from Prison: Acts 12:6-11	p. 161
Conclusion: The Prognosis	p. 164
The Cursing Paul: Magical Contests in Acts 13 and the New Testament Apocrypha Acts 13:6-12	p. 167
What Happened in Paphos?	p. 168
Magic in the Greco-Roman World	p. 168
Paul's Use of Magical Language	p. 172
Paul Confronts Elymas (Bar-Jesus)	p. 174
Implications for Mission Today	p. 176
Success in the City: Paul's Urban Mission Strategy Acts 14:1-28	p. 183
A New Vision	p. 183
Where and How to Begin?	p. 184
Surprise Direction	p. 184
Contact Points in the City	p. 185
Spread of the Jewish Religion	p. 186
Enough Time to Plant a Church?	p. 188
God Ahead of Us	p. 188
God's Hand in Contemporary Movements	p. 189
The Apostles' Strategy	p. 189
Accountable to the Church	p. 193
The Jerusalem Council: Some Implications for Contextualization Acts 15:1-35	p. 196
The Importance of Acts 15	p. 196
Lessons from the Setting	p. 197
Conflict and Resolution	p. 200
Gospel of Grace	p. 201
Fellowship and Testimony	p. 203
Characterization	p. 205
Conclusion	p. 206
Finding the Will of God: Historical and Modern Perspectives Acts 16: 1-30	p. 209
Divine Interruption	p. 210
Divine Guidance in the First Century	p. 211
Divine Guidance in the Early Church	p. 212
Divine Response to the Jailing of Paul and Silas	p. 216
Conclusion	p. 217
Paul's Speech on the Areopagus: A Model of Cross-cultural Evangelism Acts 17:16-34	p. 221
The Setting of the Speech	p. 223
The Form of the Speech	p. 226
The Content of the Speech	p. 230
The Reaction to the Speech	p. 232
Conclusion	p. 233
The Art of Finishing Well: Paul as Servant Leader Acts 18:1-28 and 20:17-38	p. 239
Paul Served alongside Ordinary People (Acts 18:1-23)	p. 242
Paul Reproduced Servant Disciples	p. 243
Paul Empowered Male and Female Disciples as Servant Leaders (Acts 18:24-26)	p. 243
Servant Leadership Gives Credibility	p. 245
Conclusion	p. 246
The Fourth Pentecost: Paul and the Power of the Holy Spirit Acts 19:1-22	p. 248
The City of Ephesus	p. 249
The Church at Ephesus	p. 249
The Context of Paul's Visit to Ephesus	p. 250
The Full Gospel: From Repentance to Power	p. 251
The Results	p. 254
Conclusion	p. 255
For Missionaries and Leaders: Paul's Farewell to the Ephesian Elders Acts 20:17-38	p. 257
Paul's Farewell: Modeling the Spirit of Mission (Acts 20:17-38)	p. 258
Paul's Personal Example (Acts 20:18-27)	p. 259
Paul's Final Exhortation (Acts 20:25-35)	p. 265
Epilogue	p. 270
Do the Right Thing--But Results Are Not Guaranteed Acts 21:17--22:36; 24:10-21	p. 274
Paul Reports and the Jerusalem Elders Respond	p. 275
The Elders' Plan	p. 277
Solution to the Problem	p. 278
Paul Victimized by the Rumor Mill	p. 279
Implications for Mission	p. 281
The Contextualization and Translation of Christianity Acts 9:1-9; 22:3-33; 26:2-23	p. 283
Contextualization	p. 284
The Translation Model	p. 285
Acts 9:1-9	p. 285
Acts 22:3-22	p. 287
Acts 26:2-23	p. 291
Conclusion	p. 294
The Apostle Paul's Acts of Power Acts 22-28	p. 297
The Kingdom of God and Power	p. 297
The Transformation of an Urban Slum	p. 298
Power for the Sake of the Gospel	p. 300
Paul before the Temple Leadership	p. 301
Paul before the Roman Tribune	p. 303
Building Relationships	p. 303
Paul before Caesar	p. 304
Paul before Agrippa and Festus	p. 307
Sharing the Gospel with Power	p. 307
Reflections on Paul's Use of Power	p. 310
The Ending Is Prelude: Discontinuities Lead to Continuities Acts 1:1-11 and 28:23-31	p. 313
Acts--A Threefold Dynamic	p. 315
A Three-Dimensional Narrative	p. 316
Ending as Prelude	p. 320
Intersecting Horizons	p. 321
Index	p. 324
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