1. Limpopo District SYNOD 2006 Mission as Community in an ever changing world Education for Ministry and Mission Unit Equipping all Methodists to proclaim the Gospel for Healing and Transformation

2. Mission as Community in an ever changing world "The gospel must be constantly forwarded to a new address because the recipient is always changing his place of residence.” Graham Gray, Bishop of York

3. 1. Some facts about Acts… LUKE&ACTS The ‘WE’ narratives: Acts 16:10-17, 20:5-21:18, and 27:1-28:16 Theophilus =theos + philein (a lover of God)

4. 2. God’s Missiological purpose for the SAME Christian Community in an EVER-CHANGING world But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8 A hermeneutic key (it unlocks our interpretation of the text)

5. Two insights… The SOURCE of true Mission: ‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…’ The STRATEGY of true Mission: ‘…and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

6. 2.1. Mission in the POWER of the Holy Spirit. “If your religion doesn’t change you, then it’s time to change your religion”. L Ron Hubbard

7. POWER! This Church Synod will discuss the dwindling congregational numerical returns, the financial struggle to pay salaries, how to keep gay people out of the church, and the jockeying for position of various clergy intent on becoming the next Bishop!

8. POWER! v.6. Lord, are you at this time going to restore the Kingdom to Israel? dunamin from Greek root dunamai ‘to be able’, or to be enabled or empowered. True POWER comes not from prestige or position. It comes from PASSION.

9. THE HOLY SPIRIT But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you… (v.8) (epelthontos tou hagiou pneumatos eph’ humas) - Genitive absolute and simultaneous in time with the preceding verb “shall receive” (lempsesthe) John 15:4 “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me”.

10. MY WITNESSES … and you will be my witnesses… (mou martures). (v.8). Martyr…. COSTLY! A port or a fort?

11. 2.2. The Location of God’s Mission in Community. 2.2.1.I MUST SHARE WITH THOSE IN MY WORLD – JERUSALEM. (Acts 1:1-7:60) –Luke 8:39 ”’Go back home and tell people how much God has done for you.’ So that man went all over town telling how much Jesus had done for him.” –“When Jesus saw THEIR FAITH he said ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven’” (Luke 5:20).

12. 2.2. The Location of God’s Mission in Community. 2.2.2.I MUST DARE TO REACH BEYOND MY WORLD – ALL JUDEA AND SAMARIA. (Acts 8:1-40) –Galatians 6:2, "Stoop down and reach out to those who were oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ's law." What is Christ's law? Love your neighbour as yourself. He says, “Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed.” –James 1:27. “Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: reach out to the homeless and the loveless in their plight.”

13. 2.2. The Location of God’s Mission in Community 2.2.3.I MUST CARE ABOUT THE WHOLE WORLD – TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. (Acts 9:1-43, and to the end of Acts in Acts 28:31)...en eschaton… Fullness, wholeness, end…

14. So what can we learn about Mission in an ever changing world by looking at Acts? The mission agenda is constantly changing. You are God’s chosen instrument of Mission in the world. You can only do Mission under the Power of God’s Holy Spirit. Commit to God’s Mission and your Mission will always be relevant. Lastly, true witness is Martyrdom, it is costly, it is sacrificial, and it demands your life.

15. Mission as Community in an ever changing world "The gospel must be constantly forwarded to a new address because the recipient is always changing his place of residence.” Graham Gray, Bishop of York