Divine Intention: by Larry Shallenberger

Author: Larry Shallenberger

[Image: Divine Intention: by Larry Shallenberger]

How God's Work in the Early Church Empowers Us Today

When a group of people practice something for two thousand years, the expectation is that they'd eventually get whatever it was they were committed to doing right.

But the fact is that we as individuals and as a corporate community are still struggling with many of the issues that plagued the early church.

Larry Shallenberger takes a fresh look at the book of Acts to help you gain a deeper understanding of how God moved in the early church and what that means for you today.

Features: Annotated, Bibliography, Table of Contents
Physical Info: 0.59" H x 8.48" L x 6.62" W (0.61 lbs) 197 pages
Carton Quantity: 24
Publisher: Honor Books
US SRP: $ 12.99 US
Binding: Paperback
Pub Date: June 2007

CPC Categories:
- Christian Living | Spiritual Growth | General
- Theology | Systematic | Ecclesiology (Church)
| Spirituality
BISAC Categories:
- Religion | Christian Life | Spiritual Growth
- Religion | Christian Theology | Ecclesiology
Themes:
Religious Orientation | Christian
Theometrics | Evangelical

Chapter One
Signs of Life
When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one
place.Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale
force—no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole
building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through
their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different
languages as the Spirit prompted them.
There were many Jews staying in Jerusalem just then, devout
pilgrims from all over the world.When they heard the sound, they
came on the run. Then when they heard, one after another, their
own mother tongues being spoken, they were thunderstruck. They
couldn’t for the life of them figure out what was going on, and kept
saying, “Aren’t these all Galileans? How come we’re hearing them
talk in our various mother tongues?
Parthians, Medes, and Elamites;
Visitors from Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia,
Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,
Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene;
Immigrants from Rome, both Jews and proselytes;
Even Cretans and Arabs!
“They’re speaking our languages, describing God’s mighty works!”
Their heads were spinning; they couldn’tmake head or tail of any
of it. They talked back and forth, confused: “What’s going on here?”
Others joked, “They’re drunk on cheap wine.”
Acts 2:1–13 MSG
1
I guided my late-model minivan into the crowded pizzeria parking
lot and found a spot between two German sports cars. I checked
my watch for the fifth time in as many minutes. I inspected my
hair in the rearview mirror, stepped out of the van, and gave
my middle-aged waistline a disapproving look.
This wasn’t a good idea. It has been twenty years since
Alice, Ron, and I last spent any time together. In Bible college,
we were inseparable: the three musketeers. We spent late
evenings at the all-night coffee shop with biology, Greek, theology,
journalism, education theory, and free refills. I was
studying to become a pastor. Alice had dreams of a Pulitzer in
journalism, and Ron wanted to become a teacher. Bleary-eyed,
we each pored over our study notes and chili fries, breaking
whenever a wave of giddiness caused by sleep deprivation overcame
one of us.
On Friday nights we rode the “L-train” to downtown
Chicago in search of Rush Street’s finest deep-dish pizza.
We daydreamed about the future of the church with wideeyed
idealism; we were going to change everything. Ron, Alice,
and I were the student leaders at our campus ministry. We
struggled to pull our classmates away from their books and
stereos long enough to attend our small meeting and listen to
our “Acts 2” dreams. We euphorically dreamed of a community
of Christ-followers who were “completely sold out for Jesus”
and who lived in constant community—praying, eating, and
worshipping together. Ron, Alice, and I were either brave or
foolish enough to believe that together we could rekindle the

2
DIVINE INTENTION
embers of this first-century church community and spark a
Spirit-filled revival in our own days.
That was twenty years ago. I wonder, all that spiritual power
we thought was running through us, was it nothing more than
postadolescent hubris? What if we were merely intoxicated on
youthful exuberance?
I gave the college-aged hostess my vitals. “Jonah Adams. Party
of three.”
I waited for Alice and Ron parked in a corner booth with one
eye on the door. How am I going to start this conversation? I’m
the pastor in the room. I had found Alice and Ron as a result of
idly Googling them on my laptop. The three of us started catching
up electronically. Alice had married an artist who built a studio
into the house so he could paint and watch their two children
while Alice worked in the district attorney’s office. Ron reported
that he was divorced but dating again. His only consolation from
the first marriage was that he and his ex-wife were unable to have
children. None of us had strayed too far from our alma mater;
however, the demands of each of our lives had caused us to drift
apart. I suggested we meet at our old haunt to catch up.
Ron and Alice entered together. I studied their faces and saw
signs of age. Ron sported white-walled temples. Alice’s hair, once
shoulder length, was now cropped in a practical bob.
Am I really going to go through with this? I have to tell
someone that I feel trapped by church life, but it’s not safe to
tell my congregation. My people drive dozens of miles every
Sunday to hear my carefully crafted sermons about how to live
the Jesus-shaped life under the power of the Spirit. If only my
Signs of Life
3
people knew what I was experiencing … I feel like Bilbo Baggins
in The Fellowship of the Ring when he tells Gandalf of the effects
the magic ring is having on him: “I feel like butter scraped over
too much bread.” I am stewarding the Word for God’s people,
and the task is turning me into vapor.
I wasn’t honest with Ron and Alice about why I wanted to get
together. They didn’t know I was about to unload my neediness
on them. I promised a night of laughter and old times, but now
I’m about to deliver a confession. And Ron and Alice are going to
confess too. I need to know that there’s really something to this
“abundant life.” My days are filled with the pressure of cranky
church members, sermon deadlines, unscheduled counseling
sessions, and contentious church meetings. I can’t remember the
last time I felt alive. Ron and Alice are going to confess, and I
need to hear that one of them is living out our Acts 2 dream of
life in the Spirit.
I rose to embrace them with a smile as they found the table.
We placed our order—one extra-large, deep-dish pizza—everything
on it.
I looked down and searched the face of my watch for an
excuse not to say anything. There was really no good way to start
this conversation, so … “Ron. Alice. I need to get something off
my chest …”

Divine Intention: by Larry Shallenberger Author: Larry Shallenberger
	Item#	Binding	isbn - 10	Price
	9780781443890	Paperback	078144389X	9.95
How God's Work in the Early Church Empowers Us Today:

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