ArticleBlog | Acts: then and now What would it look like for the church to be unleashed
Acts: then and now What would it look like for the church to be unleashed
Author: Andy PeckPost Date: 16.06.21
When we wrote our book Unleashed (published April 2020), we had no idea that coronavirus would drive us out of church buildings and into lockdown. Nor did we realise that the impact of the virus in the UK would cause many believers to reassess how they ‘do’ church and to ask, ‘What is really important to my faith?’ Many of us subconsciously asked ourselves ‘Do we really love Jesus and want to live for him with everything?’ Because here was a moment to decide if our lukewarm faith would burn hotter or grow dimmer.
Writing Unleashed was a journey for us back to the book of Acts: to ‘stand at the crossroads and look; ask the Lord for the ancient path, where the good way is and walk in it – there you will find rest for your souls’ [Jeremiah 6:16]. It was a deep sense that the new wine skin [Luke 5:37-38] would be found in examining the old and choosing a new way of walking. Isaiah 43:18-19 seemed to be echoing around us: ‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?’
Examining the narrative of Acts and the experience of the early apostles, and reflecting in prayer, ignited and deepened a hunger in us for the church to look radically different going forwards. The arrival of Covid seemed to provide an opportunity to see the removal of obstacles to enable the new wine to flow. Little did any of us realise this would involve such an upheaval of lives, shifting of ministries and movement in the structures. We are not convinced we have seen the last of these waves but remain so hopeful that we are beginning to see the early signs of a mighty move of our King in the midst of it.
