This week, we will begin reading the final chapter of the book of Acts together. For the last nine months, Acts has challenged, inspired, changed, and delighted us. But I am most excited to see how God’s Spirit will use this Scripture to launch us toward a greater present-day expression of that first-century adventure.

In January, we shared an audacious vision to disciple 1% of our county and the surrounding area. Our hope for this year—the “Dream for ‘17”—is to walk with at least 750 of you toward greater clarity and confidence in your calling from God. Some of you are hearing the call to pastor a parish in your neighborhood. Others aim to partner with schools and parents to reach the next generation. And others will pioneer across cultures and communities to engage people of all nations and ethnicities. Along the way, we have shared tools to guide your reflections, and this Sunday we open three weeks of simple pop-up groups where you can share and process what you’ve been learning.

In Acts 28, Paul’s journey to Rome finally reaches its conclusion. But our journey is just beginning. What does it mean to disciple 1%? What does it mean to pastor a parish? And how can each of us join in the surprisingly simple work of changing the world?

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SEE IT // BE IT

(WEEKLY COMMUNITY GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE)

DATE: April 23, 2017 // Title: Pastors for Every Parish

Scripture:: Acts 28:7-17

ARRIVAL / SOCIAL TIME 15-20 minutes
Spend the first 15 minutes or so of your time together catching up and socializing with one another. Also find time to catch up together on how the assignments from last week turned out.

SERMON REVIEW 5-10 minutes

What does it mean to “live the dream”? All kinds of people in all kinds of places have ideas of what it looks like to live the good life—the life that they and others dream of. But what does it mean to live God’s dream? Living God’s dream is about becoming who God has intended you to be and doing what God has called you to do. This begins to happen as we follow Jesus well. And this is exactly the kind of thing that we are aiming for with our “Dream for 2017.” In this vision, we are calling out our congregation so that we may reach the Neighborhoods, Nations, and Next Generation by becoming Pastors (to reach the neighborhoods), Pioneers (to reach the nations), and Partners (to reach the next generation). This week we saw Paul take responsibility for the Lord and the good of the kingdom in whatever place he found himself. In other words, wherever Paul was, he considered that place his parish. His congregation became simply whatever neighborhood or network in which he found himself. The great news, however, is that this is not something that only Paul did; it is what all believers did. Throughout the book of Acts there are countless stories of unknown people living in this same way. And it is something we can do, too

THE MAIN THOUGHT  Keep this in mind as you facilitate discussion

A pastor is a simply a shepherd who takes responsibility for whatever place he or she finds himself/herself and chooses to treat it like their parish.

SEE IT – Questions 10-15 minutes
Picture  (What is the story saying?)What does it mean to live the dream? Where have you heard that phrase used? What kinds of things come to your mind when someone says he or she is “living the dream”? What do you think it means to live God’s dream with your life? How does following Jesus well play a part of that? What does becoming a “pastor of a parish” have to do with that?

Mirror (Where am I in the story?) How did Paul live God’s dream with his life? How did Paul see his place as his parish? How did he pastor that place? Where is your place right now (somewhere you live, work or play)? What do you think it might look like to take responsibility for that place for the good of the kingdom? What keeps you from pastoring or shepherding that place?

Window (How does the story change how I see those around me?) What would it look like if everyone lived like they were a pastor (not the professional kind of pastor of a church—but simply a shepherd who used their influence for the good of the kingdom wherever he or she lives, works or plays)? How do you think that would affect our neighborhoods? What do you think the difference is between inviting people to church and becoming the church for people in your neighborhood? What does it look like for the church become more like Airbnb than the Hyatt?

BE IT – Practice
Change UP // Name Your Place

Take a moment to name your place (or places) together. Call out and write down the different places your group lives, works, and plays. Then encourage each person to pick one of these places to begin to pray for.

Change IN //  Name God’s Dream

Take a moment to think about one of the places you listed from the Change UP exercise. Ask these questions together: “What do think God’s dream is for this place?” “What could that place look like five years from now if you took responsibility for God’s dream in that place?” Name at least 10 characteristics that describe God’s dream being lived out in that place.

Change OUT // Name Your Part

Jon challenged all of us this week to see ourselves as “pastors” (Airbnb vs. Hyatt). Have each person identify two changes that would need to happen in their life personally if our church was going to release thousands of Airbnbs vs. building one Hyatt. Invite conversation around how this change might happen, and what it might look like.

CLOSING PRAYER 5 minutes
Take a few minutes to gather any prayer requests and pray for each other to SEE IT and BE IT this week.