…They said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” Acts 17:19-20

Do you remember the first time you saw a computer, or when you switched from a flip phone to your first smart phone? If you do, you’re probably old enough to think TikTok is too complicated to learn. Most of us eventually trade innovation for consistency. Yet without innovation, many things become stagnant. We resist change because it forces us to examine things we’d stopped thinking about.

Imagine, for a moment, discipleship to Jesus as a creative business venture. Brainstorm with a list or drawing. What should your discipleship to Jesus provide to others? Can it be simplified? What features will you include? Can you identify bugs in the previous model? How do you want your venture to grow?

Next, run some experiments. The earliest disciples did this by listening to a prophecy from the Holy Spirit and deciding to send money to strangers, fellow believers living in another city (Acts 11:27-30), laying ancient groundwork for what we might call Venmo mutual-aid. In Athens, Paul noticed a shrine to an Unknown God and used that as an opportunity to explain to the local philosophers who the One true God was (Acts 17:22-34). And, throughout the Bible book of Acts, the Holy Spirit encouraged the disciples to try things they had never done before. Sometimes experiments surprise us, but we get to follow in this biblical tradition of innovation led by the Holy Spirit.

You can ask the Holy Spirit for fresh, innovative ways to help you follow Jesus!

 

Resource reading: Acts 11:1-30