Transforming Acts. Bruce G. Epperly

faithful to the Way of Jesus involves walking the talk and talking the walk. What we believe shapes our behavior, but our beliefs are made flesh in everyday life. The love of God is not just a theological doctrine, but the inspiration to a life of reconciliation and healing. Believing that God speaks through young and old, male and female, slave and free, challenges us to honor and respect the rich diversity of human experience. Affirming that God is the reality in whom we live and move and have our being inspires us to become God’s partners in healing the earth.

      As a matter of personal reflection, consider the following: If someone were to ask you, “What are your deepest beliefs?” how would you respond? What beliefs or doctrines most shape your understanding of God, the world, humankind, the meaning of life, and the afterlife?

      Acts of the Apostles is clear that doctrines are symbiotically related to behavior. Our doctrines emerge from spirit-centered experiences. Our experiences are clarified by our beliefs and take shape in practical application. Accordingly, what behaviors might your beliefs inspire in the areas of:

       Personal stewardship

       Care of family and children

       Marriage and other significant relationships

       Community involvement

       Political involvement

       Care of the Earth

       Response to diverse opinions

       Ways we respond to personal or global conflict (violence, reconciliation, consensus, peace-seeking balanced by appropriate protection).

       Involvement in justice issues – first-hand support of vulnerable people and/or political involvement to achieve a social order more reflective of Jesus’ values.

      1 Brian McLaren, A New Kind of Christianity (San Francisco: Harper One, 2011).

      2 John Shelby Spong, Christianity Must Change or Die: A Bishop Speaks to Believers in Exile (San Francisco: HarperOne, 2009).

      3 John B. Cobb, Christ in a Pluralistic Age (Westminster/John Knox, 1975).

      4 For an excellent summary and analysis of the current religious situation, see Diana Butler Bass, Christianity After Religion: The End of the Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening (San Francisco: HarperOne, 2012).

      5 Gabe Lyons and David Kinnamon, UnChristian: What a New Generation Thinks of Christianity and Why it Really Matters (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2007).

      6 Gerald May, The Awakened Heart: Opening Yourself to the Love You Need (San Francisco: HarperSan Francisco, 1991).

      7 Rhonda Byrne, The Secret (New York:Atria Books/Beyond Words, 2006).