Called to Be Church: The Book of Acts for a New Day
Overview
Biblical scholar Robert Wall and pastoral leader Anthony Robinson join forces to bring the Acts of the Apostles forward to our time as a resource for congregational renewal and transformation. Featuring both careful exegetical study and exciting contemporary exposition, the 15 chapters of Called to Be Church interpret the text of Acts as Scripture and then engage Acts for today’s church. This text dives into many of the most vexing issues faced by the church then and now—conflict resolution, pluralism and multiculturalism, sexuality, money, church and state, the role of the Holy Spirit, and much more.
Enhanced by study questions at the end of each chapter, Called to Be Church is well suited to small-group study. Pastors, lay readers, and students alike can find helpful and inspiring insights.
In the Logos edition, this volume is enhanced by amazing functionality. Important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Perform powerful searches to find exactly what you’re looking for. Take the discussion with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.
Want similar titles? Check out Eerdmans New Testament Studies Collection (23 vols.) for more!
- Interprets the text of Acts as Scripture and for today’s church
- Addresses many of the vexing issues faced by the church then and now
- Why Acts? Why Now?
- Introducing Acts to a Congregation of Faithful Readers
- Called to Be Church (Acts 1)
- Bold Witness: Preaching as If Something Is at Stake (Acts 2)
- Christian Community: Life and Death Together (Acts 4–5)
- Conflict Resolution and Decision Making within a Healthy Congregation (Acts 6)
- The Holy Spirit and the Life of the Church (Acts 8)
- Conversion and Transformation: The Case of Saul (Acts 9)
- The Gospel in a Multicultural World: The Case of Peter (Acts 10)
- The Challenge of Change in the Church (Acts 15)
- Resurrection Practices: The Marks of Discipleship (Acts 16)
- Spirituality: Its Lure and Danger (Acts 17)
- Leadership for the Church (Acts 20)
- The Uneasy Relationship of Church and State (Acts 25)
- Concluding Reflections
Top Highlights
“the first rule invites attention to the book’s origins: What circumstances occasioned the writing of Acts?” (Page 18)
“It is he who tells Saul what he must do, and his initial gesture of ‘laying his hands on Saul’ (v. 17) agrees with the Lord’s instruction for his healing (v. 12). Yet when read in context of Acts (see 6:6) and in combination with Ananias’s Christian greeting, ‘Brother Saul’ (see 1:15)—and the extraordinary exhortation for Saul ‘to be filled with the Holy Spirit’—Ananias’s gesture connotes the community’s confirmation of his salvation and vocation. While Ananias never tells Saul what he is to do, the reader recognizes that his idiom is pregnant with implicit information about Saul’s destiny: the immediate restoration of his sight and his baptism in the Holy Spirit symbolize God’s confirmation of his salvation and his prophetic vocation.” (Page 137)
“The core theme of American evangelicalism is the change in the personal lives of people through the transforming power and presence of Jesus Christ, the living Lord. We rejoice in this gospel of transformation; and yet we regret that too often it can remain merely personal and does not also find expression in relationship, in community, and in the public practice of faith.” (Page 6)
“Contrary to what many contemporary Westerners or Americans may imagine, the concern of Scripture is not the spiritual state of individuals, their holiness, or even their salvation. The focus is God’s ekklesia, God’s community taking form in the world, which even provides a new world and a new vision for those who share in it. From Genesis through Revelation, God is hard at the task of forming a people of God, Israel and a new Israel, and finally the body of Christ. John the Baptist begins his ministry by announcing, ‘God can raise up a people from these stones’ (Luke 3). Jesus sends his disciples out to make more disciples, to baptize and teach in every nation (Matt. 28).” (Pages 3–4)
This splendid book offers a readable, accessible, stimulating, and engaging reading of Acts for today’s students, preachers, and thoughtful laypeople. Anthony Robinson and Robert Wall illuminate passage after passage through the creative interplay between Wall’s lucid exegetical discussions and Robinson’s fresh reflections on hearing Acts for today’s church.
—Steve Walton, senior lecturer in Greek and New Testament studies and director of research, London School of Theology
The authors show the central place that the book of Acts occupies in the New Testament canon. They show that though Acts was originally Luke’s second volume, it played a far more important role as the pivot between the four Gospels and Paul’s letters . . . Following Irenaeus’ understanding of Acts, the authors sketch a view of ecumenism and catholicity that was not a uniformity of belief but a pluriformity of faith that reflected the high diversity among the early churches.
—James A. Sanders, professor emeritus, Claremont Graduate University
Robinson and Wall’s remarkably engaging interpretation of Acts ‘for a new day’ deftly combines expert scholarly exegesis with astute pastoral insight. Never settling for easy modern applications based on thin biblical analysis, the authors wrestle seriously with the book of Acts as living Scripture for today’s church and a prime resource for ecclesial renewal. This work represents a model bridging of biblical and contemporary horizons—an ideal text for seminary and Christian education classes.
—F. Scott Spencer, professor of New Testament, Baptist Theological Seminary
- Title: Called to Be Church: The Book of Acts for a New Day
- Authors: Robert W. Wall, Anthony B. Robinson
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Print Publication Date: 2006
- Logos Release Date: 2014
- Pages: 298
- Era: era:Contemporary
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Bible. N.T. Acts › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Church › Biblical teaching
- ISBNs: 9780802860651, 0802860656
- Resource ID: LLS:CALLEDTOBECHURCH
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T22:28:52Z
Robert W. Wall is the Paul T. Walls Professor of Scripture and Wesleyan Studies at Seattle Pacific University. In addition to his commentary on Revelation, he has authored numerous journal articles and several books, including commentaries on Colossians/Philemon, James, Acts, and the Pastoral Epistles.
Anthony B. Robinson travels throughout North America as a speaker, teacher, preacher, consultant, and coach, serving congregations and their leaders. He is also president of the Seattle-based Congregational Leadership Northwest and an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. His other books include the award-winning What’s Theology Got to Do with It? and Stewardship for Vital Congregations.
