The first retelling of the story of Jesus and the disciples took place on the day of Pentecost, and Peter was the storyteller. This second retelling occurs before a much more hostile audience, and the storyteller is Stephen, who was unknown to us, though present, on Pentecost. The church has raised up new storytellers for … Continue reading Acts 7:1-60 The Second Retelling
Every group, every family, every community has traditions, many of which are unspoken, unacknowledged even by the group that adheres to them, especially if they’ve never been articulated. A friend of mine once used the example of a new spouse marrying into a family with several children. The tradition of the house on Christmas morning … Continue reading Acts 6:8-15 Changing the Customs
Already there were two social identities at odd with each other within the community of the disciples, those who identify as Hebrews and those who identify as Hellenists. Both these groups were entirely comprised of Jews, but the Hellenists came from other places than Israel. They, or their parents, had been living in the diaspora, … Continue reading Acts 6:1-7 The First Order of Ministry
I’ve talked about control many times while writing this blog, and now I think it’s time to share something I was given near the beginning of my training as a Spiritual Director in the Wellstreams Program here in Columbus. Many of the handouts we received had been photocopied many times, some of them probably from … Continue reading Acts 5:27-42 Gamaliel’s Freedom
The contemporary spiritual world is full of talk about shadows. This is due to the influence of Carl Jung, who talked about shadows as those parts of ourselves that we want to keep hidden, both from our neighbors and God, but most of all from ourselves. When we feel a strong dislike for someone and … Continue reading Acts 5:12-26 Peter’s Shadow
KPB Stevens 