Learning From Paul 1

"Paul took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyranus. This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord" Acts 19:9,10

Paul is perhaps the greatest missionary the church has ever seen. He was responsible for planting and establishing numerous churches as well as leaving behind letters that continue to shape our understanding of God and guide how we should be as churches. Whenever Paul travelled around different cities he usually followed what seems like a method that we can learn from today.

Firstly, he went to the places where spiritual people hung out. For the most part that meant he would go to the Synagogue in that city. The Synagogue was a great place for him to go to as it gave him the opportunity to preach Jesus and debate with the Rabbis there. However, when that route wasn't possible he went to other places like the Lecture Hall belonging to Tyrannus or the Areopagus in Athens (Acts 17) or a river were people gathered to pray and debate (Acts 1611ff). These are all places were people were spiritually open and had an interest in religious things. There in these places he would preach, debate and argue, heal the sick and begin to build a church.

Today it's not that easy to find gatherings of spiritually open people apart from in Church, which kind of defeats the object! But it isn't hard to find places where people gather more generally and usually in those places you will find people who are spiritually open. It could be in the staff room at work, the pub, the shopping centre. The thing is, every reason why people gather usually has some sort of spiritual connection. The staff room is the place of fellowship where relationships are built. The pub can be the place of debates and discussions or a place to drown out the hurt and pain. Shopping is according to many sociologists is the new religion, most people shop in the big shopping centres more for the experience than the actual shopping. Our issue isn't finding places where people gather but finding ways of bringing Jesus into those places and there are no easy answers to that question.

When I was working for the Halifax Bank there were two places where people gathered. In my imaturity as a Christian I avoided both really most of the time. During the day it was the staff room were people gathered, while I usually went to the Christian coffee shop down the road. After work it was the pub, but I was usually too busy going to christian groups to go there. Looking back I remember how 'spiritual' I felt at those times, but now I recognise how fear was paralysing me in the mission field that God had placed me.

Why not spend some time today thinking about where you live, work or play and ask yourself 'where are people gathering?' Are you there in those times and places or are you too busy being spiritual instead of being a missionary?