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This book offers a brief introduction to the Acts of the Apostles. Acts is a substantial book, sitting right in the middle of the New Testament, looking back to the four Gospels and ahead to the mission of the early church. It provides a framework for our understanding of the letters; but it does more than that. It offers a sophisticated and nuanced view of what it means to think of the gospel of Jesus, Israel's Messiah, going out into the world over which Israel's Messiah claims the status of Lord.

It can take hours, weeks, months, maybe even years for people to trust the witness of a Jesus-follower, and that witness can be blown in a moment. It can be blown with one social media post, a negative encounter, or an insensitive comment. Think of COREOLOGY as highway strips. Dozens of voices in our culture are fighting for our attention, affection, and allegiance. As Kingdom people, any form of drifting can lead to destruction. Our core—the center of who we are—is the Kingship of Jesus Christ.

At the end of his earthly ministry, Jesus commissioned his followers to embrace a way of life making disciples. He extends that mission to us―a way of life rooted in relationship, focused on mutual growth, intentionality, and transformation as we follow Jesus together. Sadly, the activities and events that dominate many churches too often become an end in themselves and actually distract from discipleship. The Great Commission drifts out of focus of the whole church and becomes outsourced to a spiritual elite.

Becoming a Future-Ready Church is a blueprint to guide you through eight critical shifts to help lead your church into the future with wisdom and hope. It describes several major converging trends that will greatly impact the church in America over the next few decades: the Great Resignation of Boomer leaders from churches, the shrinking percentage of Christians in America, and the change in felt needs among rising generations shaped heavily by anxiety, skepticism, and fragmentation.