“Affirming Acts explores how an evangelical church was transformed through studying the book of Acts and encountering queer Christians—displaying how the same Spirit who was at work in the early church to overcome divisions is still at work to overcome barriers to the full affirmation of queer Christians in the church today. ”
In 2018–19, I preached through the book of Acts at Keller Park Church (KPC) in South Bend, Indiana. Through our study, we saw how the early church encountered the Spirit through unexpected people such as an Ethiopian eunuch and a Roman centurion. Following the Spirit led the early church into contested spaces, culminating in the Jerusalem Council where they discerned together that the Spirit was transforming the church into a place that included gentiles as well as Jews.
Little did we know at the time that KPC was about to undergo a similar transformation through our encounters with queer Christians who witnessed to the Spirit’s work in their lives. As with the early church, so too with KPC, following the lead of the Spirit meant transforming into a church that affirmed queer Christians.
The title of this project, Affirming Acts, has a double meaning: first, this project is about affirming the message of the book of Acts—that God is pouring out the Spirit on all people so they will prophesy; second, this project is about how the transformative message of Acts, along with encounters with queer Christians, can lead churches like KPC to take concrete affirming acts that increase the competency of their welcome to all people, repair the harms done to queer Christians, and help to heal divisions within the church.
To accomplish this dual purpose, I will study recent scholarship on the book of Acts to develop a faithful biblical hermeneutic for inclusion and will interview congregants about their experiences of reading Acts and discerning our commitments together—all with the goal of publishing a book with a Christian trade publisher.