With Katy flying home from Rome, Luke sits down one-on-one with Dr. Dennis Wiles to catch up on a busy fall of travel to Canada and Assisi, Italy. Together they work through Acts 16 and the Macedonian call, and ask how a church holds onto its skill, strategy and systems while still depending on the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

In this episode

• Fall recap: the evangelism sermon series, three guest evangelists, and eight weeks of churchwide Sunday school study in the book of Jonah.
• Acts 16 and the Macedonian call: the Spirit closes the way to Asia and Bithynia, Paul's vision at Troas, and the gospel crossing into Europe in the reverse direction of Alexander the Great.
• The Spirit gets us in the ballpark: Paul goes looking for a Macedonian man and a synagogue, and instead finds Lydia and a group of God-fearing women praying by the river.
• The bit players matter: Silas the prophet, Euodia and Syntyche, and John Mark's restoration after his split from Paul.
• Lessons from Canada and Europe: in post-Christian settings, church leaders describe a growing dependence on the Spirit, including stories of healing and of people flourishing in the middle of suffering.
• An organism, not just an organization: the complexity of ministry at First Baptist Arlington, from the Wade Building and printing company to the child development center, counseling center and global work.
• Discerning the Spirit's voice: Luke's "ABCs" for testing a sense of leading.

Key takeaway

God gives us skill, strategy and systems, and we shouldn't abandon them. But we won't work our way into a new move of God on ability alone. Following the Spirit means being willing to be wrong, taking the risk anyway, and staying alert for when He calls us beyond our plans.

The ABCs of discernment

When you sense the Spirit leading you to do something, ask:

1. Affirming: Does it encourage or build up other people?
2. Biblical: Will it help you or someone else love God and love neighbor more?
3. Christ-like: Is this something Jesus would do?

If the answer is no, check with someone wiser before acting.

Mentioned in this episode

• Acts 16:6–15; Acts 15:36–41; Philippians 4:2–3; 2 Timothy 4:11
• Guest evangelists: Raphael Anzenberger, Ozzie Jones (Texas Baptists), Gary Stidham
• Jonah study curriculum by Dennis Tucker (Truett Seminary)
• Commentators: Craig Keener, John Stott, Patrick Schreiner
• Missionaries: David Livingstone, William Carey, Adoniram Judson
• Mission partners: TMS Global, Canadian Baptist Ministries, Restore Hope
• Transforming the Bay with Christ (San Francisco)
• The Chosen

Subscribe on your podcast app of choice or visit fbca.org to learn more.