When I was in university, I was a part of the first aid team, and eventually became its director.  Our team responded to ambulance calls on campus, and worked special events.  We had earned the university’s trust over the years, and although we had oversight from about three different groups, for the most part we operated independently.

We had long dreamt of getting a defibrillator, and they had just come down in price to the point where we could make it happen.  The technology of public access defibrillators was still fairly new and unknown to a lot of people, but we were going to be pioneers.

Well, the moment we started moving ahead, the politics began.  The university was concerned that our team having one in the school year meant they’d be liable during the summer when ours wasn’t available.  EHS was concerned because we would most likely be using it on a staff or faculty member, since they were higher risk for cardiac problems.  The athletic department was worried they would lose face by not having one first.  All these groups started arguing about us, and sometimes we didn’t even know about it.

We just wanted to buy a device that might save some lives.

Well, the Christian movement was all about saving people as well, and met up with its own share of politics.

This week we’ll see three stories, that all happened in a row in the Book of Acts, that show the Christian movement interacting with different kinds of power groups, including the wealthy, the influential and the middle man.  Each had their own vested interests. Some overcame those interests and opened themselves to a relationship with God, others simply couldn’t sacrifice their interests.

Question: What good things have you tried to do, but found they were mired in special interests and politics?

Meeting with a Group?  Your discussion questions are in this week’s Group Study Guide

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