The Voice of Acts: The Dust Off Their Feet: Lessons from the First Church [Paperback]

Chris Seay (Author)

Book Description

Series: Voice | Publication Date: October 17, 2006

In the entire Book of Acts of The Voice Scripture project, the Jerusalem church is forced to expand against its will. This book applies their story to the emerging church of today. It features a retelling of Acts by Brian McLaren and commentary by Chris Seay.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson; 1 edition (October 17, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0529123460
• ISBN-13: 978-0529123466
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #658,753 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #77 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Reference > Criticism & Interpretation

More About the Author

Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, pastor, and networker among innovative Christian leaders, thinkers, and activists. His groundbreaking books include A New Kind of Christian, A Generous Orthodoxy, The Secret Message of Jesus, and Everything Must Change. Named by Time magazine as one of America's top twenty-five evangelicals, McLaren has appeared on Nightline and Larry King Live, and has been covered by The Washington Post and the New York Times.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great retelling of the story of Acts & a great resource!!!!, October 28, 2006

By 

Matthew J. Wilson (Newark, DE United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Voice of Acts: The Dust Off Their Feet: Lessons from the First Church (Paperback)

This is the second project by "The Voice" Scripture Project. [..]

I really like the layout of this book even better then The Last Eyewitness. It reminds me of a dramatic reading of the Bible that my dad has on CD. They have the "characters" clearly marked in the passages versus when the narrator/author (Luke) is speaking. This gives a great flow to the idea of this being a story that you would read as if you were reading something from your past history in a historical book (hmm...isn't that an interesting concept for the Bible...). Brian McLaren does a great job of interpreting the scripture to make this great feel of the narrative. Chris Seay's "commentary" on passages is very insightful. Even with in the first chapter of Acts, both of them really brought to the forefront the importance of the working of the Spirit at that moment of Jesus going back to heaven. It really brought to life for me the importance of the Spirit in the life of the church and in the lives of followers of God through Jesus. Even before the Spirit was given in chapter 2, the disciples relied on the leading of God in their lives (which gave great need for thought and prayer--look at the example we have in Acts of them "drawing straws).

After this rewriting and passage commentary by Seay and McLaren, Section 2 contains some articles on historical and background information on the book of Acts by Robert Creech, Greg Garrett, Tim Keel, Chuck Smith, Jr., Andrew Jones, and David Capes. This gives even more background information from outside the reading of Scripture (which I think gives a more complete view for the reader of the context of what is going on in Acts).

Then in Section 3, Creech, Evan Lauer, and Jones, look at taking this first century examples and story and discussing steps forward for the church in the 21st century as one walks away from the stories of Acts. This is a very insightful section and a great tool and resource to continue the conversation after this reading is done. Really this section helps with the processing of the information as you continue on. One of the great ideas is looking at the idea of Chapter 29...basically how the story continue on and how do we move away from the stories here and continue the story in our time in our culture. Within this section as well they give a real life case study of a church walking away from the story of Acts and the story of the growth of this community.

I gave rave reviews for The Last Eyewitness but I have to say that this is even a better resource. The flow of the narrative telling of the Acts story is wonderful. It really was brought to life for me and had me turning the page one right after the other...it was hard to put down. The commentaries within the passages are insightful but even more then that help to shape the readings even more. They compliment the stories well. I personally feel this is a great resource because there are some tools that help you to continue the conversation even after reading this. They lead you to continue to think about the writings and stories in Acts and bring in the idea of looking at the background of the stories and bringing it into our conversation here in the 21st century. I would say this is a great read for anyone looking to dive into scripture. I would give this to a person who has read the Bible 100 times or someone who has never read the Bible. The resource sections are great for people in any walk of life but also helpful for people heavily involved in ministry (whether full time or in leadership or whatever). There is a great flow to this book that I really enjoyed and making the Scriptures come to life but yet also giving you something to think about as you walk away. I would HIGHLY recommend this resource!!!!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly Beautiful, December 5, 2006

By 

Adam Ellis "I Believe In A Better Way..." (North Augusta, SC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Voice of Acts: The Dust Off Their Feet: Lessons from the First Church (Paperback)

Wow! I am a big fan of this series. I really liked the first book in this series, The Last Eyewitness: The Final Week (Voice). I absolutely love this book. Brian McLaren's masterful translation of Acts is beautiful and poignant. I actually teared up as Stephen was being stoned and asked God to forgive his killers. In addition, Chris Seay adds insightful commentary throughout the text. The second section incudes several chapters by theologians and practicioners that give historical and cultural context to the scripture and even suggest how we as the church might find new life and direction in this powerful section of God's Word. Seriously, get this book.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Footprints in the dust from McLaren and Chris Seay..., December 4, 2006

By 

Chaplain Stephen (Little Rock, AR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Voice of Acts: The Dust Off Their Feet: Lessons from the First Church (Paperback)

This is a helpful resource that offers both reading enjoyment and an in-depth study of the book of Acts. It was crafted by scholars and artists to be accessible to people of every level of intellectual and spiritual development. Many thanks to the Papa Bear of Emergent, Brian McLaren, for his work on the translation, and to Chris Seay for editing such a powerful volume. Job well done.

- S.