Do you know a "backseat driver"? It’s a person who sits in the backseat telling the person in the driver’s seat how they should be driving – slow down, turn here, go faster. A person with a reputation of being a “backseat driver” means they like to control something that is supposed to be controlled by another person. Well, in Acts 12 we find a “backseat driver” who thought he was in ultimate control. Unfortunately, this “I’m kind of a big deal” leader and his overly confident attitude led to his downfall.

Watching the Guinness World Records’ longest domino wall fall is pretty impressive. Initiated by the fall of the first domino, 42,173 more dominoes twist and turn 131 feet for 6 minutes and 12 seconds until the final domino falls. We often refer to this as the domino effect because “one event initiates a succession of similar events” (MWD). In Acts 10 we see a similar effect when one man’s decision leads to many other decisions.

If you were responsible for growing a business, organization, or team, what would you do? Leadership and growth experts would encourage you to focus on issues related to staff morale, customer needs, and social media. However, the growth and expansion of the Early Church happened in an unexpected way. On Sunday, we will look together to see what led to the growth and expansion of the Early Church and what we can learn from their example.

Have you ever said “no”, so that someone else could say “yes”? This question was recently posed to a group of leaders, and it reminded me of the story in Acts 6. In this chapter, conflict was rising within the early church and to address it, one group of individuals said “no” so that another group of individuals could say “yes”. The results were remarkable! I’m excited to study this passage with you.

Interruptions. We’ve all experienced them, but what if interruptions turned into something else? What if interruptions became opportunities? This is what happens in Acts 3 when two of Jesus’ followers are stopped by a man on their way to a prayer meeting. What seemed like an interruption turned into an introduction for spiritual maturity and much more.