Bold Witness Follows Barriers, Bishop Holcomb Says on Atlanta Bishop’s Podcast

The cultural upheaval and ideological division that challenge the spread of Christ’s gospel today resemble those from the early days of Christianity. Geography, ethnicity, gender, wealth and language have presented obstacles for Christians since the days of the book of Acts, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Justin S. Holcomb, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida, said in a recent edition of the Rt. Rev. Rob Wright’s “For People” podcast.

However, as Bishop Holcomb told Bishop Wright, who heads the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, a practical way forward for the church does exist. It includes witness over winning, promise over ministerial pressure and trust that the Holy Spirit will always have the final say in the church’s story.

“In Acts, there are a variety of barriers and other headwinds,” Bishop Holcomb said. “You have demonic stuff; you have worldly powers; you have persecution; you have government opposition, unbelief and internal disunity. There are some snakes involved, and there is a shipwreck involved. There is a hot mess.”

The hurdles designed by the enemy to bury the church only clarify its mission, and he said the book of Acts reveals a pattern in which a fresh witness to Jesus follows every barrier.

“One-third of the dialogue in Acts is speeches, and they do one irreducible thing over and over again,” Bishop Holcomb said. “They would be witnesses to the person and work of Jesus Christ, especially to his death and resurrection. For Christians, our voice shouldn’t be co-opted. It doesn’t need to be defensive, doesn’t need to be managerial, doesn’t even need to be therapeutic. It needs to be proclamation and witness to another kingdom.”

Much of the cultural division in America today can be attributed to political ideology, he explained. “Philosophy espoused by political parties has contributed to an intense, ongoing conflict over the nation’s core values, identity and morality. The division continues to widen daily, and it has even infiltrated the walls – and the hearts of people – in Christ’s Church.

This may be especially true in the Diocese of Central Florida, Bishop Holcomb said, where multiple ethnic groups are prevalent.

“We’re actually one of the most diverse linguistic and cultural places in the country,” he said. “We have a pretty good idea of what diversity looks like. We’ve got blue and purple, blue and red all over the place, like most churches do.”

But, Bishop Holcomb added, Christians should be of good courage because of the words in Acts.

“We’ve seen this before,” he said. “In Acts, there is a barrier, and then there is a speech about Jesus, King Jesus, Messiah. Then there’s usually a phrase that says, ‘and the Holy Spirit added hundreds to the church that day,’ or ‘thousands to the church that day.’ When we are weak, he is strong. That principle of reality means all of these barriers actually don’t thwart the expansion of the kingdom of God but rather fuel it. Maybe in this moment, we need to have our eyes wide open. It’s not a moment of despair or fear, but maybe it’s through-the-roof encouragement. The Lord seems to be doing something pretty encouraging and special right now.”

The Central Florida bishop’s challenge to God’s children amid today’s cultural catastrophe and chaos was simple and clear: To have the assurance that the main voice of the Bible is a voice of promise.

“God is a promise-making God and a promise-keeping God,” Bishop Holcomb told Bishop Wright. “That’s why I like being a bishop. I go do confirmations and I’m pointing to the promises of baptism. In our tradition, we say you’re ‘sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own forever.’ I stand there every Sunday, and I say that every one of these people is a testimony of God’s faithfulness to them and to us. God is faithful. God makes promises, and it’s not just wish fulfillment. These are solid promises.”