The television show Heroes has a new twist on the old "superhero' genre " it shows very ordinary people doing quite extraordinary things. Ordinary people like a single mother, police patrolman, a nurse and a high-school cheerleader are somehow going to be involved in saving the world.
The new Bible studies written by the Bishop of North West Australia, David Mulready " God's Fellow Workers " teach us that this theme of ordinary people doing extraordinary things is not limited to the realm of fiction.
We are reminded that not all of God's fellow workers are like Peter, Paul or James, but that God uses ordinary people to bring about his great purpose for the world.
These are Lenten studies, written to be used during the six weeks leading up to Easter. However, they would be of great value at any time of the year. The lack of leader's notes means that it is not quite clear how the studies could best be used, but they seem designed such that each member of a church Bible study group will read and reflect daily and then meet weekly to discuss what they have learnt.
Using the theme of "God's Fellow Workers', Mulready helps us explore the church at Philippi, a church notable for partnering the apostle Paul in the work of the gospel. We then meet numerous other people mentioned in the Bible for their connection to this work. Some are good such as Jason, Lydia, Onesimus and Phoebe " these really are the lesser-known heroes of the faith " but some are bad and actually hurt the progress of the gospel, such as Demas, Diotrephes, Euodia and Syntyche.
These are not just character studies though. Rather Mulready helps us understand the way that each individual played a small yet vital role in God's great mission of salvation for the world through the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus. Through this, he encourages us to play our part in this great mission.
These studies would be of particular usefulness to ministers or Bible study group leaders wanting to help the people under their care move from being consumers of the gospel to fellow-workers, from being pew-warmers to partners.
Stephen Bell
