When Conflicts Arise; Acts 5-7

May the mumbling commence!

Even in the “Christian Dream”, there will be problems and conflicts.  It is part of the human condition.  Was this first community of followers of Christ’s way without fault?  Hardly!  Read from Acts chapter six:

About this time, when the number of disciples was continually increasing, the Greeks complained that in the daily distribution of food the Hebrew widows were being given preferential treatment.

The twelve summoned the whole body of the disciples together and said, "It is not right that we should have to neglect preaching the Word of God in order to look after the accounts. You, our brothers, must look round and pick out from your number seven men of good reputation who are both practical and spiritually-minded and we will put them in charge of this matter. Then we shall devote ourselves whole-heartedly to prayer and the ministry of the Word."

This brief speech met with unanimous approval and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochurus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch who had previously been a convert to the Jewish faith. They brought these men before the apostles, and they, after prayer, laid their hands upon them.

So the Word of God gained more and more ground. The number of disciples in Jerusalem very greatly increased, while a considerable proportion of the priesthood accepted the faith. (Verses 1-7)

Yes, there will be reasons to complain.  The dispensation of food was not being fairly distributed to the widows.  Preferential treatment was forbidden.  Something had to be done.

But the twelve had their plates full – teaching and preaching and healing and baptizing.  They would be absorbed in their daily activities.  There was no time for this interruption.

But the twelve stopped and made time.  They gathered the whole body of disciples together.  They explained their situation and God’s calling on their lives.  Then they suggested that a committee be formed to take care of making the food distribution fair.  The committee would consist of people who are practical, spiritually-minded and of good reputation.

Though the twelve offered a solution, they did not make the decision.  They offered the suggestion to the community, and the community came to a consensus.  What a sight to behold!  The people talked among themselves despite division. 

The people compromised.  The Greek people probably wanted the twelve to see to this need.  The twelve most likely begrudged the time lost to their God-given calling.  People were put forward as having the desired skills and fiber.  At least some of these people were Greek.

Then, after these men were chosen, they had the hands of the twelve laid upon them to show the community that authority was being passed on from the twelve apostles to the seven deacons.  In this compromise and consensus and unity, the ground for a continually growing community was founded.

We need to learn from this passage.  We learn that we need a Christian community where there is open space for people to voice their complaints.  We learn that decisions should be made by consensus whenever possible.  We learn that the community must have a public way of conferring authority upon leaders that keeps leaders firmly under the umbrella of God’s ultimate power and authority.

May it be so in our midst.

Amen.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out