Acts 15:1-29

My family and I have lived in lots of different places, and that means we’ve attended lots of different churches. In each church there have been business meetings, and we’ve been privy to lots of issues, large and small, that have come before their congregations. A few that stand out:

• Color of the carpet/chairs/pews (This one has come up in almost every single church we’ve attended!)
• Real flowers vs. fake arrangements in the sanctuary
• One Sunday morning service vs. two
• Worship music styles (The quintessential issue of the church! Ha!)

Each of the above issues was championed by a passionate church member, and each issue was met with equally passionate opposition. A few of these issues raged in business meetings for months until some form of resolution was reached, and in the process relationships were damaged. For what? The color of the carpet is not essential to salvation, and the style of worship music and time of the service we prefer doesn’t make one more holy than anyone else. 

Being part of any family means recognizing and respecting each other’s differences, and the family of God is no different. We each have our own “passion projects,” don’t we? I might really enjoy the look and aroma of freshly cut flowers, but someone else might appreciate the longevity and cost effectiveness of fake arrangements. I might especially feel God’s presence when I listen to hymns, but someone else might feel the same way about more contemporary worship music. 

The early church quickly became bogged down in an issue that was primary to one group but a stumbling block to another. Thanks be to the one that recorded the minutes of that first business meeting, so we of the modern church could have a template for conflict resolution! Each side of the argument was represented (“After much discussion” v7), and ultimately it was decided new members of the church need not concern themselves with the secondary issue (v19,20). Handled differently, this situation very easily could have resulted in the breakdown of the early church, and where would be today if that had happened? 

The Gospel must always remain our core passion even as we champion our “passion projects.” How can we do our part to patiently participate in the processes and discussions of secondary issues while working toward true unity of the church?

Thank you, God, for the diversity of our church family. Help me show love to my church family by listening to all sides of issues brought before us, even as I approach my brothers and sisters in Christ with my passion projects. Amen.