Meeting lessons from the Jerusalem Council

The apostles and the elders did what every good leadership team would do in a circumstance like this, they met.

Verse 6 tells us that the leaders convened a special meeting to “consider the matter”

The NIV bible uses the phrase “After much discussion…” It was more intense than a discussion, most translations use the term “debate.”

Testimonies were introduced. First, Peter. He takes the floor and tells the story that he had previously related to many of the people in this room, a story told in detail in Acts 11. It’s a two-part story, first of his vision in Joppa, showing that he was no longer able to distinguish between ritually clean and unclean foods. Going forward, he could feel free to eat with the Gentiles. The second part was the conversion of the Roman Centurion named Cornelius. This was a massive idea; it was very much a part of the Acts 15 story.

When Peter sits down, the room is silent, and they listen to Barnabas and Paul share what God had been doing among the Gentiles once again. And then James speaks. He summarises Peter’s comments, and he quotes the Old Testament prophet, Amos. He’s highlighting the fact that there’s agreement between what God has done through his apostles and what He has said through His prophets.

A decision was reached, James continued: “It is my judgement…” And then he summarises the message to be sent to the Gentiles. A wise decision is necessary, but not sufficient. There must also be widespread, heartfelt unity concerning the conclusion. Consensus around the decision must be achieved.

The text tells us that this outcome seemed good to the apostles and the elders and the whole church. And in the letter sharing the outcome with the churches throughout Galatia, it was explained that, over the course of the debate, they had become “of one mind.” It would seem unity had been achieved. In modern times, we would call this “buy-in.”

Now comes the most challenging part, implementation: turning principle into practice. Consider what would have happened if the council here had failed to effectively communicate and enforce its conclusion. In his comment, James notes that their decision should be conveyed to the churches in writing. But they went even further. The passage explains that it seemed good to everyone in the room to send men with Paul and Barnabas as they delivered the letter.