Making Big Hard Leadership Decisions:

Reflections on Acts 15

It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us

to impose on you no further burden than these essentials… (Ac 15:28)

Last night, after phone conversation with friend dealing with a big church leadership question, I thought of the Jerusalem Council. They had to make a big decision. The debate concerned whether or not us Gentiles need to be circumcised and follow dietary laws—to become good Jews in order to receive the Gospel. After “much debate,” the assembly decided neither circumcision nor dietary laws matter. Us pagans can be saved as is.

Their claim to pronounce such a big decision seems modest: “It seemed good…”.  No mountain, or vision, just “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us…”  Maybe that’s the best model for making church decisions. We don’t claim ultimate authority. It just “seemed good…” We leave ultimate judgments to God. Meanwhile, we do what seems good.

There were big names present: Peter, Barnabas, Paul and James the brother, or half-brother, or something, of our Lord who served as lead pastor of the Jerusalem church. With such big personalities, one might expect something like “Peter decided that you don’t need to be circumcised.” But, not so. There’s a “we”, and an “us”; and a certain humility: “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us.”

Between now and the last trumpet sound, decisions have to be made. We honor the biblical pattern when we says something like “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us.”