Solving Conflict in Church

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

When a certain church decided to split, each faction filed a lawsuit to claim the church property. A judge finally referred the matter to the higher authorities in the particular denomination. A church court assembled to hear both sides of the case and awarded the church property to one of the two factions. The losers withdrew and formed another church in the area. During the hearing, the church courts learned that the conflict had all begun at a church dinner when a certain elder received a smaller slice of ham than a child seated next to him. Sadly, this was reported in the newspapers for everyone to read.

The book of Acts chapter 5 ends with the words, “the apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah” (Acts 5:41-42). Chapter 6 begins with “now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying” v.1.

Acts 6:1 is the first description in the book of Acts of Christians as “disciples”; it’s the most common name given to the followers of Christ in the book and all the believers are referred to as disciples. In the Great Commission Jesus commanded "go therefore and make disciples of all the nations" (Matt. 28:19).   Disciple describes one who intentionally learns from another by instruction and observation. Christianity is not just a momentary decision but is a lifelong pursuit of learning to be and to live like Jesus!

To this point in the Book of Acts, Satan’s attacks on the church had come on many different fronts. These strategies were all unsuccessful in stopping or slowing the work of the church. Now, here in Acts 6 Satan tried another strategy; he hoped to “divide and conquer” by raising one group of Christians against another. This time it was not persecution from the outside, but rather internal disputes and potential divisions.

The number of disciples was increasing and new growth always brings new challenges. “In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food”(Acts 6:1). In the midst of phenomenal growth a complaint arose that threatened to split the Church.  

The Hellenistic Jews mostly came from outside of Palestine, spoke Greek, and were largely influenced by the Greek culture. The Hebrews were Jews who spoke Aramaic and grew up in a Jewish culture, mostly in Palestine. Both groups in the Jerusalem church had come to faith in Jesus as Savior. Care of widows and the needy was a priority in Judaism (Exod. 22:22; Deut. 10:18). The Jews provided for their own widows weekly in their own synagogues along with the poor.

The widows had previously been helped from the Temple Treasury, but after joining the Christian community this help had ceased. The Church took the responsibility to support them. Apparently, Christians from the Hellenistic background believed that the Hebrew widows were receiving better care. This oversight may not have been intentional; probably the cause was poor administration or supervision.

When this complaint reached the apostles, they did not shun or try to silence the unhappy members. They did not divide the church into two congregations. First they explained that they needed to remain faithful to their central calling. They summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. We will... give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word”(Acts 6:2,4).  

The apostles put prayer before preaching .In God’s service prayer precedes preaching. Jesus instructed the disciples to wait “until you have been clothed with power from on high” before launching the Great Commission (Luke 24:49). He promised “whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:12-13).  

Jesus' prayer life served as a profound example for his apostles, demonstrating the importance of consistent communication with God. He prioritized prayer, seeking solitude and spending time in deep communion with His Father. His prayer life emphasized the need for focused and intentional time with God.  It underscored His dependence on God for strength and guidance. His prayers gave him special power and strength (Luke 4:1,14,15 ; 22:39-46).

Paul requested believers to “pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak ... Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should (Col. 4:2-4). Pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honoured (1 Thess.3:1). He said "my message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power(1 Cor. 2:4); our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction(1 Thess. 1:5).

Prayer is the most powerful and effective means of service in the Kingdom of God. The gospel is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this world has blinded their minds so they cannot see the light of the gospel (2 Cor. 4:3-4). No one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house (mark 3:27). Prayer binds the devil and frees the unbelievers minds . We may marvel at the spiritual power and glorious victories of the early church, but we often forget that its constant prayer life was the secret of its strength.

The Apostles wanted to give themselves to continually study of the Bible. Paul told Timothy to “be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”(2 Tim.2:15). In Ezra 7:9-10 we are told that the gracious hand of his God was on Ezra. For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.

Matthew 15:1-13 records a scene in which a group of Pharisees and Scribes went to confront Jesus. These religious leaders were entrusted with studying the Scriptures and guiding God’s people. Jesus said “ they worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules... every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

There was need for the Apostles to give themselves “continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word. Recruiting officers do not dispute whether it is better for soldiers to have a right leg or a left leg: soldiers should have both legs. The minister of the Word must not choose between study and prayer. Prayer makes the heart open and sensitive to the truth of Scripture. But it is study that brings in the truth and fills the heart with Scripture.

The twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said “brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word. And the saying pleased the whole multitude” (Acts 6:2-5).

The apostle asked the congregation to seek such men. The apostles wisely wanted and valued the input from the congregation. The qualifications of those to be chosen were  -  from among you, of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom (v.3). The first qualification was “they were  to be members of the church”. The apostles directed that those chosen were to be from among their own number.

They were to be men of impeccable integrity; men in whom the church would have confidence; Men who realized that they are handling the Lord’s money and that their Master sees all their actions, even those hidden from men.  When members have confidence in their gift handling officials they give liberally, but when they lack such confidence they naturally withhold their gifts.

They were to be men full of the Spirit. It was simple, practical service that they are appointed to; yet they must be spiritual because their ministry was an assignment from God. The body of Christ (Church) has many members and "God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired." ( 1 Cor. 12:14,18). Each member requires the Spirit to provide the supernatural power needed to perform the assigned task.

They were men full of wisdom; wisdom is the gift of applying knowledge to a practical situation. The task needed men who had the ability to judge correctly and to follow the best course of action. In this context wisdom would include having a practical knowledge of how to manage charitable funds. They also need the wisdom from above which is “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy" ( James 3:17).

And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them (Acts 6:6). All seven names are Greek. When the far larger majority of Hebrew-speaking Christians were asked to choose men, they chose them from the very group that was issuing the complaint.

They entrusted them with the responsibility to work it out and thus they indicated their trust of them and of their ability to solve this problem, in the Lord. The laying on of hands simply means an identification of the solidarity and the oneness of the whole church with them in their ministry. What Satan tried to sow as discord turned out to be beautiful unity. The apostle’s decision “pleased the whole multitude” and the results were fantastic.

Then word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith (Acts 6:7) . There was a widening circle in which the gospel was proclaimed and more people got saved. Humanly speaking, the priest would have been the most difficult to reach with the Gospel; they are mentioned here as an indication of the increasing influence of the Gospel and of the power of the Spirit to overcome the hardest hearts.

 A false move on the part of the apostles at this juncture would have led to a divided church. Because this situation was handled with wisdom and sensitivity to those who were offended, a potentially divisive issue was defused and Satan’s strategy failed. There's something wrong with a church that's not growing if it's surrounded by lost people. God's plan for any church is to reach souls. God is interested in numbers. Where there is healthy life there's growth.