Jan 08 2009
church events of the bible 2: business meetings
The first event of the history of the church was a prayer meeting and we don’t have very many of those and don’t feel guilty about it.
The second Christian event is a business meeting and that is something we do pretty well. The irony is that I know many Christians who feel guilty about having business meetings. There is this sense that business meetings are too practical and too mundane to be truly spiritual. Somehow there is a since that a meeting focus on practical issues of leadership and church politics aren’t really Christian activities. We fail to notice that here it is in Acts, the very second recorded church event is a business meetings.
Take a look at the text. While the believers are busy waiting and praying Peter stands up with an idea:
Here are a few observations.
0. This meeting arises out of a community of prayer.
1. A leader sees the need and calls the meeting.
2. A leader connects the situation to scripture and lays out the parameters for their action.
3. Everyone participates but it is not a democracy. In the church, the believers deserve to influence the process of selecting their leaders.
4. More than one acceptable option is produced. (This is so important to me. I have seen many church decision processes get sidetracked because people are arguing over two good options and because a choice is hard to make, nothing is done.)
5. In the end they roll dice. (Let’s face it, that is crazy. I totally want someone to propose that at an upcoming meeting. Please report back and share with the restof us how that goes.
And a few reflections:
Unless you intend to be a dictator, leadership will involve meetings. The only way to include others in a process of leadership is to have meetings (and probably lots of meetings). In fact, from my experience I have concluded that many a great work waits to be done becuase no one has stepped up to call a meeting, gather the right people, set an agenda and insist that a choice is made. This event is Peter’s first important act of leadership.
So for those keeping score at home we have prayer meetings and business meetings. I can’t wait to see what happens next.
on the walk
-Ethan
I do believe you are mistaken. This is no business meeting. Peter understands that scripture has been fulfilled with what happened to Judas and to continue to fulfill scripture they need to have someone replace him. That may be the problem today is that we are involved in business not the fulfillment of scripture.
Greetings Craig and welcome to the conversation.
Thanks for your perspective. I do certainly admit that my category of “business meeting” is a little bit tongue in cheek. Nevertheless I think that your dichotmoy between striving to fulfill scripture and a business meeting might not be very helpful. It seems that you have already assumed a negative answer to this question, “Can a business meeting be a part of how the church works to fulfill scripture?”
I would suggest that this text suggests that the answer is yes. While you may not like my category of “business meeting”, I would suggest that this was a meeting at which church business was done. Much like the meetings in Acts 6 and Acts 15. In this case the need was clear to fill the vacant spot among the twelve.
Maybe we want to withhold our judgment on business meetings until we have considered those texts together. I hope you stick around for the conversation.
On a further note, I do want to affirm your concern that it is all to easy to let the business of the church become disconnected from the call of scripture. Probably the biggest weakness of my language is the connection to the “business” as a financial institution. That is a connection I do not intend and I appreciate you clarification and caution.
-Ethan
Recalling that meeting of the disciples, I once suggested that we roll the dice in choosing someone to replace someone who left the Exec team in our college fellowship. Of course, I was kidding when I made the suggestion, but we ended up discussing it as a possibility. Instead, we went with prayer, discussion and reflection.