Day 313

Acts 6:1-8:1a.  “Conflict”

         As a community grows and develops, it will inevitably change as the needs and demands of the people change, resulting in conflict. In Acts 6, the church was growing rapidly and the first recorded conflict occurs.  I think that it is instructive to us, how the church handled this early conflict.  There are five distinct steps that were taken that brought a positive solution out of the conflict:
1)  The conflict was not ignored, but acknowledged by the leadership (6:2).
2)  The community was involved in the solution (6:3).
3)  The decision of the leadership was accepted by the community (6:5).
4)  The ministry of prayer was involved (6:6).
5)  The gospel continued to expand (6:7).
            I am not intending to give you a full explanation of conflict management today.  But I do hope that you catch the spirit with which the early church handled this conflict.  Remember, if a community is growing, then conflict will arise.  It is when a community has become stagnant that there is a lack of conflict.

General Questions for each day:
Summarize the day’s Bible passage in your own words.
What thoughts, actions, attitudes or beliefs are addressed in the passage?
How is the Holy Spirit leading you to apply this passage to your life today?