Acts 15:39 “They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company.”
One of the realities of community is that we will have disagreements. Unfortunately, often times, those disagreements get ugly. Churches around the world are being destroyed by “good” Christians who don’t know how – or who refuse to to – disagree agreeably. They want their own way at any cost and they draw lines in the sand; they use bullying or terrorism or manipulation; they build factions and alliances to try and advance their agendas; and they seem to not care one whit about the damage they do to the church.
Many look at today’s passage and see a fight that turned nasty. Most theologians see this passage and look at the results – a doubling of the missionary teams. But I think there’s another important message here: Conflict sometimes cannot be reconciled … and when that happens, the church must insist on conflict resolution.
In Matthew 18:15–17 Jesus taught his leaders about conflict in the church. He knew there would be disagreements and conflict and sin in the church, and Jesus had the foresight to to provide a plan. I call it Jesus’ Plan of Reconciliation. (1) If there’s a disagreement, the two must come together one-on-one to confront the issue. It’s not okay to drag someone else in … to gossip and complain … to go to a committee to whine. Jesus says go to your brother/sister and deal with it. (2) If the conflict cannot be reconciled, then a second or third person is brought in to try and bring reconciliation. If reconciliation is found, then awesome! If not, then Jesus offers a third step. (3) If reconciliation isn’t possible, then we must settle for resolution. That’s when the church leadership steps in and brokers resolution, meaning there’s a parting of the ways between the two. That’s where we find Paul and Barnabas. Reconciliation wasn’t possible. The relationships were damaged beyond repair. And so they went their separate ways for the sake of the church. Indeed, this is the last time we’ll see any mention of Barnabas in Acts.
And that’s one of the key teachings of this passage … and of Matthew 18:15–17. The good of the church MUST be the first priority of church leaders. Personal preferences, opinions, desires, and even needs of the members must come second to the mission and the vision of the church in reaching non-believers and helping them to say “Yes!” to Jesus. Mission first; Members second.
The goal, of course, is ALWAYS reconciliation. That’s the ideal we must strive for. To walk together in unity of purpose in Christ. But when unity is threatened, even relationships must be sacrificed for the sake of the kingdom.
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