The first ecumenical council described in Acts 15 models moral action we seem incapable of today. The root issue they convene to resolve is what Gentiles must do to belong to the church. Some think they must be circumcised, others protest, and the vehemence with which each party holds to its position is a sign of the high stakes involved. Failure to resolve the difference would destroy the early church, bringing God’s work to halt. A resolution is reached, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and for us it is as essential to notice the process matters as much as the result.

Eschewing hasty demonization of each other, two diametrically opposed groups, driven by a sense of obligation to a call beyond, submit to a process of communal discernment, a process that unfolds along the rhythms of speaking, silence, listening, in short, a process requiring patience to complete. Flawed as the early church was, they showed each other more patience during this council than we routinely show each other today. Their patience positioned them to remember the dignity of those with whom they disagreed without compromising their faith. That is why this story matters.