Coping with a conflict

Discussion Questions (Week commencing Sunday 15th November 2020) Text: Acts 6:1-7 How do you cope with conflict? Some people don’t seem to be too affected; others find it devastating. Which are you? How can conflict within a church community (or small-group or family) be constructive and produce a good outcome? What needs to happen? There’s a lot of talk (around the world, and even here in NZ) about nationalism and looking after our “own” people first. Was that what was happening in Acts 6? What do you think might be God’s response to nationalism, versus looking after “aliens” and “foreigners?” What does a verse like James 1:27 mean for contemporary Christianity? How does the scenario described in Acts 6:1-7 square up with the idea of servant-leadership? Were the apostles simply getting out of doing a menial task? In v.2 and v.4 there is reference to “ministry of the word” as a higher priority for the apostles. What might this mean for the twenty-first-century church? v.7 tells the result of the restructuring the first church did. Why do you think this was the case? What will you do differently this week for considering this passage of Scripture?