Christ Is Building His Church

It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us… - Acts 15:28

On Sunday, we gathered as a church to vote on the election of Malcolm and Peter S as elders at King’s Grace. The result was an overwhelming yes! Our next step will be to arrange an official ordination and installation service.

As I reflect on this encouraging news, I’m reminded of the council described in Acts 15, and particularly the way they announce their decision in verse 28. The council itself was a very human affair: leaders gathered, they discussed and debated the issue at hand, came to an agreement, and wrote a statement. In many ways, it sounds just like any meeting we might attend at work, school, or church.

But the apostles and elders didn’t see their meeting as merely human and ordinary. They recognised God’s providence at work through their deliberations.

Christ is the head of the church, not us. So, when we make important decisions, including decisions about church leadership, we look to him in faith to guide us. Like the council in Jerusalem, we trust that we are not simply electing Malcolm and Peter because they seem good to us, but that God is at work through the process: “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us.”

This doesn’t mean we become careless about the process. Quite the opposite. We seek to be diligent, prayerful, and wise. But through all these ordinary means, we trust that Christ is guiding his church by his Spirit, working in and through his people.

So let’s pray that we would remain sensitive to his leading, trusting him with the future of King’s Grace. May he continue to shape us into the church he wants us to be, for his glory, and may we see his grace at work among us in ever-increasing measure.

Blessings,

Geoff