Discernment and the Council of Jerusalem

Acts of the Apostles, chapter 15
"Unity in Faith and Love," Acts 15.1-35, The Catholic Youth Bible (CYB)

Tracing the discernment process used at the Council of Jerusalem leads the students to use aspects of the process to assess issues facing their church and society today.

1. Invite several students to read Acts 15.1-35 aloud to the class. Ask another to read the article "Unity in Faith and Love" from the CYB.
2. Divide the class into small groups. Ask the groups each to skim Acts of the Apostles, chapters 10-15, and trace the origins of the Gentile controversy and the background for its resolution, notably in 10.1-11.18. When they are done, discuss the divisive issues that faced the early church, and list them on the board.
3. Ask the students to suggest church issues or societal issues that are divisive today, and then assign one issue to each small group. Tell each group to summarize the main points put forth by the opposing sides of the issue, and then to write a plan for resolving the issue. Either tell the students to research the issue, or suggest that they simply pool their existing knowledge. Discuss with them various conflict resolution skills such as listening, negotiating, cooperating, compromising, and agreeing to disagree. Suggest that they incorporate some of those skills in their plan.
4. Conclude by asking the students to identify similarities between the conflicts faced by the Council of Jerusalem and those faced by the Catholic church today. Ask, "How do the dramatic changes in the church (size, diversity, etc.) make resolving the conflicts it faces more difficult and, at the same time, possibly more necessary?"