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Text File | 1990-07-01 | 16KB | 529 lines

THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM ------------------------ A simulation based on Acts 15 Software Sharing Ministries 2020 North Fremont Street Tacoma, Washington 98406 206-756-7980 Goals: ------ 1. To share a living experience of decision making in the early church, bringing into play the value commitments, the traditions, the hopes, and the intense feelings of those members of the original Council who met to resolve some of the conflicts arising from the varying points of view of the followers of Jesus Christ. 2. To realize that the vitality of the church arises out of the attempt to be faithful even in the face of differences of opinion. a) this means making the effort to arrive again and again at group decisions that will enable the Christian community to grow and witness to the gospel of Christ. b) this means, also, being sensitive to the direction of the Holy Spirit, and responsive to its leading. It means respecting the uniqueness of each disciple's experience of God. 3. To learn from this experience, the church's response to the Holy Spirit and respect for the uniqueness of each Christian's experience today. To relate the position taken by the Christian church to the needs of youth, in our time. Time Schedule for the simulation: -------------------------------- Introduction and grouping 15-30 minutes Small group meetings for research and strategy 45-60 minutes Council simulation 45-60 minutes Reflection and debriefing 45 minutes The Situation ------------- You are to simulate the leaders of the early church who have come together in Jerusalem to decide the next steps in your mission to the Gentile world. This is the first meeting of the various groups following Jesus, and you are faced with several important problems: 1. You will need to elect a bishop for Jerusalem who will then conduct your further deliberations. The problem of leadership in the first church must have been fairly intense. By all odds the leader should have been Peter, leader of the twelve. But that is either hindsight or else opposition to the apparent leader the church was forced to take as a compromise candidate (Galatians 1). The compromise was a brother of Jesus, James the Just. Oddly enough, after the martyrdom of James, another relative of Jesus, Matthias, an uncle, led the church for about thirty more years. 2. You will need to decide whether to send Paul on a mission to the Gentiles. The decision for Paul to cross from Asia Minor into Macedonia was one of the most momentous actions of the earliest church. It meant that Greeks who had never been exposed to Judaism would be brought into the church. Presumably previous adherents were either Jewish or at least god-fearers (non-Jews self-consciously associated with Judaism). It also meant the great antagonism between Jew and Greek, Palestinian and Roman would be erased within the church. Paul says it was the Holy Spirit appearing in a vision which caused him to cross over into Europe. 3. You need to establish minimal requirements for non-Jews who are brought into church. Christianity was at first a branch of Judaism; as such it adhered to the basic laws and customs of Judaism. All were circumcised. Within limits all adhered to the formal liturgical and dietary laws of their faith. To expect this of Greeks was futile. Yet there had to be minimal expectations if Jews and Greeks were to remain in the same social structure. In Acts 15 it is recorded this problem was solved by the mother church issuing the following minimal requirements: not to commit adultery, not to commit idolatry, and not to murder. 4. In view of the possibility of riots in Ephesus you need to decide whether Paul will be allowed to go there to preach the gospel. Nearly everywhere Paul went on a missionary journey, conflict was created. In the early accounts (Acts 14-18) it is clear a riot occurred at nearly every point. Tasks of All Groups Prior to the Simulation (During small group meetings): 1. Appoint a leader who will-- a. chair in the preparations for the simulation, b. lead the group during the simulation. For purposes of the simulation the leaders of the groups will have the following identities: Suffering Servants James Apocalypticists Paul Zealots Peter Hellenists Stephen 2. Appoint a chronicler who will-- a. record briefly the process of the group, b. record the action of the simulation from the perspective of his group, c. report to the debriefing session. 3. Examine those texts of the New Testament which establish the identity of this particular group. 4. Articulate your identity to each other, i.e., make a banner or a standard, etc. 5. Project your group's position regarding each of the decisions to be made. 6. Discuss what type of power you could and should use in the course of the stimulated decision making. 7. Assist the chronicler in recording all pertinent data, especially your projections prior to the simulation so that you can make a later comparison. Rules of the Simulation ----------------------- 1. Each group will be allowed two representatives at the Jerusalem table. 2. Other members will be arranged behind the chairs of the two representatives. 3. Any member may replace a representative as he or she chooses. 4. Each group will be allowed two roving politicians who may a. discover the character and purpose of the other groups, b. facilitate or disrupt the procedures, c. consult with the background resource person. Tasks of the Simulation (Council meeting) ----------------------------------------- 1. The coordinator will chair the session until the church is able to elect a bishop. 2. Following the guidance of the bishop, the church council will attempt to deal with the following critical decisions: a. Will Paul and his cohorts from Antioch be allowed to carry the gospel to the purely Gentile world, i.e., Greece? Specifically, will you allow Titus to be seated at your meeting? b. What minimal requirements should be established for Christianity as it spreads? Specifically, will you accept in to the church the man who has been living with his stepmother? c. What method will be used for the spreading of the gospel? Tasks for Debriefing -------------------- 1. Discuss with one another how you felt during the simulation. 2. Hear the reports from the chroniclers. 3. Discuss any questions that may be raised by the experience together. 1. The Disciples of the Suffering Servant ----------------------------------------- Your group identity for the simulation will be that of a band of faithful followers of that Jesus who was known as the Suffering Servant. In the simulation there will be other groups who are identified with the same Jesus of Nazareth, but from a vastly different perspective. It is your task to determine how your group (church?) should utilize its power so that it can be true to your understanding of Jesus. The following are some New Testament texts which will help you with your identity: Mark 8:34-38 Mark 9: 33-37 Mark 10:35-45 Matthew 5:1-16 Matthew 5: 38-48 Matthew 10:34-39 Matthew 11: 25-30 Matthew 23:1-12 Luke 10: 29-37 John 13:1-20 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 1 Corinthians 4:8-13 Philippians 2:1-11 Background Data: The idea of a suffering servant in Judeo-Christianity arose after the Jews were taken into captivity by the Babylonians (586 B.C.). The political power of the state of Israel had failed. Now some writers began to interpret the role of Israel as one who enables all nations to come to God by taking on herself the turmoil and sin of international strife. We know this position best by the servant songs in Isaiah, especially Isaiah 53. It is the opinion of many people that the genius of Jesus of Nazareth was to combine this picture of the suffering servant with the more apocalyptic Son of man in order to say that the kingdom of God will come with the self-giving of men to each other. The cross, of course, would be the standard symbol of that self- sacrifice. Those who follow this Jesus would use their power and their personhood to enable others to participate in the kingdom. This picture of Jesus has been especially powerful among free churches and Catholic orders. 2. The Hellenistic Believers on the Son of God ---------------------------------------------- Your group identity for the simulation will be that of a band of Greeks or, more likely, Hellenistic Jews, who think of Jesus as Son of God. In the simulation there will be other groups who are identified with the same Jesus of Nazareth, but from a vastly different perspective. It is your task to determine how your group (church?) should utilize its power so as to be true to your understanding of Jesus. The following are some New Testament texts which will help you with your identity: Mark 1:9-11 Mark 9:2-8 Mark 15:33-39 Colossians 1: 15-20 Matthew 12: 15- 21 John 5: 19-47 John 18:33-37 Revelation 5:1-14 Background Data: "Son of God" is primarily a monarchical or imperial term. It denotes the king. In the Old Testament the king is called the Son of God (2 Samuel 7:14) and becomes that at the time he is enthroned (Psalm 2). In the more contemporary Roman Empire the emperor was just becoming known as filius dei (son of god) . To speak of Jesus as Son of God is to say he is your Lord rather than someone else (e.g. ,Nero) . Those who believe in Jesus as the Son of God have seen in Jesus the ultimate Truth, the Father. They consider themselves as the true agents of God, exercising his power and proclaiming his truth. Needless to say, the church groups derive their identity primarily from this confession that Jesus is Lord, Son of God. Whether Jesus himself was conscious of being the Son of God is debatable. Most students of the New Testament suppose we are dealing with a term which became popular when Christianity began to compete with other Eastern religions and with the power of the emperor himself. 3 . The Warriors of the Zealot Jesus ------------------------------------- Your group identity for the simulation will be that of a band of armed and dangerous revolutionaries who believed Jesus had come to overthrow Rome. You are the historic Zealots. In the simulation there will be other groups who are identified with the same Jesus of Nazareth, but from a vastly different perspective. It is your task to determine how your group (church?) should utilize its power so as to be true to your understanding of Jesus. The following are some New Testament texts which will help you with your identity: Matthew 4:1-11 Matthew 10:1-4 Matthew 19:23-30 Matthew 20:20-28 Matthew 21:2-13 Matthew 26:47-56 Luke 20:19-26 Luke 22:35-38 Luke 23:32-38 Background Data: The Zealots were one of several parties among the Jews at the time of Jesus. In contrast to the Sadducees who cooperated with Rome and the Pharisees who quietly resisted, the Zealots intended to bring the kingdom by triggering the new age with a violent, radical action. It is not known how they arose, but somehow they must have evolved from the militant Maccabeans. They constantly sought out leaders who appeared to be messianic hopefuls. Most of these were Galileans and most of them were killed as insurrectionists. There can be little doubt that Jesus was killed for the same reasons. It was Zealots who precipitated the Jewish War which ended in the defeat and destruction of Jerusalem by Titus (A.D.70). Just prior to this the Christian community finally recognized it had no part in the Zealots' cause and left Jerusalem. But at the time of the Jerusalem Council, as found in Acts 15, this would not have been so clear. The presence of so much Zealot material in the Gospels would indicate this was a continuing struggle. 4. Apostles of the Apocalyptic Prophet -------------------------------------- Your group identity for the simulation will be that of a band of people who, as did Jesus before them, continue to await and proclaim the coming of the kingdom of God. You are the messengers of God, the apostles. In the simulation there will be other groups who are identified with the same Jesus of Nazareth, but from a vastly different perspective. It is your task to determine how your group (church?) should utilize its power so as to be true to your understanding of Jesus. The following are some New Testament texts which will help with your identity: Mark 1:14-15 Matthew 5:1-10 Matthew 10:34-39 Matthew 13:24-52 Matthew 19:23-30 Matthew 21:33-44 Matthew 22:1-14 Matthew 22:23-33 Matthew 24:36-51 Luke 9:57-62 Luke 12:8-40 1 Thessalonians 1:6-10 2 Thessalonians 3:11-13 Acts 14:1-18 Background Data: Apocalypticism is both a form of literature and, in the Bible, an attitude which grew up out of the despair of the Jewish exile . Essentially these were Jews who believed the promise of God would be fulfilled but that historical movements and institutions could not bring about that kingdom. Since it was both a prophetic movement and a wisdom genre, it stands to reason that eventually there were those who said the kingdom of God most likely does come when one lives as if it were coming. The historical Jesus must have been such an apocalypticist who felt himself sent by God to proclaim the coming kingdom. He gathered about him apostles who also shared that sentness (apostleship) . A major aspect of the earliest church was that of continuing to proclaim this coming, even though eventually most of Christendom defined that coming by the past events which surrounded the man Jesus.