Practice: Missional Trump Card

One of the claims of this lesson is that mission should have the trump card when non-essential aspects of faith and traditions of the church come into conflict with mission. Read Galatians 2 and the conflict that took place at Antioch over whether Jewish and Gentile Christians could eat and worship together over concerns of purity. First, try to understand where the Jewish purists were coming from in their attempt to keep the purity laws of Leviticus. Next, try to understand where Paul was coming from in relation to mission and the unity of the church. You might also read Acts 15, especially the letter at the end, which may have been an eventual compromise.

Now think of an issue in the church today where the principles of some might be perceived to be in tension with the mission of God, the missio Dei. Using Paul’s example and the concepts of this Lesson, how do you think a local church – or even a denomination – should approach such a tension?

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