Have you ever been in a group conversation that completely changed direction after someone spoke up with a contrary viewpoint?

In Acts 5:17-42, we see that the Sanhedrin was furious with Peter and the apostles after they had defied their order to stop preaching in the name of Jesus. To make matters worse, the apostles had even accused the Jewish religious leaders of killing Jesus. The Sanhedrin was ready to stone the apostles when Gamaliel, a teacher of the law honoured by all the people, stood up in the assembly. He said, “Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God” (Acts 5:38-39). Gamaliel injected a wise voice of reason into the heated discussion, which convinced the Sanhedrin not to do anything rash. His contrary viewpoint challenged the groupthink that was occurring and completely changed the direction and outcome of the discussion.

It’s so important that we listen to the “Gamaliels” on our teams who speak wisely and help to focus our discussions. Sometimes, it is the quiet team member who brings this kind of wisdom to the table. As leaders and group members, it’s important that we create and support an open and safe atmosphere where everyone can contribute their insights. When a “Gamaliel” speaks, let’s be quick to listen and heed the wise voice of reason even when it means changing our direction.

While serving at an English Camp in Thailand, I noticed a persistent pain in my calf muscle. Just before flying to Indonesia for the second stage of the missions trip, I emailed a couple medical doctor friends back in Canada about the problem. When I arrived in Bali where I was do some leadership training with Christian radio station managers, I checked my emails and saw one from one of my doctor friends. He said in no uncertain terms, “Get to a hospital now and get it checked out.”

Within a few hours, I had a diagnosis. I had a blood clot just behind my knee probably caused by a lack of movement and liquids on the 15-hour flight from Vancouver to Bangkok (for those of you who are wondering why the calf muscle was sore, it was because the muscle was not getting enough oxygen). The hospital staff immediately started me on a daily regime of warfarin stomach injections to thin my blood and hopefully break up the clot safely. I was still able to do my leadership training, but had to stay a few extra days until my blood was thin enough to safely fly. I was pretty discouraged by it all and felt very lonely (okay, I admit, having this happen in Bali did make it slightly more bearable). I eventually did make it home and made a full recovery.

I’m not big on pain and suffering (I’ve been known to get woozy at the sight of blood or needles). Yet, I’m coming to realize that God can produce good results in and through me when I go through times of suffering. Even during my extended stay in Bali, I had the opportunity to share Christ with a taxi driver on my way to the hospital for one of my daily injections.

In Acts 4-5, we see that the apostles were facing increasing pressure from the Jewish religious leaders in the Sanhedrin. These leaders had already told the apostles to stop speaking about Jesus (Acts 4:18). However, the apostles chose to obey God, rather than people. The result - the Jewish leaders had them flogged. What amazes me is that the apostles left their flogging session, “rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name” (Acts 5:41).

A number of years ago, a dear widow in the church where we were pastoring came to our home and explained to us that she would like to share her bank account with us. At first, we didn’t grasp what she was offering. We finally realized that she wanted to share her money with us, similar to how the early Christians had everything in common (Acts 4:32-37). After picking ourselves up off the floor, we accepted her generous offer.

When I read about how the early church shared everything, I wonder why many of our North American churches don’t experience this kind of community. Sometimes, I see it in small churches and in small groups where people hear about personal needs and have the relational connection that motivates them to help their friends. I long for this kind of deep community where people are so close to each other that they are prepared to do whatever it takes to support, encourage, and challenge each other. Who knows, maybe in this kind of community, we might even choose to share our bank accounts with one another.