Rediscovering Gospel Leadership
Reading: Acts 15:1-18 Preacher: Kevin Kim
This week we continue our series Foundations of the Early Church by looking at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15. Faced with conflict and confusion, the early church chose not to divide but to come together—praying, listening, and seeking God’s leading.
Through their example, we learn how faithful, Spirit-led leadership can guide the church through hard decisions. In a time when the church today faces many challenges, how can we rediscover the heart of the gospel to shape our life together?
Join us as we reflect on what it means to lead wisely and build a community grounded in grace and truth.
Sermon Text
There are moments in the life of the church when we reach a crossroads—when big, difficult questions rise to the surface, and we have to choose what kind of people we want to be.
These moments are never easy. They test our assumptions. They stretch our hearts. But they also reveal the shape of our faith. They show us whether we are following tradition, convenience—or Christ Himself.
The early church faced one of those defining crossroads in Acts 15. It all began as the gospel began to spread beyond the Jewish community.
Up to that point, everyone in the church had either been Jewish or very close to it—like Samaritans, who at least held on to some parts of the Law. But now, gentiles—non-Jews—were being welcomed into the faith. That is a beautiful thing. But it also brought questions. Lots of them.
The biggest one was this: Did gentiles need to become Jewish in order to be saved?
In other words, was faith in Jesus enough—or did you also need to follow all the laws of Moses, be circumcised, keep the food laws, and adopt the whole cultural and religious identity of Israel?
For many, the answer seemed obvious. After all, Jesus was Jewish. The apostles were Jewish. The Scriptures were Jewish. Why shouldn’t gentile believers take on that identity too?
But others sensed something new was happening. Something that wasn’t just a minor shift—but a true transformation in how God was moving in the world.
Remember the story of Peter and Cornelius in Acts 10.
Cornelius was a Roman centurion—a gentile. And while Peter was still speaking the gospel to him, the Holy Spirit fell on Cornelius and his household. Just like at Pentecost. Peter did not perform a ritual. He did not make Cornelius follow the law first. God simply gave the Spirit.
Peter saw it with his own eyes. And he said, “If God gave them the same gift he gave us, who was I to stand in God’s way?”
But even after that powerful moment, not everyone was convinced. Many still saw Cornelius as the exception, not the beginning of something new.
Then Paul and Barnabas came back from their missionary journey with story after story of gentiles coming to faith. Entire communities, touched by the Spirit. But now, the pressure was mounting. Some believers from Judea came to Antioch and said, “Unless you are circumcised according to the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
That sparked what Luke describes as “no small dispute.” And let’s be honest—we still have those today. The issues may be different, but the emotions, the convictions, the fear of losing something sacred—it’s all still with us.
Rather than letting the church split, the leaders chose a different path. They sent Paul and Barnabas, along with others, to Jerusalem to meet with the apostles and elders. To pray. To listen. To discern together.
What happened next was not just a doctrinal debate. It was a demonstration of gospel leadership.
Peter got up and shared again what he had witnessed with Cornelius. Paul and Barnabas told of the signs and wonders God had done among the gentiles. And then James—the leader of the Jerusalem church—brought it home. He pointed to the prophets. He showed that this was not a mistake or a surprise. This was what God had always planned—to include the nations in his people.
And so, they made a courageous decision: Gentiles did not need to become Jewish to follow Jesus. They didn’t need to take on a new culture, or meet a list of requirements, or pass a spiritual test. They were saved by grace through faith in Jesus—just like everyone else.
They were fully part of the community. Not tolerated. Not halfway. Fully included.
That’s not just a policy change. That is leadership. That’s what happens when leaders listen to the Spirit, honour real stories, turn to Scripture, and act with bold grace.
And let’s be clear—they did not erase Jewish identity. Jewish believers could still honour the law and the traditions that shaped them. But they made one thing crystal clear: Jesus—not heritage, not law, not culture—was now the centre of belonging.
That’s what gospel leadership looks like. Leadership that listens more than it speaks. Leadership that includes rather than excludes. Leadership that holds Christ at the centre and lets everything else fall into place from there.
Now, let’s fast forward about 1,500 years.
The church had grown—massively. It had wealth. Power. Political influence. But it had also grown cold in some ways. Faith had become a matter of ritual and obligation. The gospel had been buried beneath systems, indulgences, and hierarchies that did not look much like Jesus.
That is when Desiderius Erasmus wrote a little book called Praise of Folly. It’s a clever and funny story where a character named ‘Folly’ gets up and talks about how great she is. Through humour and irony, Erasmus pointed out the foolishness in the world—especially within the Church. He wasn’t writing out of bitterness. He was writing out of love. He believed the church could do better. He called out leaders who loved titles more than people, who performed rituals without compassion, who valued power more than truth.
Erasmus asked: Have we forgotten what the gospel is really about?
That little book helped start something new. It opened the door for the Reformation. And although Erasmus never left the Catholic Church, his words paved the way for Martin Luther to challenge the system and call the church back to the gospel of grace.
In his time, just like in Acts 15, the question was raised again: Are we still centred on Christ—or have we made something else more important?
And now—let’s come into our time.
Today, we’re not debating circumcision. But we’re still facing moments of deep confusion and real tension.
We live in a world that is rapidly changing. People are walking away from churches. And often, it’s not because they’ve rejected Jesus—but because they’re not sure they can find him in the kind of church they’ve experienced.
We live in a culture that’s suspicious of institutions. Hungry for authenticity. And often, wounded by judgmentalism or hypocrisy in religious spaces.
So once again, we need voices who can help us rediscover the heart of the gospel.
One of those voices is Brian McLaren, who wrote A New Kind of Christian—a book that tells the fictional story of a burnt-out pastor named Dan and a thoughtful teacher named Neo. Through their conversations, McLaren gently but clearly asks, “What does it mean to follow Jesus in our time?”
He doesn’t throw the gospel away. He peels away the layers we’ve added—the systems, the control, the rigid frameworks—and he asks us to find Christ again in simplicity and grace.
There’s a chapter called “French Fries and the Kingdom of God.” It tells the story of a young man named Thomas Devenish, who worked in a fast-food kitchen in Hobart, Tasmania. Every day he came home covered in burns, exhausted, and unappreciated. It felt like meaningless, invisible work.
But one day, he read this verse from Colossians 3: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.”
And something shifted. He decided to cook French fries—not for his boss, but for God. He turned his small, thankless job into a sacred act of worship. He showed that gospel leadership doesn’t always wear a collar or hold a microphone. Sometimes it wears an apron. Sometimes it smells like grease and salt.
That, friends, is what gospel leadership looks like in real life.
It’s the schoolteacher who prays over her students.
The tradie who chooses honesty when it costs him.
The mum who speaks kindness when she could speak frustration.
The young adult who quietly chooses forgiveness.
That’s the church at its best. That’s gospel leadership: faithful, grounded, Spirit-led, Christ-centred, and full of grace.
Gospel leadership is not just for ministers. It’s not just for those with titles. It’s for all of us.
If you’re a student, a parent, a worker, a neighbour, a friend—you can lead in the way of Jesus.
You can be the one who listens.
The one who welcomes.
The one who serves.
The one who says: “Jesus is enough. Come as you are.”
The early church chose grace.
Erasmus pointed us back to grace.
McLaren calls us to live grace.
And Jesus—our truest leader—is full of grace and truth.
So today, let’s rediscover gospel leadership. Let’s be a church that leads by listening.
A people who include before we judge.
Leaders who live love before we speak it.
Let’s be the kind of church where anyone—from any background—can hear the good news and know they belong.
Let’s cook French fries for the Kingdom of God.
Let’s build a community of grace.
And let’s follow the One who first led us—with open hands, open hearts, and a cross on his back.
Amen.