The Council of the Lord (also, Secret Counsel) is a phrase based in Scripture that describes a circle of God’s own friends who join Him around a Table to discuss what His Word means and how it should be applied to new situations that no one has ever faced before. When consensus is reached in the council, it can be imagined that after the decision is written down by scribes, the Lord then takes his signet ring and stamps the legislation as approved, authorizing its implementation on earth. The Hebrew word for this council is sode, which is often translated into English as “secret,” or “secret counsel” or even “friendship.” The equivalent New Testament word is mysterion, which is the origin of the English word “mystery.” The equivalent Latin word is sacramentum, from which we get the English word "sacrament." Thus the concept of the Council of the Lord is foundational to a proper understanding of what sacraments are, what prayer meetings are, what sitting at Christ’s Table in Eucharistic worship as His friends is really about and so on. The concept of the Council of the Lord is fundamental to the whole of Basileia’s charism.
Also see Consensus Decision-Making, and Counsel of Many. And see Boyd's Secret Counsel blog series.