Is your congregation dreaming big dreams together? Hopefully the answer is yes. But how do you know which dreams to pursue and which ones to set aside, at least for now?
The way congregations make decisions is important. It can influence the quality of the decision and determine the degree to which decisions are adopted. In fact, congregations are often called to go beyond decision-making. In many instances, churches need to organize and establish practices so they can discern together.
But what’s the difference between decision-making and discernment?
Decision-making has to do with selecting from choices based on information. Our wishes and goals are the primary drivers in decision-making. Discernment is different. Ruth Haley Barton writes, “Discernment, in a most general sense, is the capacity to recognize and respond to the presence and the activity of God.”
Decision-making works when we’re trying to figure out what color to paint the new wing of the building. Discernment is in order when we need to understand whether to add the new wing to the building in the first place. How might God be calling the church to use the building in service to God’s mission and reign in the world?
Congregations need to cultivate specific practices for discerning together, whether as a whole faith community or the church leadership group. One such practice is the capacity to be silent together. We usually hold meetings and fill the agenda with words that we want to say. Where is God on the agenda? Lay leaders come to meetings after stressful days at work and at home. Practicing silence together allows our minds to settle into the work of listening for God. Other practices, like storytelling, biblical reflection and experimentation also aid in the work of corporate discernment. But let’s be clear: without taking the time to be silent together, we might be too busy speaking to catch what God is saying.
Prince Rivers
Editor, Alban at Duke Divinity
Resources
It’s time to reclaim creativity
Christians should embrace creativity as a way to make space for God and to imagine things beyond their own capabilities, writes a pastor and denominational leader.
By Chris Aho
Five tips for churches considering property development
Churches are learning how to get started well with adaptive reuse and property development, writes the co-founder of a nonprofit that has worked with hundreds of churches.
By Mark Elsdon
Can leaders improve church meetings by rearranging the chairs? A pastor describes how physical space affects the work we do there.
Seemingly mundane details, such as rearranging the furniture, may be an undervalued opportunity to stimulate connection and cultivate community.
By L. Roger Owens
Aligning our abilities with God’s purposes
Understanding how we make a difference in the world can be crucial to hearing our call, writes the executive director of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.
By David L. Odom
‘What is the urgency?’
In this pandemic-informed season, churches and their leaders should not feel rushed into decisions that can safely wait for fuller information and deeper discernment, writes a managing director of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.
By Victoria Atkinson White
Allowing holy second thoughts
A pastor wonders, what if our official discernment processes offered the opportunity to change our minds?
By Isaac Villegas
Leadership and the discipline of silence
In this speedy world of words, leaders must learn how — and when — to use them, writes a Duke Divinity School New Testament scholar.
By C. Kavin Rowe
Before you go
The practice of corporate discernment starts well before a group gathers to listen for God. Corporate discernment begins with personal discipleship. Because discernment is so deeply rooted in spirituality and spiritual practices, those who seek to discern need to be engaged in their spiritual transformation. One of the lessons I continue to learn about discerning with others is that it requires patience.
On a recent walk, I observed a great blue heron standing on a rock, leaning forward. The bird was poised to strike and I waited to see it happen. It simply kept standing there, completely still. It was waiting for the right moment. No amount of impatience on my part was going speed up the process. The heron understood that patience was everything. Eventually I continued my walk and I did not see whether the hunt was a success.
I hope that when I am discerning God’s activity with others, we can stand on the rock together and wait and wait and wait. “I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 27:13-14 NRSVUE)
You can always reach me and the Alban Weekly team at alban@duke.edu. Until next week, keep leading!