6.19.2004
On Decision Making in the Church
Real faith communities witness to the nature and quality of God's presence in their midst through worship and their service. But they also witness just as strongly in the way they share power and influence in their decision making. The processes of making decisions within the church are usually viewed as an organizational concern. Modernity has placed great trust in reason's ability to uncover a shared understanding of the truth. In contrast, postmodernity has so stressed the contextual nature of truth and the diversity of human perspectives that all truth claims have become relative. As a result, the process of making decisions are now largely viewed as a matter of power dynamics in which either comopeting forces are balanced or one side seeks an advantage through manipulative strategies.
Discernment: Cultivating Communities of Spirit-filled Deliberation
The ecclesial practice of discernment in faith communities indicates a different approach. Discernment is a process of sorting, distinguishing, evaluating, and sifting among competing stimuli, demands, longings, desires, needs, and influences, in order to determine which are of God and which are not. To discern is to prove or test "what is of the will of God - what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Rom 12:2). Thus the goal of decision making in the church is not simply to discover the will of the community, but instead to discern together the will of God. It is the role of the Spirit to convict, convince, and lead those who profess faith in Jesus Christ into God's truth. Discernment requires this guidance because God acts and speaks in and through the ambiguous circumstances of worldly life. Thus the church is called to "test the spirits to see whether they are from God (1 John 4:1) through cautious, attentive, and humble discernment. As can be documented through historical review, not only the Holy Spirit but also destructive forces operate and multiply within Christian communities. As the ekklesia of God, a people gathered and sent to be about God's business, the church is called to a way of making decisions that articulates and correlates with listening, hearing, testing, planning, and obeying together in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Discernment: Cultivating Communities of Spirit-filled Deliberation
The ecclesial practice of discernment in faith communities indicates a different approach. Discernment is a process of sorting, distinguishing, evaluating, and sifting among competing stimuli, demands, longings, desires, needs, and influences, in order to determine which are of God and which are not. To discern is to prove or test "what is of the will of God - what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Rom 12:2). Thus the goal of decision making in the church is not simply to discover the will of the community, but instead to discern together the will of God. It is the role of the Spirit to convict, convince, and lead those who profess faith in Jesus Christ into God's truth. Discernment requires this guidance because God acts and speaks in and through the ambiguous circumstances of worldly life. Thus the church is called to "test the spirits to see whether they are from God (1 John 4:1) through cautious, attentive, and humble discernment. As can be documented through historical review, not only the Holy Spirit but also destructive forces operate and multiply within Christian communities. As the ekklesia of God, a people gathered and sent to be about God's business, the church is called to a way of making decisions that articulates and correlates with listening, hearing, testing, planning, and obeying together in the power of the Holy Spirit.
