Ruth Haley Barton - Pursuing Gods Will Together: A Discernment Practice for Leadership Groups

9

Get Ready

Preparing for the Discernment Process

The ongoing leadership of Christ in the world through
the Holy Spirit is described not simply as an incidental matter
in the Bible; it is presented as the pinnacle of Jesus mission, continuing throughout the history of the Churchhis flock. The question,
therefore, is how to prepare ourselves to be in
a position to be led by Christ.

Paul Anderson

T he staff and elders of Grace Church were excited that it was finally time to learn more about the spiritual discipline of leadership discernment and begin practicing it together. They had been faithful to the personal preparation of each individual leader; they had done the big work of cultivating the group as a community for discernment by establishing guiding values and transforming practices. The prayer service in which they had committed themselves to their covenant had been quite moving, and they knew they were on a whole different path as a group.

Elements of discernment were already showing up frequently in their planning meetings. Individuals felt free to reference a sense of consolation or desolation, and the group honored it. They could speak about something they heard from God in solitude and silence, and it was received with great respect. It was no longer unusual for someone to confess a false-self pattern that had affected the group, and the group was now able to extend compassion and forgiveness. When someone in the group sensed that a decision had been rushed or had been made primarily from human strategy rather than deep listening to God and each other, he or she could call attention to it and the group was willing to slow down and take more time for listening. They were becoming a community for discernment!

But they were also facing decisions of such significance that they were hesitant to make a commitment without a clear sense of Gods will. They didnt yet know how to approach these larger decisions in a discerning way as a group, but they were certain these decisions required more than human wisdom and strategic thinking. By now they had learned that just because something makes sense on some level, that does not mean it is Gods will. They were ready for the Holy Spirit to teach them those things that cannot be taught by human wisdom. They were painfully (or deliciously!) aware that they were completely dependent on Gods promise to give wisdom to those who ask.

One of the biggest issues they faced was the growth the church was experiencing. As the staff and elders went through this very intimate experience of becoming a community for discernment, they recognized a new wind of the Spirit blowing through the congregation as well. Even though they had lost some members who were not ready for the rigors of the spiritual journey as it was now being presented in the church, other more serious spiritual seekers were finding their way in. They were strangely compelled by the depth and power of what was taking place in the lives of their leaders; although they would have been hard-pressed to describe this change in words, they knew that something was different, and it drew them to be a part of whatever it was that was happening.

Personal Reflection

Earlier we noted that several New Testament stories illustrate leadership discernment in the early church. In Acts 6:1-7 there were minority complaintswidows who were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. Acts 15 records a disagreement about doctrine and practicedid Gentiles need to be circumcised in order to become Christ followers? In Acts 21:10-14 Paul was bent on going to Jerusalem, but a group of Christians in Caesarea thought he should not go because he would be taken captive. Take a few moments to read and reflect on these experiences of corporate discernment and notice elements of leadership discernment that you can glean from them.

The leadership group was committed to not doing anything that would derail them from continuing on the discernment-in-community track they were on. They knew they had to make good decisions about stewarding the growth that God was giving. The elders understood that it was their job to discern this (with input from the staff and congregation), but other teams were aware that they needed discernment as well. For a long time the childrens ministry had been aware that providing an after-school program for at-risk children would meet a desperate need in their community and extend the positive impact they were having on the lives of kids they were ministering to. They werent sure, however, whether God was really calling them to meet this need or if they could actually handle it. The senior pastor and the executive team had several new initiatives they were considering, and now they had the desire to go through the discernment process rather than just doing things that seemed like a good idea. They were ready to enter into a practice for seeking Gods will together regarding these specific issues.

Get Ready, Get Set, Go!

There are three major phases in a good discernment process: get ready (the preparation phase), get set (gathering the community around the presence of Christ relative to the issue for discernment) and go (actual discernment)! Each phase of leadership discernment involves several moves; it is not, however, a mechanical process nor is it always linear. As we become more comfortable with the process we experience it not so much as a step-by-step procedure but as a creative mix of dynamic elements. Here are the basic moves.

Movements in Discernment

(For a downloadable version of this chart, see www.transforming
center.org.)

Get Ready

The first phase is all about getting ready sort of like getting ready to paint a room. First we need to select the color, buy the paint, get the tools together, scrape off the peeling paint or strip the old wallpaper, lay out the paint brushes, put down drop cloths, do some taping and maybe do some priming. All of this is mere preparation. Youre not actually painting yet and it can feel pretty tedious. However , if you know anything about painting, you know that these preliminary steps are essential for a good paint job.

Weve all had the experience of taking shortcuts (we were in a hurry to get the job done) only to discover that the paint job did not turn out well because we scrimped on the preparation. The edges were sloppy because we didnt do a good job of taping. The paint covered unevenly because we didnt scrape or sand. We ran out of paint in the middle of the job because we didnt calculate carefully how much we would need. Paint got on the carpet or a piece of furniture because we didnt put down enough drop cloths. Through experience we learn that lack of preparation can be disastrous when it comes to paintingand leadership discernment! Following are the necessary preparations.