I have served as a leader in many different contexts over the years and in each context, I, along with a team, had to enter into times of discerning God’s will. We know in general what God’s will is for us. It is God’s will that we be sanctified—set apart for His purposes in the world. That is true for all of us all of the time. And yet, there are also times, similar to what we see in the story of the early Church, where we need to collectively discern God’s will for a particular decision or direction.
Discernment literally means to separate, to discriminate, to determine, to decide or to distinguish between two things. Discernment, in the most general sense, is the capacity to recognize and respond to the presence and the activity of God—both in the ordinary moments and in the larger decisions of our lives.
Corporate leadership discernment, then, is the capacity to recognize and respond to the presence and activity of God as a leadership group relative to the issue we are facing, and to make decisions in response to His direction.
“Discernment is a quality of attentiveness to God that, over time, develops into the ability to sense God’s heart and purpose in any given moment. We become familiar with the tone, quality and content of God’s voice.” – Ruth Haley Barton
There are several passages that give us insight and instruction from how the early Church sought God’s guidance and wisdom in making decisions. Here are just a few, each highlighting a key aspect for the discerning process:
We are told in Acts 13:2 about the church in Antioch: While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Throughout Scripture, we see the importance of being connected with God in worship, prayer, and fasting as we seek Him and open ourselves to hear His voice.
Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Paul says we are to be transformed by the renewing of our mind so that we can discern what the will of God is. This most often happens through engaging the Scriptures, listening for God’s voice instead of reading through the lens of our agenda.
In 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, we see the wisdom of God and the wisdom of the world are not the same thing. In verse 30, it highlights that we who are in Christ Jesus, “who became to us wisdom from God,” now have access to God’s wisdom through connection and dependence on the Spirit. Verse 31 ends with “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” As we humbly seek Him, God by His Spirit will give us His wisdom in order that He may be known and glorified through us.
I recently developed a tool with insights taken from Ruth Haley Barton’s book Pursuing God’s Will Together to serve as a guide for leadership teams as they walk through a discernment process together. It will lead you to consider:
- What might prevent our ability to see and discern?
- How is attending to our own spiritual formation helpful?
- What foundational beliefs should be the starting point?
- What are the four movements of the collective leadership discernment process?
No matter what you are trying to discern personally or collectively, this guide will help you engage the process with humility, unity, biblical wisdom, clarity, and in submission to the Spirit.
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