As I reflect on the dynamic of discernment, I am living in the tension of process and free-flowing forms of interaction. We want to be intentional about moving forward. At the same time, we want to be open to the movement of the Holy Spirit. Are these dynamic incompatible? Can they co-exist? While I struggle [...]
Read MoreWatching to Learn
In the morning, I generally read Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals. The book is designed for community reading, but it works well as a devotion. It leads me into focused prayer and provides Scripture for reflection. This morning, I was reading Genesis 24:1-27. This is the story of Abraham’s servant being commissioned to [...]
Read MoreUnforeseen Circumstances
We are on the other side of the January 22 meeting. One unforeseen detail was that I did not attend. On Saturday afternoon, I came down with a stomach virus. I was unable to preach in morning worship and attend the meeting on Sunday evening. As I lay in bed pondering what this would mean, [...]
Read MoreAnother Decision
It has been a while since I have blogged on this site. I have been a bit overwhelmed finishing my doctoral thesis. However, I hope to contribute to this site throughout 2012. My thesis has been submitted to the second reader and I have a bit of time to sit back and evaluate what I [...]
Read MorePromotion-Focused vs. Prevention-Focused
A couple weeks ago, my thesis supervisor was in Muncie for an on-site visit. We reviewed the work of the first few chapters and talked about areas that needed work. One of the oversights was psychosocial research. I assumed that confidence in decision-making was something that would naturally lead to better decisions. I needed to [...]
Read MoreIn a Hurry
One of the key truths that I am learning about discernment is that it never ends. It seems that one set of questions leads to the next. Once we have some level of clarity it becomes fuzzy again. We step into coherence only to find more uncertainty. For me, this is not easy. I like [...]
Read MoreExamine
It has been almost a month since I have posted. If you have been reading along, you know that we have been carrying out our listening strategy. During this time, we prayed corporately in worship, held a 24 hour prayer vigil, conducted an all-church survey, and spent time individually reflecting on the decision of staffing [...]
Read MoreChanging Behavior
This morning, I was listening to a podcast about leading churches. The interviewee was talking about the need to develop appropriate systems for hiring staff; he was speaking from mega-church experience. One of the phrases that he used was “systems create behavior.” That phrase stuck with me. As we are developing a process of discernment, [...]
Read MoreThe Listening Stage
We met again last night to develop a listening strategy. A listening strategy is the plan to hear voices around us. It includes listening to outsiders, to the congregation, to God. It might seem strange to have a strategy for listening. Yet, we emphasize this stage because we often fail to listen. Both change and [...]
Read MoreThe Exploring Stage
I met last night with a group of leaders to begin working through a decision. Developing this discernment process has been difficult and complicated. Yet, we feel that it directs the decision-making process. As we gathered last night, it was interesting to see how it played out. Fifteen leaders gathered around the table for initial [...]
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