Spiritual Discernment

The pastor explained that one of her hopes and dreams was to enable the leaders of congregations to understand the difference between conducting the business of the local church and spending time discerning the will of God. I understood part of her passion and the necessity of moving to a different mode of decision-making. My discovery focused around my decision to offer myself for election as a bishop of the Church. People had spoken to me about offering myself for election as a bishop of the Church. I went through my normal pattern of looking at the various components of pros, cons, advantages, disadvantages, risks, benefits, etc., but my heart was never at peace about what I should do in the early months of 1999. I began to search out friends to seek their advice and direction. I talked with my bishop. My heart was still not at peace.

By the providence of God, I discovered a book on Biblical discernment. The book assumed a group study within a local church, but I entered the study privately. Each night I read the Biblical material, a chapter in the book, and spent time in personal prayer. Several insights came from this practice. Discernment demands a response to the question, “What is God already doing as it relates to this issue?” God did not wait for me to wake up one day and suddenly place the future leadership of the Church on God’s list of things needing attention. God has been working on where the United Methodist Church needs to go and who God desires to be involved in this reformation. The issue is not whether God will join me in what I want to accomplish, but rather, am I willing to join in what God is already doing.

My next discovery was that my primary objective was not whether this will benefit me, but rather whether my actions would benefit what God is striving to accomplish in our midst. I looked at how God utilized others in the Biblical story. I saw the necessity of abrogating my own will to the will of God. I also saw in the Bible individuals who failed their mission because they allowed their own mission to supplant God’s mission. Having good intentions did not mean that my focus remained on God’s mission. Discernment allows time and introspection to see beyond the obvious.

The process affirmed the necessity of bringing an issue before other people and before God in prayer. Prayer is more than a perfunctory address to God at the beginning of a meeting, a meal, or before retiring in the evening. Prayer is listening to God. Certainly, we take our concerns and lift them unto God, but praying means that we spend time deliberately and contentiously listening for a word from God.

Even after this study, prayer, scripture reading, and conversation, my heart was not at peace. Valerie’s pastor came by to visit one day and I shared the struggle of my soul. He asked, “Are you willing to take this one step at a time and allow the outcome to remain in God’s hands?” Discernment finally came. I was able and willing to say, “Here I am, Lord. Whatever you desire is fine with me.” My heart was at peace. I had to revisit that conversation several times over the next several months, but I knew what I needed to do—do my part and leave the rest in God’s hands.

I am convinced individuals, congregations, districts, and the annual conferences need to practice spiritual discernment to align ourselves with what God is doing and our role in moving God’s mission forward. Let God’s will become our will.

Grace & Peace,
Max