PURSUING GOD’S WILL TOGETHER:A Discernment PracticeFor Leadership Groups

THE FIVE GREAT STREAMS

OF SPIRITUAL LIFE1. Contemplative2. Holiness3. Charismatic4. Social Justice5. Evangelical

Richard Foster and James Bryan Smith, from Devotional Classics, p. 3

KNOWING GOD

“They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, ‘Where are you?’”

Genesis 3:8-9

KNOWING GOD

“And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

John 17:3

KNOWING GOD

“Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

Philippians 3:7

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

“Be still, and know that I am God.”Psalm 46:10

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

“But the LORD is in his holy temple;Let all the earth keep silence before him!” Habakkuk 2:20

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

“When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.”

Revelation 8:1

HOW MANY EARS DOES IT TAKE TO HEAR GOD?

Romans 12:1-8I Corinthians 2:12-13I Corinthians 12:1-13

PURSUING GOD’S WILL TOGETHER :A Discernment Practice for Leadership Groups

by Ruth Haley Barton

We suffer from institutional/structural blindness, just as the Pharisees did.

John 9:1-16

“As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.

John 9:1-16

We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, saying to him,

John 9:1-16

‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. The neighbours and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, ‘Is this not the man who used to sit and beg? ‘Some where saying, ‘It is he.’ Others were saying, ‘No, but it is someone like him.’

John 9:1-16

He kept saying, ‘I am the man.’ But they kept asking him, ‘Then how were your eyes opened?’ He answered, ‘The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, “Go to Siloam and wash.” Then I went and washed and received my sight.’

John 9:1-16

They said to him, ‘Where is he?’ He said, ‘I do not know.’ They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight.

John 9:1-16

He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.’ Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.’ But others said, ‘How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?’ And they were divided.”

The more involved we get in church activities/leadership, the more difficult it is to carve out time for God.We ask the wrong questions! Don’t ask, “Who sinned?” but ask, “What is God doing and how do we get in on it?”

THREE QUESTIONS1. What are the practices,

relationships and experiences that will help us stay in a process of spiritual transformation – together?

THREE QUESTIONS2. What practices will help us

stay open to the presence of Christ in our midst so that we can discern God’s will together?

THREE QUESTIONS3. How can we order our life

together so we are becoming increasingly abandoned to God rather than being driven by our egos and caught up in our own compulsions?

PREPARING TO BE LED

PRACTICES:The Prayer for IndifferenceThe Test for IndifferenceThe Prayer for WisdomThe Prayer of Quiet Trust

The Prayer for IndifferenceAsk God to make us

indifferent to anything but the will of God relative to the matter we are gathered to discern.What am I willing to let die to give God room to start something new?

The Test For Indifference

Ask ourselves, “How many are indifferent?” Be honest and pray for one another.Remember indifference is something God does in us rather than something we can make happen.

The Prayer for Wisdom

Now that we are indifferent, we pray for wisdom.

“If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives

to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be

given to you.”James 1:5

The Prayer of Quiet Trust

Creates space for us to live in deep trust in God where we know and experience utter dependence on God

“God, I’m not trying to rule the roost,I don’t want to be king of the mountain.I haven’t meddled where I have no business or fantasized grandiose plans.

I’ve kept my feet on the ground, I’ve cultivated a quiet heart.Like a baby content in its mother’s arms, my soul is a baby content.Wait, Israel, for GOD. Wait with hope. Hope now; hope always!”

Psalm 131

The Prayer of Quiet Trust

Creates space for us to live in deep trust in God where we know and experience utter dependence on God.A silent prayer that occurs simultaneously with prayers for indifference and wisdom.

PURSUING GOD’S WILL TOGETHER:A Discernment PracticeFor Leadership Groups