Collective Discernment

I understand that I’m supposed to be leading toward God’s emerging future, mobilizing people toward a shared vision. But honestly, it’s like herding cats! How do we know where we’re supposed to be going?

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Conversation Overview:

• What makes this difficult?
• What are some different ways to look at collective discernment?
• What do we believe about the process of collective discernment?
• What are some practices and skills leaders can develop to help this process?

Resources

• Alan Roxburgh
• Leadership, God’s Agency, and Disruptions: Confronting Modernity’s Wager by Mark Lau Branson & Alan J. Roxburgh
• “Discernment is first of all a habit, a way of seeing that eventually permeates our whole life. It is the journey from spiritual blindness (not seeing God anywhere or seeing him only where we expect to see him) to spiritual sight (finding God everywhere, especially where we least expect it).” – Ruth Haley Barton
• Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation by Ruth Haley Barton
• “If the safest place to be is in the center of the will of God, then an appropriate measure of God’s will is the test, ‘is it safe?’… This view runs counter to what we find in the Scriptures. I want to reiterate the fact that the center of God’s will is not a safe place, but the most dangerous place in the world.” ― Erwin Raphael McManus, Chasing Daylight: Seize the Power of Every Moment
• “Our pop theology has eliminated the place for risk and insulated us with a comfort-and-security theology. This view runs counter to what is found in the Scriptures. I want to reiterate the fact that the center of God’s will is not a safe place, but the most dangerous place in the world. God fears nothing and no one. God moves with intentionality and power. To live outside God’s will puts us in danger, but to live in His will makes us dangerous.” ― Erwin Raphael McManus, Chasing Daylight: Seize the Power of Every Moment