The Truth About How We Make Decisions
READ THE HOLY SPIRIT + CHURCH LEADERSHIP PART 1 HERE
Can I tell you how most churches and church leaders make decisions?
What decision will cause the least amount of pain or discomfort for the most amount of people?
Now let me ask you, is that how you want the spiritual leaders in your church making decisions? Or, would you want them making decisions based on how and where they see the Spirit of God moving?
The truth is, the gravitational pull of the local church is always towards the inside. That’s why it’s so hard to keep our focus on the outside, on our mission, to seek and save the lost. Because more often than not we’re trying to keep the people on the inside happy!
This is a constant struggle for every church and every church leadership for every generation.
But the responsibility of the leaders of the church, the people God choose to lead the church, is not to make you happy. That’s the job of the manager and staff at Chick-Fil-A!
The job of the leaders of the church is NOT to make the decision that will cause the most amount of people the least amount of pain. Their job, through spiritual discernment, is to notice where the Holy Spirit is already at work and lead in that direction. Their job is to not make it difficult for people to come to faith in Jesus and look to remove any traditions or customs that could become obstacles to reaching people for Christ. (Acts 15.19)
Our job as the church is to follow their lead as they follow Christ and to hold God’s mission for His church above all our personal preferences.
Our Mission?
I’ve shared this before but I believe Ed Stetzer was right when he said,
“God’s church doesn’t have a mission, God’s mission has a church!”
– Ed Stetzer
This is what I believe Peter was getting at in Acts 15 when meeting with the leaders of the church in Jerusalem. He said it this way…
“So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.”
Everyone listened quietly as Barnabas and Paul told about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.” (Acts 15.10-12)
Now right here I want you to notice what Peter has done, and what Barnabas and Paul do…
They don’t argue based on what the Bible says.
They don’t argue based on what their tradition says.
They don’t argue based on the way things have always been done.
They base their argument on what and how they see the Holy Spirit at work in the world around them.
God’s Activity Informs Our Understanding
Here’s what happens next…
When they had finished, James stood and said, “Brothers, listen to me. Peter has told you about the time God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people for himself. And this conversion of Gentiles is exactly what the prophets predicted. As it is written:
‘Afterward I will return
and restore the fallen house of David.
I will rebuild its ruins
and restore it,
so that the rest of humanity might seek the Lord,
including the Gentiles—
all those I have called to be mine.
The Lord has spoken—
he who made these things known so long ago.’
Acts 15:13-18
This is interesting because James does refer back to scripture. Not to the Law of Moses, but James goes back to one of the prophets. To the prophet Amos. But he doesn’t use scripture to define what they should do next.
Instead, He takes notice of how the Spirit of God is present and allows that to inform how He reads Scripture.
Luke Timothy Johnson says it this way, “… the text of Scripture does not dictate how God should act. Rather, God’s action dictates how we should understand the text of Scripture.”
The Decision
So based on what James understands about the activity of the Holy Spirit in the world around them, James says this…
“And so my judgment is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood. For these laws of Moses have been preached in Jewish synagogues in every city on every Sabbath for many generations.” (Acts 15:19-21)
Just in case you missed it, they didn’t take a vote. Here’s what they did… They gathered in community, looked for where the Holy Spirit was already at work, confirmed from scripture that this was in line with the overarching mission of God and then made a decision!
Again, I like the way scholar Luke Timothy Johnson says it, “…the human Church now catches up with the divine initiative, and formally declares itself on the side of God’s plan to save all humanity.”
After this meeting and this decision is made, they send a delegation back to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas to tell the church what was decided by this council in Jerusalem. Here’s what they wrote to the church. Are you ready?
“For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these few requirements: You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. If you do this, you will do well. Farewell.” (Acts 15.28-29)
That’s it. That’s the entire letter.
It Seemed Good to the Holy Spirit?
And did you hear how they said they came to this decision? They said… “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us…”
At what point do you think the Holy Spirit helped them in their decision process?
From their perspective, the Holy Spirit was at work in them individually and collectively to help them make a decision that would have a major impact on the church from that day forward.
The Holy Spirit was already at work and they were humble enough to acknowledge that and instead of holding on to their ideas about how the church should be they made a significant change in what they believed to fall in line with how the Holy Spirit was active in the world to reach more people for Christ!
And here’s what’s really interesting… This issue never again required resolution. They made the decision and it was done. It never came up again.
Why?
Because the mission of God trumps our preferences.
The mission of God even trumps our traditions.
Because…
As a church, the mission of God is our highest priority and the Spirit of God is our guide.
And God’s mission is the same today as it was 2000 years ago when the church began, to reach as many people as possible by whatever means possible with the good news of Jesus!
So, how does spiritual discernment happen?
I think this is an important question for us as a church. And thankfully, Luke gives us the playbook on how we should make decisions.
- In Community // Every decision we make should be made in community, by wise, experienced, and trusted voices. By a group of people who are earnestly seeking the will of God together over and above their personal preferences.
- Looking for the activity of the Holy Spirit // We have to ask, Where and how do we see the Holy Spirit already at work? Or absent? And how can we realign what we do in practice, what we believe, to fall in line with how we agree the Holy Spirit is at work and moving in the lives of people.
- Confirming it with the mission of God // What decision would make it easier for those who are far from God to come near to God? Is this decision rooted in custom/tradition or where we see the Spirit of God on the move?
The primary filter for every decision we make as a church is this… How can we reach more people with the good news of the love of Jesus? How can we, like Jesus, live to seek and save the lost?
2000 Years Later, Same Purpose
About 2000 years ago Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, came from Heaven to Earth with ONE PURPOSE. To seek and save the lost.
He lived, He died on a criminal’s cross, then three days later the Spirit of God raised Him up from that grave!
All of that, He did all of that for you and for me. But not just for you and me, He did that for your neighbors. For our community. For the world.
He came to seek and save the lost.
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