|
As I reflected on community and discernment, I thought of Epiphany and the Wise Men, a community of magi -- think of them as philosophers or astrologers -- who searched sacred scriptures and the heavens together, seeking to discern the Way to the Divine.
Not knowing how that community of magi organized themselves and how they carried out their work, I’d like to think that they were disciplined in their studies, comfortable in their solitude, open to sharing divine direction and insight, and committed to their life together and their common mission. I imagine them, men and women, gathered around the table, sharing a meal in community and conferring with one another about what they were learning, what they understood God to be revealing, and where they believed the Divine was calling them.
Though the story of the visit of the Wise Men is brief in the Gospel of Matthew, I have to believe that they were a community built on trust and a common purpose, where after watching and waiting and deep study and reflection they finally discerned together that the star appearing in the East would guide them to King of the Jews. They knew it was time to pack up, strap the saddles on their camels, and embark on the journey -- to follow the divine into the unknown.
In the fourth chapter of her book "How to Lead When You Don't Know Where You're Going: Leading in a Liminal Season,” Susan Beaumont explores the importance of deepening group discernment as communities seek to “see what God is up to.” In that chapter, she quotes Ruth Haley Barton, who defines discernment as “an ever increasing capacity to see the work of God in the midst of the human situation, so that we can align ourselves with what God is doing” (And how God is calling us to participate, I would add.)
It's the conviction of many who teach congregational leadership, like Barton and Beaumont, that the church must nurture discerning leaders and encourage them both to practice and to teach spiritual disciplines that open themselves and others to God's guidance, as the magi were guided by the star placed in the heavens by the Divine.
In her book “Pursuing God’s Will Together: A Discernment Practice for Leadership Groups,” Barton contends that “corporate discernment begins with attending to the spiritual formation of each individual leader” and that “solitude is the foundational discipline of the spiritual life; it is time set aside to give God our full and undivided attention.” For Barton, “discernment at the leadership level begins … with the spiritual transformation of each leader as they engage the disciplines that enable them to regularly offer themselves – body and soul – to God.” That discernment “is much more than decision making; it is first of all, a habit, a way of seeing that can permeate our whole being.” Discerning leaders are transformed and transformational.
In the Community of Practice that I facilitate (as I know is true in other COPs), we have sought to discern together where God is leading. We have spent much of our time listening to one another, reflecting together on life and ministry, and sharing our experience and our wisdom as we have prayerfully opened ourselves to God's guidance. Reading Beaumont and Barton’s books together, and hearing the call to become discerning leaders through spiritual formation, our COP has made the commitment to explore spiritual disciplines while reading Roger Wayne Wolsey’s book “Discovering Fire: Spiritual Practices that Transform Lives.” The next step for our group, as individuals and congregational leaders, is to support one another in spiritual practice and growth.
Through the years, leaders in the Wisconsin Conference have found spiritual guidance in other books written by mystics, retreat leaders, theologians, spiritual directors and magi like Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, Howard Thurman, Cynthia Bourgeault, Matthew Fox, Tilden Edwards, Joan Chittister, Richard Foster, Dorothy Bass, Parker Palmer and our own Holly Whitcomb.
In the past, the Conference’s Spiritual Formation Task Force was committed to supporting pastors, leaders and the faithful in growing spiritually, including by offering a three-part UCC-created retreat experience called the Pilgrimage that introduced participants to spiritual disciplines and helped develop local church spirituality groups. Leaders and congregational members have also attended spirituality retreats and programs at Wisconsin retreat centers like Holy Wisdom in Madison and The Sienna Center in Racine, as they have sought to grow as discerning leaders.
As we seek to nurture the soul of the beloved community, is it time to challenge ourselves -- as individuals, as leaders, as communities of faith and as a Conference -- to grow as discerning leaders who practice and encourage the practice of spiritual disciplines -- a spirituality that helps us discern where the Star of Bethlehem is leading us and what it means to follow the Prince of Peace.
With that in mind:
- How are you discerning the guidance of the Divine?
- What spiritual discipline(s) do you practice that open you to God’s guidance?
- How have you engaged your community in the development of discerning leadership?
- What resources and programs (books, trainings, retreats, spiritual directors, coaches, tools like Appreciative Inquiry, etc.) have helped you grow spiritually and in discernment?
- Would you be interested in helping to create opportunities for spiritual formation and the growth of discerning leaders in the Conference?
May we be open to discerning God’s guidance.
The Rev. Tim Perkins is a member of Supportive Ministry Team of the Wisconsin Conference UCC. Reach him by email at [email protected] or by phone at 414-403-0221.
Bibliography:
- “How to Lead When You Don’t Know Where You're Going: Leading in a Liminal Season,” by Susan Beaumont
- “Pursuing God’s Will Together: A Discernment Practice for Leadership Groups,” by Ruth Haley Barton
| 
