How do you make difficult decisions? Would you let the church help you decide? Marva Dawn tells about her decision about whether to get married. She and her suitor brought the question to their church. A group of leaders listened to their question and then waited together in prayer. They listened for the Spirit’s voice and then gave their judgment that the couple should proceed with wedding plans.
What do Gentiles need to do in order to become Christ-followers? This was the question du jour for the early believers in Jerusalem. They gathered together and listened to each other. Peter recounted his experience with the salvation of the Gentiles. Likewise Paul and Barnabas. Then James the leader of the church spoke up. He had listened carefully. Then he pointed to the scriptures. Finally, he gave his judgement.
What do you think? Could we do things this way? My friend Don Guthrie led our staff in a helpful exercise to listen to each other. Then he pointed to this text as a way forward. In the church and in our society, we need to listen to each other carefully. Henry Blackaby makes the case that when the Spirit speaks to the people of God, we will come to unity. Do we believe that? Are we willing to listen to each other and to God? God will give us his judgment if we are willing to wait together in prayer.
Margaret Thatcher, the Prime Minister of England once observed, “When Christians meet…their purpose is not—or should not be—to ascertain what is the mind of the majority, but what is the mind of the Holy Spirit—something which may be quite different.”
