decisions we need to make ...

It could be said that life is simply one decision after another. In any given day we make a multitude of decisions; some are rather insignificant, while others have huge ramifications. This is equally true for us as a church community...

In the midst of all the smaller decisions we need to make during any given week there are currently three major decisions we as a church are considering... the Property Redevelopment, the current movements within the Ministry Team and the 2011/2012 Budget. 

Given this how do we as followers of Jesus make decisions, whether it be in our personal life or as a church community?

Personally I find myself coming back to the example we see in Acts 15 where the early church had to make a difficult decision that would have huge implications for the Kingdom of God.  We get a hint of the process they used when we read '...it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us...' (28). 

They made a 'Spirit' decision. For you and I that means living in submission to God's Word, walking in the Spirit and being open to the voice and promptings of the Spirit.  In practice that will require us asking several questions:

• Does the Bible have something black and white to say about this matter or are there Biblical principles that influences this decision?
• Is my life given over to God and do I want His will or my own agenda? 
• Am I asking God to lead me and anticipating Him doing it? 
• Is there a growing sense of 'the still small voice of the Spirit' nudging me in a particular direction and are there circumstantial evidences confirming the direction I'm moving in?

They made an 'us' decision.  God created us with minds and wills and He expects us to use them. When it comes to decision making AW Tozer spoke of 'sanctified common sense'. Submitted to God, our minds are powerful allies and therefore we need to listen to others as we weigh up different perspectives, process information and arrive at thought-out conclusions.

Personally I appreciate the acknowledgement of both these elements. To rely on one or the other leaves us vulnerable to making unbalanced decisions, but by holding them together, we not only can make good decisions but we also demonstrate what it means to be people created in the image of God.

I'm not convinced everyone involved in the process in Acts 15 necessarily agreed with or was comfortable with the final decision. Putting such restrictions on the decision making process is neither consistent with Scripture or social reality.  It would appear for example that even though Peter strongly influenced the direction of the initial decision, he vacillated when it came to its outworking (Gal 2:11-14). 

Decision making isn't always easy, let alone the influence our feelings or the loudest voice brings to bear at such times.  But when we use this process we can proceed confidently trusting in our Heavenly Father who goes before us.

Kevin