In my January letter, I mentioned that Council would soon be going through a process of discernment regarding the Call Committee and also that we, as a congregation, need to take the time to allow our hearts to listen to and discern where it is the Holy Spirit is calling us. I’d like to share with you a bit more about the importance of discernment.
Merriam-Webster defines discernment as the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure. In a spiritual context, the term is used to describe calling on the Holy Spirit to aid our attempt to understand God’s will. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul lists discernment as one of the gifts from God (1 Corinthians 12:7-11) and in his letter to the Romans, Paul challenges them look beyond the current age by renewing their minds:
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12.2)
For Christ the Servant today, our task is to discern what is best for the future of our congregation and the community in which we live. Understanding God’s will for us requires not only that we be in conversation with God, but just as importantly, with each other. Dietrich Bonhoeffer emphasized the importance of listening to each other:
The first service one owes to others in the community involves listening to them. Just as our love for God begins with listening to God’s Word, the beginning of love for other Christians is learning to listen to them. (Life Together in Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, v. 5 Daniel W. Bloesch and James H. Burtness, trs., Geffrey B. Kelly, ed., (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996), 98.)
Council is in the midst of its own discernment as we reflect upon a recommendation for an interim pastor. It has been a very deliberate and thoughtful process which, I believe, will lead us to a sound decision for our congregation. We have also spent a good deal of time discerning those gifts (spiritual and otherwise) that need to be represented on the Call Committee. We shared our own thoughts and listened with grace to each other. When we meet in our retreat at the end of January, we will prayerfully consider who possesses those gifts and will thus be candidates for the committee. Through prayer, reflection and discernment, we hope to identify those in our midst who can best take on this important task. Paul’s challenge to a way of spiritual discernment will then be upon them.
The Call Committee will need to practice the art of listening, both to each other and to all members of our congregation, as they carry out their tasks of creating a Congregational Profile and evaluating candidates. They will need to be attentive listeners as they reach out to the congregation to gather the input needed to create a document that defines who we are and where we are headed. The Committee will then need to listen to the Holy Spirit and to each other, as they discern which candidate is the one to shepherd our congregation in living out God’s will for us.
Each member of this congregation also needs to do his/her own discerning about where CTS is being called. In sharing our thoughts, the challenge will be to listen with grace, speak with love and consider perspectives that are not our own. It needs to be a time of prayer, reflection, humility and setting aside our own agendas. Only in this way can we hear the voice of God.
Yours in Christ’s Service,
Tony Kerlavage
Council President
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