What is the Spirit Saying to the Church?

Leadership means different things to different people in the church. In recent years, the model of strong pastoral leadership has taken root in churches of various denominations (or none). This model emphasizes the role of a visionary leader who creates a church or comes to a church with his (although sometimes, her) vision of where God wants the church to go. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it works for a while and then everything falls apart when the pastor/leader leaves the scene.

When I was taking a class with Alan Roxburgh, a missional theologian, he said something to this effect: “The Spirit of God is present among the people of God and will provide the way forward.” This approach recognizes, first, that the church is made of people with different gifts--including the pastor, the ministerial staff, and every single disciple in that church--who have something unique to offer. Second, this also assumes that God is honored when every church embraces its distinctive mission within its particular context.

Because of this, effective church leaders should be intentional about listening to the church or, perhaps, more specifically, what the Spirit is saying to the church. This rarely happens in staff meetings, committee meetings, or church business meetings. It can happen when the disciples in the congregation give time, prayer, and effort to talk with each other about what they value in their congregation, what they perceive God is doing in that family right now, and what God may be leading them to do in the future.

Our church recently went through a pastor transition. Under the leadership of our Transitional Interim Pastor Bill Owen (from the Center for Healthy Churches), the pastor search committee, and an expanded lay leadership team, we held four congregational conversations where we talked about who we are as a church--our past, our present, and our future. We are a diverse congregation in a number or ways. These conversations did not attempt to minimize those differences, but we did find many common understandings of who we are as God’s people and identified some God-sized goals for the future. Although this was done to inform the pastor search committee in its search for a new pastor, congregations can engage in such intensive and intentional conversations at other times in order to hear the voice of the Spirit.

Another discernment activity is built around small group sessions. Disciples in the congregations meet together over a period of time around a common curriculum for insight, discussion, and prayer. They share their discoveries with the leadership of the church, sharing ideas and hopes for the church. This can provide the basis for identifying a path forward for the church. In the ReShape process currently being offered by Pinnacle Leadership Associates, the small group component is essential to discerning the leadership of the Spirit in these volatile times.

Town halls are another way for disciples in a congregation to share ideas and respond to proposed strategies without the pressure of Parliamentary Procedure or the need to come away with a decision. Techniques borrowed from appreciative inquiry, consensus decision-making, and spiritual discernment allow for freedom of expression and openness to new ideas.

Certainly, there are other ways to discern what the Spirit is saying to the church, but face-to-face conversations around the table (even if it is a virtual one) are necessary. Insights are discovered in this way that are never found in a survey, not matter how well crafted.

John the Elder wrote, “Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.” (Revelation 2:7a, NRSV)

What is the Spirit saying to your church?

(If you are interested in pursuing any of the approaches mentioned above in your own congregation, please contact Pinnacle Leadership Associates for more information.)

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