Conference Minister's Corner 3.17.26

Discernment

I have been talking a lot about the practice of discernment lately. The more conversations I have had about discernment, the more I have realized it is not a commonly understood concept. My experience is that some people consider discernment to be the “church word” for decision-making. For me, there is more to discernment than that. So, I thought I’d write this week about what, for me, the essence of discernment is.

For me, discernment is never just about figuring out my needs, my desires, or my wants. Discernment is about figuring out how I can be most fully in alignment with the will of the Divine. And yes, sometimes I discern that the Divine will is pointing me toward something very different from where my own needs or desires lead.

While discernment often involves time set apart for prayer, reflection, fasting, silence, and listening, for me, it ultimately always involves community. If I limit discernment to what happens in isolation, it becomes too easy for me to distort the voice of God to my own ends. I believe that God speaks to me through others, and I need to be listening. The affirmation or challenge of community is a necessary part of my discernment.

Discernment is an end unto itself. It is too easy to treat discernment like we are trying to prove a scientific hypothesis. But if we are trying to discern toward one outcome, then we are not fully listening to God, who is the author of all possibilities. Further, when we focus discernment on one outcome and discern that it is not the path we are called to, it becomes too easy to feel like we’ve failed. But discernment—aligning ourselves with the will of the Divine—is never a failure. We may end up on a different path than we imagined at the beginning, but that in itself is a success.

Finally, discernment is not bound by time. It doesn’t really have an endpoint. It is always evolving. Discernment is more of a constant dialogue than a decision that has been made. As we are in relationship with the Still Speaking God, any time we consider the dialogue to be complete, we begin to neglect the relationship. On the other hand, if we adopt a posture and practice of continual discernment, we will continue to grow in our relationship with God.

On April 24th and 25th, our Ministry 21 program is hosting a discernment retreat. If you are in the midst of discerning your ministry, or if you are simply trying to learn more about discernment, I hope you will consider joining us.

Lenten blessings,

Gordon