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07774 November 29, 2007
Seeking God's will
Moderators' Conference explores discernment process and role of moderators as spiritual leaders
by Toya Richards Hill Presbyterian News Service
LOUISVILLE - Newly elected Synod of the Covenant moderator Deborah Fair understands that discernment is not just "going somewhere and praying for a while."
It's applying certain skills that help, among other things, build community, make covenants, look at options and choose directions, she said.
Discernment is not about "let's go and pray and hope the Lord gives us an answer," said Fair, the synod's moderator since early October. It goes beyond that, she added.
That deeper understanding of discernment was just one of the things Fair said she took away from the recent 2007 Moderators' Conference. Held here Nov. 16-18, the gathering brought together moderators from synods and presbyteries throughout the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) under the theme, "Walking in the Light: Spiritual Leadership for the Church."
"I want our elders to start thinking of themselves as spiritual leaders along with the pastor," the Rev. Joan Gray, moderator of the 217th General Assembly, said in a post-conference interview. "I wanted people to see how important they are in the midst of our system."
Gray said she also wanted attendees "to realize that Jesus Christ is the Lord and head of the church," and any authority exercised is delegated from Him and must be in accordance with His will.
"It's really about God, it's not about us," said Gray, whose term ends in summer 2008 with the 218th General Assembly meeting in San Jose, CA. "That's the bottom line."
And discernment, she said, is all about "seeking, recognizing God's will."
Discernment requires people willing to trust God and seek God's will, no matter what it is, said Gray. "It's about surrender."
The Rev. Vicky Curtiss, one of the conference speakers and facilitators of the discernment discussion, said one of the aims was to give attendees "enough of a hands-on experience of how to actually do a discernment process in the life of the presbytery."
The hope was that participants could then go home and fully incorporate the process, or dimensions of it, she said.
Co-pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Corvallis, OR, and a member of the General Assembly's Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church, Curtiss said the discernment process is to be used when there are large, significant issues to be addressed that affect the whole body, especially potentially divisive things.
The process incorporates a spiritual approach and a consensus-seeking approach in an effort to "discern the mind of Christ," she said.
Praying, listening to one another and emphasizing the use of silence, moving away from a debating, oppositional position and using Eric Law's tool of mutual invitation are among the components of the process that can be used, Curtiss said, also noting that discernment can be used alongside Robert's Rules of Order.
"There's more intentionality about listening and including more voices," she said. "And when we listen, we listen for the values and directions that seem to emerging," asking, "How is the Spirit speaking through each person?"
The Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church used the discernment process as it developed the report and recommendations it ultimately submitted to the 217th General Assembly in 2006.
The Rev. Frank Yates, newly elected moderator of Santa Fe Presbytery, said one meeting is already scheduled in his presbytery to look at how to incorporate what he learned about the discernment process at the moderators' conference.
In addition, he said Santa Fe and nearby Sierra Blanca presbyteries are in conversations about the possibility of sharing a presbytery executive, a decision that "probably needs to be done using the discernment process."
"The overall message to us was that the role of the moderator is pretty important, and to be spiritually prepared," Yates said.
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