Posted 115 days ago
A Meeting For Discernment
from Bruce Bishop, co-author of Practicing Discernment Together
Most traditional meetings are task-oriented. There is limited time to meet, so there is an agenda and deadlines. We open in prayer, knock out the details, and close in prayer to ask God to bless our decisions. A better way is to weave in prayer and spiritual attentiveness throughout the meeting, so that the meeting moves from “task orientation” to “discernment orientation,” thus allowing God to take the role of leader.
Here is one possible way to turn board meetings into spiritual communities:
Centering
(Recognizing the presence of God)
Gathering silence before the meal/meeting
Relating
(Checking in with each other)
Briefly checking-in: Something we are looking forward to this week, something we’re not so excited about
Receiving
(Attending to God, listening)
Prayer of Examen on your experience of God this last week: Consolations and Desolations
Ruminating
(Considering the fruits of the prayer, looking for direction and threads)
Listening to one another, considering how God is moving in our personal lives
Reflecting
(Given what we’ve heard and shared, what is God doing among us or calling us to?)
Noticings and reflections and implications of where God is active
Responding
(With this focus on God and God’s activity, we do the business at hand)
Looking at our business agenda in this spirit of attentiveness
Business
Includes re-centering as needed to keep ourselves attentive
Returning and Closing
(offering ourselves and our efforts to God)
Let me explain some of these steps.
Centering is an intentional way to gather the group and help us begin to leave behind our busy schedules and the demands on our time. We each arrive at a meeting with an entire world dragging behind us. And for each of us, that world is unique. So taking time to make a conscious choice to set aside those demands and distractions is helpful. That’s what this opening exercise is all about. Some suggested centering exercises are: to light a candle as a representation of Christ’s presence; join hands in a moment of silence; sing a song; say the Lord ’s Prayer etc.
Relating is our opportunity to reconnect with one another. It is usually a simple question that doesn’t have to be spiritual in nature, but allows Board members share something about their lives outside of the Board. Where the first step is one of becoming aware of Christ, this step is a way to better become aware of each other. “Rate your week from 1-to10.” “What is a fun thing you did this weekend?” “What were you doing exactly 2 hours ago?” This step is a way to help us see each other as whole people…especially when they make us laugh!
Receiving may take 15-20 minutes, and is a spiritual practice that grounds us in the Spirit, connecting us more deeply to the Presence of God. Since business is now a practice of discerning God’s desires, our ability to be sensitive to the movement of the Spirit allows that to happen expeditiously. These spiritual exercises might include: a scripture meditation known as Lectio Divina; a prayer of Examen (looking for the activity of God during a recent period of our lives); a prayer practice; etc.
Ruminating is simply listening well to one another as we share from our time of receiving from God. Assume that God is up to something among us, so be attentive to themes or threads you become aware of as you listen.
Reflecting on what God is doing among us as a group, we ask ourselves the Big Questions: “How is God moving in us? How is that related to our vision as a board? Where is there energy?” If your board has some directional/identity questions before it, you could introduce them here, even if at this point you don’t answer them, but merely see how your sharing might relate to any of them. “What is our calling as a board? What is God’s heart around our mission? What characteristics of God should we endeavor to represent to the world? Where are we experiencing energy but not doing anything about it? Where are we pushing forward and finding resistance?”
Responding is the point where we finally get to business. h wait, we’ve been doing business all along! This is simply the point where we introduce specific items that need discussion or decision. Once the foundation of feeling connected to one another and to God has been laid, then we can move forward with confidence into the tasks at hand… always keeping an eye on our attentiveness to the Spirit. If at any point we feel distracted from being rooted in Christ, we need to push ourselves back from the agenda, take a deep breath, and reconnect.
Returning and closing are the final steps. Before rushing back out into the world, take a moment to prayerfully reflect over the course of the meeting. Ask yourselves where you felt close to God; where there seemed to be shifts in the discussion that opened you up to new ways of thinking; where there were blocks; where God seemed most present. Celebrate your experience of doing the work of the Church in the presence of God by naming some of these times and being grateful together. Allow your closing prayer to express your thanks and joy.
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