You want a unified team? Commit to making decisions in alignment with God’s will together.
I’ve read some of Ruth Haley Barton’s other books, so I was already a fan. But in Pursing God’s Will Together, she breaks new ground with looking at spiritual direction in the context of ministry teams, not just individuals. How do you work together with others on your team to engage in a clear process for discerning God’s will?
Discerning God’s will together
I used her process with one group I consulted with recently. They had read her book and wanted help engaging the process. I went through and outlined some of her exercises, packaging them in ways that would be useful to this particular team. For instance, she suggested that teams read the story of the blind man being healed in John 9. As various groups represented in the passage (the disciples, the neighbors, the Pharisees, and the parents) debated about the cause of the man’s illness and the meaning of his healing, the team members thought about the issue from various perspectives and considered where they most naturally found themselves in the story. That exercise had implications for how they approached challenges and obstacles together as a team. You can read more about it in the book.
The book provides a clear and unhurried discernment process and great team exercises for working together productively. I highly recommend Pursuing God’s Will Together.
Additional resources
Barnabas Ministry Training– This downloadable turn-key kit helps churches create a culture of coming alongside others in order to help them identify their unique Kingdom calling and take their next steps to live into that calling.