Friday, May 2, 2008

Pastors With A Sixth Sense - Discernment

In consulting with a pastor or a church, we look at tracking rhythms in the life of an organization. The first move is to look at trends (people in groups, # of people serving, # of leaders, attendance, giving levels, # of guests, etc…).

But also, God puts something in a leader akin to a sixth sense or a gut-level awareness of the movement of the organism. It is an area where natural and supernatural co-exist, contradict, and compliment.

Sometimes, you have to wipe away the data and listen to the sixth sense, the gut, or that internal pause that is speaking. The Holy Spirit can speak through data and trends and realities. But, how often does He speak through that still, small voice? I’d say pretty often. The bothersome thing is when that gut is checking you to do something that doesn’t make sense or is inconvenient.

Listening to that counter-intuitive voice doesn’t always make sense. But, developing an ear to recognize it is key to strong leadership.

An even bigger challenge to hearing it is articulating that gut intuition so that others can understand and follow.

[Idea from Travis Johnson]

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