Jump directly to the Content

Making Decisions as a Team

We assume life's biggest choices should be left to individuals, but Christians must find another way.
Making Decisions as a Team

At the crossroads of a major decision, a congregant goes to the pastor for help.

"What do we do?"

We might ask the congregant some reflective questions. "What do you think you should do? How do you think God is leading?"

Then we may encourage the person to seek advice from those they trust. If we're feeling particularly bold we might give our opinion. Even then we speak tentatively, reminding them the decision is ultimately their own. Then we send them off with a prayer.

But consider where this leaves them: basically alone, abandoned to collect opinions and take or leave them as they see fit. They alone must make the decision. They alone are responsible for the consequences.

"No one can make this decision for you," we say. But what if we could? Not as pastors but as the church?

Lone rangers

Christians argue all day over how churches should make decisions. But what seems to require no discussion—what we all already agree on—is that personal decisions ...

March
Support Our Work

Subscribe to CT for less than $4.25/month

Homepage Subscription Panel

Read These Next

Related
Finding the Right Fit
Finding the Right Fit
How can the ministry hiring process better serve employers and job-seekers?
From the Magazine
I Hated ‘Church People.’ But I Knew I Needed Them.
I Hated ‘Church People.’ But I Knew I Needed Them.
As I attended my second funeral in three weeks, two Christians showed me a kindness I couldn't explain.
Editor's Pick
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
Understanding God and our world needs more than bare reason and experience.
close