Too often the missing element in God's business is God. "At church meetings, we often expect the pastor to pray book-end prayers—one at the beginning and one at the end—but then it's business as usual," said Sister Ellen Morseth, BVM. "Spiritual discernment is essential to the church, but it has been buried for years."

Morseth and Presbyterian minister Charles Olsen began Worshipful Work, a Kansas City-based ministry that teaches church leaders to bring the practices of worship into the board room and business meeting. The ministry grew from a study Olsen led, funded by the Lilly Endowment, on the ways congregations make decisions. Noticeably absent in the control group was a concentration on spirituality and discernment.

Most church leadership teams assume God is guiding what they do. But—with the influence of business models on church planning and administration—the plans God has for a congregation are sometimes bypassed for the sake of efficiency.

Spiritual discernment—seeking ...