The Spiritual Discipline of Guidance

I'm back at the Corporate Disciplines, and Guidance is the discipline of this month. As a Christian who has grown up in Western culture (more specifically American culture), this discipline is more difficult for me to grasp.

In The Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth by Richard Foster, he does take the time to explain that while God does give individual guidance, He also calls for His followers to yield to corporate guidance. God leads His Body, not just individual parts.

How does God lead people? Through the Bible, reason, circumstances, angels, visions, dreams, signs, and also, through His Body. God guides individuals, but He also guides groups of people. We as individuals can learn a lot from the Christian group.

In the Early Church's history, believers met in Jesus' name to discern His will. They believed that when they were in unity, in line with the Scriptures, they were in line with God as well.

What does Corporate Guidance entail?
Fasting.
Prayer.
Worship.
Seeking God's will together.

How do we practice this Spiritual Discipline of Corporate Guidance?

We learn from those who have gone before us on this journey.

We learn from those contemporaries who are further along the road than we are.

We remember that while God does speak to individuals through signs, dreams, visions, His Word, and so on, He also speaks to individuals through His other servants (our fellow believers). When we are at a loss as to our next step, we can confer with trusted believers for guidance.

Some churches hold "meetings for clearness" where people gather to seek God's answer to an individual's question.

One church in the US has time in their services for people to share where they feel God is leading them. This is called "sounding the call." People can gather to talk with the person and "test the call." As they prayer and discuss together, some ideas are shelved and others are determined to be of God. People in the group who resonate with the call can join the "company of the committed" to help carry out this plan.

We can bring our personal matters to our church family (local branch of the wider Christian community) for discernment and prayer.

Foster goes even further and opens the door for (church) business meetings to be held as a kind of worship service seeking God's will. Yes there are facts to be gathered, presented, and discussed, but everyone will also be listening for Christ's guidance in each matter.

As an American and a Westerner, I am used to majority rule. Yet, this discipline challenges us to arrive at a point of unity as we listen for the voice of God.

Over the history of Christianity, people have sought the counsel of spiritual directors, or mentors if you prefer. A believer in this role helps guide a fellow believer along God's path. The spiritual director is normally further along in their walk with the Lord, which helps them have the experience and practice of listening for God's voice.

Foster classifies preaching and small group meetings as a form of spiritual direction. We also use the Bible as we prayerfully read it to be transformed into Christ's likeness.

There are dangers to Corporate Guidance.

Leaders can use it to "keep people in line" and avoid change. We should remember to be gracious and tender towards each other as we seek to discuss and discern the will of God.

The opposite danger also exists. The company of believers can dig in their heels and resist Spirit-induced change & activities as brought to them by their leaders. Foster goes on to say that we don't need to bring every little decision to the group for discussion; it is possible to take Western democratic ideals too far out of context to be useful. At the end of the day, we all should be seeking God's guidance & leading.

Another danger is to deviate from Scripture under the guise of "God's leadership." God is a God of order, not chaos. If our "word from the Lord" contradicts His written Word, then we must be off-track in some way.

As fallible humans, we will at times be held captive by our fears, prejudices, and own will. This can prevent us from reaching unity as a group. And sometimes, we are led to go off and do different things. If we are certain that we are being called to a place or a ministry, we must go, even if our friend is being called to a different place or ministry.

Above all, be gracious and pray for each other as we seek God's will.