Why Consensus
3/29/04

    The Christian community should first seek to discern the will of God, not the will of the majority or powerful.  In Acts 15 Paul and Barnabas presented their belief that the Gentiles should not be required to be circumcised to be welcomed into the Christian community.  Others believed that circumcision was necessary.  The apostles and elders listened to the debate, looked at the evidence of God's work, there was silence, and a decision was discerned.  The report: "We have decided unanimously."  (Acts 15:25) 

     The consensus process presupposes that group opinion will be wiser than the sum of its parts,  that inclusion of people and opinions is more important than exclusion of differing opinions, and that everyone is willing to participate by sharing insights and listening to others.  The Christian community should value a decision-making process that by its nature invites openness to the Spirit.

     The Jesus Connection supports the principle that the business of the faith community is not efficient organization (although we are certainly in favor of efficiency when practical,) but building up the saints and faithful, missional service.  That principle needs to be at the core of what the church does at its meetings just as much as when it gathers for worship. The faith community that is one thing when it gathers for worship and something else when it gathers to do business will create dissonance that will fracture its being. Danny Morris wrote in a paper titled "A Discernment and Consensus-Making Model" that a meeting should be entered "in the same expectant waiting as in the meeting for worship."  That is an attitude we have tried to promote at First United Church the past five years, cultivating the conviction that we can meet God as easily in our gathering as a ministry team as we do in our more focused efforts at worship.  A big part of that attitude is the principle that people shouldn't come ready to share preconceived opinions, but to seek what God is saying to the team.

     In Morris' studies on using consensuses as the decision-making model within the church, he has found that the main opposition to using consensuses in congregations is time efficiency.  He comments in his paper, "Spiritual discernment by consensus is not a quicker way, but it is a better way."  If our goal is to be faithful servants, and our goal as pastors is to offer transformational leadership, the focus of our leadership must be Christ.  We will want to make wise, Spirit informed decisions, not fast and easy decisions.  The faith community will want to affirm everyone's value in and to the process and be inclusive.  The faith community will want to encourage giving voice to all its members, valuing the concept that all have gifts to share in leadership as well as service, and provide motivation for participation in and ownership of the ministry and mission of the church.
 
Loren Olson
First United Church - Little Falls, Minnesota