Discernment Stories
A few months ago, one of CCS’s co-chairs, Ian McLean, sent us a quote:
“In thinking about the future of Christian leadership, I am convinced that it needs to be a theological leadership. For this to happen, change has to happen in seminaries and divinity school and Christian communities. We need centers where people are trained in true discernment of the signs of the times. They cannot offer just an intellectual training. Deep spiritual formation is required, involving the whole person-body, mind, and heart.”
Henri Nouwen
This resonated with Ian, and he felt it was a good description of the Centre for Christian Studies’s ethos. We strive to be a place where discernment is upheld and taken seriously.
Within church circles, discernment is usually thought of as the process of deciding whether you’re called to ministry or not. Of course it’s much more than that. Discernment is the responsibility of all faithful people, to figure out who and how they want to be in the world. Some people are called to specific professional roles of leadership and service, but the whole people of God are called to ministry in some form or another. Discernment is figuring out what your thing is.
The word discern is etymologically connected to the word for sifting. Like a baker shaking flour through a sieve or a prospector panning for gold, discernment is a process that requires patience and hope as we separate the things that are important from the things that get in the way. Personal discernment, like discerning a vocational call, needs an open heart, reliable information, good process, and a community of honest friends who see you for who you are. As Henri Nouwen says, it’s not just an intellectual exercise; it involves the whole person.
Over the next year CCS will be developing resources and materials to encourage discernment in congregations and communities of faith. Our hope is to create workshops, worships, and processes to help people thinking about where God is calling them. Maybe that’s ministry. Maybe that’s some other form of discipleship. Maybe it’s a kind of leadership the Church hasn’t imagined yet.
This project is being funded through the Lilly grant awarded to UCC theological schools to reimagine theological education. Scott Douglas will be serving as staff support on this project, and will be drawing on the wisdom, experience, and creativity of a bunch of CCS friends and alumni. The hope is to create materials and then train people across the United Church to lead workshops and facilitate discernment processes.
There are a few reasons why CCS is a good school to be heading this project. Our action-reflection model is a useful tool for this kind of discernment. The United Church diaconal community across the country has a commitment to good process and educational ministry, including this kind of vocational exploration. And finally, a lot of people in the Church still don’t know what diaconal ministry is, so as we design these materials we get to raise awareness of that distinct calling among the paths to consider. (We also get to let the world know who the Centre for Christian Studies is and the kind of cool body-mind-and-heart stuff we’re good at.)
Here’s where we need you.
As part of designing these resources and processes, we want to know your discernment story. What was helpful to you in recognizing and figuring out your calling? Was it someone seeing something in you that you didn’t see? Was it clear information about all the options before you? Was it good questions? Was it time? Was it process? Was it the people around you? What helped you (or is helping you) discern your call? Or what was NOT helpful? That’s useful too! We want to know what works, and your stories are a good way to find out.
You can reflect on your discernment story in the comments section of this post, or if your story is a bit more private, feel free to send Scott and email at sdouglas@ccsonline.ca . Your experience can help us develop useful resources to encourage the faithful discernment of others.
