The Holy art of Decision Making

The Holy Art of DECISION MAKING

Canon Robert Warren was, for 22 years, the Vicar of a Church in Sheffield, England, which grew to over one thousand worshippers in his time there. For the last five years he has been working full-time for Springboard, the Initiative for Evangelism of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. Below he shares his insights on decision making

Cannon Robert Warren The story is told of someone who went to their doctor complaining of stress from their work. When the doctor enquired what work their patient did they were somewhat taken aback to be told that it was sorting oranges into different sizes. 'Its so stressful', said the patient, 'decisions, decisions, decisions all day long.'

Some of us know that feeling and find decision-making difficult; agonising about small decisions as well as big and, as often as not, putting decisions off so they hang over us sometimes for weeks. Others, of a more confident nature, enjoy the buzz that comes from making up your mind and seeing things through. Many of us flow between the two poles of indecision in some areas and hasty decisions in others.

For the Christian there is a further dynamic, namely that of guidance and vocation. So the question becomes not just about what we want or what is the best thing for others involved in the situation, but what is it that God wants.
Over nearly forty years of ordained ministry this matter of godly decision-making has fascinated and stretched me both in relation to decisions I have to make and in the task of counselling others faced with testing decisions. Out of this experience I have developed a model that I have found helpful in thinking about decisions that I, or others, are faced with. This article explores that model in the hope that it will be of help to you.

Essentially it is about the interplay of three dynamics in any situation, expressed visually in the diagram. As such it is a map that enables us to find our way through to Godly decision-making.

Faced with any decision the inevitable starting point is our instincts and emotions. We were afraid someone would ask us that question, are excited about the possibility of taking on that task or do not even know if we want to get involved in that relationship or have a go at that task. It is what we feel that usually surfaces first.

So the vital first step is to own those feelings rather than suppress them. They are telling us something important about ourselves and the situation. Here, those who genuinely want to discover God's will, can - from the very best of intentions - make the mistake of pushing those feeling down and ignoring our intuition.

I recall a time when a group of people with whom I was working were counselling someone involved in seemingly horrendous occult practices including child sacrifice. We spent hours with the person before one of us dared to say that they felt the story was all fabrication and a way of seeking attention. Once one person had dared to be honest about their feelings the rest of us realised we had felt the same but had not dared to say it. One person's courageous honesty showed us the way through the situation.

In making decisions about particular tasks I have been called upon to tackle in nearly forty years of ministry it has been of enormous help to start by saying to at least one other person what I feel. It could be 'honoured', 'excited', 'doubtful', 'fearful', or many other emotions. They do not, of themselves, tell me what is right. But they do tell me where I am. Once I can be honest then I can move on to the next stage.

I recall a couple of occasions, when I was asked to take on a task, that I knew 'this is not me'. I still explored the possibility but I knew that in doing so I would need to find some clear evidence that God was calling me to take on the task. On one occasion there was no corroborating evidence that this was part of God's will, on the other there was. I ended up saying 'yes' to that latter invitation and discovering, before very long, that this really was where I fitted.

Intuition is about getting in touch with our feelings and instincts. But it is only a beginning. There is then an important place for giving a good, long, dispassionate, look at the situation. This is often when lists of 'pros' and 'cons' can help us identify reasons for or against a particular decision. This is the work of analysis: it involves a certain detachment and is much easier to achieve, in my experience, after we have first let initial instincts and gut feelings bubble to the surface.

This is where friends can be of inestimable value - simply by being there to listen while we talk through the issue. I know there have been times when I have told someone I would like to talk a decision over with them. They have not really said anything, nor did they need to. The very act of explaining it to them clarified my thinking. As someone put it rather delightfully: hhow can I know what I think until I hear what I say?' Often in fact friends help by asking key questions, which we, because we are so close to the situation, have not thought to ask.

Finding out what God wants

The third element in decision-making for the believer is that of divine guidance - inspiration. It does not replace, or make redundant, getting in touch with our feelings or thinking the matter through. As often as not a sense of divine call will emerge in the very process of going through those two other stages.

But this guidance should be part of our decision-making as Christians. We should be eager to find out what God wants. I think of a time when friends of mine were wrestling with a difficult decision, which they felt very ambivalent about, and were not at all sure whether or not it was the right thing to do. Yet, into that situation - actually while cleaning bath - they had a strong sense of God saying 'so just how far can you trust me?' That was the green light to go ahead with the decision with a sense of God's call on their life.

In my own experience this divine dimension is present throughout the process. Furthermore I would say that one of the ways in which I most often encounter that divine call is in conversation with others. The prophetic dimension to life can be experienced as much in normal human exchanges as in any special religious practice or act of worship.

Pulling together

Whilst there is value in seeing these three distinct elements in Christian decision-making it is important to remember that, in reality, they are woven together in the fabric of life. It is rare that we do all the intuiting first, and then sit down and analyse it through and then pray for divine inspiration, though it can sometimes happen like that. The three elements are more like the ingredients in a cake: they need to be carefully mixed together and allowed to cook until they become one.

The value of seeing these three aspects of the process is rather like a map. It can alert us to paths we have missed, short cuts we have taken, and steps we need to take.

Venice harbour is to navigate, with shallow waters all around. The navigation system is however very simple. Three lights have been so placed that when a vessel sees them as one (one behind the other) they know they are in the right channel to enter the harbour. Guidance and decision-making are rather like that. When our intuition, analytical thought and our sense of divine guidance line up we know we can proceed with confidence and enter into God's purposes for us and for the world around us. It is part of the confidence, joy and gifting of Christian discipleship.

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