only be known by noticing the results of its work and sometimes those results can only be recognized in hindsight.
That’s why for centuries Christians have prayed the “Prayer of Examen.”38 They start by “examining” a day, a week, a month, or a year, allowing the events of that time period to play like a movie in the mind. Then, they seek to see the underlying work of the Spirit in and through those events. They notice where the Spirit seemed to be particularly present in their inner thoughts and experiences, in relationship, in systems and structures of the world, or in the environment of God’s creation.39 (See Appendix C for a hand-out on the Prayer of Examen.)
Next, they seek to discern what the Spirit might be offering by way of wisdom or guidance through those past events. Did images show up more than once? Where were there surprising coincidences that resulted in good? When did a door open or a helping hand show up? Viewing a past event as a sort of waking dream helps the church understand the language of the Spirit which often communicates in metaphor, symbol, or sign. It allows congregations to notice the presence of God and to follow the Spirit’s energy that opens the way forward.
My friend Doug noticed how the Spirit had been at work, guiding him during an activity as mundane as exchanging a pair of pants at the store. The pants had been sitting around his house for several days but on this particular day, he picked them up and decided to take care of the errand. While he was at the store, he ran into a friend he hadn’t seen for several weeks. The friend was in need of support and counsel and the two of them found a place where they could have coffee and conversation. When Doug returned home his wife asked if his trip to the store had been successful. Doug replied, “Yes. But it was not about the pants.” He saw the events of the day not just as a series of coincidences, but as the Spirit’s guidance.
When transforming congregations awaken to the presence of the Spirit, they begin to see underlying wholeness, vitality, and goodness present everywhere grounding their lives in the power of that presence. As they learn the language of the Spirit they begin to notice larger patterns, relationships and connections. Instead of seeing coincidence, they see God at work. They begin to trust unscheduled events as a form of spiritual guidance.
Yet one does not need to look far to notice the mind’s power to deceive itself. Over the years, many have claimed to read the signs or to experience the leading of the Spirit. They have wrongly predicted the end of the world; they have led people into mass suicides, death, and destruction. How do we know something is truly of the Spirit and not just, as Ebenezer Scrooge says, “an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato?”40
Christian spiritual teachers have long taught that discerning the presence and guidance of the Spirit does not happen in a vacuum. Waking up is only one part of a spiritual practice shaped by scripture, connected to God through prayer, and tested in the context of a spiritual community. Although the activity of the Spirit can be surprising, it will never go against the nature of God and will always lead toward consolation, goodness, and light. Although the guidance of the Spirit is often revealed by non-linear, non-rational thought, it will never go against the voice of reason—it will always make sense.
Transforming congregations wake up to the presence of Spirit in their midst with a sense of humility, confessing that the holy mystery of the sacred can never be fully known, and admitting that human perceptions may be dead wrong. Yet they do not shy away from asking the question, “Where is the Spirit at work in our congregation, in our neighborhood, in the life of the world?” They pay attention to the times when something unexpected interrupts their best laid plans and give thanks for convictional moments when they happen. They notice larger patterns in the stories they keep hearing from both those who come through the church door and those who live in the neighborhood. They see connections between those stories and the scriptures they read in worship.
In the power of the Spirit wind, transforming congregations often find themselves taking risks they never would have imagined themselves taking before. Some decide to leave their money-consuming building behind in order to meet in a more cost-saving facility or in public space so they have more resources for outreach. Some choose to start a new ministry to meet the needs of a changing neighborhood. Some dare to get acquainted with strangers and to form new partnerships. Transforming congregations make bold decisions about their life and ministry, even when those decisions make them vulnerable to rejection or scorn. They are always ready to follow the Spirit in a new direction they had not imagined before.
Questions for Reflection
1 Looking back over your life or the life of your congregation, what is one time you experienced the “ah-ha” of a convictional moment? What happened?
2 Why is an open heart an essential prerequisite to noticing the presence and guidance of the Spirit?
3 What might your congregation do to get more comfortable with the language of the Spirit?
4 How can your congregation counter some of the dangers that engaging in Spiritual discernment might pose?
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