| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Hearing from God” Our Bible verse for today: “Teach me your way, Lord, and I will live by your truth. Give me an undivided mind to fear your name.” Psalm 86:11 (CSB) Our thought for today: “The Holy Spirit will unify us” At Oak Hill Baptist Church we needed a new church sign out by the road in front of the church. The old one had been there for decades. It was discolored, parts of it were broken, the lights only worked intermittently, and the brick frame was crumbling. We had tried several times to clean it up and repair it but it was too far gone. It had to be replaced. We appointed a committee to do some research and they came up with several proposals. We could replace the existing sign with a simple static wooden sign. Or, we could get a new version of the existing sign that lights up and allows us to display a static message that could be manually changed. Or, if we were willing to spend the money, we could purchase a modern digital sign. When the results were presented to the church in a business meeting, I was surprised at how little consensus there was. There were groups in support of each of the three options and some people had strong feelings about it. This was unusual in our church life. Usually, we quickly arrive at a consensus and seldom do people get firmly dug in regarding one option or another on any issue. So, we agreed we would not move forward on the project until there was a strong majority consensus on one of the options. We also agreed that we would not attempt to pressure each other to change our minds (we wanted to avoid the groupthink dynamic). Instead, we would table the issue for a while, giving the Holy Spirit time to quietly work among us. It ended up taking three and one-half years to resolve the issue. During that period, we discussed it three additional times but always in a spirit of peace and love, and each time, in an effort to avoid dissension, we chose to table the issue. We also did not want to go forward with an option that might achieve a majority but which still was opposed by a large segment of the congregation. How we eventually arrived at a group consensus without allowing the dynamic of groupthink to drive the outcome is a story that will have to be completed tomorrow – there’s too much to tell in a single devotional message. But the point to note so far is that we didn’t rush it. We were patient and we were determined to do it right. It needed to be the Holy Spirit who unified our thoughts and brought us to consensus on the issue. God bless, Pastor Jim (If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville) |
| Copyright © 2023 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you requested to be included in the Daily Devotional email reader group. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571 |
-
Follow
Following
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Oak Hill Baptist Church 