Oak Hill Baptist Church

How to avoid groupthink in the church

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Hearing from God”

Our Bible verse for today: “So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.” Numbers 14:4 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “How to avoid groupthink in the church”

In Numbers 14:1-4 the Israelites had just heard the report from the twelve spies who had been sent by Moses to scope out the Promised Land. You remember the story, ten of the spies brought back a negative report and argued that the land could not be conquered, despite what God had said. Only Caleb and Joshua, then joined by Moses, were positive and urged the people to obey God. But after all the arguing was done, the vote was overwhelming – the people decided to turn around. This is a classic example of “groupthink” leading a group to a very bad decision.

“Groupthink” is a dysfunctional decision-making process whereby one influential person convinces someone else of something; then the two of them go to work on a third person; and then the three of them convince others; and soon, everyone is coming to the same flawed conclusion. But they’re doing so because they have been influenced by others and the more who come into agreement, the more powerful the argument seems because so many others agree with it. In a church setting the group will usually conclude that “this is obviously the will of God because we are all in agreement.”

How do we avoid the slippery slope of groupthink? It’s not that hard. As a group, simply listen for the voice of God in the five ways we have learned about this month. First, check the group consensus against Scripture. The Holy Spirit will never lead us as individuals or as a group to do anything that is out of synch with the Word of God. Whatever conclusion the group has arrived at must have solid Biblical backing. Don’t try to do this from memory. Open the Bible and read the passages and principles that apply to this situation. Whatever conclusion the group has arrived at must be clearly and directly supported by passages and principles as they appear, in context, in the Bible. And if it does not, then the group consensus is mistaken. God’s guidance will always be consistent with the Bible.

Likewise, consider the circumstances of the issue carefully and prayerfully. Just as God is amazingly consistent in our individual lives, He is very consistent in our church life too. A spiritual map works just as well for a group as it does for an individual.

On important issues of church life, it is also wise to get counsel from outside sources who have expert knowledge in the issue being considered. Then, after having done “due diligence” by carefully seeking God in the Bible, and considering the applicable circumstances, and seeking counsel, now go back to prayer, discussion, and voting.

Remember, God wants to be heard and understood by His people. You will seek Him and find Him when you seek Him with all your heart. With just a little extra work and caution, the perils of groupthink can be avoided. Tomorrow, I will give you an example of how one congregation arrived at an important decision and avoided groupthink in the process.

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)

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God speaks through the voice of the church

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Hearing from God”

Our Bible verse for today: “As they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set aside for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after they had fasted, prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them off.” Acts 13:2-3 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “God speaks through the voice of the church”

The last of the five ways God typically speaks to His people in our day, as taught in the Bible study, “Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God” by Henry Blackaby, is through the voice of the church. God typically speaks to us through the Bible, prayer, the circumstances of our lives, through trusted counselors, and by means of the voice of the church.

The most important way in which God uses the voice of the church to express His will is when He calls someone to a major ministry assignment in a church. In such cases the entire congregation needs to pray, discuss, question, pray some more, and then vote. If the process is done correctly and well, God expresses His will on the matter by means of a strong majority, or maybe even with a unanimous vote.

We read about that in Acts 13:2-3 when the church gathered to confirm the call of Barnabas and Saul to be sent out as missionaries. It is also common for a church to confer a “license to preach” upon a new preacher, or to ordain a new minister. In such cases the congregation is affirming the call of God upon that person’s life to go forth and perform that ministry. When an entire congregation of Spirit-led people arrive at a group consensus, that is a good indication that they are hearing from God.

God also uses the voice of the church to communicate with His people through preaching and teaching, and through music in a worship service. God also speaks as the congregation ministers to one another, taking care of each other in the name of Jesus. Likewise, God speaks to and works among His people as they participate in fellowship events and group ministry projects. All of that occurs within the context of the gathered church and it is a means by which God speaks.

The voice of the church can serve as a powerful megaphone in the hands of the Holy Spirit. This is one of the reasons the Bible teaches us to be so protective of our church life and to keep discord, selfishness, slander, gossip, and petty divisions out. Such things become a black cloud hovering over a congregation, quenching the work of the Spirit among them and minimizing or even silencing the voice of God in that place.

Now that we have addressed each of the five ways in which God typically speaks to us in our day, it’s time for us to return to our discussion about the negative group dynamic known as “groupthink.” I briefly addressed this in a devotional earlier in this series. There is a relatively simple way to make sure the dynamic of groupthink does not lead our group to false conclusions. We’ll think about that tomorrow.

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)

God speaks through wise counselors

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Hearing from God”

Our Bible verse for today: “A fool’s way is right in his own eyes, but whoever listens to counsel is wise.” Proverbs 12:15 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “God speaks to us through wise counselors”

There’s an old saying that goes “The man who defends himself in court has a fool for a lawyer and a bigger fool for a client.” There are many versions of that saying, and it’s an open debate who said it first – some suggest Benjamin Franklin, others insist it was Abraham Lincoln. I also understand it’s a basic rule of thumb in the legal profession (sometimes a lawyer needs a lawyer and only a foolish lawyer would be his own lawyer).

The point is that as Solomon taught in Proverbs 12:15, and which is repeated many times in the Bible, there is wisdom to be gained by listening to good counselors. This is one of the ways God speaks to us. As we have already learned, although God can speak to us in an infinite number of ways, in our day He speaks most frequently through the Bible, through prayer, through the circumstances of our lives, through the wisdom of wise counselors, and through the testimony of the church.

When seeking to hear from God (especially about something important), it’s essential that we include a small group of wise counselors to prayerfully think through the situation with us. But caution is needed here. Not every Christian is wise, and not all are equally spiritually mature. We should be careful and selective about whose counsel we’re going to listen to. They need to be people who are mature in their faith, and who are not prone to jumping to conclusions. They should be thoughtful and prayerful people who are reasoned and logical, and who are not given to being overly opinionated, rigid, or biased, and who do not try to force their opinions on others. (Also be wary of anyone who is a little too eager to appoint themselves to this role in your life.)

Once you do have a group whose wisdom you trust and who you know have your best interest in mind, be sure they know they have the freedom to speak openly and honestly to you, even if you may not like or agree with what they’re saying.

So, one the one hand you should be careful not to rely on “yes” people who are likely to simply tell you what you want to hear, and on the other hand, you want to avoid including an overly opinionated person with an agenda of their own.

Pray about this and ask God to help you identify the right people to include, and then make sure you do rely on wise and spiritually mature counselors to help you hear from God. This is one of the ways God frequently speaks to us.

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)

Using a spiritual map to hear from God

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Hearing from God”

Our Bible verse for today: “I will remember the Lord’s work; yes, I will remember your ancient wonders. I will reflect on all you have done and meditate on your actions.” Psalm 77:11-12 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Using a spiritual map to hear from God ”

This morning I want to return us to the example of my friends I mentioned in a previous devotional who serve on the Samaritan’s Purse medical disaster relief team. I can’t say that they had an actual spiritual map, on paper, which they used to help them understand God’s direction on about what to do, but I do know they utilized the concept of a spiritual map to help them understand what God was saying to them.

I had the privilege of being part of that conversation in those early years as they were prayerfully thinking through the situation. They considered the fact that God had led them into the field of emergency medicine and then to decades of experience in it. God doesn’t waste experience like that, He uses it for future purposes. They also considered how God blessed them in some other special ways, which put them in the unique position of having the freedom and flexibility in their lives to be able to drop everything and quickly respond to a disaster situation in another part of the world. Then they thought about how God had, over the years, involved them in both domestic and international short-term missions and humanitarian relief work, and how they had both developed a deep love and passion for that kind of work.

Taking all of that into consideration, along with the clear teaching of Scripture for God’s people to aid others as the opportunity presents itself, along with what they were hearing in prayer, and the confirmation they were getting from others they sought counsel from, the way forward was clear – God was telling them to serve in that special and unique way for this season of their lives. (Since then, God has repeatedly confirmed that call for them as they have served in that capacity.)

This is the concept of a spiritual map being used in an actual life situation. Your circumstances and history are probably very different from theirs, but the concept works the same way in your life as it did for my friends. To help illustrate that, tomorrow we will consider one final example of how to apply the concept of a spiritual map in order to understand what God is saying to you. Then we will move on to thinking about how God speaks to us through the counsel of close friends and Christian leaders. For now, I encourage you to begin constructing your own spiritual map. You will find it to be a very helpful tool for understanding how God is guiding and directing you.

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)

Do you have a spiritual map?

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Hearing from God”

Our Bible verse for today: “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all you have done; I reflect on the work of your hands.” Psalm 143:5 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Have you made a spiritual map?”

One of the most helpful homework assignments I have ever been given came while doing the Bible study “Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God” by Henry Blackaby. In the lesson, Henry was explaining how it is that God is amazingly consistent in how He works in our lives over time. He guides, directs, and brings things to pass that lead us as His plan for our life progressively unfolds, with one event or situation serving as a stepping stone that leads us to the next.

The events of our lives – especially the major events – can then serve as spiritual markers that point out and highlight the work of God in your life. Henry urges us to sit down with a pad of paper and think back over our lives, identifying all the moments that seem to be of some significance, especially turning point moments that determined the course of your life. Those could include things like influential teachers; intense interest in a subject, skill, or hobby; educational achievements; marriage; the birth of children; areas of employment; significant successes; etc.

If you lay all of that out chronologically, a picture will emerge and you will see how one event led to another, and that one to yet another, and so on over the years until ultimately, you ended up where you are today. All of that creates a picture of God at work in your life over the course of years and decades. Now you have a spiritual map that helps you to see not only where you have been and how you got to where you are today, but also it can help to point the way forward as well.

The way you use the map is, as you are considering your options and preparing to make choices, consider how those options align with the rest of the map up to that point. The choice that is most consistent with what God has already been doing in your life will probably be the one God is leading you too next. (This is true most of the time but not always. So, make sure you also look for confirmation of this leading through the other ways that God speaks to us such as prayer, the Bible, and the counsel of trusted Christian leaders and friends. Remember, God will usually speak to us – especially about something important – in more than just one way.)

Tomorrow we will consider some specific examples of how to use this concept to gain a better understanding of how God is speaking to us about what He wants us to do.

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)

When God speaks, we must listen

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Hearing from God”

Our Bible verse for today: “If you want to be perfect,” Jesus said, “go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard that, he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.” Matthew 19:21-22 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “When God speaks, we must listen”

In Matthew 19:16-22 a young man encountered Jesus and expressed interest in following Him. But there was something holding him back. He valued his worldly possessions more than he did whatever else Jesus had planned for him. The young man had a choice to make. Would he surrender his own desires and follow Jesus on the path the Lord had chosen for him, or would he cling to his own plans and go his own way? The Scripture tells us that this young man decided against the life Jesus had for him and he went his own way. We can only assume it ended badly for him.

That story reminds me of another young man I knew personally. I will call him Mike. He was a talented musician, singer, and songwriter. He played multiple instruments well, he had a talent for writing beautiful songs, and he had a voice that sounded a lot like Michael W. Smith. Even as a teenager he was an effective worship leader, and he could have had a ministry career as a worship leader and /or youth pastor.

But Mike had visions of being a big star in Christian music. He wanted fame and fortune, and he became frustrated when it didn’t come his way quickly. He was willing to have his dream come true in the world of Christian music – as long as that included record deals and concert halls. But when that didn’t seem to be happening, he shifted his sights to the world of secular music. He moved to Los Angeles (about two hours from our town) and became involved in the music and movie industry.

And he did find success. He and a couple of partners even wrote and performed the title song for a movie starring James Earl Jones. But Mike also got sucked into the dark side of life in Hollywood, including drugs and especially alcohol. It destroyed his life. Family and friends reached out to him repeatedly, trying to help him see what was happening, but he wouldn’t listen. I personally spent many hours with him trying to help him see how, if he would rededicate his life and his talents to the Lord, he could have a wonderful life serving God and the Christian community on a church staff. Unfortunately, he wasn’t receptive. Instead, he continued on the wrong path and, sadly, I ended up performing his funeral.

God was speaking loudly and clearly to Mike through the circumstances of his life. First, all that talent and all that experience leading worship services served as a spiritual map pointing him to what God had waiting for him next. Second, the disastrous consequences he was experiencing as a result of deviating from God’s plan were also circumstances through which God was speaking very loudly. But Mike chose not to listen to God, and the consequences were tragic.

The lesson for us in that story is that when God speaks, we had better listen. Tomorrow we will consider how each of us can better learn to pay attention to the circumstances in our own lives and to hear God speaking to us through them.

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)

God speaks through our circumstances

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Hearing from God”

Our Bible verse for today: “For I know the plans I have for you – this is the Lord’s declaration – plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “God speaks through the circumstances of our lives”

Circumstances can be a powerful way in which God speaks to us. Sometimes he allows the circumstances of our lives to be painful and even crushing, and He then uses those circumstances to get our attention so we will change our ways. We often speak about an alcoholic or drug addict hitting rock bottom and finally making the life changes that have been needed all along. Or perhaps we have gone for years or decades eating poorly and not exercising and we end up with a stroke or heart attack. Then, finally, we begin taking better care of ourselves. Those are examples of circumstances in which God will often speak loudly and clearly to us.

Another way God speaks through circumstances is through the patterns of His activity in our lives which He establishes over a long period of time. God is amazingly consistent in our lives, and He is always in the process of preparing us for whatever it is He is leading us too next. This often occurs over years and decades, with one set of circumstances serving as stepping stones that lead us to the next set of circumstances in God’s ongoing and unfolding plan. In the Bible study “Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God,” Henry Blackaby refers to that history of circumstances as being spiritual markers that make up a spiritual map. By recording the history of God’s activity in our lives over the years, we end up with a chronological map that shows us not only where we have been, but were God intends for us to go.

I have two friends who spent their careers in emergency medicine, him as a paramedic and her as an ER nurse. They both started young, completed a full career, and went into semi-retirement while only in their 50s. They also made a series of smart financial and lifestyle choices which resulted in them being unencumbered in this new season of life (and therefore flexible in terms of what they could do with their time). They both also have a love for missions and for humanitarian work.

Today they serve on the Samaritan’s Purse medical disaster relief team. They are part of the very special and very small group of medical professionals who can drop everything at a moment’s notice, get on a plane and fly to a disaster situation in some remote corner of the world, staying there for weeks or even months. All of that resulted because of a long work of God in their lives which unfolded over decades, step-by-step, and brought them to this point. Once all those events were laid out like that, with all the dots connected, there was little doubt in their minds what God was calling them to do now.

God speaks to you like that as well, and in the days to come we will consider what that might look like in your life. Tomorrow we will consider the sad story of someone who God was speaking to through their circumstances, but who chose not to listen.

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)

God speaks to us through prayer

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Hearing from God”

Our Bible verse for today: “You will call to me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. I will be found by you.” Jeremiah 29:12-14 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “God speaks to us through prayer”

The primary way that we speak to God is through prayer, and the primary way God speaks back to us is through the Bible. But God does also speak back to us through prayer. Does He do so with an audible voice? Not in my experience. I have never heard the audible voice of God in prayer or in any other manner, and I don’t know anyone who has. But still, He does speak to us through prayer. In my experience, God speaks through prayer in three ways:

First, through what is sometimes called, “The still, small voice of God.” That phrase is a reference to the subtle impressions God gives us in our heart. It’s an inner sense that God is impressing upon me a realization regarding the thing I have been praying about. However, a word of caution is in order here. This still, small voice of God is subtle and it requires a good deal of discernment and spiritual maturity to distinguish it from our own feelings. It is an easy thing to convince ourselves that we are hearing a word from God when in reality, it’s just our feelings. More cautionary still is when this suspected word from God just so happens to match perfectly with the answer we were hoping for.

It’s so easy to confuse our own feelings with an answer from God that we should almost never take this as our sole source of concluding that we have heard from God. Always compare what you believe you are hearing from God in prayer with what the Bible says on the issue. If what you believe you are hearing from God does not squarely align with Scripture, then you have not heard from God.

Another way God speaks to us through prayer is by answering the prayer. If the thing you have prayed about comes to pass in some tangible way, then give God the glory and take it as His answer.

A third way God speaks to us through prayer is by means of prayer partners. This is why we have others pray about things with us. If we are all praying about the same thing, and if God is answering the prayer, and if we are all accurately hearing God, then we will all get the same answer. If you ask three friends to pray for God’s guidance about whether or not you should change jobs, God isn’t going to tell two of you one thing and two of you the exact opposite. If all four of you are indeed hearing from God on this issue, then all four of you will get the same answer.

God does speak to us through prayer. But because those answers can so easily be confused with our own feelings, this method of hearing from God has to be confirmed in other ways, such as checking Scripture, relying on prayer partners, or through the other common ways God speaks to us, including circumstances and the counsel of wise Christian friends. Seldom does God speak in just one of those ways. Usually, He will confirm for us what He is saying by saying it in two or three different ways. So, listen for Him in prayer, but be careful not to confuse this with your own feelings. Be sure to take the time and make the effort to seek confirmation.

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)

Does God speak through mothers?

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Hearing from God”

Our Bible verse for today: “Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also praises her; “Many women have done noble deeds, but you surpass them all!” Proverbs 31:28-29 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Does God speak through mothers?”

The question is: “Does God speak through mothers?” And the answer is an emphatic “Yes! Yes, He does.” As we will learn in a future devotional in this series, one of the ways God speaks to us is through the wise counsel of fellow Christians. Without question, a godly mother falls into that category. So, God most certainly does speak to us through our mothers.

Sometimes a mother’s voice can even sound like the voice of God itself. I have a vivid memory from childhood of my very perturbed mother with her hands on her hips and in a booming voice yelling, “James William Mersereau, you had better get over here right now!” I knew I was in trouble and that judgment day had arrived!

But despite moments like that (which I totally deserved), I remember the words of love and compassion that were much more common from my mom. She was such a good mother, so kind and loving and wise. I experienced the love of God, and I learned about God, from my mother. Over-and-over again, God spoke to my heart through the words of my mother.

This Sunday is Mother’s Day. It is the special day each year dedicated to honoring the mothers who make such an important difference in our lives, in our homes, in our churches, and in our nation. And it’s not just our own mothers that we pause to honor. We want to honor all women who have been good mothers, and who have served as a mother figure to others.

Join us this Sunday at Oak Hill Baptist Church as we honor the godly women who have played such an important role in our lives. Join us in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you can’t make it, join us online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville. The service begins at 10:00.

Does God speak through mothers? Yes. Yes, He most certainly does.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

God speaks through a Biblical worldview

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Hearing from God”

Our Bible verse for today: “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “God speaks through a Biblical worldview”

We have spent many days now thinking about how it is that God uses the Bible as His primary means of communicating with us. On the pages of the Bible God speaks very directly through explicit dos and don’ts. He also provides us with many general principles that apply broadly to a broad spectrum of life situations. Beyond that, in the Bible we read about faithful men and women of ages past who can serve as role models for us. And then, we also read stories about God’s people involved in a wide range of situations and circumstances that are often similar to situations we find ourselves in. Those scenarios can be a useful guide for us, helping us to know how God would have us conduct ourselves in those similar situations.

All of that taken together helps us develop and maintain what is known as “a Biblical worldview.” A worldview is simply a philosophy of life and a way of understanding the world. It provides an orientation for evaluating what we are seeing and hearing in the world, and it is a measuring rod, litmus test, or standard against which everything is measured and determined to be good or bad; right or wrong; true or false.

There are many worldviews out there being promoted by a wide variety of cultural influencers. However, a “Biblical” worldview means that as the people of God we measure everything against the Word of God. The Bible is the measuring rod, it is the litmus test, the standard against which everything else is compared. We take all that we see and hear, all that we are being told, and we lay it alongside the Word of God to see how it compares. Then, the issue is determined to be good or bad; right or wrong; true or false, based upon how it compares to what God has said about it in the Bible.

That is God speaking to us. If up to that point we were having trouble discerning the truth or rightness of the issue, now we know what God has to say about it. And for the Christian, that’s all we need to know. The issue is now settled. We have heard from God.

In Romans 12:2 the Apostle Paul urged us to resist the cultural pressures on us and to instead have our thinking transformed by renewing our minds with the Word of God. God speaks to us through the Bible and He gives us a Biblical worldview that will help us to determine good and bad; right and wrong; true or false.

When you have checked the Bible, you have heard from God. That is a Biblical worldview.

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)