In Acts, chapter one, we hear of what surely is the first church business meeting. Peter leads the meeting; the agenda is to replace Judas as one of the 12 followers who participated in Jesus’ ministry and witnessed His resurrection. How was the decision made? Did Peter appoint a replacement? No. Did the disciples vote by majority rule? No. They put forward two qualified candidates and asked the Lord to show them God’s choice.

What a radical concept: God reigns! The task of church leadership is not to vote on issues, or even to come to consensus about decisions, but to discern the mind of Christ.

Now, at that first church meeting, they cast lots to discern God’s choice. We are not too practiced at that, and I don’t recommend it. But we are practiced pray-ers, and I do recommend that. Prayer puts us in the right position to hear God. Prayer distances us from any vested interest in our own ideas or preferences. After sincere prayer, a vote or a consensus may indeed guide us. But it is the submitting to God’s choice that makes it possible for the Spirit to lead.