Week Three- Michael Berens

Michael Berens
Week 3
Thursday 01/29/09

The New Spirit Lead Parliamentary Law Process

If I were running a meeting that involved Spirit led Prayer and decision making, I would first start out with an agenda of what need to be talked about. So…

Agenda first:
Come up with a list of things that needed to be addressed before the meeting ever came together. It should be concise and ready for more details to fill in the blanks

Prayer Individualized:
Pray over the list and ask God what else needs to be added to the list. If prayer is enacted from the beginning it becomes Spirit Led.

Come together as a group:
When everyone has arrived gather together first in prayer, then read the passage Matthew 18:20, which says, "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst." Someone should say something encouraging about how God is amongst those who are gathered here. This does not need to be the passage read every time, but it should have something to do with communal decisions.

Now it is time for the meeting rules:
So if prayer was fully involved in the beginning process of the meeting is time to start a simple discussion of the items on the agenda. The leader that has prayed over the items states the first item and then someone stands up and asks the Lord to guide them. The same man makes a statement about how it is a good idea and a bad idea. This way there is no one that can lean fully on one side. If everyone can see both perspectives, there may be peace. At the end of the discussion, everyone writes down what seemed like the stronger case. No vote is taken, but after everyone has had time to think, the same prayer filled leader will ask everyone to read aloud what they have written. The leader will then say what the outcome was over all and that will be the decision. Everyone has input and everyone should see both sides. God truly decides after all.

So the list is:
Prayer
Agenda items
Discussion showing both good and bad for each item
Writings
Prayer
Decision by the prayer filled leader

Three problems:
1.Basically it is like a secret democracy with prayer. I am unsure if you can fully escape the democracy thing.
2. Discussions may go too long
3. People may not be honest in their pros and cons of each agenda item