Test the Spirits

As of today, over ninety churches in the Central Texas Conference have voted to disaffiliate from The UMC. These churches supposedly went through a time of discernment before voting to do so. That number will likely increase as other churches are currently involved in the discernment process.

These votes to disaffiliate raise questions in my mind: what criteria did these churches use in their effort to determine what they would do? Did they seek to discern the Spirit’s guidance? If so, what did they identify as the Spirit’s guidance? Did they merely operate out of what they thought and believed, assuming it reflected the mind of Christ and aligned with the heart of God?

The author of First John identified the need for discernment. “Test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (1 John 4:1). In doing so, the author also identified the focus of discernment. His exhortation is an important guide to any church involved in a discernment process regarding disaffiliation (or any other issue).

The author’s exhortation calls us to exercise discernment. Discernment is about discerning what is of God and what is not — “to see whether they are from God.” It is the ability to distinguish truth from partial truth, the genuine from the pretentious, what is healthy from what is crippling, what is life-giving from what is destructive, good from evil. Discernment is what helps us determine the will of God.

Discernment is the work of the Spirit; hence, it is spiritual discernment. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul identified the ability to exercise discernment as a gift of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:10).

The author’s exhortation calls us to give spiritual discernment a conscious place in the life of our church. It is to be exercised every time our congregation faces a challenge or crisis or decision. It is to be exercised in regard to the issue being faced and the decision to be made, in regard to what is said and what is done, in regard to motives and objectives. Sadly, spiritual discernment is often absent in many churches. It has been replaced by committee recommendations and majority votes in which the Spirit and the Spirit’s guidance have been assumed or unconsciously neglected. This lack of discernment opens the door to power brokers imposing their will on the congregation.

The author’s exhortation also instructs us regarding the focus of our discernment. “Test the spirits.” Spiritual discernment goes beneath the surface to the underlying spirit, beyond the issue to the spirit with which the issue is being addressed.

According to the information being published, those voting to disaffiliate from The UMC base their decision on a combination of issues: the place of LGBTQ+ individuals in the life of the church (ordination of LGBTQ+ clergy), moral standards that view homosexuality as a sin, the view and use of scripture, etc. Each of these issues is considered to be a right-and-wrong issue, that is, there is a right position and a wrong position. Consequently, decisions are based upon what is viewed as “right.” In such decisions, discernment is not needed.

The author of First John calls us to go beyond the issue to the spirit with which the issue is addressed. The author did not deal with whether an issue was right or wrong. Rather, he called his readers (us) to “test the spirits,” that is, to discern the underlying spirit. Does that spirit reflect the spirit of Jesus? Does it expresses the grace and forgiveness and unconditional acceptance Jesus offered to every person?

Moral issues call for black-and-white, right-and-wrong thinking. They involve moral standards by which we are judged (and by which we judge others) — what Paul called “the law.” Failure to conform to such standards brings condemnation and judgment. Moral issues are an expression of merit-based thinking. Merit-based thinking is about earning and deserving. What we receive is determined by what we do. We get what we deserve. Merit-based thinking opens the door to condemnation, judgment, rejection, and exclusion of those who fail to conform to the moral standards or who fall short of their demands. The spirit of merit-based thinking is one of condemnation and judgment. It is an arrogant spirit that looks down on those who do not measure up from a posture of moral superiority. Such a spirit does not reflect the spirit of Jesus.

The spirit of Jesus grows out of grace-based thinking. It is expressed in grace and forgiveness, in unconditional acceptance that views and values, accepts and embraces all as beloved children of God. Because it does not deal in earning and deserving, such a spirit looks beyond behavior to see the need and hurt of the other. It responds to the other with compassion and understanding. The spirit of Jesus is a servant spirit (Mark 9:35; 10:42-54). It gives freely and generously of self to address the need of the other. This grace-filled, servant spirit of Jesus mirrors the spirit of God. The Spirit cultivates the spirit of Jesus in our hearts by teaching us to think with what Paul called the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 2:1-11). The Spirit moves us from merit-based thinking to grace-based thinking, from a critical, judgmental spirit to a grace-filled, forgiving spirit.

If we want to discern what is of God, don’t get trapped in arguing right-and-wrong. Test the spirit!