Seeking Truth. Practicing Love. Pursuing Shalom.
Have you ever wondered what the Holy Spirit is doing in the Church today?
We Presbyterians believe in the Holy Spirit. We confess our faith in the Spirit when we worship. We pray for the Spirit’s guidance. We believe the Spirit calls, equips, and empowers the Church for ministry.
But what does that actually mean in everyday life?
When a session meets to make a difficult decision, how does it recognize the guidance of the Holy Spirit? When a presbytery must decide someone’s future in ministry, what does faithful discernment look like? When Christians disagree about matters of faith, how do we distinguish the leading of the Spirit from our own convictions, fears, traditions, and institutional interests?
These are not merely theological questions. They affect real people.
We’ve Asked This Question Before
In 1970, the 182nd General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church considered a report titled The Work of the Holy Spirit.
The immediate concerns included speaking in tongues and other charismatic gifts. These experiences had created disagreements within the Church, sometimes affecting congregations, pastors, and their relationships.
The General Assembly’s study recognized that Christians could approach these experiences differently while still having something valuable to contribute to one another.
It called for mutual respect and affection, openness to the Spirit’s work, and responsible discernment. It recognized the importance of both spiritual enthusiasm and Presbyterian commitments to decency and order.
That was an important undertaking.
But more than fifty years later, another question deserves our attention:
How faithfully have we put those principles into practice?
We are not asking the Church to begin discerning the work of the Holy Spirit. We are asking it to remember that it has already undertaken that discernment—and to consider what remains to be learned and practiced.
Discernment Is More Than Making a Decision
We Presbyterians have developed an elaborate system of church government. We have sessions, presbyteries, synods, and General Assemblies. We have a Book of Order that establishes responsibilities, procedures, and standards.
These are important.
But following the proper procedure does not necessarily mean we have reached a sufficient understanding of the people and circumstances involved.
Consider a pastor whose ministry is being questioned. The presbytery has constitutional responsibilities. The pastor has responsibilities as well. But do both sides have equal access to information, resources, procedural knowledge, and opportunities to be heard?
Usually, they do not.
This is what we mean by power asymmetry.
Unequal power does not necessarily mean that someone is acting unfairly or in bad faith. Nor does it mean that the person with less authority is necessarily right.
It does mean that faithful discernment requires us to recognize those differences and consider how they affect our understanding and decisions.
There is also the question of capacity.
Do the people making consequential decisions have enough time, information, training, and support to understand the situation fully? Are they equipped to address complicated human relationships, theological disagreements, and organizational pressures?
Even faithful, well-intentioned people have limitations.
Perhaps the Holy Spirit is calling us to become more attentive to these realities.
How Do We Recognize the Spirit’s Work?
Jesus taught that we recognize a tree by its fruit.
Paul described the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22–23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
These qualities provide an important way to examine our individual and institutional behavior.
When we make decisions, are we becoming more patient? More truthful? More loving? More willing to listen? More courageous in doing what is right?
Or are fear, impatience, defensiveness, and the desire to bring a difficult matter to a quick conclusion shaping our actions?
This does not mean that every faithful decision will make everyone happy. Sometimes love requires difficult conversations, accountability, and painful decisions.
But the way we reach a decision matters, not just the decision itself.
And the work of discernment does not necessarily end when a vote is taken.
We should also ask what happens afterward. Are people supported? Are commitments honored? Are relationships repaired where possible? Does the Church learn from its experience?
Seeking Shalom
The biblical word shalom is often translated as peace, but its meaning is richer than simply avoiding conflict.
It includes wholeness, justice, well-being, and right relationships.
That gives Christian discernment a larger purpose.
We are not merely trying to keep an institution running smoothly or resolve disagreements as quickly as possible.
We are seeking the faithful flourishing of people and communities under the lordship of Jesus Christ.
Sometimes that will require changing how we think. Sometimes it will require acknowledging mistakes. Sometimes it will mean listening to someone whose experience differs greatly from our own.
Romans 12:2 reminds us that transformation involves the renewal of our minds so that we may discern the will of God.
Perhaps the practice of discernment is itself one of the ways the Holy Spirit transforms us.
Let’s Talk About It
This website begins with a question rather than a predetermined answer:
What’s the Holy Spirit up to in the Presbyterian Church today?
We invite you to share your experiences.
Have you participated in a session, presbytery, or other church council where you witnessed wisdom, patience, fairness, and compassion?
Have you experienced a decision-making process in which people struggled to understand one another, where unequal power mattered, or where important questions seemed to go unanswered?
What did those experiences teach you about Christian discernment?
We welcome both encouraging and difficult stories. We ask that contributors respect confidentiality, protect the privacy of others, and approach differing accounts with humility. Listening to an experience does not require us to assume we know every fact surrounding it.
Our hope is to learn together—not simply to identify what may be wrong, but to recognize what is faithful and discover what might be improved.
Perhaps that is one answer to our opening question.
Perhaps the Holy Spirit is inviting us to listen more carefully, seek a fuller understanding, practice Christlike love, and pursue shalom together.
Read the original study
In 1970, the 182nd General Assembly considered The Work of the Holy Spirit, a study addressing charismatic experiences, Christian unity, and the Church’s responsibility for faithful discernment.
Readers are encouraged to examine the study for themselves and consider how its insights might inform the life of the Church today.
Read The Work of the Holy Spirit (1970) — Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)