I am working on a project to summarize leadership principles or thoughts on small reference cards. This approach will help leaders quickly learn a concept and facilitate discussions in council settings with other leaders. I invite you to try and use this in your next council/presidency meeting to stimulate discussion with other leaders.
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The weight of staffing a ward can be intense. Bishoprics naturally want to follow God’s will for their ward. There is an assumption that God must have a chalkboard in heaven where every calling in the ward is written with the name of a specific ward member next to it. The belief is that it is the leaders’ job to figure out who God wants in each calling. This is what we call the chalkboard-in-heaven fallacy. However, it was never meant to work like this.
We often see revelation as a one-way street, from heaven to earth or from heaven to our leadership roles. However, as with most things, it’s more complicated than that.
Doctrine & Covenants 128:9 describes the revelatory and administrative process well:
“It may seem to some to be a very bold doctrine that we talk of—a power which records or binds on earth and binds in heaven. Nevertheless, in all ages of the world, whenever the Lord has given a dispensation of the priesthood to any man by actual revelation, or any set of men, this power has always been given. Hence, whatsoever those men did in authority, in the name of the Lord, and did it truly and faithfully, and kept a proper and faithful record of the same, it became a law on earth and in heaven.”
The Lord has empowered His leaders with priesthood keys, or the authorization to govern the Church in their area. This means He trusts them to make calls using all the skills, abilities, and perceptions He has blessed them with. So when a leader makes a final decision about a specific calling in the ward, even without a strong heavenly hunch, it is still classified as a revelation. That leader should feel empowered to move forward because they are acting according to the power that has been given.
Questions:
- How have you typically understood the revelatory process for church leaders?
- How can we strike the right balance between seeking revelation and trusting our own decision-making abilities as leaders?
- What experiences have you had where you felt you received clear inspiration about a specific calling? How did that experience differ from times when you had to use your best judgment?
- What is the role of the member receiving the calling in the revelatory process?
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Sincerely,
Kurt Francom
Executive Director
Leading Saints
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