Biblically, divine wisdom comes to the body when the body meets together:

Jethro advises his son-in-law Moses on how to manage the people (Exodus 18).
Jesus persistently pulled his disciples aside for teaching and practice that strengthened the witness of their doing (e.g., John 6:1–13).
The early church discovered a new way of doing ministry that involved more lay people, expanding the church’s reach (Acts 6).

Since then, the Church—in most of its iterations—has discovered and practiced the power of meeting to discern divine wisdom moving forward:

The Vatican and its dioceses meet.
The Southern Baptist Convention meets.
Lutheran Synods meet.
The United Methodist General and Annual Conferences meet.

In every instance, there is prayer, worship, and thoughtful discussion to discern the Spirit’s leading in a variety of issues the Church faces, both internally and externally, for the sake of Christ’s ministry.

Several years ago, FUMC Plano began holding Town Hall meetings led by our lay leaders to present information and encourage the congregation to speak into the issues we face together. We will hold our next Town Hall Meeting this Sunday, October 19, at 10 a.m. in the Sanctuary. Yes, it conflicts with the Sunday School hour—but the issues are important enough to warrant that shared time. This hour provides us with the best opportunity for broad participation in issues that affect us all.

The chairs of our Missions, Trustees, Finance, Staff-Parish Relations, and Church Council will give brief reports, allowing most of our time to focus on your questions. Handouts will be available, and the meeting will also be livestreamed.

We work to give every voice a voice, because in doing so, we better discern the wisdom of what the Spirit is saying through all of us who make up this body of Christ.

I hope you will attend.

Connecting God and Grace to Self and Community,

Wisdom in the Meeting

How Does 2% Make 98% of the Difference?