DECISION MAKING

DECISION MAKING

Decision-making is tough.  Each person must make decisions, ranging between ice cream flavor selection, and life partner selection.  Some decisions are mundane and inconsequential.  And, there are decisions with eternal dimensions and consequences.  Some decisions are made by individuals, others by couples, and yet others by larger groups.  Different mechanisms and methods are brought into play, culling some options, and promoting others.  The following are random thoughts on different mechanisms and methods used in decision making:

1.            Abraham-like “get up and go …”  (this is rarely the case)

2.            Paul-like dream “come to Macedonia …”

3.            Open-doors – Closed-doors leading

4.            “Peace”

a.            “cast all your anxieties on the Lord, with thanksgiving, and the peace of God will …”

b.            “peace that passes all understanding…”

c.             Very commonly referenced by my contemporaries

d.            Very little Biblical material, examples???

5.            Advice/Counselors

a.            Listen to wife!

b.            “two heads are better than one…”

c.             “Two-strand cord, three-strand cord…”

6.            Pros-Cons Matrix

7.            Prayer (and, fasting)

a.            Can be part of all of these?

b.            Jesus, “what do you want me to do for you?”

c.             “Ask for wisdom…” Jas.

8.            Ask self, “what do you want?!”

9.            Casting lots

a.            Apostle replacement

b.            Proverbs quotations

c.             Chicago move?!

10.          Signs

a.            Gideon and his fleece

b.            “May 15”? (05/15/96, 05/15/16)

c.             Double shooting star

11.          Pin through the Bible

a.            Names for babies?!

b.            “stay there, useful to me …” 1Tim. (Sarah – Africa or not)

12.          Trial and Error – “scientific method”

13.          Evolving Decision

a.            “audible at line”

b.            Play cards dealt, but draw as needed, poker-like?

c.             Hop in car and just go, correcting course as needed.

14.          Research/Contingencies

15.          Group vote – Jerusalem Council, Acts 15

a.            “Show me the money”

b.            Business model – profitability

c.             Golden-rule – man with gold makes the rules?!

16.          Copy-cat

a.            Do what always has been done

b.            Do what others do

17.          Hard Way

a.            Swim upstream

b.            Counter-culture

c.             Check wind and walk into it

18.          Whatever is in front of you.

a.            “God has put you where you are”

b.            “Play cards dealt”

19.          Finite-world of limited options

a.            Church-shopping

b.            Wife-looking (not so romantic?)

20.          Handwriting on the wall

a.            Daniel – mene mene tekel upharsin

b.            But, cannot read it?!

21.          Dreams and visions

a.            Joseph and dreams of Pharoah

b.            Joseph and his own dreams

c.             Daniel and king’s dreams

d.            Agabus and belt

e.            “mud holes on side road leading to town down the hill…”

22.          “Scriptural”

a.            A clear “thus says the Lord”?

b.            Steve C. “… as long as they are scriptural …”

c.             “Thy word is a light unto my path …”

d.            “… you search the Scripture, … life … son of Hell”

23.          Submission

a.            “… hard to kick against the pricks/goads…”

b.            Often given no choices

c.             Sometimes MUST counter – Acts 5 “we must…”; S,M,A in Daniel?!

d.            God gives direction through leaders

e.            Parent-child m.o.; grown children?!

24.          Go with your gut.

25.          Feels right

a.            Song- “I’ve got a feeling, I’m high on believing…”

b.            Song – “…if loving you is wrong, I don’t want to be right ….”

c.             “there is a way that seems right … end is death …”

26.          Go with flow

27.          Stay in herd

28.          Self-preservation

29.          Not stir the pot/crap

30.          Sleeping dogs – let alone; not bite.

31.          Love???

a.            Song – “what’s love got to do with it?”

b.            Tough love vs. indulgence

c.             Rebukes of friend vs. kisses of enemy?

d.            Second commandment!

e.            Golden rule

32.          WWJD??

33.          “still small voice”  Elijah

34.          “Test the spirits, to see if from God…”

35.          Pragmatic – whatever works is right.

36.          “the Lord told me…”

a.            (Hunter Smith) girl at church brought in hitch-hiker because “Lord told me…”  Preacher told her to be careful; she said she feared God and not doing what He told her to do

b.            (Chicago friend)  “Lord told me to humble myself”  “OK, humility is good”  “He told me to pick my nose at front of church …”  “that is not God…”

c.             (Nancy Fagerman) boy told her that he got a message from God about marrying her; she answered, “wait, until He tells me too…”

d.            Do we ever hear what we want to hear?!

37.          “Tongue-speaking” confirmation

a.            Oral Roberts “70 foot Jesus, gonna kill me unless you send in money…”

b.            Hard to argue with self-proclaimed prophets?

c.             “test the spirits …”

d.            “search the Scriptures, to see if …”

38.          Palm-reader/bone-caster, etc.

a.            Witch of Endor

b.            Warnings about wizardry

c.             Consult stars, or the Star-maker?

39.          Just ask Sirie/ just google it?

40.          “get close to God and then do whatever you WANT to do”?! (will want what He wants?)

41.          “go with your ‘passion’…”

42.          Do what asked to do

a.            “Go two miles”

b.            “give 2nd coat away…”

43.          Purpose-statement

a.            Star Trek “Prime Directive”

b.            Thesis of sermon culls mundane material

c.             Mission Statement of a congregation

44.          Just “drink cup is not passed” – Gethsemane

45.          “Jump on in, head first!”

a.            Just have faith…

b.            Broken neck?

c.             “thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God”

d.            Adventure vs. commissioned ministry?

46.          “wait EIGHT days

a.            Saul told by Samuel to wait seven days

b.            “… wait on the Lord …”

47.          “when you know, you know”?!

48.          As yourself, “what are you holding on to?”

49.          “cast nets on other side …”

50.          See opportunities, not obstacles/problems

51.          Look up, not back; look forward, not back; if look back, see his faithfulness

52.          Long engagement predicts good marriage

a.            One-year engagement?!

b.            Asked M to marry on 07/04/77; met in 03/77

53.          Test-drive a car?

54.          Set up a committee

55.          Toss a coin.

(reminded of Paul Simon song -  Fifty Ways…)