EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE

OF THE PHILIPPINES- LUZON, INC.

Lot 1 Block 1 Valley Hills Subd., Valley Golf, Cainta Rizal 1900

LEADERSHIP IN MINISTRY
SESSION 11
DECISION MAKING AND GOD’S WILL

I. OBJECTIVES
By the end of this session the student should be able too….

1. Describe three aspects of God’s character important to our understanding of His

will.
2. List the basic categories of God’s will and how we should respond to each.
3. Describe three traps that can derail the process of finding God’s will and leading.
4. Explain the seven steps in decision making.

II. INTRODUCTION

“Decision making is a fundamental responsibility of leaders. People who are unwilling or

unable to make decisions are unlikely leadership candidates.” (Blackaby & Blackaby
2001, pp. 178)

“Every decision is like surgery. It is an intervention into a system and therefore carries
with it the risk of shock.” (Peter Drucker in The Effective Executive)

“Do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” (Paul in Ephesians 5:17)

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (Proverbs
14:12)

III. DECISION MAKING IS DIFFICULT

A. Why is making decision often so difficult?

B. Thus, it is imperative to get to know our God, not just seek out His will. (Psalm
59: 9, 17; 62: 1 – 2, 5 – 8, 11 – 12)

Among His many attributes…..

• He is ____________________. (1 Corinthians 29: 11, 12)
• He is ____________________. (Romans 8: 31, 32)
• He is ____________________. (Isaiah 28:29)

IV. GOD’S WILL HAS A THREE DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS.

God’s will guide leaders and leadership teams to find His will for the group they oversee.
(Matthew 18: 18 – 20; John 20:23; Acts 13: 1 – 3; 16: 6 – 10; Hebrews 13: 17; 1 Timothy
4: 15 – 16; 5: 17; 6: 20)

A. His Sovereign Will – In strength He secures our hope. (Eph. 1: 11 – 14)

 EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE
OF THE PHILIPPINES- LUZON, INC.
Lot 1 Block 1 Valley Hills Subd., Valley Golf, Cainta Rizal 1900

“His purpose determines everything that happens in the universe.”

1. Understand His sovereign will.

a. Much of it is hidden. (Romans 11:33; Deut. 29:29)
b. Some of it is revealed. (Rev. 5: 6 – 10; 7: 9, 10)
2. Respond to His sovereign will.
a. Realize God can override our plans, trust Him. (James 4: 13 – 15;
Proverbs 16: 9)
b. Realized God works everything for good, trust Him. (Romans 8:
28 – 30)
c. Realized God can engineer circumstances to guide us, respond to
Him. (Acts 16: 6 – 10)
3. Examples: (Psalm 139: 5 – 10, 13 – 16, 23, 24) Jonah

B. His General/Moral Will – In love, He protects/provides for us. (Psalm 23:3)

1. Understand His moral will.

a. It is revealed in the Word. So study it! (2 Timothy 3: 16, 17)
b. It is understandable and doable, so do it! (Psalm 32: 8, 9)
c. It is chiefly character/relationship oriented (1 Thessalonians 4:3;
5:18)
2. Respond to His moral will.
a. In humble submission. (Romans 12: 1 – 2)
b. Obedience – the great eye opener! (John 14: 21, 23; Col 1:9 – 12)
3. Example: (2 Corinthians 6: 14)

C. His Specific Guidance/Will – In wisdom He guides us. (Psalm 73:24; Ephesians

2:10)

1. Understand His specific will, listening to God.

a. He promises to guide those who submit to Him. (Psalm 32: 8, 9;
Psalm 23: 1 – 3; Psalm 25: 8, 9; Proverbs 3: 5,6; Isaiah 58: 11; 1
Corinthians 2: 14)
b. He promises to guide those with a right heart. (Psalm 25:12)
c. He promises to use wisdom as the major means. (James 1: 2 -8;
3: 13 – 18)
2. Respond to His specific will, listening and responding to God.
a. Use your mind to think! (Luke 14: 28 – 32) – Knowledge
b. Use your heart to pray! (Matthew 7: 7 – 8) – Attitude
c. Use your feet to obey! (John 14: 21, 23) – Action
3. Example: (Matthew 7: 7, 8; Matthew 18: 18 – 20; Acts 16: 6 – 10)

V. GOD DOES NOT WANT US TO BE MISLED

Wrong knowledge/assumptions, wrong attitudes, or wrong actions can prevent us from

finding His will.
 EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE
OF THE PHILIPPINES- LUZON, INC.
Lot 1 Block 1 Valley Hills Subd., Valley Golf, Cainta Rizal 1900

A. By wrong knowledge – mind

1. Assuming God’s will guarantees circumstances will be pleasing, no

suffering. (Hebrew 12: 1 – 2, Hebrews 11: 32 – 38; Matthew 10: 34 – 39;
2 Timothy 3: 12 “Everyone desiring to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will
be persecuted.”)
2. Assuming God’s will guarantees pain/suffering. (Philippians 4: 11 – 13)
3. Assuming God’s Word is a “crystal ball” or a lot to cast; that God’s will is
necessarily illogical, without reason, or unrelated to our desires. (Hosea
4: 5, 14 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…People without
understanding will come to ruin.”)

BEWARE – the Binary Trap: “It is either this or that; should we do this or
not?” Assumes there are only two choices, limiting the alternatives and
options.

B. By wrong attitudes – heart

1. Trusting feelings with no reference to wisdom or the Word. (2 Peter 1: 18

– 21)
2. Trusting or not trusting any “prompting” without discernment. (1 John 4: 1;
John 10: 2 – 5)
3. Fearing previous disobedience results in second class spiritual
citizenship. (John 21: 15 – 23)

BEWARE – the Intuitive trap: “I feel like this is the right decision, that settles
it.” Assumes that we don’t need to think if we have an “impression” or
feelings.

C. By wrong actions – will

1. Waiting passively instead of actively serving and obeying what is known.

(Psalm 32: 8, 9)
2. Setting out “fleeces” as God’s means of guidance. (Deuteronomy 18: 10 –
12)
3. Paralysis of analysis

BEWARE: the voting trap: “How many are in favor?” Assumes that voting
shows us God’s will and/or by – passes conflict.

VI. GOD HIMSELF IS OUR CONFIDENCE AS WE SEEK HIS WILL.

A. He will get us where we need to be (Jeremiah 29: 11 – 13) if we seek Him, trust
Him and respond to Him in faith.
B. God knows how much we do know, how much we don’t know, and how much we
need to know. Seek facts and input, especially from wise counselors. Then
decide, obey by faith! (James 1: 5 – 8, 12)
 EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE
OF THE PHILIPPINES- LUZON, INC.
Lot 1 Block 1 Valley Hills Subd., Valley Golf, Cainta Rizal 1900

C. God can and will override our decisions to get us where He wants us to go. But
don’t be foolish, be wise! (Proverbs 16: 9; 19: 21; 20:24)

VII. GOD WILL GUIDE US CHIEFLY THROUGH WISDOM. (Matthew 7: 7 – 11; Proverbs
3: 5 -6; 15:33)

Involving our heart – Ask. Desiring to know and do God’s will; seek Him, trusting He
will guide. Bathe the process in prayer (Heb 11:6). Trust God, not the process! Stop and
pray often. Attitude

Involving our mind – Seek. Discovering and evaluating facts and the alternatives.
(Proverbs 18: 13; 11: 14; 15:22) Soak the mind and heart in God’s Word. Listen to God
speaking through godly/competent counselors. Listen to God in an ongoing
“conversational dependency.” Knowledge

Involving our will – Knock. Acting by faith on God’s leading, test the decision.
(Romans 12: 1 – 2). Action

A. Step One – Define the Decision (Proverbs 14: 16)

1. Determine the issue(s) – Why do we need to make a decision? Are there

root causes, deeper issues than what appear on the surface? Dig deeper
than “yes or no.”
2. Reframe the decision – How is this decision related to our
mission/values/vision? What can or will this decision accomplish in the
long run? To which values does it relate?
3. Put the decision in context – Who will be impacted by this decision? Who
should be involved in the decision making (indiv/team)? How soon must
we decide (time frame)?

BEWARE – the Binary Trap – limiting the perspective.

Write a decision/issue statement clarifying what you want to accomplish in

this decision:

“________________________________________________”

B. Step Two – Determine Objectives (Proverbs 13: 16)

1. List all possible objectives that can be accomplished by the decision.

a. What do we want to maximize? (benefits, positive impact, achieve,
etc.)
b. What do we want to minimize? (disadvantages, negative impact,
hurt, etc.)
2. Prioritize the objectives
Rank the objectives High, Medium, Low or “5” as most important and
comparing all to that one, rank the rest “1 – 5”. What objectives/criteria
must be met, which are desirable but not crucial?
3. Sharpen the objectives
 EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE
OF THE PHILIPPINES- LUZON, INC.
Lot 1 Block 1 Valley Hills Subd., Valley Golf, Cainta Rizal 1900

Make the objectives measurable if you can – how much, when, how
many?

BEWARE – the Intuitive trap – limiting the process.

C. Step Three – Explore Alternatives (Proverbs 18: 15; 17: 24; 29: 12)

1. Identify obvious alternatives

2. Build a creative alternative from the objectives. Think possibilities.
3. Evaluation alternatives in light of the objectives against known facts
involved. (“Facts are our friends”) Be clear the difference between facts,
opinions and assumptions.

BEWARE – the Binary trap – limiting the options

NOTE: In most day – to – day decisions, these first three steps are enough to
make clear the alternative. In more complex or important decisions, explore
the next four steps in details.

D. Step Four – Gather the Facts (Proverbs 18: 2, 13, 15; 15: 14)

1. Distinguish between facts, opinions and assumptions.

“Facts” – a condition which the evidence supports as true.
“Opinion/Assumptions” – a personal judgement or best guess about
probability.
2. Relate the facts to each other alternative in view of the sharpened
objectives.

BEWARE – the Intuitive Trap – limiting the process.

E. Step Five – Evaluate the Alternative (Proverbs 4: 6 – 7; 14: 8, 15; Psalm 119:
125)

1. Assess how well each alternative accomplishes each objective.

2. Assess which alternative maximizes benefits and minimizes negative
impact.
3. Tentatively determine the best alternative.

BEWARE – the voting trap – limiting the process.

F. Step Six – Assess the Risk (Luke 14: 28 – 33)

1. Assess the risk of implementing the best alternative (tentative)

a. What kind of risk is involved (theological, institutional,
interpersonal, personal)?
b. What is the worst thing that could happen? How serious is this?
c. What is the probability of this happening?
2. In view of the risk, should we reconsider the second best alternative?
 EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE
OF THE PHILIPPINES- LUZON, INC.
Lot 1 Block 1 Valley Hills Subd., Valley Golf, Cainta Rizal 1900

BEWARE – the Intuitive trap – limiting the perspective.

G. Step Seven – Test the “Best” Alternative (Proverbs 14: 12; Phil 1: 9 – 11)

1. Discuss the decision (and the decision making process) with trusted
advisors. Do we have blind spots in thinking, lack of clarity, unseen
alternatives? (Prov 15:22)
2. Continue to wait on God if we can for His factual confirmation and/or
peace.
3. Step out in faith and be ready for mid – course confirmation or correction.

BEWARE – the voting trap – limiting the process