| Jim Dant
Adult
• 4 Sessions of Learner’s Materials
• 4 Sessions of Teaching Materials
• 4 Sessions of Bible Background
1. Acts 1:15-26
2. 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22
3. Acts 9:26-30
4. Acts 15:1-35
One needs only to eavesdrop on conversations in church parking lots, hallways and classrooms to know that an array of decisions draw energy and time from church members. These decisions may be theological in nature, concerning the ordination of women, mode of baptism, or style of worship. Then again, these decisions also could concern aesthetic matters, such as the color of the sanctuary carpet or choir robes. Other decisions may be functional in nature: the selection of a new minister or the purchase of property. And of course, there is always the looming decision that must be made by every family every Sunday: Where do we eat lunch?
Over the course of sessions, this study will consider how the church has made its decisions in the past. Within these biblical stories will not be found any secret formulas, foolproof techniques, or even suggestions for where to eat lunch. No one story will provide the key to a smooth decision-making process in your own life or the life of your church. But each story will offer its own unique perspective on what your church’s intentional and unintentional decision-making processes might look like.
A part of the NextSunday Resources line of adult Bible studies, How Does the Church Decide? contains four lessons for use as individual study or group discussion. Each study contains lessons on the biblical material, combined with an additional commentary from an alternate, but complementary, viewpoint.
Jim Dant is pastor of Highland Hills Baptist Church in Macon, Georgia, and an adjunct professor at Mercer University. Author of several books, including The Truth Is Sensational Enough, he enjoys composing music, writing, running, gardening, coin collecting, fishing, and golf.
Cecil Sherman is the commentary writer for How Does the Church Decide? A native of Fort Worth, Texas, he has pastored churches in Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, and New Jersey. He has most recently served as visiting professor of pastoral ministries at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. He is also author of the five-volume Formations Commentary series.
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