This set of articles describes a ten-step process including spiritual and mental preparation. Decision-making also involves action. Unless some action results, a decision has not really been made. Implementation of the decision is an important part of the process, and this concept deals with that also.
Objective: To present the decision-making process, along with useful tools, so that the Christian leader can apply it effectively to daily issues of life and leadership.
Solomon: So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours? --1 Kings 3:9
Not all decisions are alike, and, of course, the process to be used. The kind of decision to be made will in some measure determine the process to be followed. Some decisions are personal and made by an individual; others are made in a group process, either a small group or a large one. This article specifically addresses each of these kinds of decisions.
Some decisions are major or life changing. The most important is trusting Christ as Savior and Lord. Other so-called major decisions include deciding whom to marry (or if), what occupation to follow, where to live, and what friends to have. Some decisions are more or less routine, such as what clothes to wear to work or what route to take to a friend's house. However, these “routine” decisions can sometimes become life-changing decisions. Thus, all decisions should be given consideration, although not all take the same amount of time and thought to process.
What kind of decisions are you now dealing with? Here are some other different kinds of decisions: optional and compulsory; “whether” and “which”; simple and complex; preferences and priorities; tastes and values; controversial and uncontroversial; crisis and routine; right or wrong.
Realize the vital importance of decisions and learn all you can as a Christian servant leader about making better decisions. As you make decisions, follow the basic steps in decision-making, avoiding the common pitfalls along the way. Make your own decision-making process, step by step, one that you can follow consistently. This article has provided an overview of decision-making from a Christian perspective for the servant leader. Other articles explain and apply this information to decisions in three realms: the personal, the small group, and the congregational. Note: Review the graph below as you work through this series; refer to it occasionally in related articles on decision-making.
You may prefer to keep your process very simple, especially for short, quick, less systemic decisions. Consider this fast-track as a mental checklist for such decisions:
Reflection and Application
- Review this process several times.
- Rewrite the process if it doesn't work for you.
- Put it on a 3x5 laminated card.
- Use it as an on-the-spot checklist for your bigger decisions.