What is "consensus"? Is consensus just a technique, or a useful tool for group decision-making? It seems to me that consensus is much more - especially for people who believe that God is at work in our world, and that the church is being called and guided into all truth through the Holy Spirit.

A dictionary tells us that the word "consensus" is derived from the Latin verb consentire, which means to feel together or agree. When we as members of the church must respond to an issue or question as a group (whether that group is a vestry or a parish or a diocesan committee or the church as a whole), we're called on to "feel together" and agree if we can. "Feeling together" means something more than choosing up sides so the majority can beat the minority by winning a vote. Feeling together means listening. This means giving people the chance to share their views in a group process where they will be heard and taken seriously. At an interpersonal level, this is simply an outward sign of the respect we have for others as our brothers and sisters in Christ. They may have something valuable for us to hear, which we'll miss if we don't listen. Because we can't always predict who will have a valuable comment to offer, we may have to resist our tendency to "tune out" the people we disagree with or dislike.

But there's more to the process of feeling together for consensus than good interpersonal skills. It may be that we're being called by God to see a truth, and our consideration will lead us to that truth. In this regard, we may feel that there's a call from God "above" which one or more of us may discern "below." Sometimes discerning is easy, but sometimes the "signals" below may be equivocal. Some may feel that we're called to go in one direction on an issue, while others may feel we're called to do the opposite. Consensus seeking is possible when we can listen to diverse positions and see if we're moved by the truth that others perceive. We may find new depth and strength in our position; and we may also discover unsuspected weaknesses or flaws in our thinking. If the process is going to work, we have to embrace the risk of this openness. We'll also need the willingness to move to new or modified positions if our discerning should come clearer and lead us in the right direction.

Our openness and flexibility is also a statement about who we think we are relative to God and to each other. Openness to God "above" means that none of us - individually or collectively - has all the answers "below." Openness also reflects our belief that God is at work in the world and may from time to time call us to a truth or a certain response. Openness to others "below" likewise helps us avoid the arrogance of seeing our own opinions in absolute terms. Our willingness to listen can reflect the awareness that others may discern real truth in ways we couldn't imagine. God may even be at work on me through another person with opposing views - and vice versa.

Commitment to consensus seeking in the church would be a serious step for any group, because this process is not a tool of efficiency. We may believe the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth, but that leading may take us on a circuitous path. And that's all right. We shouldn't try to "hurry along" the process of consensus seeking. Indeed, any attempt to force the issue at the expense of others may obscure all our discerning. A process of consensus seeking will call for patience and charity as we try to listen to each other and find the truth.

We also have to face our imperfections, and the imperfections offered us in the situations we encounter. We may never agree on all points. We may never be able to feel together and find the truth - at least to a certain degree of precision concerning all details and implications. After all, we're imperfect instruments, and much of the truth may remain unrevealed at a given time. We try our best as we peer "through the glass darkly" and seek the truth together. Similarly, we may be able to "feel the truth" up to a certain point, and then diverge beyond that point. What we are looking for is the recognizability of truth that we can discover in sharing our opinions and perceptions. With few exceptions, this discerning will require an ongoing process in which there's need for all kinds of people to be heard.

Consensus seeking is not just a means to an end. As a process, it's an important end and statement in itself. However, our process of consensus seeking can serve to inform our decision making as a body of Christians. When the participants in our body can honestly feel together and recognize the truth, we can let that discerning shape our decisions. Such consensus doesn't require unanimity. It calls for a willingness to see when the body is essentially moved in a direction by feeling together. It likewise calls for a willingness to wait and suspend final judgment when discernment hasn't come clear - even when an election might yield a majority vote for one side or the other. Finally, there's the continuing need for openness and a willingness to hear - even after apparent consensus. As our discerning is always partial, we may yet encounter truth that we didn't anticipate. Consensus seeking is therefore a process that continues. o

The Rev. Rob Slocum is the rector of the Church of the Holy Communion, Lake Geneva, Wis., and a lecturer in the Department of Theology at Marquette University, Milwaukee.