Mission with Prophetic Power: The Journal of John Woolman (SRSC 12)

144

Mission with Prophetic Power: The Journal of John Woolman

Discussion Questions

What was a big insight or “take away” from your experience of reading this portion of John Woolman’s Journal ?

The Quaker community had something of a “culture” around discernment. They found and followed God’s will by a process especially

involving circumstances, Spirit, and community. People were invited into the process at different times and for different reasons. See if you can review the process that John Woolman takes in his discernment regarding a trip to the West Indies. Now compare that process with your own process, either as an individual or in a community of faith. What do you learn from this comparison? Individuals and communities have been discerning God’s guidance since the Urim and Thummim (Exod 28:30). Both Christian Scripture and the Great Tradition provide insight and basic theological principles that inform our approach to discernment. How might you summarize the basic principles of discerning God’s guidance that you can remember from Scripture or tradition?