9.   Be open to the life experiences of all involved and encourage them to live in the questions. Remind them that discernment is on-going and continues for the rest of our lives!

8.   Pray, Pray, and Pray for your small group!

7.   Take time at the beginning of your small group discussion to center in the presence of God and model ways of listening and being present for each other.

6.   Be familiar with the various resources and pull them into conversations as necessary. Also, be a resource for your small group! Helping them make connections to each other and the greater world will strengthen their discernment process in the small group and in years to come!

5.   Talk less and listen more.

4.   Try to be generationally and spiritually sensitive, as people are in many places on their faith journey. This course was written by Generation X folks, for Generations X and Y. You all come to this course from various places in your lives.

3.   There are no clear answers to a lot of the questions asked. We are all on a journey and discernment is a process. When you get to the end of the course, our hopes are that you have a better grasp on “whose” you are and how you might live out your gifts, talents, and passions.

2.    As we walk through the course, we are not just talking about “rostered” ministry of the ELCA, but looking at the broader sense of call and vocation in daily life.

1.   This course is focused around the question, “Do You Whistle While You Live?” Notice that it is not, “Whistle While You Work”. Our time is not spent trying to figure out what occupation you should have, but to give people a sense of their “call” to live out their God-given gifts everyday, wherever that may be.

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