Time Needed: 30 minutes
Scripture Meditation
“I press on toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” --- Paul, Philippians 3:14
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should do them.” --- Paul, Ephesians 2:10
A Word With God
“God, I believe you have called me for a purpose and that You desire to show me that purpose so that I might discover meaning and joy as I join with You in Your mission in the world. Please help me to discover this calling and to see how it brings integration and purpose to my life.”
Teaching
There comes that moment in every person’s life when they ask themselves that simple question, “Why am I here?” Maybe it comes one day as you’re looking at the stars, or struggling to declare your major in college, or when you have kids of your own, or your new to the Christian life. We all ask it; it is one of the core questions of human existence.
It seems that our culture offers a few answers. If you believe the television commercials, we exist to consume. Another common one is that we exist to leave our children in a better position than we were growing up. Despite the prevalence of these offered answers, I think that most of us have this vague sense that we just can’t quite fully know our purpose. It is a disappointing realization, yet one that most people resign themselves to. Mitch Albom, the popular Detroit journalist, wrote a book called The Five People You Meet In Heaven. The book isn’t really about heaven, so much as it is about discovering our life’s purpose. He proposes that the five people you meet are those who desribe your life’s meaning and purpose to you. But this doesn’t happen until after you die. In thinking this way, Mr. Albom is like most in our society; you can’t know your life’s purpose until after it is over.
But what if it could be different? What if we could know our life’s purpose while we were still living it? How would that change things? We’d be less likely to wander through life aimlessly, full of nagging doubts and questions and a persistent sense of hopelessness. Knowing our purpose would fill us with a sense of joy and freedom and meaning. We’d belong.
Look again at the Scripture Meditation passages at the beginning of this session. Clearly, the Apostle Paul was aware of a sense of purpose. He wasn’t waiting until he died to have five people tell him why he lived – he already knew it now, for God had communicated it to him. Paul was aware of his purpose, his calling.
This assessment process is, ultimately, a tool designed to help you come to deeper understanding of your life’s calling, and then with that, to help you identify the spiritual gifts has given you, and the areas of ministry and service where you can use your gifts as you live out your calling. That is why we’re exploring your life experiences, the passions of your heart, and the spiritual gifts; and why you’ll most benefit by meeting with a leader in the church – to help you put it all together.
So how does this come together? Well, in the next session, we’ll explore a metaphor for the integration of calling, ministry and gifts, but for now, let's think of it like this: our calling is the umbrella which brings unity to our overall life and purpose. The various ministries (including our work, family and hobbies) flesh out (and fit under) our calling, and then our spiritual gifts and skills are the tools that enable us to carry out our ministries.
But why do we bother with any of this at all? Isn’t it a waste of time? Or a little personal? It is personal, but it isn’t a waste of time. Coming to greater discovery of our calling and gifts brings great rewards. First there is the sense of purpose that will pervade our day to day living. With this renewed sense of purpose and meaning comes great confidence and freedom. With a deeper sense of our calling, we’ll have the freedom to say no to those things which are distractions, and confidently say yes to those things that align with our calling. We’ll also come to a greater awareness of and understanding of ourselves and God, as we see how uniquely He crafted us. We’ll soak in the profound love God has for us until it comes to saturate our souls. Finally, and most importantly, living out our calling brings glory to God. God created us with a purpose in mind, as Paul says in Ephesians 2, and when we walk in that calling, we display, for the whole universe to see, how wonderful is our God.
So, as you travel through this assessment process, listen with your heart for what God is calling you to. See if you can discern how your various life activities (all of which are “ministry”) express or fit into this calling, and how your spiritual gifts and skills empower you for these areas of service. Each session in this book will close with an exercise. In this case, our exercise is a simple prayer. I love this prayer from the Book of Common Prayer. It begins with an acknowledgement of God’s love and provision. It asks for His protection and ongoing concern in our life. We need God. It closes with a desire to pursue God’s purposes for us. It begins with God and ends with calling. We who know God’s heart, and have been in God’s heart, are sent out from that heart into the world.
“Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought me in safety to this new day. Preserve me by your mighty power, I pray. Do not let me fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity, and in all I do direct me to your purposes for me in Christ Jesus. Amen.”
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Beginnings
Time Needed: 30 minutes
“Finding one’s call or mission, seeing how one’s gift(s) fits that call and engaging in the disciplines necessary to carry out such a call is the plan of God for all disciples. Discovering on’es calling is to discover one’s role as an actor [in God’s story]. Call breaks the power of false categories and integrates the various parts of our life: home, work, play. As soon as a disciple wants to work with God in God’s story, he or she will see with God’s eyes and hear with God’s ears … There is so much need. Where does one begin? What should I do? This is where calling comes in – it directs us to our row in the garden.” (Todd Hunter, “Calling, Mission and Gifts: How They Integrate In A Disciple’s Life”)
Scripture Meditation:
“I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly.”
Jesus, John 10:10
A word with God: (our objective)
God, I believe that when you created me you had a specific purpose in mind. I believe that as I find and live out that purpose I will experience more “life” than I have even known. Holy Spirit, open my eyes to see how my past and present are to affect my future.
Teaching:
Calling is more than the sum of your gifts and experiences and passions. Our calling is like a journey. We are each called to travel with God on His mission. God calls every woman and man to enter into creative partnership with Him in His mission to renew the creation and reconcile humanity to Himself. We desire to assist you in discovering your unique calling and mission.
This Assessment Tool will help you explore these three areas of your life:
Your Experiences and Abilities: Your experiences and abilities are where you’ve traveled so far, and what tools and resources and knowledge you’ve picked up along the way. This road you’ve already walked can help you discover the road that lies ahead. Some of the road you’ve already walked may have been a detour, but it has also brought you to where you are today. Some of the tools you’ve acquired so far will be helpful for the journey, and some won’t really matter, and that’s okay.
Your Passions: Your passions are why you journey, your desire for the destination. Your passions envision the country that you journey towards. They will also sometimes shape your route, guiding you when there are forks in the road that seem to both lead to the same land.
Your Spiritual Gifts: Your spiritual gifts are the special tools that God gives you directly for your journey. Some you’ve carried for a long time, while some have yet to be given. Some of these tools are used only for a certain part of the road, maybe even a single use, while others you come back to again and again.
How do these things fit together?
Through this assessment process we are seeking to weave these three strands together to get a sense of the larger tapestry of your life. By examining how your gifts, passions, and experiences are woven together we hope to help you uncover your calling from God. “Calling is also helpfully understood as a strong inner impulse given by God that pulls us toward a particular course of action on God’s behalf (in his name) for the sake of his work in the world.” (Todd Hunter)
The call of God is life-giving. It encompasses the specific, unique purpose God created you for. You will find that the more you live according to that calling the more you will feel deeply fulfilled, knowing your life has eternal meaning.
The call of God is also very personal, and it involves relational interaction between God, the individual, and their community of faith. Much discernment is required, and our spiritual gifts, our passions, and our experiences, along with the wisdom of trusted friends and the "still small voice" in our souls, will help us discover the way.
Perhaps an example from the scriptures will help.
Moses, the man of God, may provide us some clarity through his life.
Look up the following verses in Exodus to discover what experiences and abilities defined Moses:
2:3 _____________________________________
2:5-10 _____________________________________
2:12 _____________________________________
2:15 _____________________________________
3:1 _____________________________________
Try to define Moses’ passions as described in the following verses:
2:11-13 _____________________________________
3:2-4 _____________________________________
33:18 _____________________________________
We don’t know everything about Moses’ spiritual gifts, but we do know God gifted Him with:
Exodus 4-11 miracles
18:12-27 and as a prophet and a leader
God gave Moses the experiences, passions, and gift that allowed him to fulfill his calling: to lead his people out of slavery and, after a transforming encounter with God, into the Promised Land of blessing. Of course, Moses couldn’t do this alone, just like we can’t fulfill our callings alone. Moses needed the help of Aaron and Miriam, as well as members of the next generation – Joshua and Caleb.
Exercise:
1. How do you feel about this process?
2. What would you like to learn about yourself? About God?
3. “God, what do You want me to know about this?" (listening prayer – 5 minutes)
“Finding one’s call or mission, seeing how one’s gift(s) fits that call and engaging in the disciplines necessary to carry out such a call is the plan of God for all disciples. Discovering on’es calling is to discover one’s role as an actor [in God’s story]. Call breaks the power of false categories and integrates the various parts of our life: home, work, play. As soon as a disciple wants to work with God in God’s story, he or she will see with God’s eyes and hear with God’s ears … There is so much need. Where does one begin? What should I do? This is where calling comes in – it directs us to our row in the garden.” (Todd Hunter, “Calling, Mission and Gifts: How They Integrate In A Disciple’s Life”)
Scripture Meditation:
“I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly.”
Jesus, John 10:10
A word with God: (our objective)
God, I believe that when you created me you had a specific purpose in mind. I believe that as I find and live out that purpose I will experience more “life” than I have even known. Holy Spirit, open my eyes to see how my past and present are to affect my future.
Teaching:
Calling is more than the sum of your gifts and experiences and passions. Our calling is like a journey. We are each called to travel with God on His mission. God calls every woman and man to enter into creative partnership with Him in His mission to renew the creation and reconcile humanity to Himself. We desire to assist you in discovering your unique calling and mission.
This Assessment Tool will help you explore these three areas of your life:
Your Experiences and Abilities: Your experiences and abilities are where you’ve traveled so far, and what tools and resources and knowledge you’ve picked up along the way. This road you’ve already walked can help you discover the road that lies ahead. Some of the road you’ve already walked may have been a detour, but it has also brought you to where you are today. Some of the tools you’ve acquired so far will be helpful for the journey, and some won’t really matter, and that’s okay.
Your Passions: Your passions are why you journey, your desire for the destination. Your passions envision the country that you journey towards. They will also sometimes shape your route, guiding you when there are forks in the road that seem to both lead to the same land.
Your Spiritual Gifts: Your spiritual gifts are the special tools that God gives you directly for your journey. Some you’ve carried for a long time, while some have yet to be given. Some of these tools are used only for a certain part of the road, maybe even a single use, while others you come back to again and again.
How do these things fit together?
Through this assessment process we are seeking to weave these three strands together to get a sense of the larger tapestry of your life. By examining how your gifts, passions, and experiences are woven together we hope to help you uncover your calling from God. “Calling is also helpfully understood as a strong inner impulse given by God that pulls us toward a particular course of action on God’s behalf (in his name) for the sake of his work in the world.” (Todd Hunter)
The call of God is life-giving. It encompasses the specific, unique purpose God created you for. You will find that the more you live according to that calling the more you will feel deeply fulfilled, knowing your life has eternal meaning.
The call of God is also very personal, and it involves relational interaction between God, the individual, and their community of faith. Much discernment is required, and our spiritual gifts, our passions, and our experiences, along with the wisdom of trusted friends and the "still small voice" in our souls, will help us discover the way.
Perhaps an example from the scriptures will help.
Moses, the man of God, may provide us some clarity through his life.
Look up the following verses in Exodus to discover what experiences and abilities defined Moses:
2:3 _____________________________________
2:5-10 _____________________________________
2:12 _____________________________________
2:15 _____________________________________
3:1 _____________________________________
Try to define Moses’ passions as described in the following verses:
2:11-13 _____________________________________
3:2-4 _____________________________________
33:18 _____________________________________
We don’t know everything about Moses’ spiritual gifts, but we do know God gifted Him with:
Exodus 4-11 miracles
18:12-27 and as a prophet and a leader
God gave Moses the experiences, passions, and gift that allowed him to fulfill his calling: to lead his people out of slavery and, after a transforming encounter with God, into the Promised Land of blessing. Of course, Moses couldn’t do this alone, just like we can’t fulfill our callings alone. Moses needed the help of Aaron and Miriam, as well as members of the next generation – Joshua and Caleb.
Exercise:
1. How do you feel about this process?
2. What would you like to learn about yourself? About God?
3. “God, what do You want me to know about this?" (listening prayer – 5 minutes)
Experiences
Time Needed: 45 minutes
“It’s great when we realize we are in God’s training program. He always adapts the curriculum to fit us. God … tailors everybody’s curriculum individually to suit His work in their lives. … When you step back and view a person’s life history telescopically, you see things you might otherwise miss.” (Robert Clinton, The Making of a Leader)
Scripture Meditation:
Portions from Psalm 139
1O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.
2You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my every thought when far away.
3You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest.
Every moment you know where I am.
4You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD.
5You both precede and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to know!
14Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous--and how well I know it.
15You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
17How precious are your thoughts about me, O God! They are innumerable!
18I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up in the morning, you are still with me!
A word with God: (our objective)
“God, I see that you know all about my past. You have allowed things to happen to me that I don’t understand, but I am willing to process these things with you right now. Holy Spirit help me to see things I never saw before about my past and how these things can now work for my good in your plan."
Teaching:
Note: Many of the ideas in this teaching are taken from the book, The Making of A Leader, by Dr. J. Robert Clinton. While originally used for leadership development, I believe they have broad application for discipleship and calling.
Though God is sovereign, He rarely operates in history independently of His people. That means that God works through you and I. We are, in significant ways, shaped by our experiences, our abilities and accomplishments and the passions of our heart. This means God is involved in these two areas of our life.
Remember and Consider
“Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” Hebrews 13:7-8
We can imitate the lives of our leaders - biblical, past and present - by examining their lives, by remembering and considering. Will these lessons apply to us in our day? Yes! Why? “Because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” His constancy and faithfulness is the ground of our hope. The same God who worked with and through these men and women can and will work in and through me.
Of course, the same applies to our own lives too. If we want to grow, then we must come to “remember and consider” God’s work in our lives. The same God who was with us in the past will continue to walk with us in the future. One of the things, then, that will be helpful in understanding our life and assessing our gifts and calling is to develop a sense of our “personal time-line.” The exercise at the end of this session will give you opportunity to see how God has been at work in and through you in the past, important parts of your timeline, as you look towards the future.
Think in Terms of Stages
If life is a journey, then it can be helpful to think of the different seasons of our life as stages or legs of the journey. We move progressively through these stages as we grow and mature, in life and/or ministry.
The initial leg is foundational. In it, God powerfully and mysteriously works through our family, environment and historical events to mold and shape many of the basic contours of who we are as individuals. God is at work through all our experiences, good and bad, usually behind the scenes. We may not always be able to see how many of these things come together until later in life. Most of these circumstances were outside of our control, but we still have a “job” - to learn to respond positively to what God is doing and has done.
The second leg of the journey typically begins around the time of our entrance into life with Jesus and is a time of more intensive inner-life growth. We begin to develop a personal relationship with God, and begin to learn and grow in many of the skills necessary to sustain that relationship. During this time we often face tests to our integrity and faithfulness; will we obey and submit to God and His ways or listen to the voice of the world and its mode of operation? These tests shape us. Faithfulness leads to further growth; failure leads to further tests in the future. God will give us plenty of opportunity to grow and succeed – He wants us to grow. So don’t be afraid if you feel like you’ve failed a big test with God. He wants us to grow into maturity, and like a loving parent, will help us to do that very thing. While some ministry tasks might be done or explored during this stage, the main lessons learned will be interior ones. The emphasis is on inner-life growth and developing a regular pattern of intimate, obedient, life with Jesus.
The third leg of the journey is where we begin to enter into ministry, maturing as we discover more of our spiritual gifts, receive formal and informal training in ministry, and experiment with different ministry forms. Our focus during this phase will often be on what we’re doing, especially what we’re doing for others. But fruitfulness in our activities and ministry is not the primary focus of these first three stages – God is primarily working in the disciple, not through him or her. “The amazing thing is that during Phases I, II, and III, God is primarily working in the leader. Though there may be fruitfulness in ministry [and other activity], the major work is that which God is doing to and in the [disciple]. Most [growing disciples] don’t recognize this. They evaluate productivity, activities, fruitfulness, etc. But God is quietly, often in unusual ways, trying to get the [disciple] to see that one ministers out of what one is. God is concerned with what we are. We want to learn a thousand things because there is so much to learn and do. But He will teach us one thing, perhaps in a thousand ways: ‘I am forming Christ in you.’” (Clinton, The Making of a Leader)
The final two stages involve life maturity and convergence. In them, the disciple lives and serves with power and authority as they fruitfully serve God and the world in the area of their calling in keeping with their spiritual gifts and developing sense of priorities. “In the long-haul, God is preparing you for convergence. He is conforming you to the image of Christ, and He is giving you training and experience so that your gifts may be discovered. His goal is a Spirit-filled [disciple] through whom the living Christ ministers, utilizing the [disciple’s] spiritual gifts.” (Clinton, The Making of a Leader)
A Few Closing Thoughts
Does this mean my whole life revolves around “ministry”? Do I need to be a pastor? No, not everyone is called to be a pastor. But remember, all of life is ministry. Ministry is much more than what we do in the church; in fact, most ministry (and most of the best) happens outside of the walls of the church’s building, and outside the times of “official church events.” Our life experiences and abilities have shaped us for these ministries and are many of the tools we’ll use for them.
What about the painful experiences of the past? What about the times that I’ve done stupid things which seem to have been a detour on the road to life with God? The only way we’ve gotten to where we are today is by having gone through where we’ve been in the past. Let me address the second question first. Remember this – the kindness of God leads us to repentance (Rom. 2:4). So, if you need to, spend time in confession and repentance with God over the sins of your past, which may or may not have hindered you in your walk with God. If you have confessed and repented, then realize that God has forgiven you and He remembers them no more (Jer. 31:34). Painful experiences are difficult. They are challenging moments in our life, almost always outside our control, often inflicted upon us. It may be difficult for us to understand, but God sees us and knows us even during these times. Actually, because of the intense nature of these types of experiences, a particularly painful experience may be very important in shaping and forming us as people. In this way, God may be very involved, though indirectly, in these circumstances. A full treatment on this topic is outside our scope here, so if you have more questions, I encourage you to bring it up with your assessment counselor. Joseph, from the bible, might be an example to us. You’ll find his story in Genesis 37, 39-50. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, because he told them how God had revealed himself to him about his destiny. Eventually, there was a famine in Palestine and Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt looking for food. To their surprise, Joseph was not dead but second in command of all Egypt. Rather than exact vengeance on them, Joseph said this to his brothers, “And now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. … God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God.” (Gen. 45:5-8) Joseph could not have fulfilled his destiny and carried out his calling from God without having gone through the painful experience of being sold into slavery by his brothers. Joseph’s faithfulness and obedience to God in the midst of those painful circumstances is what enabled them to have positive formative influence on him, so that he became the man God called him to be. He ministered from who he was. “Call connects us to places of pain in the world and is often connected to places of pain in ourselves.” (Todd Hunter, "Calling, Mission, and Gifts: How They Integrate In A Disciple’s Life") Because God longs to redeem the world and heal it of its brokenness, God’s call sends us out into the painful places of the world. We connect with the world in its pain through the places of pain in our own lives that are being redeemed and healed by God.
“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.” Psalm 90:12
Exercise: List Your Experiences
Highlight various accomplishments and/or learning moments in each of the seasons of your life. Be sure to include accomplishments and learnings at work, home, school, etc. Also, pay particular attention to those things you enjoyed doing, those things you think you did especially well, or those things for which you were given positive feedback.
As a child and as a teenager
In my 20’s
In my 30’s
Complete up to the Present
Do you notice any particular trends in your accomplishments? What are they?
My Painful Experiences
(these are the kinds of trials or problems I could relate to and encourage others in)
My Educational Experiences
Where I attended (am attending) school and favorite subjects:
Other educational experiences, including seminars, etc.:
Other Formative Experiences from Work or Hobby
Previous Ministry Experiences (if applicable)
“It’s great when we realize we are in God’s training program. He always adapts the curriculum to fit us. God … tailors everybody’s curriculum individually to suit His work in their lives. … When you step back and view a person’s life history telescopically, you see things you might otherwise miss.” (Robert Clinton, The Making of a Leader)
Scripture Meditation:
Portions from Psalm 139
1O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.
2You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my every thought when far away.
3You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest.
Every moment you know where I am.
4You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD.
5You both precede and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to know!
14Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous--and how well I know it.
15You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
17How precious are your thoughts about me, O God! They are innumerable!
18I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up in the morning, you are still with me!
A word with God: (our objective)
“God, I see that you know all about my past. You have allowed things to happen to me that I don’t understand, but I am willing to process these things with you right now. Holy Spirit help me to see things I never saw before about my past and how these things can now work for my good in your plan."
Teaching:
Note: Many of the ideas in this teaching are taken from the book, The Making of A Leader, by Dr. J. Robert Clinton. While originally used for leadership development, I believe they have broad application for discipleship and calling.
Though God is sovereign, He rarely operates in history independently of His people. That means that God works through you and I. We are, in significant ways, shaped by our experiences, our abilities and accomplishments and the passions of our heart. This means God is involved in these two areas of our life.
Remember and Consider
“Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” Hebrews 13:7-8
We can imitate the lives of our leaders - biblical, past and present - by examining their lives, by remembering and considering. Will these lessons apply to us in our day? Yes! Why? “Because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” His constancy and faithfulness is the ground of our hope. The same God who worked with and through these men and women can and will work in and through me.
Of course, the same applies to our own lives too. If we want to grow, then we must come to “remember and consider” God’s work in our lives. The same God who was with us in the past will continue to walk with us in the future. One of the things, then, that will be helpful in understanding our life and assessing our gifts and calling is to develop a sense of our “personal time-line.” The exercise at the end of this session will give you opportunity to see how God has been at work in and through you in the past, important parts of your timeline, as you look towards the future.
Think in Terms of Stages
If life is a journey, then it can be helpful to think of the different seasons of our life as stages or legs of the journey. We move progressively through these stages as we grow and mature, in life and/or ministry.
The initial leg is foundational. In it, God powerfully and mysteriously works through our family, environment and historical events to mold and shape many of the basic contours of who we are as individuals. God is at work through all our experiences, good and bad, usually behind the scenes. We may not always be able to see how many of these things come together until later in life. Most of these circumstances were outside of our control, but we still have a “job” - to learn to respond positively to what God is doing and has done.
The second leg of the journey typically begins around the time of our entrance into life with Jesus and is a time of more intensive inner-life growth. We begin to develop a personal relationship with God, and begin to learn and grow in many of the skills necessary to sustain that relationship. During this time we often face tests to our integrity and faithfulness; will we obey and submit to God and His ways or listen to the voice of the world and its mode of operation? These tests shape us. Faithfulness leads to further growth; failure leads to further tests in the future. God will give us plenty of opportunity to grow and succeed – He wants us to grow. So don’t be afraid if you feel like you’ve failed a big test with God. He wants us to grow into maturity, and like a loving parent, will help us to do that very thing. While some ministry tasks might be done or explored during this stage, the main lessons learned will be interior ones. The emphasis is on inner-life growth and developing a regular pattern of intimate, obedient, life with Jesus.
The third leg of the journey is where we begin to enter into ministry, maturing as we discover more of our spiritual gifts, receive formal and informal training in ministry, and experiment with different ministry forms. Our focus during this phase will often be on what we’re doing, especially what we’re doing for others. But fruitfulness in our activities and ministry is not the primary focus of these first three stages – God is primarily working in the disciple, not through him or her. “The amazing thing is that during Phases I, II, and III, God is primarily working in the leader. Though there may be fruitfulness in ministry [and other activity], the major work is that which God is doing to and in the [disciple]. Most [growing disciples] don’t recognize this. They evaluate productivity, activities, fruitfulness, etc. But God is quietly, often in unusual ways, trying to get the [disciple] to see that one ministers out of what one is. God is concerned with what we are. We want to learn a thousand things because there is so much to learn and do. But He will teach us one thing, perhaps in a thousand ways: ‘I am forming Christ in you.’” (Clinton, The Making of a Leader)
The final two stages involve life maturity and convergence. In them, the disciple lives and serves with power and authority as they fruitfully serve God and the world in the area of their calling in keeping with their spiritual gifts and developing sense of priorities. “In the long-haul, God is preparing you for convergence. He is conforming you to the image of Christ, and He is giving you training and experience so that your gifts may be discovered. His goal is a Spirit-filled [disciple] through whom the living Christ ministers, utilizing the [disciple’s] spiritual gifts.” (Clinton, The Making of a Leader)
A Few Closing Thoughts
Does this mean my whole life revolves around “ministry”? Do I need to be a pastor? No, not everyone is called to be a pastor. But remember, all of life is ministry. Ministry is much more than what we do in the church; in fact, most ministry (and most of the best) happens outside of the walls of the church’s building, and outside the times of “official church events.” Our life experiences and abilities have shaped us for these ministries and are many of the tools we’ll use for them.
What about the painful experiences of the past? What about the times that I’ve done stupid things which seem to have been a detour on the road to life with God? The only way we’ve gotten to where we are today is by having gone through where we’ve been in the past. Let me address the second question first. Remember this – the kindness of God leads us to repentance (Rom. 2:4). So, if you need to, spend time in confession and repentance with God over the sins of your past, which may or may not have hindered you in your walk with God. If you have confessed and repented, then realize that God has forgiven you and He remembers them no more (Jer. 31:34). Painful experiences are difficult. They are challenging moments in our life, almost always outside our control, often inflicted upon us. It may be difficult for us to understand, but God sees us and knows us even during these times. Actually, because of the intense nature of these types of experiences, a particularly painful experience may be very important in shaping and forming us as people. In this way, God may be very involved, though indirectly, in these circumstances. A full treatment on this topic is outside our scope here, so if you have more questions, I encourage you to bring it up with your assessment counselor. Joseph, from the bible, might be an example to us. You’ll find his story in Genesis 37, 39-50. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, because he told them how God had revealed himself to him about his destiny. Eventually, there was a famine in Palestine and Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt looking for food. To their surprise, Joseph was not dead but second in command of all Egypt. Rather than exact vengeance on them, Joseph said this to his brothers, “And now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. … God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God.” (Gen. 45:5-8) Joseph could not have fulfilled his destiny and carried out his calling from God without having gone through the painful experience of being sold into slavery by his brothers. Joseph’s faithfulness and obedience to God in the midst of those painful circumstances is what enabled them to have positive formative influence on him, so that he became the man God called him to be. He ministered from who he was. “Call connects us to places of pain in the world and is often connected to places of pain in ourselves.” (Todd Hunter, "Calling, Mission, and Gifts: How They Integrate In A Disciple’s Life") Because God longs to redeem the world and heal it of its brokenness, God’s call sends us out into the painful places of the world. We connect with the world in its pain through the places of pain in our own lives that are being redeemed and healed by God.
“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.” Psalm 90:12
Exercise: List Your Experiences
Highlight various accomplishments and/or learning moments in each of the seasons of your life. Be sure to include accomplishments and learnings at work, home, school, etc. Also, pay particular attention to those things you enjoyed doing, those things you think you did especially well, or those things for which you were given positive feedback.
As a child and as a teenager
In my 20’s
In my 30’s
Complete up to the Present
Do you notice any particular trends in your accomplishments? What are they?
My Painful Experiences
(these are the kinds of trials or problems I could relate to and encourage others in)
My Educational Experiences
Where I attended (am attending) school and favorite subjects:
Other educational experiences, including seminars, etc.:
Other Formative Experiences from Work or Hobby
Previous Ministry Experiences (if applicable)
Heart's Passions
Time Needed: 45 minutes
“To see visions or to hear call without being faithful to one’s most ardent yearnings is utterly impossible. Our strongest feelings revolve around our wants and desires, and we have been taught since our first summer to give these only slight attention, so that when we think of drawing close to our real longings we have feelings of guilt and shame. … When we succeed in ignoring our wants they either find expression in destructive ways or cause us all kinds of ills and problems that make us self-centered and self-serving. Out of touch with the life-giving energy of our wants and desires, we are apt to become flat and uninteresting people.” (Elizabeth O’Connor, Cry Hope, Cry Pain)
Scripture Meditation:
“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4
Teaching:
As mentioned in the previous session, God rarely moves, with any degree of significance, independently of His people, the Church. That means that He moves through us, and that His works take into account who we are, including our deepest passions and yearnings.
Not Too Strong, But Too Weak
Most of us have been taught to ignore our deepest yearnings or passions. This may even be true if we’ve grown up in the church. We’ve been taught (somewhat falsely) that the essence of the Christian life is self-sacrifice, and the center of our selfishness is all our wants and desires and dreams. We’ve been told that we must give up on our dreams and yearnings and desires, and that sacrificing them makes us more holy. Listen to what C.S. Lewis has to say about this:
“The negative idea of Unselfishness carries with it the suggestion not primarily of securing good for others, but of going without them ourselves, as if our abstinence and not their happiness was the important point. I do not think this is the Christian virtue of Love. The New Testament has lots to say about self-denial, but not about self-denial as an end in itself. We are told to deny ourselves and to take up our crosses in order that we may follow Christ; and nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find if we do so contains an appeal to desire. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the gospels, it would seem Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased.” (C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory)
“He will give you the desires of your heart.”
Notice how simple of a statement this is – it is a statement of fact. All of us have deep desires in our heart. All of us. Of course, many of us are disconnected from those desires. Because of false teaching in the Church, abusive and demeaning relationships with family or friends, or simple negligence, many of us don’t have a clear sense of what we are passionate about in life. Nonetheless, these passions are there, buried inside and waiting to be unearthed, or perhaps gushing forth uncontrolled, like a volcanic geyser, in unintended ways, because we’ve tried to cover them up too long. Some of us may even have a sense of our passions and long to see tehm made more real. Regardless of where we’re at in this process, God longs to give us the desires of our heart. God longs to see our desires fulfilled. God dreams with us and wants to work alongside us to see those dreams become reality. How does this happen? Look at Psalm 37:3-6.
Through Psalm 37, God is teaching us that the deepest desires of our heart come most clearly into focus (we’re “given” them) as we focus on God. Focusing on God has the interesting effect of focusing us! Look at the exhortations of the psalmist here: “trust in the Lord”, “do good”, “cultivate faithfulness”, “delight yourself in the Lord”, “commit your way to the Lord”, “trust in Him”. The psalmist challenges us to cultivate a life characterized by trust in God. This trust involves both the affections of our heart and the actions of our body. We both delight ourselves in Him and commit our lives to His way. Then we find that the desires of our heart, our deepest longings and dreams, become more and more of a reality; we see them coming more and more into focus as we focus our lives on God.
Help is available.
Some going through this assessment may have really connected with the Elizabeth O’Connor’s quote at the beginning of this session. Perhaps you feel particularly disconnected from your passions because of damaging influences in your past from parents or friends, who subtly (or not so subtly) made you feel unworthy or who ridiculed the passions which God has given you as a gift. Maybe you feel that if you were to try to list your passions now, you’d be unable to do so, because you’ve been manipulated into thinking that only certain kinds of passions are legitimate. If this is you, don’t worry, help is available. First, I’d encourage you to still perform the following exercise. You might be surprised at what is there and what God brings up all by Himself. He has this amazing way of being powerful, especially when we ask Him to reveal ourselves to ourselves. Second, it will take time. Your community, your pastors, your friends are here to help you heal wounds, clear away rubble, buff up the worn spots, and generally help you discover who God has called you to be, including in the area of your passions. Ask them for help. Talk with your assessment counselor. Maybe that means you’ll come back to this exercise again in several months (even years), so that you can gain a clearer picture. That’s totally okay. I only encourage you to not give up doing these two things – delighting yourself in the Lord and committing your way to Him.
Remember, embracing our passions and channeling them in service of our calling helps us discover more fully who we are in Jesus and enter into the abundant life he longs for us to enjoy.
Exercise:
Getting a sense of our passions is critical in coming to self-understanding. God places desires in our hearts. These desires or passions, as well as the “burdens” for certain causes or issues, can be very helpful in guiding us to paths of fruitful service with God in His kingdom. The following questions and exercises are intended to help you uncover some of the passions and motivations that God has placed in your heart.
Questions to ask yourself:
When I think about the following issues, I often tend to get angry:
What are my dreams?
What brings me joy?
What do I see involved in the Kingdom of God?
I see these qualities in others which I admire or desire to see in myself:
See if you can identify with any of the motivations listed below. Look for trends in your life that might help you identify your passions. Remember that these are all God-given motivations, and are sinful only when used selfishly. Each one can be used effectively for God in ministry.
I love to …
Design/Develop
I love to make something out of nothing. I enjoy getting started from scratch.
Pioneer
I love to try out new concepts. I’m not afraid to risk failure.
Organize
I love to bring order out of chaos. I enjoy organizing something that is already started.
Operate/Maintain
I love to efficiently run something that is already organized.
Serve/Help
I love to assist others in their responsibility. I enjoy helping others succeed.
Acquire/Possess
I love to shop, collect, obtain things. I enjoy getting the highest quality for the best price.
Excel
I love to be the best and make my team the best. I enjoy setting and attaining the highest standard.
Influence
I love to persuade/influence people. I enjoy having an impact on the attitude and behavior of others.
Perform
I love to be on stage and enjoy being in the limelight.
Improve
I love to make things better. I enjoy taking something that someone else has designed and improve it.
Repair
I love to fix what is broken or change what is out of date.
Lead/Be in Charge
I love to lead the way, oversee and supervise. I enjoy determining how things will be done.
Persevere
I love to see things to completion. I enjoy the satisfaction that comes with persisting at something until it is finished.
Follow the Rules
I love to operate by thoughtful policies and procedures. I enjoy meeting the expectations of an organization or boss.
Prevail
I love to fight for what is right and oppose what is wrong. I enjoy overcoming injustice.
After reviewing the list, can you find two or three motivational directions of your heart, areas that stir your heart with passion? Were there any not on this list?
List your areas of passion here:
1. 2.
3. 4.
“To see visions or to hear call without being faithful to one’s most ardent yearnings is utterly impossible. Our strongest feelings revolve around our wants and desires, and we have been taught since our first summer to give these only slight attention, so that when we think of drawing close to our real longings we have feelings of guilt and shame. … When we succeed in ignoring our wants they either find expression in destructive ways or cause us all kinds of ills and problems that make us self-centered and self-serving. Out of touch with the life-giving energy of our wants and desires, we are apt to become flat and uninteresting people.” (Elizabeth O’Connor, Cry Hope, Cry Pain)
Scripture Meditation:
“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4
Teaching:
As mentioned in the previous session, God rarely moves, with any degree of significance, independently of His people, the Church. That means that He moves through us, and that His works take into account who we are, including our deepest passions and yearnings.
Not Too Strong, But Too Weak
Most of us have been taught to ignore our deepest yearnings or passions. This may even be true if we’ve grown up in the church. We’ve been taught (somewhat falsely) that the essence of the Christian life is self-sacrifice, and the center of our selfishness is all our wants and desires and dreams. We’ve been told that we must give up on our dreams and yearnings and desires, and that sacrificing them makes us more holy. Listen to what C.S. Lewis has to say about this:
“The negative idea of Unselfishness carries with it the suggestion not primarily of securing good for others, but of going without them ourselves, as if our abstinence and not their happiness was the important point. I do not think this is the Christian virtue of Love. The New Testament has lots to say about self-denial, but not about self-denial as an end in itself. We are told to deny ourselves and to take up our crosses in order that we may follow Christ; and nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find if we do so contains an appeal to desire. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the gospels, it would seem Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased.” (C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory)
“He will give you the desires of your heart.”
Notice how simple of a statement this is – it is a statement of fact. All of us have deep desires in our heart. All of us. Of course, many of us are disconnected from those desires. Because of false teaching in the Church, abusive and demeaning relationships with family or friends, or simple negligence, many of us don’t have a clear sense of what we are passionate about in life. Nonetheless, these passions are there, buried inside and waiting to be unearthed, or perhaps gushing forth uncontrolled, like a volcanic geyser, in unintended ways, because we’ve tried to cover them up too long. Some of us may even have a sense of our passions and long to see tehm made more real. Regardless of where we’re at in this process, God longs to give us the desires of our heart. God longs to see our desires fulfilled. God dreams with us and wants to work alongside us to see those dreams become reality. How does this happen? Look at Psalm 37:3-6.
Through Psalm 37, God is teaching us that the deepest desires of our heart come most clearly into focus (we’re “given” them) as we focus on God. Focusing on God has the interesting effect of focusing us! Look at the exhortations of the psalmist here: “trust in the Lord”, “do good”, “cultivate faithfulness”, “delight yourself in the Lord”, “commit your way to the Lord”, “trust in Him”. The psalmist challenges us to cultivate a life characterized by trust in God. This trust involves both the affections of our heart and the actions of our body. We both delight ourselves in Him and commit our lives to His way. Then we find that the desires of our heart, our deepest longings and dreams, become more and more of a reality; we see them coming more and more into focus as we focus our lives on God.
Help is available.
Some going through this assessment may have really connected with the Elizabeth O’Connor’s quote at the beginning of this session. Perhaps you feel particularly disconnected from your passions because of damaging influences in your past from parents or friends, who subtly (or not so subtly) made you feel unworthy or who ridiculed the passions which God has given you as a gift. Maybe you feel that if you were to try to list your passions now, you’d be unable to do so, because you’ve been manipulated into thinking that only certain kinds of passions are legitimate. If this is you, don’t worry, help is available. First, I’d encourage you to still perform the following exercise. You might be surprised at what is there and what God brings up all by Himself. He has this amazing way of being powerful, especially when we ask Him to reveal ourselves to ourselves. Second, it will take time. Your community, your pastors, your friends are here to help you heal wounds, clear away rubble, buff up the worn spots, and generally help you discover who God has called you to be, including in the area of your passions. Ask them for help. Talk with your assessment counselor. Maybe that means you’ll come back to this exercise again in several months (even years), so that you can gain a clearer picture. That’s totally okay. I only encourage you to not give up doing these two things – delighting yourself in the Lord and committing your way to Him.
Remember, embracing our passions and channeling them in service of our calling helps us discover more fully who we are in Jesus and enter into the abundant life he longs for us to enjoy.
Exercise:
Getting a sense of our passions is critical in coming to self-understanding. God places desires in our hearts. These desires or passions, as well as the “burdens” for certain causes or issues, can be very helpful in guiding us to paths of fruitful service with God in His kingdom. The following questions and exercises are intended to help you uncover some of the passions and motivations that God has placed in your heart.
Questions to ask yourself:
When I think about the following issues, I often tend to get angry:
What are my dreams?
What brings me joy?
What do I see involved in the Kingdom of God?
I see these qualities in others which I admire or desire to see in myself:
See if you can identify with any of the motivations listed below. Look for trends in your life that might help you identify your passions. Remember that these are all God-given motivations, and are sinful only when used selfishly. Each one can be used effectively for God in ministry.
I love to …
Design/Develop
I love to make something out of nothing. I enjoy getting started from scratch.
Pioneer
I love to try out new concepts. I’m not afraid to risk failure.
Organize
I love to bring order out of chaos. I enjoy organizing something that is already started.
Operate/Maintain
I love to efficiently run something that is already organized.
Serve/Help
I love to assist others in their responsibility. I enjoy helping others succeed.
Acquire/Possess
I love to shop, collect, obtain things. I enjoy getting the highest quality for the best price.
Excel
I love to be the best and make my team the best. I enjoy setting and attaining the highest standard.
Influence
I love to persuade/influence people. I enjoy having an impact on the attitude and behavior of others.
Perform
I love to be on stage and enjoy being in the limelight.
Improve
I love to make things better. I enjoy taking something that someone else has designed and improve it.
Repair
I love to fix what is broken or change what is out of date.
Lead/Be in Charge
I love to lead the way, oversee and supervise. I enjoy determining how things will be done.
Persevere
I love to see things to completion. I enjoy the satisfaction that comes with persisting at something until it is finished.
Follow the Rules
I love to operate by thoughtful policies and procedures. I enjoy meeting the expectations of an organization or boss.
Prevail
I love to fight for what is right and oppose what is wrong. I enjoy overcoming injustice.
After reviewing the list, can you find two or three motivational directions of your heart, areas that stir your heart with passion? Were there any not on this list?
List your areas of passion here:
1. 2.
3. 4.
What Are The Spiritual Gifts?
Time Needed: 1 hour
We cannot be ourselves unless we are true to our gifts.
--- Elizabeth O’Connor
There is an urgent need for the gifts to be exercised. One of the major problems in the church at large is that so few are exercising their gifts. The church growth expert Eddie Gibbs said, ‘The present high level of unemployment in the nation pales into insignificance in comparison with that which prevails in the church.’ As a result, a few people are left doing everything and are totally exhausted, while the rest are underutilized. The church has been likened to a soccer match, in which thousands of people desperately in need of exercise watch twenty-two people desperately in need of rest!”
--- Nicky Gumbel
Scripture Meditation:
“But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. … But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.” 1 Corinthians 12: 7, 11-12
Teaching:
The Apostle Paul says this, “Now, friends, concerning spiritual gifts I do not want you to be unaware.” And people in the church have been confused and ignorant almost ever since. From the time of the Early Church Fathers until the turn of the 20th century, the topic and teaching of spiritual gifts was largely ignored in the Church. Now, after a century of writing and thinking on the topic, spurred on by charismatic renewals both genuine and fake, there is the confusion of too much teaching! What are the gifts? Are the gifts for today and which ones?
Sometimes there is a temptation to think that studying the gifts is a cure-all for personal and church problems; it isn’t. Your life won’t be perfect by knowing your “gift mix” – for starters, there’s the responsibility of serving in our gifts as part of a life of obedience. Yet, study of the gifts, and applying the teaching to your life, is very important. It helps us see how God is at work in our lives and in the lives of others in our community; it builds our faith and helps us discover the joy of serving in a way which God has created and blessed us to serve in.
It reminds me of the line from “The Chariots of Fire” – Eric Liddell, the main character, is describing to his sister about his choice to run in the Olympics and delay his departure to China on the missions field … “Jenny, I believe God has called me to China … but he also made me fast, and when I run, I feel his pleasure.” When you “run” in your gifting, you feel the pleasure of God. You also will experience fruit through your service, as you are joining with God as He works through you and not working in your own power. Spiritual gifts are an important element of our discipleship to Jesus. Following is an outline of a teaching on the spiritual gifts, provided because there is a fair amount of misunderstanding on the gifts.
You may have a vague sense of what a spiritual gift is, in general, and what it is in your life, or you may have no idea at all. The following is one definition of spiritual gifts from an important theologian who has influenced many in the Vineyard.
Wayne Grudem: “A spiritual gift is any ability that is empowered by the Holy Spirit and used in any ministry of the church.” (Systematic Theology)
A working definition for us will be: “Special abilities given by God for the accomplishment of Jesus’ mission in the Church and the world.”
Now, none of these definitions are exactly perfect, but they do highlight a few things for us.
• First, spiritual gifts are from God. The term comes from the Greek for “grace” (charism or charismata) – they are a gift of grace, based on the cross of Jesus. They come from God and return the glory to Him. They are received by us. They are for service, not for our glorification or satisfaction, but for serving others and God. From Jesus – Ephesians 4:7-10 From the Holy Spirit – 1 Corinthians 12:4,5,11 rewrite
• Also, notice what these definitions leave out, so that we know what spiritual gifts are not. They are not personality traits. Just because you’re an extrovert doesn’t mean you’re gifted with evangelism. They also are not “skills” per se. They may be related, but are not identical. Learning to play the guitar does not bestow the gift of leading worship. Also, they are not the same as “calling” or “mission”. Gifts are a subset of calling and mission – they are the tools to help you carry that mission out.
Let’s spend some time answering some main questions by using the Bible.
Why did God give people the Gifts?
1 Peter 4:10-11
Ephesians 4:11-16
1 Corinthians 12:7, 24-26
How do I know I didn’t get skipped when God was passing out the gifts?
1 Corinthians 12:7,11,18
How do these gifts affect my relationships with other people in the church?
Please read 1 Corinthians chapter 12, and use these notes to help you understand what it is saying. The notes are broken down by verse.
• Vv. 1-3 This sets the context – again, the gifts are not isolated or just for us, but relate to the glorification of God.
• Vv. 4-11: There are varieties of gifts and ministries, a diversity of expression or manifestation, but they all come from the same source – the Holy Spirit, our Lord.
• V. 12 – The Body is one, with many members; many members compose the one Body; balance between individual and community.
• V. 13 – The two metaphors of “baptism” and “drinking” from the same Spirit. Two “errors” to avoid in discussion of “baptism”– it does not refer to a second experience, after conversion, in which the people are “baptized in the Spirit” (some people have an experience something like that, but that is not being taught here); on the flipside, this verse is not teaching that the Spirit is automatically imparted at water baptism (which is the opposite of the previous). Rather, the Spirit is imparted at conversion. These are best understood as metaphors of powerful experiences of the Spirit which were common to these early Christians. The Corinthians are unified as a body through the common experience of the Spirit. (Taken from Gordon Fee)
• Vv. 14-26 – This elaborates on the two aspects (diversity and unity) by countering some common objections.
• Vv. 14-19: “For the body is not one member, but many”. The body is composed of many members, not all the same. Individual members often feel like that if they aren’t a certain type of member than they really aren’t significant or that they truly don’t belong. The community would lose out if everyone were the same member, in other words, don’t be pressured that everyone has to have the same gift.
• vv. 20-26: “Now there are many members, but one body”. The individual members are not isolated, but are one body. There is temptation for some members, esp. the “nobler” or more “visible” ones, to say that they don’t need the other members of the body but, in fact, the reverse is true. Paul perspective, which is radically different from the world’s perspective, is that we’re to hold the “less visible” members in higher esteem even as we carefully guard the “less visible” members of our physical bodies. This is to avoid division, etc., and is related to the goal of the common good and the building up the body toward unity of faith, to maturity, for and in and through love.
What kinds of gifts are we talking about?
To help us understand the great variety of the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in our midst, the New Testament gives us “gift lists”, listings of the various ways that the Spirit empowers people in the church. Please take a moment to read through the various spiritual gift lists in the New Testament:
1 Pet. 4:11
Ephesians 4:11
1 Corinthians 12:8-10
Romans 12:6-8
A few comments on the “lists”;
• Notice, the similarities and differences among the gifts on the lists. We should not assume that these gifts are exhaustive. Given the variety of the Spirit’s manifestations, we can guess that they are more than those listed here. Plus, the breakdown in 1 Peter seems to be a major breakdown which could include many particulars.
• Some other gifts are commonly recognized, but are not mentioned on the lists, like hospitality, celibacy, cross-cultural missions, intercession, craftsmanship, etc.
Why may I have heard so much about Tongues, Prophecy, and Evangelism?
Among all the gifts, these three are often at the center of controversy or misunderstanding. For that reason, we’d like to take a little extra time to highlight a few points that should serve to clarify these gifts and their applications in our lives. Again, these bullet points are just that, simple points of clarification … each could easily take up an extended discussion. If you have more questions, please be sure to discuss them with your gifts counselor (or pastor).
What is tongues?
• Primarily it is prayer language with God.
• Tongues is not evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit.
• It not something to be forced, though it can be encouraged.
• We can expect that many will have this gift, though not all.
• When should we pray in tongues? Often, but never in a public setting out loud, unless you are convinced there will be an interpretation, or we know that someone in the community is gifted with interpreting tongues. There might sometimes be the occasion to “sing in tongues”, but this is rare and at the direction of the worship leader.
• See Acts 2:1-21 and 1 Corinthians 14:1-19,27-28 for more information
What is prophecy?
• “Human reporting of what God spontaneously brings to mind.” (Wayne Grudem)
• Purpose: Exhortation, edification, encouragement; result of convicting people in attendance of reality of God and their own sin.
• It is not “judgment”. Nor is prophecy primarily concerned with “prediction” or “foretelling”; prophecy is primarily concerned with what we can call “forthtelling” – revealing how things are, “calling like it is”; in fact, this is what much of OT prophetic literature contains – the prophets revealing to the people what is really going on and how God feels about it!
• OT vs. NT prophets – the continuation of the OT Prophetic office is more properly associated with the Apostles of the NT, and not the gift of prophecy in the NT.
• We can definitely be in danger here of the “superstar” mentality – seeing certain people as the “prophets” (we don’t use that term around here) and chasing after them to get a word from the Lord; this is NOT God’s ideal – He longs to be in conversational relationship with each of us, and the latter can be a lot like tarot card reading, etc.; God is often pleased to speak to us, to ourselves and through each other, way more than we realize, but we shouldn’t go chasing after the “prophets”.
• See especially 1 Corinthians 14:1-3,24-25,29-33 for more information
What about Evangelism?
• Lots of emotional guilt associated here, because of evangelicalism’s emphasis on personal, confrontational-style evangelism.
• Also, because here, more than anywhere else perhaps (except maybe service), we brush up against gifting vs. duty. All Christians have responsibility, associated with calling, to serve, to evangelize, even to teach, etc. We often acknowledge readily that we won’t be as effective in serving or teaching or interceding, etc. as those with gift, but we subtly expect that we ought to evangelize like those with gift (usually, because they are our only models).
• Roughly 10% of Body has gift, based on research by C. Peter Wagner, of the Church Growth Institute at Fuller Seminary.
• We need new understandings and models of evangelism. “I planted, Apollos watered” – both were involved in evangelism, in different ways; the sower and the reaper ought to rejoice together; find a model that “fits” you, realizing that it will never be “discomfort” or “persecution” free (relational, apologetic, dialogical, “bringing”, etc.)
Exercise
Directions: Read through the following list of Spiritual Gifts. It includes definitions, with some illustrations. Please circle gifts that you have further questions about. At this point, don’t worry about trying to identify the gifts you have. An inventory will assist you in doing that in the next exercise.
A few points to remember:
• These are not airtight definitions, but contain elements of opinion; many of the gifts do not have a universal consensus regarding what exactly is meant by the term
• There are several points of “cross-over” between many of the listed gifts. They are not to be seen in isolation, but should be understood as mutually supporting.
• Many of the gifts have corresponding practices or disciplines that can be engaged in to refine our character or deepen our spiritual life. These are related ideas, but should not be confused as the same thing.
Teaching: The ability to instruct, explain, expose, and/or communicate biblical truth in such a way as to cause believers to understand truth. The ability to apply God’s word causing greater Christ-likeness in the lives of listeners. 1 Cor 12:28; Eph 4:11-14; Rom 12:7; Acts 18:24-28,20:20-21
Encouragement/Exhortation: The ability to urge people to action in terms of applying truth. The divine enablement to present truth so as to strengthen, comfort, or urge to action those who are discouraged or wavering in their faith. Rom 12:8; 1 Tim 4:13; Heb 10:25; Acts 14:22
Prophecy: The capacity to deliver a message from God in human words, in order to correct by exhorting, edifying, or consoling believers and to convince non-believers of God’s truth. People with this gift: expose sin or deception in others for the purpose of reconciliation, speak timely words from the Lord, have a way of understanding God’s heart and mind through experiences He takes them through. 1 Cor 12:10,28; Eph 4:11-14; Rom 12:6; Acts 15:32, 21:9-11
Missionary: The ability God gives to some people to minister their other spiritual gifts in a second culture. They adapt to different surroundings by being culturally sensitive & aware, and desire to serve unreached people in other communities or countries. 1 Cor 9:19-23; Acts 13:2-3, Rom 10:15
Pastoring: The ability to nurture, care for, and guide people toward ongoing spiritual maturity and becoming like Christ. They assume long-term personal responsibility for the welfare of a group of people. They protect them from error and disseminate truth. They are responsible to nurture the whole person, not just “spiritually.” Eph 4:11-4; 1Tim 3:1-7; John 10:1-18; 1 Pet 5:1-3
Evangelism: Ability to effectively communicate the gospel to unbelievers so they respond in faith and become disciples of Jesus and responsible members of Christ’s Body. They communicate message with clarity and conviction, seek out those who don’t know the truth, and challenge them to faith and following Jesus. They tend to have a “burden” or “passion” for seekers and for people to know the gospel, building relationships with them. Eph 4:11-14; Acts 8:5-6,26-40, 14:21, 21:8
Leadership: The ability to cast vision, motivate and direct people to harmoniously accomplish the purposes of God. They provide direction for God’s people or ministry; motivate others to perform their best; present the “big picture” for others to see; model ministry values; and take responsibility and establish goals. 1Tim 5:17; Acts 7:10, 15:7-11; Rom 12:8; Heb 13:17; Luke 9:51
Wisdom: The ability to apply spiritual truth effectively to meet a need in a specific situation. They provide divinely given solutions in the midst of conflict and confusion; hear what the Spirit is saying, and help to provide direction. 1Cor 2:1-13, 12:8; Acts 6:3,10
Knowledge: The capacity or sensitivity to perceive revealed knowledge from God which otherwise could not or would not be known and apply it. They receive truth which enables them to better serve the body; search the scriptures for insight and understanding; gain knowledge which at times was not attained by natural means; can be known for organizing information for teaching and practical use. 1Cor 2:14, 12:8; Acts 5:1-11; Col. 2:2-3
Faith: The ability to discern with extraordinary confidence the will and purposes of God for His work. They act in confidence of God’s ability to overcome obstacles. They advance the cause of Christ because they go forward when others will not. The ask God for what is needed and trust Him for His provision. It is trusting until He brings it to pass. 1Cor 12:9; Heb 11; Acts 27:21-25
Healing: The ability to be God’s means for restoring people to wholeness. People with this gift demonstrate the power of God, by praying, touching or speaking words that miraculously bring healing to one’s body (and their whole person). 1Cor 12:9,28; Acts 3:1-10; Luke 9:2, 10:9
Miracles: The ability to release God’s supernatural power so that the miraculous intervention of God is perceived and God receives recognition. To serve as human intermediaries through whom it pleases God to perform powerful acts that are perceived by observers to have altered the ordinary course of nature. 1Cor 12:10,28; Acts 9:36-42, 19:11-20; Rom 15:18-19; 2Cor 12:12
Discernment: The ability to distinguish between truth and error, to discern the spirits, differentiation between good and evil, right and wrong. They can sense pure and impure motives, identify deception in others with accuracy and appropriateness; identify authentic works of God; recognize inconsistencies in teaching; are able to sense the presence of evil. 1Cor 12:10; Acts 5:1-11
Tongues: The ability to speak, worship, or pray in a language unknown to the speaker. They may receive a spontaneous message from God which is made known to the body through the gift of Interpreting Tongues. They may worship the Lord with unknown words too deep for the mind to comprehend. 1Cor 12:10,30; 1Cor 14:13-19; Acts 2:1-13
Interpretation of Tongues: The ability to respond to a message given in tongues by interpreting the word and clearly communicating the message given to the church. They are often prophetic when exercising this gift for the church. 1Cor 12:10,30, 14:13,26-28
Giving: The ability to contribute their material resources (all of them) to the work of God with liberality and cheerfulness. They are usually not of the mindset, “How much money do I need to give to God?” but “How much money do I need to live on?” They often manage their finances and limit their lifestyle in order to give as much as possible; trust God for provision; may have a special ability to make money so that may use it to further God’s work. Rom 12:8; Mark 12:41-44;2Cor 8-9
Mercy: The ability to willingly and practically help those who are suffering or are in need – compassion moved to action; especially those suffering physical, mental or emotional problems, or the lonely and outcast. Rom 12:8; Luke 10:33-35; Mark 9:41
Helps: The ability to unselfishly meet the needs of others through very practical means, with a sense of enjoyment. They take on necessary tasks that free up, support, and meet the needs of others, usually so that their gifts and ministries become more effective. 1Cor 12:28; Rom 16:1-2
Administration: The ability to understand what makes an organization function, and to plan and execute procedures that accomplish goals of the ministry. They develop strategies or plans to reach identified goals; assist ministries to become more effective and efficient; create order out of organizational chaos; organize people, tasks or events. 1Cor 12:28; Acts 6:1-7; Titus 1:5
Service: The ability to identify unmet needs involved in a task, and to make use of available resources to meet those needs and help accomplish the desired results. Those with this gift usually find joy in being behind the scenes, helping in small ways. 1Pet 4:11; Rom 12:7; Acts 9:36-39
Craftsmanship: The ability to creatively design and/or construct items to be used for ministry. They work with various raw materials, using tools and their hands, and enjoy doing so, often to increase effectiveness of another ministry or bring glory to God. Exodus 35:10-19, 30-35
Hospitality: The ability to enable and care for others by providing fellowship, food and shelter. They provide an environment where people feel valued and cared for; meet new people and help them feel welcomed; create a safe and comfortable setting where relationships can develop; seek ways to connect people together into meaningful relationships; set people at ease in unfamiliar surroundings. 1Pet 4:9; Heb 13:2; Rom 12:9-13; Rom 16:23; Acts 16:34
Creative Communication: The ability to communicate God’s truth through a variety of art forms; using the arts to communicate truth, including dance, drama, writing, classical art, music. 2Sam 6:12-15; Exodus 15:1-18
Intercession: The ability to consistently pray on behalf of and for others, seeing frequent and specific results. They feel compelled to earnestly pray on behalf of someone or some cause; have constant awareness of spiritual battles being waged and pray; pray in response to the leading of the Holy Spirit, whether they understand it or not. Eph 6:18-19; Acts 12:12
Exorcism: The ability to cast out demons and evil spirits. Acts 16:16-18; Luke 10:1,17-20
Celibacy: The ability to remain single and enjoy it; to be unmarried and not suffer undue sexual temptation. 1Cor 7:7-9
We cannot be ourselves unless we are true to our gifts.
--- Elizabeth O’Connor
There is an urgent need for the gifts to be exercised. One of the major problems in the church at large is that so few are exercising their gifts. The church growth expert Eddie Gibbs said, ‘The present high level of unemployment in the nation pales into insignificance in comparison with that which prevails in the church.’ As a result, a few people are left doing everything and are totally exhausted, while the rest are underutilized. The church has been likened to a soccer match, in which thousands of people desperately in need of exercise watch twenty-two people desperately in need of rest!”
--- Nicky Gumbel
Scripture Meditation:
“But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. … But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.” 1 Corinthians 12: 7, 11-12
Teaching:
The Apostle Paul says this, “Now, friends, concerning spiritual gifts I do not want you to be unaware.” And people in the church have been confused and ignorant almost ever since. From the time of the Early Church Fathers until the turn of the 20th century, the topic and teaching of spiritual gifts was largely ignored in the Church. Now, after a century of writing and thinking on the topic, spurred on by charismatic renewals both genuine and fake, there is the confusion of too much teaching! What are the gifts? Are the gifts for today and which ones?
Sometimes there is a temptation to think that studying the gifts is a cure-all for personal and church problems; it isn’t. Your life won’t be perfect by knowing your “gift mix” – for starters, there’s the responsibility of serving in our gifts as part of a life of obedience. Yet, study of the gifts, and applying the teaching to your life, is very important. It helps us see how God is at work in our lives and in the lives of others in our community; it builds our faith and helps us discover the joy of serving in a way which God has created and blessed us to serve in.
It reminds me of the line from “The Chariots of Fire” – Eric Liddell, the main character, is describing to his sister about his choice to run in the Olympics and delay his departure to China on the missions field … “Jenny, I believe God has called me to China … but he also made me fast, and when I run, I feel his pleasure.” When you “run” in your gifting, you feel the pleasure of God. You also will experience fruit through your service, as you are joining with God as He works through you and not working in your own power. Spiritual gifts are an important element of our discipleship to Jesus. Following is an outline of a teaching on the spiritual gifts, provided because there is a fair amount of misunderstanding on the gifts.
You may have a vague sense of what a spiritual gift is, in general, and what it is in your life, or you may have no idea at all. The following is one definition of spiritual gifts from an important theologian who has influenced many in the Vineyard.
Wayne Grudem: “A spiritual gift is any ability that is empowered by the Holy Spirit and used in any ministry of the church.” (Systematic Theology)
A working definition for us will be: “Special abilities given by God for the accomplishment of Jesus’ mission in the Church and the world.”
Now, none of these definitions are exactly perfect, but they do highlight a few things for us.
• First, spiritual gifts are from God. The term comes from the Greek for “grace” (charism or charismata) – they are a gift of grace, based on the cross of Jesus. They come from God and return the glory to Him. They are received by us. They are for service, not for our glorification or satisfaction, but for serving others and God. From Jesus – Ephesians 4:7-10 From the Holy Spirit – 1 Corinthians 12:4,5,11 rewrite
• Also, notice what these definitions leave out, so that we know what spiritual gifts are not. They are not personality traits. Just because you’re an extrovert doesn’t mean you’re gifted with evangelism. They also are not “skills” per se. They may be related, but are not identical. Learning to play the guitar does not bestow the gift of leading worship. Also, they are not the same as “calling” or “mission”. Gifts are a subset of calling and mission – they are the tools to help you carry that mission out.
Let’s spend some time answering some main questions by using the Bible.
Why did God give people the Gifts?
1 Peter 4:10-11
Ephesians 4:11-16
1 Corinthians 12:7, 24-26
How do I know I didn’t get skipped when God was passing out the gifts?
1 Corinthians 12:7,11,18
How do these gifts affect my relationships with other people in the church?
Please read 1 Corinthians chapter 12, and use these notes to help you understand what it is saying. The notes are broken down by verse.
• Vv. 1-3 This sets the context – again, the gifts are not isolated or just for us, but relate to the glorification of God.
• Vv. 4-11: There are varieties of gifts and ministries, a diversity of expression or manifestation, but they all come from the same source – the Holy Spirit, our Lord.
• V. 12 – The Body is one, with many members; many members compose the one Body; balance between individual and community.
• V. 13 – The two metaphors of “baptism” and “drinking” from the same Spirit. Two “errors” to avoid in discussion of “baptism”– it does not refer to a second experience, after conversion, in which the people are “baptized in the Spirit” (some people have an experience something like that, but that is not being taught here); on the flipside, this verse is not teaching that the Spirit is automatically imparted at water baptism (which is the opposite of the previous). Rather, the Spirit is imparted at conversion. These are best understood as metaphors of powerful experiences of the Spirit which were common to these early Christians. The Corinthians are unified as a body through the common experience of the Spirit. (Taken from Gordon Fee)
• Vv. 14-26 – This elaborates on the two aspects (diversity and unity) by countering some common objections.
• Vv. 14-19: “For the body is not one member, but many”. The body is composed of many members, not all the same. Individual members often feel like that if they aren’t a certain type of member than they really aren’t significant or that they truly don’t belong. The community would lose out if everyone were the same member, in other words, don’t be pressured that everyone has to have the same gift.
• vv. 20-26: “Now there are many members, but one body”. The individual members are not isolated, but are one body. There is temptation for some members, esp. the “nobler” or more “visible” ones, to say that they don’t need the other members of the body but, in fact, the reverse is true. Paul perspective, which is radically different from the world’s perspective, is that we’re to hold the “less visible” members in higher esteem even as we carefully guard the “less visible” members of our physical bodies. This is to avoid division, etc., and is related to the goal of the common good and the building up the body toward unity of faith, to maturity, for and in and through love.
What kinds of gifts are we talking about?
To help us understand the great variety of the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in our midst, the New Testament gives us “gift lists”, listings of the various ways that the Spirit empowers people in the church. Please take a moment to read through the various spiritual gift lists in the New Testament:
1 Pet. 4:11
Ephesians 4:11
1 Corinthians 12:8-10
Romans 12:6-8
A few comments on the “lists”;
• Notice, the similarities and differences among the gifts on the lists. We should not assume that these gifts are exhaustive. Given the variety of the Spirit’s manifestations, we can guess that they are more than those listed here. Plus, the breakdown in 1 Peter seems to be a major breakdown which could include many particulars.
• Some other gifts are commonly recognized, but are not mentioned on the lists, like hospitality, celibacy, cross-cultural missions, intercession, craftsmanship, etc.
Why may I have heard so much about Tongues, Prophecy, and Evangelism?
Among all the gifts, these three are often at the center of controversy or misunderstanding. For that reason, we’d like to take a little extra time to highlight a few points that should serve to clarify these gifts and their applications in our lives. Again, these bullet points are just that, simple points of clarification … each could easily take up an extended discussion. If you have more questions, please be sure to discuss them with your gifts counselor (or pastor).
What is tongues?
• Primarily it is prayer language with God.
• Tongues is not evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit.
• It not something to be forced, though it can be encouraged.
• We can expect that many will have this gift, though not all.
• When should we pray in tongues? Often, but never in a public setting out loud, unless you are convinced there will be an interpretation, or we know that someone in the community is gifted with interpreting tongues. There might sometimes be the occasion to “sing in tongues”, but this is rare and at the direction of the worship leader.
• See Acts 2:1-21 and 1 Corinthians 14:1-19,27-28 for more information
What is prophecy?
• “Human reporting of what God spontaneously brings to mind.” (Wayne Grudem)
• Purpose: Exhortation, edification, encouragement; result of convicting people in attendance of reality of God and their own sin.
• It is not “judgment”. Nor is prophecy primarily concerned with “prediction” or “foretelling”; prophecy is primarily concerned with what we can call “forthtelling” – revealing how things are, “calling like it is”; in fact, this is what much of OT prophetic literature contains – the prophets revealing to the people what is really going on and how God feels about it!
• OT vs. NT prophets – the continuation of the OT Prophetic office is more properly associated with the Apostles of the NT, and not the gift of prophecy in the NT.
• We can definitely be in danger here of the “superstar” mentality – seeing certain people as the “prophets” (we don’t use that term around here) and chasing after them to get a word from the Lord; this is NOT God’s ideal – He longs to be in conversational relationship with each of us, and the latter can be a lot like tarot card reading, etc.; God is often pleased to speak to us, to ourselves and through each other, way more than we realize, but we shouldn’t go chasing after the “prophets”.
• See especially 1 Corinthians 14:1-3,24-25,29-33 for more information
What about Evangelism?
• Lots of emotional guilt associated here, because of evangelicalism’s emphasis on personal, confrontational-style evangelism.
• Also, because here, more than anywhere else perhaps (except maybe service), we brush up against gifting vs. duty. All Christians have responsibility, associated with calling, to serve, to evangelize, even to teach, etc. We often acknowledge readily that we won’t be as effective in serving or teaching or interceding, etc. as those with gift, but we subtly expect that we ought to evangelize like those with gift (usually, because they are our only models).
• Roughly 10% of Body has gift, based on research by C. Peter Wagner, of the Church Growth Institute at Fuller Seminary.
• We need new understandings and models of evangelism. “I planted, Apollos watered” – both were involved in evangelism, in different ways; the sower and the reaper ought to rejoice together; find a model that “fits” you, realizing that it will never be “discomfort” or “persecution” free (relational, apologetic, dialogical, “bringing”, etc.)
Exercise
Directions: Read through the following list of Spiritual Gifts. It includes definitions, with some illustrations. Please circle gifts that you have further questions about. At this point, don’t worry about trying to identify the gifts you have. An inventory will assist you in doing that in the next exercise.
A few points to remember:
• These are not airtight definitions, but contain elements of opinion; many of the gifts do not have a universal consensus regarding what exactly is meant by the term
• There are several points of “cross-over” between many of the listed gifts. They are not to be seen in isolation, but should be understood as mutually supporting.
• Many of the gifts have corresponding practices or disciplines that can be engaged in to refine our character or deepen our spiritual life. These are related ideas, but should not be confused as the same thing.
Teaching: The ability to instruct, explain, expose, and/or communicate biblical truth in such a way as to cause believers to understand truth. The ability to apply God’s word causing greater Christ-likeness in the lives of listeners. 1 Cor 12:28; Eph 4:11-14; Rom 12:7; Acts 18:24-28,20:20-21
Encouragement/Exhortation: The ability to urge people to action in terms of applying truth. The divine enablement to present truth so as to strengthen, comfort, or urge to action those who are discouraged or wavering in their faith. Rom 12:8; 1 Tim 4:13; Heb 10:25; Acts 14:22
Prophecy: The capacity to deliver a message from God in human words, in order to correct by exhorting, edifying, or consoling believers and to convince non-believers of God’s truth. People with this gift: expose sin or deception in others for the purpose of reconciliation, speak timely words from the Lord, have a way of understanding God’s heart and mind through experiences He takes them through. 1 Cor 12:10,28; Eph 4:11-14; Rom 12:6; Acts 15:32, 21:9-11
Missionary: The ability God gives to some people to minister their other spiritual gifts in a second culture. They adapt to different surroundings by being culturally sensitive & aware, and desire to serve unreached people in other communities or countries. 1 Cor 9:19-23; Acts 13:2-3, Rom 10:15
Pastoring: The ability to nurture, care for, and guide people toward ongoing spiritual maturity and becoming like Christ. They assume long-term personal responsibility for the welfare of a group of people. They protect them from error and disseminate truth. They are responsible to nurture the whole person, not just “spiritually.” Eph 4:11-4; 1Tim 3:1-7; John 10:1-18; 1 Pet 5:1-3
Evangelism: Ability to effectively communicate the gospel to unbelievers so they respond in faith and become disciples of Jesus and responsible members of Christ’s Body. They communicate message with clarity and conviction, seek out those who don’t know the truth, and challenge them to faith and following Jesus. They tend to have a “burden” or “passion” for seekers and for people to know the gospel, building relationships with them. Eph 4:11-14; Acts 8:5-6,26-40, 14:21, 21:8
Leadership: The ability to cast vision, motivate and direct people to harmoniously accomplish the purposes of God. They provide direction for God’s people or ministry; motivate others to perform their best; present the “big picture” for others to see; model ministry values; and take responsibility and establish goals. 1Tim 5:17; Acts 7:10, 15:7-11; Rom 12:8; Heb 13:17; Luke 9:51
Wisdom: The ability to apply spiritual truth effectively to meet a need in a specific situation. They provide divinely given solutions in the midst of conflict and confusion; hear what the Spirit is saying, and help to provide direction. 1Cor 2:1-13, 12:8; Acts 6:3,10
Knowledge: The capacity or sensitivity to perceive revealed knowledge from God which otherwise could not or would not be known and apply it. They receive truth which enables them to better serve the body; search the scriptures for insight and understanding; gain knowledge which at times was not attained by natural means; can be known for organizing information for teaching and practical use. 1Cor 2:14, 12:8; Acts 5:1-11; Col. 2:2-3
Faith: The ability to discern with extraordinary confidence the will and purposes of God for His work. They act in confidence of God’s ability to overcome obstacles. They advance the cause of Christ because they go forward when others will not. The ask God for what is needed and trust Him for His provision. It is trusting until He brings it to pass. 1Cor 12:9; Heb 11; Acts 27:21-25
Healing: The ability to be God’s means for restoring people to wholeness. People with this gift demonstrate the power of God, by praying, touching or speaking words that miraculously bring healing to one’s body (and their whole person). 1Cor 12:9,28; Acts 3:1-10; Luke 9:2, 10:9
Miracles: The ability to release God’s supernatural power so that the miraculous intervention of God is perceived and God receives recognition. To serve as human intermediaries through whom it pleases God to perform powerful acts that are perceived by observers to have altered the ordinary course of nature. 1Cor 12:10,28; Acts 9:36-42, 19:11-20; Rom 15:18-19; 2Cor 12:12
Discernment: The ability to distinguish between truth and error, to discern the spirits, differentiation between good and evil, right and wrong. They can sense pure and impure motives, identify deception in others with accuracy and appropriateness; identify authentic works of God; recognize inconsistencies in teaching; are able to sense the presence of evil. 1Cor 12:10; Acts 5:1-11
Tongues: The ability to speak, worship, or pray in a language unknown to the speaker. They may receive a spontaneous message from God which is made known to the body through the gift of Interpreting Tongues. They may worship the Lord with unknown words too deep for the mind to comprehend. 1Cor 12:10,30; 1Cor 14:13-19; Acts 2:1-13
Interpretation of Tongues: The ability to respond to a message given in tongues by interpreting the word and clearly communicating the message given to the church. They are often prophetic when exercising this gift for the church. 1Cor 12:10,30, 14:13,26-28
Giving: The ability to contribute their material resources (all of them) to the work of God with liberality and cheerfulness. They are usually not of the mindset, “How much money do I need to give to God?” but “How much money do I need to live on?” They often manage their finances and limit their lifestyle in order to give as much as possible; trust God for provision; may have a special ability to make money so that may use it to further God’s work. Rom 12:8; Mark 12:41-44;2Cor 8-9
Mercy: The ability to willingly and practically help those who are suffering or are in need – compassion moved to action; especially those suffering physical, mental or emotional problems, or the lonely and outcast. Rom 12:8; Luke 10:33-35; Mark 9:41
Helps: The ability to unselfishly meet the needs of others through very practical means, with a sense of enjoyment. They take on necessary tasks that free up, support, and meet the needs of others, usually so that their gifts and ministries become more effective. 1Cor 12:28; Rom 16:1-2
Administration: The ability to understand what makes an organization function, and to plan and execute procedures that accomplish goals of the ministry. They develop strategies or plans to reach identified goals; assist ministries to become more effective and efficient; create order out of organizational chaos; organize people, tasks or events. 1Cor 12:28; Acts 6:1-7; Titus 1:5
Service: The ability to identify unmet needs involved in a task, and to make use of available resources to meet those needs and help accomplish the desired results. Those with this gift usually find joy in being behind the scenes, helping in small ways. 1Pet 4:11; Rom 12:7; Acts 9:36-39
Craftsmanship: The ability to creatively design and/or construct items to be used for ministry. They work with various raw materials, using tools and their hands, and enjoy doing so, often to increase effectiveness of another ministry or bring glory to God. Exodus 35:10-19, 30-35
Hospitality: The ability to enable and care for others by providing fellowship, food and shelter. They provide an environment where people feel valued and cared for; meet new people and help them feel welcomed; create a safe and comfortable setting where relationships can develop; seek ways to connect people together into meaningful relationships; set people at ease in unfamiliar surroundings. 1Pet 4:9; Heb 13:2; Rom 12:9-13; Rom 16:23; Acts 16:34
Creative Communication: The ability to communicate God’s truth through a variety of art forms; using the arts to communicate truth, including dance, drama, writing, classical art, music. 2Sam 6:12-15; Exodus 15:1-18
Intercession: The ability to consistently pray on behalf of and for others, seeing frequent and specific results. They feel compelled to earnestly pray on behalf of someone or some cause; have constant awareness of spiritual battles being waged and pray; pray in response to the leading of the Holy Spirit, whether they understand it or not. Eph 6:18-19; Acts 12:12
Exorcism: The ability to cast out demons and evil spirits. Acts 16:16-18; Luke 10:1,17-20
Celibacy: The ability to remain single and enjoy it; to be unmarried and not suffer undue sexual temptation. 1Cor 7:7-9
Identifying The Gifts In Our Lives
Time Needed: 1 hour
“An important element of the church’s mission is to help us discover and develop our gifts, and in the face of our fears, to hold us accountable for them so that we can enter into the joy of creating.” (Elizabeth O’Connor, The Eighth Day of Creation)
Scripture Meditation:
“For through the grace given to me I say to every person among you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has alloted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given us, let each exercise them accordingly."” Romans 12:3-6
Teaching:
Two Types of gifts:
1. Constitutional – These are part of our DNA, or our constitution. We seem to have
these gifts “from birth”, like in the life of Jeremiah (Jeremiah ch. 1)
• We regularly experience the operation of these gifts throughout the course of our lives
• These gifts seem “resident” within us
2. Situational – for a particular situation, rarely to be repeated again
• Inspired by God for the moment and received & exercised by us
• We experience the gift in the moment and then it may pass
How do we get gifts?
The basis of both types of gifts is the sovereign distribution of the Holy Spirit and the creative power of God. We can ask for gifts. Paul several times encourages us to “eagerly desire” certain gifts, especially that we prophesy (1 Corinthians 12:31; 14:1,39). There does seem to be a place for asking and seeking after gifts, particularly in the context of pursuing our calling.
How do I identifying gifts in myself?
1. “Passions and Pull” – we continue to feel a sense of passion, or burden, for a specific type of ministry; it stirs us to deep emotion or gets us angry or rouses us to action; “giftedness drift” of Bobby Clinton – “the intuitive tendency [of a developing leader] to respond to ministry assignments and ministry challenges that fit his or her spiritual gift”
2. “Fruitfulness” – in general, fruit will follow when we serve/act in our areas of giftedness. Basically, “fruit” means success, growth or effectiveness. For some early gifts, it may not “feel” like there is much fruit, or we may not have much to go on.
Persevere through this period and don’t get discouraged, but don’t ignore your responsibility to measure fruitfulness or be accountable.
3. Community Recognition/Confirmation – others in our community will confirm that they too sense this gift in us – they note the passions and perceive the fruit. This is very important because on our own we are prone to either invent or pretend a gift out of pride, envy, etc., or hide a gift out of fear. Living in community, with the confirmation that it brings, helps to prevent this.
4. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Experiment in areas that fit your passions to see if they bring out your gifts.
An aside: all of this relates to children as well – “A major obligation of the church to children is to enjoy them and to listen to them so that each can grow according to the design which is written into the being of each and emerges only under the care and warmth of another life … we are to listen … to uncover the special blueprint that is theirs” (O’Connor, 8th Day); this is an important part of our “ministry to children” at the ROVC and why we consider mentoring and life-based teachable moments to be so important to our vision for this service to kids
Are there areas which will alter or effect the flow of my gifts?
• Sin: It is possible that open, continued sin can block the flow and power of the spiritual gifts in your life. Ongoing sin can dull our sensitivity to God’s voice and the leading of the Spirit. It is like being a stagnant pond with no inlet or outlet.
• Season of Life: In certain seasons of life, we just aren’t able to take the time to cultivate life habits which support and sustain the practice of the gifts. So, for example, newly married people often have to readjust to their new situation such that they aren’t able to have the concentrated time alone with God which nourishes the prophetic gift.
• Growth: Operating in the gifts bring growth. This growth often requires stretching and change and a certain death to the (old) self before the (new) self can emerge; we often are hesitant about this growth and change.
• Fear: Fear is the big one. Most of us are terribly afraid of failure or being embarrassed and so don’t want to risk going out on a limb to pray for the sick or give a word of prophecy or stop to offer mercy or share our faith. “When we do not allow ourselves the possibility of failure, the Spirit cannot work in us. We are controlled by perfectionist strivings that inhibit the mysterious … Spontaneity dies and the emergence of the unexpected ceases to be a possibility. We are literally tied and bound. … In our culture we are so success-oriented that we have little understanding of the creative act. We want to know in advance that what we do will measure up and be judged acceptable. … Ultimately the fear of failure must be conquered in ourselves. I doubt that one ever wins this battle without having learned humility.” (O’Connor, 8th Day)
• Commitment: Fear and commitment are related. We fear the commitment that knowledge of gifts and accountability brings – “The identifying of gifts brings to the fore another large issue in our lives – the issue of commitment. Somehow if I name my gift and it is confirmed, I cannot ‘hang loose’ in the same way anymore. I would much rather be committed to God in the abstract than be committed to Him at the point of my gifts.” (O’Connor, 8th Day)
For those of you that have been walking “the Way’ a long time…
• There is the idea of the “gift mix.” As we mature, we often will identify two or more mutually supportive gifts called a “gift mix.” This is a cluster of gifts that work together to bring even more power and fruit, just as the whole is greater than sum of it’s parts. One example might be pastoring, teaching and exhortation. The pastoral gift/relationship provides the context for the use of the gift of teaching, and in the teaching the person is able to use their gift of exhortation.
• Usually there is a dominant gift, which is used in tandem with one of the other supportive gifts. In the above example, it is likely that the exhortation gift is the dominant gift, even though the teaching or pastoring gifts are more visible.
• Almost all of us will find that we are gifted in more than one area in some way – such is the gratuitous grace of our God – but this kind of understanding comes only with time. What it does is help lead us to convergence, where we can begin to enter into more defined roles and structure our time and ministries to fit this mix.
Exercise:
Four questions to ask yourself:
1. What gets me jazzed and what do I consistently find myself interested in doing?
2. Where do I see effectiveness or fruit in my service/ministry?
3. In what ways have others affirmed me or seen fruit in my life, etc?
4. Who are two people in my life that I have noticed doing something in which they are obviously passionate and effective? (Tell them this to encourage them.)
Directions:
Below you will find a survey. Please thoughtfully answer the questions on the survey; it should take about 15 minutes. It is intended to help clarify areas of possible giftedness. Bringing these documents, along with any questions you have, to a meeting with the pastor or your home group leader or mentor, will be really helpful in coming to a deeper understanding of who God has made you to be.
Scale
4- with great frequency and very fruitful
3- “much” or “often”
2- “some” or from time to time
1- “little” or not very fruitful
0- “not at all” or “don’t know”
___ 1. People have told me that I have communicated timely and urgent messages that must have come directly from the Lord.
___ 2. I have enjoyed relating to a certain group of people over a long period of time, sharing personally in their successes and their failures.
___ 3. People have told me I helped them learn biblical truth in a meaningful way.
___ 4. I have effectively applied spiritual truth to situations in my own life.
___ 5. Others have told me I have helped them distinguish key and important facts of Scripture.
___ 6. I have verbally encouraged the wavering, the troubled or the discouraged.
___ 7. Others in the church have noted that I was able to see through phoniness before it was evident to other people.
___ 8. I find I manage money well in order to give liberally to the Lord’s work.
___ 9. Other people have told me that I have helped them become more effective in their ministries.
___ 10. I desire to work with those who have physical or mental problems, to alleviate their suffering.
___ 11. I feel I could, or have already, learn a language well in order to minister to those in a different culture.
___ 12. I have led others to a decision for salvation through faith in Christ.
___ 13. My home is always open to people passing through who need a place to stay.
___ 14. I have believed God for the impossible and seen it happen in a tangible way.
___ 15. When I join a group, other people seem to “move out of the way” and look to
me to make decisions, etc.
___ 16. When I group I am in is lacking organization, I tend to step in and fill in the gap.
___ 17. Others can point to specific instances where my prayers have resulted in visible miracles.
___ 18. I have prayed for others and physical healing has actually occurred.
___ 19. When I pray, I find myself praying in a language that I have not learned.
___ 20. Sometimes when I hear a person speaking in tongues, I get an idea about what God is saying.
___ 21. I could live more comfortably, but I choose not to in order to live with the poor.
___ 22. I readily identify with Paul’s desire for others to be single as he was.
___ 23. When I hear a prayer request, I find that I pray for that need for several days at least.
___ 24. I have been involved in casting out a demon.
___ 25. I respond cheerfully when asked to do a job, even if it seems menial.
___ 26. During worship times at church, I have a sense of what song would be meaningful to sing next, or the way in which to sing it, and that is what is sung.
___ 27. I have daydreamed about works of art or beauty that I would like to create to bring glory to God.
___ 28. Through God I have revealed specific things that will happen to others in the future, especially related to someone’s calling or gifting.
___ 29. I have helped to bring a group of people to deeper maturity in Christ over the course of time, through being in relationship to them.
___ 30. Others have shared with me that my ability to apply God’s word to life has helped them to be more like Jesus.
___ 31. I can intuitively arrive at solutions to fairly complex problems.
___ 32. I have had insights of spiritual truth that others have said helped bring them closer to God.
___ 33. I find that I regularly encourage people about their jobs or life situations.
___ 34. I can “sense” the Spirit of God “resting” on certain people, from time to time, usually in the context of praying for them or in times of prayer with our community.
___ 35. My giving records would indicate that I give considerably more than 10% of my income to the Lord’s work.
___ 36. People have told me that I met their needs in a very practical way just when they needed it.
___ 37. When I enter into large-group social situations, I often find myself drawn to the person who appears to be on “outside” or is sitting on the fringe.
___ 38. I daydream about using my gifts in an area where there are not already effective or meaningful churches or ministries.
___ 39. I have shared joyfully how Christ has brought me to Himself in a way that is meaningful to the unchurched.
___ 40. When I am with someone who is in an unfamiliar environment, but that is comfortable for me, I enjoy helping to put them at ease and make it comfortable.
___ 41. I have had the experience of seeing God’s will and purpose for another’s life, and had great confidence it would come to pass, even though they did not believe it.
___ 42. I have cast vision for a ministry and then recruited a team of people to help bring it about.
___ 43. I enjoy handling the details of organizing ideas, people, resources and time for more effective ministry.
___ 44. God has used me personally to perform supernatural signs and wonders.
___ 45. I enjoy praying for sick people because I have confidence that many will be healed as a result.
___ 46. During times of worship, I am moved to pray in a language that I have never learned.
___ 47. I have offered an interpretation of someone speaking in tongues that others confirmed was from the Lord.
___ 48. Living a simple lifestyle is an exciting challenge for me.
___ 49. Other people have noted that I don’t seem as concerned about not being married as most people are.
___ 50. When others ask me to intercede for them, they report back that their needs are answered in specific and tangible ways.
___ 51. I have heard a demon speak in an audible voice.
___ 52. I enjoy finding needed resources behind the scenes to help make ministries possible.
___ 53. When I hear a teaching, I find myself thinking of a picture or story that would communicate that same core idea.
___ 54. Others have said that they’ve been really moved by a work of art that I’ve created.
___ 55. I find that I really have a good sense of what God is trying to teach me, His heart and mind, in the difficult experiences I go through.
___ 56. When in a group of people, I often feel a strong sense to protect the group from wrong ideas and ensure they hear truth.
___ 57. In my work situation, I find that I am called upon to train people who are new to the job in the “ins and outs” of working there, or that I naturally find myself doing it anyway.
___ 58. I have come up with a wise idea that has helped to diffuse a situation of conflict.
___ 59. I enjoy searching the scriptures for insight and understanding into God’s will, plans, and strategies for the Kingdom and His mission.
___ 60. People have come to me in their sufferings and difficult times and found that they’ve been helped and relieved through my words (and actions).
___ 61. I find that I can sense whether others at work, church, or social situations have pure or impure motives when dealing with me.
___ 62. When I am moved by an appeal to give to God’s work, I find the money I need to do it.
___ 63. I enjoy routine tasks that have led to more effective ministry or work by others.
___ 64. I have confidence in speaking and acting when in places of suffering – like hospitals, nursing homes, etc. I “do well” in such situations.
___ 65. I have had significant relationships with people of another culture.
___ 66. Non-Christians have noted that they feel comfortable when they’re around me, and that I have a positive effect on them toward developing a faith in Christ.
___ 67. When people come to my/our home, they indicate that they “feel at home”.
___ 68. Other people have told me that I had faith to accomplish what seemed impossible to them.
___ 69. When I set goals, others seem to accept them readily.
___ 70. I have been able to make effective and efficient plans for accomplishing the goals of a group.
___ 71. God regularly seems to do impossible things through my life.
___ 72. Others have told me that God healed them of an emotional problem when I prayed with them.
___ 73. I find that praying in tongues brings a deeper intimacy to my prayer.
___ 74. I have prayed that I may interpret if someone begins speaking in tongues.
___ 75. I am not poor, but I can identify with poor people.
___ 76. I am glad that I have more time to serve God because I am single.
___ 77. I have a regularly set time/schedule during which time I pray for others (and enjoy keeping it).
___ 78. I feel confident in speaking authoritatively in the name of Jesus to the powers of evil.
___ 79. Others have mentioned that I seem to enjoy acting in small ways and that I do well at it.
___ 80. I have a strong desire to communicate truth in creative ways that impact people.
___ 81. I like to communicate through things that I make, more than through words or stories.
___ 82. During times of worship or group prayer, I feel like I know what God might want to communicate to someone in the room.
___ 83. I feel unafraid of giving spiritual direction and guidance in a group of Christians.
___ 84. People have responded to my teaching by changing their behaviors or ways of thinking.
___ 85. In a particular situation, I am familiar with the experience of speaking a “wise word” or “a word aptly spoken.”
___ 86. I have the ability to discover new truths for myself through reading or observing situations firsthand.
___ 87. I desire to urge people to action in important areas where I see that they are not involved or are lax.
___ 88. I have had the sense of evil being present, which was confirmed by others.
___ 89. I am confident God will meet my needs and so give to Him sacrificially and consistently in terms of money, time, and other resources.
___ 90. When I do things behind the scenes and others are helped, I am joyful.
___ 91. I find that I sometimes have a sense or impression of God’s “heart of compassion” for people, the lost, the Church, etc.
___ 92. I find myself thinking about how to adapt ministry and church ideas, programs, and structures into a new or different culture.
___ 93. When I am around large groups of unchurched people, I find myself emotionally responding in sadness, frustration, excitement; there is a sense of “burden.”
___ 94. I really enjoy seeking ways to help different people enter into meaningful relationships.
___ 95. I have asked God for a provision and trusted Him to bring it to pass until He did, over a long period of time.
___ 96. When I am leading something, things seem to run smoothly.
___ 97. When part of an organization, I find that I am able to see how the organization functions, and to generate ideas to help it function more effectively and efficiently.
___ 98. People have told me that I was God’s instrument which brought supernatural change in their lives or circumstances.
___ 99. When I pray for the sick, I or they experience sensations of tingling (like static electricity) or warmth, associated with the work of the Holy Spirit.
___ 100. When I speak in tongues, I believe that it is edifying to the Church.
___ 101. I have interpreted tongues in a way that seemed to bless others.
___ 102. Others have told me I have sacrificed much in order to live how I do.
___ 103. I am single and have comparably little difficulty controlling my sexual desires.
___ 104. I often find myself thinking I should pray for others at unusual times – while driving, sleeping, walking down the street.
___ 105. People think to contact me when they believe someone is demonized.
___ 106. I enjoy serving in small ways, rather than speaking or other activities.
___ 107. When I view the art of others, I find myself wanting to tell the story behind the piece.
___ 108. I have ideas about what could be done physically to make a church facility more conducive to worship and more effective for ministry.
The Scoring (total 4 questions for 0-16 result)
Prophecy – 1, 28, 55, 82
Pastor – 2, 29, 56, 83
Teacher – 3, 30, 57, 84
Wisdom – 4, 31, 58, 85
Knowledge – 5, 32, 59, 86
Exhortation – 6, 33, 60, 87
Discernment – 7, 34, 61, 88
Giving – 8, 35, 62, 89
Helps – 9, 36, 63, 90
Mercy – 10, 37, 64, 91
Missionary – 11, 38, 65, 92
Evangelist – 12, 39, 66, 93
Hospitality – 13, 40, 67, 94
Faith – 14, 41, 68, 95
Leadership – 15, 42, 69, 96
Administration – 16, 43, 70, 97
Miracles – 17, 44, 71, 98
Healing – 18, 45, 72, 99
Tongues – 19, 46, 73, 100
Interpretation of Tongues – 20, 47, 74, 101
Poverty – 21, 48, 75, 102
Celibacy – 22, 49, 76, 103
Intercession – 23, 50, 77, 104
Exorcism/Deliverance – 24, 51, 78, 105
Service – 25, 52, 79, 106
Creative Communication – 26, 53, 80, 107
Craftsmanship – 27, 54, 81, 108
“An important element of the church’s mission is to help us discover and develop our gifts, and in the face of our fears, to hold us accountable for them so that we can enter into the joy of creating.” (Elizabeth O’Connor, The Eighth Day of Creation)
Scripture Meditation:
“For through the grace given to me I say to every person among you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has alloted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given us, let each exercise them accordingly."” Romans 12:3-6
Teaching:
Two Types of gifts:
1. Constitutional – These are part of our DNA, or our constitution. We seem to have
these gifts “from birth”, like in the life of Jeremiah (Jeremiah ch. 1)
• We regularly experience the operation of these gifts throughout the course of our lives
• These gifts seem “resident” within us
2. Situational – for a particular situation, rarely to be repeated again
• Inspired by God for the moment and received & exercised by us
• We experience the gift in the moment and then it may pass
How do we get gifts?
The basis of both types of gifts is the sovereign distribution of the Holy Spirit and the creative power of God. We can ask for gifts. Paul several times encourages us to “eagerly desire” certain gifts, especially that we prophesy (1 Corinthians 12:31; 14:1,39). There does seem to be a place for asking and seeking after gifts, particularly in the context of pursuing our calling.
How do I identifying gifts in myself?
1. “Passions and Pull” – we continue to feel a sense of passion, or burden, for a specific type of ministry; it stirs us to deep emotion or gets us angry or rouses us to action; “giftedness drift” of Bobby Clinton – “the intuitive tendency [of a developing leader] to respond to ministry assignments and ministry challenges that fit his or her spiritual gift”
2. “Fruitfulness” – in general, fruit will follow when we serve/act in our areas of giftedness. Basically, “fruit” means success, growth or effectiveness. For some early gifts, it may not “feel” like there is much fruit, or we may not have much to go on.
Persevere through this period and don’t get discouraged, but don’t ignore your responsibility to measure fruitfulness or be accountable.
3. Community Recognition/Confirmation – others in our community will confirm that they too sense this gift in us – they note the passions and perceive the fruit. This is very important because on our own we are prone to either invent or pretend a gift out of pride, envy, etc., or hide a gift out of fear. Living in community, with the confirmation that it brings, helps to prevent this.
4. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Experiment in areas that fit your passions to see if they bring out your gifts.
An aside: all of this relates to children as well – “A major obligation of the church to children is to enjoy them and to listen to them so that each can grow according to the design which is written into the being of each and emerges only under the care and warmth of another life … we are to listen … to uncover the special blueprint that is theirs” (O’Connor, 8th Day); this is an important part of our “ministry to children” at the ROVC and why we consider mentoring and life-based teachable moments to be so important to our vision for this service to kids
Are there areas which will alter or effect the flow of my gifts?
• Sin: It is possible that open, continued sin can block the flow and power of the spiritual gifts in your life. Ongoing sin can dull our sensitivity to God’s voice and the leading of the Spirit. It is like being a stagnant pond with no inlet or outlet.
• Season of Life: In certain seasons of life, we just aren’t able to take the time to cultivate life habits which support and sustain the practice of the gifts. So, for example, newly married people often have to readjust to their new situation such that they aren’t able to have the concentrated time alone with God which nourishes the prophetic gift.
• Growth: Operating in the gifts bring growth. This growth often requires stretching and change and a certain death to the (old) self before the (new) self can emerge; we often are hesitant about this growth and change.
• Fear: Fear is the big one. Most of us are terribly afraid of failure or being embarrassed and so don’t want to risk going out on a limb to pray for the sick or give a word of prophecy or stop to offer mercy or share our faith. “When we do not allow ourselves the possibility of failure, the Spirit cannot work in us. We are controlled by perfectionist strivings that inhibit the mysterious … Spontaneity dies and the emergence of the unexpected ceases to be a possibility. We are literally tied and bound. … In our culture we are so success-oriented that we have little understanding of the creative act. We want to know in advance that what we do will measure up and be judged acceptable. … Ultimately the fear of failure must be conquered in ourselves. I doubt that one ever wins this battle without having learned humility.” (O’Connor, 8th Day)
• Commitment: Fear and commitment are related. We fear the commitment that knowledge of gifts and accountability brings – “The identifying of gifts brings to the fore another large issue in our lives – the issue of commitment. Somehow if I name my gift and it is confirmed, I cannot ‘hang loose’ in the same way anymore. I would much rather be committed to God in the abstract than be committed to Him at the point of my gifts.” (O’Connor, 8th Day)
For those of you that have been walking “the Way’ a long time…
• There is the idea of the “gift mix.” As we mature, we often will identify two or more mutually supportive gifts called a “gift mix.” This is a cluster of gifts that work together to bring even more power and fruit, just as the whole is greater than sum of it’s parts. One example might be pastoring, teaching and exhortation. The pastoral gift/relationship provides the context for the use of the gift of teaching, and in the teaching the person is able to use their gift of exhortation.
• Usually there is a dominant gift, which is used in tandem with one of the other supportive gifts. In the above example, it is likely that the exhortation gift is the dominant gift, even though the teaching or pastoring gifts are more visible.
• Almost all of us will find that we are gifted in more than one area in some way – such is the gratuitous grace of our God – but this kind of understanding comes only with time. What it does is help lead us to convergence, where we can begin to enter into more defined roles and structure our time and ministries to fit this mix.
Exercise:
Four questions to ask yourself:
1. What gets me jazzed and what do I consistently find myself interested in doing?
2. Where do I see effectiveness or fruit in my service/ministry?
3. In what ways have others affirmed me or seen fruit in my life, etc?
4. Who are two people in my life that I have noticed doing something in which they are obviously passionate and effective? (Tell them this to encourage them.)
Directions:
Below you will find a survey. Please thoughtfully answer the questions on the survey; it should take about 15 minutes. It is intended to help clarify areas of possible giftedness. Bringing these documents, along with any questions you have, to a meeting with the pastor or your home group leader or mentor, will be really helpful in coming to a deeper understanding of who God has made you to be.
Scale
4- with great frequency and very fruitful
3- “much” or “often”
2- “some” or from time to time
1- “little” or not very fruitful
0- “not at all” or “don’t know”
___ 1. People have told me that I have communicated timely and urgent messages that must have come directly from the Lord.
___ 2. I have enjoyed relating to a certain group of people over a long period of time, sharing personally in their successes and their failures.
___ 3. People have told me I helped them learn biblical truth in a meaningful way.
___ 4. I have effectively applied spiritual truth to situations in my own life.
___ 5. Others have told me I have helped them distinguish key and important facts of Scripture.
___ 6. I have verbally encouraged the wavering, the troubled or the discouraged.
___ 7. Others in the church have noted that I was able to see through phoniness before it was evident to other people.
___ 8. I find I manage money well in order to give liberally to the Lord’s work.
___ 9. Other people have told me that I have helped them become more effective in their ministries.
___ 10. I desire to work with those who have physical or mental problems, to alleviate their suffering.
___ 11. I feel I could, or have already, learn a language well in order to minister to those in a different culture.
___ 12. I have led others to a decision for salvation through faith in Christ.
___ 13. My home is always open to people passing through who need a place to stay.
___ 14. I have believed God for the impossible and seen it happen in a tangible way.
___ 15. When I join a group, other people seem to “move out of the way” and look to
me to make decisions, etc.
___ 16. When I group I am in is lacking organization, I tend to step in and fill in the gap.
___ 17. Others can point to specific instances where my prayers have resulted in visible miracles.
___ 18. I have prayed for others and physical healing has actually occurred.
___ 19. When I pray, I find myself praying in a language that I have not learned.
___ 20. Sometimes when I hear a person speaking in tongues, I get an idea about what God is saying.
___ 21. I could live more comfortably, but I choose not to in order to live with the poor.
___ 22. I readily identify with Paul’s desire for others to be single as he was.
___ 23. When I hear a prayer request, I find that I pray for that need for several days at least.
___ 24. I have been involved in casting out a demon.
___ 25. I respond cheerfully when asked to do a job, even if it seems menial.
___ 26. During worship times at church, I have a sense of what song would be meaningful to sing next, or the way in which to sing it, and that is what is sung.
___ 27. I have daydreamed about works of art or beauty that I would like to create to bring glory to God.
___ 28. Through God I have revealed specific things that will happen to others in the future, especially related to someone’s calling or gifting.
___ 29. I have helped to bring a group of people to deeper maturity in Christ over the course of time, through being in relationship to them.
___ 30. Others have shared with me that my ability to apply God’s word to life has helped them to be more like Jesus.
___ 31. I can intuitively arrive at solutions to fairly complex problems.
___ 32. I have had insights of spiritual truth that others have said helped bring them closer to God.
___ 33. I find that I regularly encourage people about their jobs or life situations.
___ 34. I can “sense” the Spirit of God “resting” on certain people, from time to time, usually in the context of praying for them or in times of prayer with our community.
___ 35. My giving records would indicate that I give considerably more than 10% of my income to the Lord’s work.
___ 36. People have told me that I met their needs in a very practical way just when they needed it.
___ 37. When I enter into large-group social situations, I often find myself drawn to the person who appears to be on “outside” or is sitting on the fringe.
___ 38. I daydream about using my gifts in an area where there are not already effective or meaningful churches or ministries.
___ 39. I have shared joyfully how Christ has brought me to Himself in a way that is meaningful to the unchurched.
___ 40. When I am with someone who is in an unfamiliar environment, but that is comfortable for me, I enjoy helping to put them at ease and make it comfortable.
___ 41. I have had the experience of seeing God’s will and purpose for another’s life, and had great confidence it would come to pass, even though they did not believe it.
___ 42. I have cast vision for a ministry and then recruited a team of people to help bring it about.
___ 43. I enjoy handling the details of organizing ideas, people, resources and time for more effective ministry.
___ 44. God has used me personally to perform supernatural signs and wonders.
___ 45. I enjoy praying for sick people because I have confidence that many will be healed as a result.
___ 46. During times of worship, I am moved to pray in a language that I have never learned.
___ 47. I have offered an interpretation of someone speaking in tongues that others confirmed was from the Lord.
___ 48. Living a simple lifestyle is an exciting challenge for me.
___ 49. Other people have noted that I don’t seem as concerned about not being married as most people are.
___ 50. When others ask me to intercede for them, they report back that their needs are answered in specific and tangible ways.
___ 51. I have heard a demon speak in an audible voice.
___ 52. I enjoy finding needed resources behind the scenes to help make ministries possible.
___ 53. When I hear a teaching, I find myself thinking of a picture or story that would communicate that same core idea.
___ 54. Others have said that they’ve been really moved by a work of art that I’ve created.
___ 55. I find that I really have a good sense of what God is trying to teach me, His heart and mind, in the difficult experiences I go through.
___ 56. When in a group of people, I often feel a strong sense to protect the group from wrong ideas and ensure they hear truth.
___ 57. In my work situation, I find that I am called upon to train people who are new to the job in the “ins and outs” of working there, or that I naturally find myself doing it anyway.
___ 58. I have come up with a wise idea that has helped to diffuse a situation of conflict.
___ 59. I enjoy searching the scriptures for insight and understanding into God’s will, plans, and strategies for the Kingdom and His mission.
___ 60. People have come to me in their sufferings and difficult times and found that they’ve been helped and relieved through my words (and actions).
___ 61. I find that I can sense whether others at work, church, or social situations have pure or impure motives when dealing with me.
___ 62. When I am moved by an appeal to give to God’s work, I find the money I need to do it.
___ 63. I enjoy routine tasks that have led to more effective ministry or work by others.
___ 64. I have confidence in speaking and acting when in places of suffering – like hospitals, nursing homes, etc. I “do well” in such situations.
___ 65. I have had significant relationships with people of another culture.
___ 66. Non-Christians have noted that they feel comfortable when they’re around me, and that I have a positive effect on them toward developing a faith in Christ.
___ 67. When people come to my/our home, they indicate that they “feel at home”.
___ 68. Other people have told me that I had faith to accomplish what seemed impossible to them.
___ 69. When I set goals, others seem to accept them readily.
___ 70. I have been able to make effective and efficient plans for accomplishing the goals of a group.
___ 71. God regularly seems to do impossible things through my life.
___ 72. Others have told me that God healed them of an emotional problem when I prayed with them.
___ 73. I find that praying in tongues brings a deeper intimacy to my prayer.
___ 74. I have prayed that I may interpret if someone begins speaking in tongues.
___ 75. I am not poor, but I can identify with poor people.
___ 76. I am glad that I have more time to serve God because I am single.
___ 77. I have a regularly set time/schedule during which time I pray for others (and enjoy keeping it).
___ 78. I feel confident in speaking authoritatively in the name of Jesus to the powers of evil.
___ 79. Others have mentioned that I seem to enjoy acting in small ways and that I do well at it.
___ 80. I have a strong desire to communicate truth in creative ways that impact people.
___ 81. I like to communicate through things that I make, more than through words or stories.
___ 82. During times of worship or group prayer, I feel like I know what God might want to communicate to someone in the room.
___ 83. I feel unafraid of giving spiritual direction and guidance in a group of Christians.
___ 84. People have responded to my teaching by changing their behaviors or ways of thinking.
___ 85. In a particular situation, I am familiar with the experience of speaking a “wise word” or “a word aptly spoken.”
___ 86. I have the ability to discover new truths for myself through reading or observing situations firsthand.
___ 87. I desire to urge people to action in important areas where I see that they are not involved or are lax.
___ 88. I have had the sense of evil being present, which was confirmed by others.
___ 89. I am confident God will meet my needs and so give to Him sacrificially and consistently in terms of money, time, and other resources.
___ 90. When I do things behind the scenes and others are helped, I am joyful.
___ 91. I find that I sometimes have a sense or impression of God’s “heart of compassion” for people, the lost, the Church, etc.
___ 92. I find myself thinking about how to adapt ministry and church ideas, programs, and structures into a new or different culture.
___ 93. When I am around large groups of unchurched people, I find myself emotionally responding in sadness, frustration, excitement; there is a sense of “burden.”
___ 94. I really enjoy seeking ways to help different people enter into meaningful relationships.
___ 95. I have asked God for a provision and trusted Him to bring it to pass until He did, over a long period of time.
___ 96. When I am leading something, things seem to run smoothly.
___ 97. When part of an organization, I find that I am able to see how the organization functions, and to generate ideas to help it function more effectively and efficiently.
___ 98. People have told me that I was God’s instrument which brought supernatural change in their lives or circumstances.
___ 99. When I pray for the sick, I or they experience sensations of tingling (like static electricity) or warmth, associated with the work of the Holy Spirit.
___ 100. When I speak in tongues, I believe that it is edifying to the Church.
___ 101. I have interpreted tongues in a way that seemed to bless others.
___ 102. Others have told me I have sacrificed much in order to live how I do.
___ 103. I am single and have comparably little difficulty controlling my sexual desires.
___ 104. I often find myself thinking I should pray for others at unusual times – while driving, sleeping, walking down the street.
___ 105. People think to contact me when they believe someone is demonized.
___ 106. I enjoy serving in small ways, rather than speaking or other activities.
___ 107. When I view the art of others, I find myself wanting to tell the story behind the piece.
___ 108. I have ideas about what could be done physically to make a church facility more conducive to worship and more effective for ministry.
The Scoring (total 4 questions for 0-16 result)
Prophecy – 1, 28, 55, 82
Pastor – 2, 29, 56, 83
Teacher – 3, 30, 57, 84
Wisdom – 4, 31, 58, 85
Knowledge – 5, 32, 59, 86
Exhortation – 6, 33, 60, 87
Discernment – 7, 34, 61, 88
Giving – 8, 35, 62, 89
Helps – 9, 36, 63, 90
Mercy – 10, 37, 64, 91
Missionary – 11, 38, 65, 92
Evangelist – 12, 39, 66, 93
Hospitality – 13, 40, 67, 94
Faith – 14, 41, 68, 95
Leadership – 15, 42, 69, 96
Administration – 16, 43, 70, 97
Miracles – 17, 44, 71, 98
Healing – 18, 45, 72, 99
Tongues – 19, 46, 73, 100
Interpretation of Tongues – 20, 47, 74, 101
Poverty – 21, 48, 75, 102
Celibacy – 22, 49, 76, 103
Intercession – 23, 50, 77, 104
Exorcism/Deliverance – 24, 51, 78, 105
Service – 25, 52, 79, 106
Creative Communication – 26, 53, 80, 107
Craftsmanship – 27, 54, 81, 108
Assessment Feedback Form
This feedback form is for you to give to people who know you well; their feedback will be important as you seek to understand yourself and how God has created and gifted you.
The purpose of this assessment is for the seeker to search out feedback for themselves and gain a deeper understanding of their strengths/passions/gifts and areas for improvement. With this insight, the feedback seeker will be better able to grow in the use of the gifts and strengths God has enabled them with. Additionally, they will be in a position to grow and develop the areas that are perceived as areas for improvement.
As the feedback giver, you are being asked to provide some thoughtful, reflective responses to the questions given. Please take your time, considering and asking God to help you remember and discern accurate responses to the following questions about the feedback seeker. Please describe and illustrate with concrete examples when possible.
Feedback seeker _______________ Feedback giver __________________
Date (w/year) _______________ Please return by __________________
1. List and describe 3 or more things that you believe this person is good at (i.e. this person is really good at speaking in large group settings; this person is great at organizing fun activities; this person always seems to make people happy when they are around; this person seems to know a lot and be able to explain their views well......etc.).
2. List and describe 2 to 3 actions this person could take to improve in some areas that they are not strong in (remember, the purpose is to help this person grow, so please be loving, constructive and specific).
3. List and give examples of 2 or more things that you know this person is passionate about, things that get them energized and motivated to the point of action.
4a. Please read through the list of gifts below and circle each one that you think the Holy Spirit has given the feedback seeker. In the line next to each gift you circle, note how certain you are on a scale of 5 (see below for scale details).
4b. Please illustrate & provide examples for why you feel the way you do about the gifts you identified.
Scale:
5 I have definitely seen this in action. It is consistently demonstrated & with power.
4 I have seen this gift in action. I believe it will be more consistently demonstrated with power.
3 It seems that God has gifted you in this area. I have seen it demonstrated, but inconsistently.
2 I have either seen it demonstrated on occasion or strongly feel like this is a potential gifting.
1 I have a hunch that this is something God has gifted you with, but there is little to go on, yet!
Administration ____
Apostle/Mission ____
Craftsmanship ____
Creative
Communication ____
Deliverance ____
Discernment ____
Encouragement ____
Evangelism ____
Faith ____
Giving ____
Healing ____
Helps ____
Hospitality ____
Intercession ____
Interpretation ____
Knowledge ____
Leadership ____
Mercy ____
Miracles ____
Pastor/Shepherd ____
Prophecy ____
Teaching ____
Tongues ____
Wisdom ____
Other________ ____
Other________ ____ *Now, go back and underline the gifts that God had given you.
The purpose of this assessment is for the seeker to search out feedback for themselves and gain a deeper understanding of their strengths/passions/gifts and areas for improvement. With this insight, the feedback seeker will be better able to grow in the use of the gifts and strengths God has enabled them with. Additionally, they will be in a position to grow and develop the areas that are perceived as areas for improvement.
As the feedback giver, you are being asked to provide some thoughtful, reflective responses to the questions given. Please take your time, considering and asking God to help you remember and discern accurate responses to the following questions about the feedback seeker. Please describe and illustrate with concrete examples when possible.
Feedback seeker _______________ Feedback giver __________________
Date (w/year) _______________ Please return by __________________
1. List and describe 3 or more things that you believe this person is good at (i.e. this person is really good at speaking in large group settings; this person is great at organizing fun activities; this person always seems to make people happy when they are around; this person seems to know a lot and be able to explain their views well......etc.).
2. List and describe 2 to 3 actions this person could take to improve in some areas that they are not strong in (remember, the purpose is to help this person grow, so please be loving, constructive and specific).
3. List and give examples of 2 or more things that you know this person is passionate about, things that get them energized and motivated to the point of action.
4a. Please read through the list of gifts below and circle each one that you think the Holy Spirit has given the feedback seeker. In the line next to each gift you circle, note how certain you are on a scale of 5 (see below for scale details).
4b. Please illustrate & provide examples for why you feel the way you do about the gifts you identified.
Scale:
5 I have definitely seen this in action. It is consistently demonstrated & with power.
4 I have seen this gift in action. I believe it will be more consistently demonstrated with power.
3 It seems that God has gifted you in this area. I have seen it demonstrated, but inconsistently.
2 I have either seen it demonstrated on occasion or strongly feel like this is a potential gifting.
1 I have a hunch that this is something God has gifted you with, but there is little to go on, yet!
Administration ____
Apostle/Mission ____
Craftsmanship ____
Creative
Communication ____
Deliverance ____
Discernment ____
Encouragement ____
Evangelism ____
Faith ____
Giving ____
Healing ____
Helps ____
Hospitality ____
Intercession ____
Interpretation ____
Knowledge ____
Leadership ____
Mercy ____
Miracles ____
Pastor/Shepherd ____
Prophecy ____
Teaching ____
Tongues ____
Wisdom ____
Other________ ____
Other________ ____ *Now, go back and underline the gifts that God had given you.
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