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Post by Kristen on Sept 14, 2009 20:44:41 GMT -5
Taking a spiritual gifts inventory barely ripples the surface of these deep, deep waters. Morwena mentioned the SHAPE concept, which is a good one. Erik Rees wrote a book by that name, and I highly recommend it.
Your aptitudes and passions play a big part in this. You'll probably find that your gift of knowledge and your writing ability will intersect. You can use your gift to gather knowledge and your writing ability to disseminate it. There are plenty of opportunities for this: items for your church web site, magazine articles, devotionals, Sunday school curricula...serving doesn't always mean dishing out meals. People need food for their souls also.
Here's my personal anecdote: We are preparing to dissolve our congregation (a long, sad story in itself). The pastor wanted the final worship service to contain a "brief history of the church." I hoped I wouldn't be asked to write it, because I didn't need one more thing on my plate just then. Well, when I was asked, I said yes, because this is well within my gifts and abilities. A perfect fit, even. I finished the first draft last week, and it's been one of the most fulfilling things I've ever done.
To sum up: First, keep your mind and heart open to whatever the Lord shows you to do. Second, remember that a spiritual gifts inventory (even taking a whole class) is just one step in a lifelong Christan walk.
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Post by Christian Soldier on Sept 15, 2009 2:43:42 GMT -5
I would add the caveat here not to let your gifts define you, but you define them. Searching out your gifts is intended to assist in finding places to "plug in". Often, I've seen people called to serve and I hear "Oh, that's not my gift." Moses didn't get away with it, and neither will we.
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Post by tris on Sept 19, 2009 9:16:51 GMT -5
Waldenwriter
Another word for knowledge is discernment. When you understand (know) (discern) where people are coming from and what makes them tick, it goes a long way to helping (service) them. There is a serious need in our world for discerning people to help the rest of us understand, empathize, relate to those around us. So many disputes and arguments can be neatly disarmed when we can see things from the other person's viewpoint and it takes a discerning person to do that.
Missions isn't always about leading peple to Christ. At the risk of splitting hairs, that's evangelism, which all Christians are called to do, not just missionaries. What separates the missionary from everyday Christians is the ability to cross barriers, either cultural, social or spiritual. You're at a university with folks from all different walks of life. You have the opportunity to use your knowledge to see those international students in a way no one else can and simply be there for them. Not every student has a place to go on weekends, holidays or summer vacation. Not all of them understand our figures of speech and slang. And a lot of them have different responses for social situations that can lead to misunderstandings on both sides.
Which brings us to service, which is not always about doing things or being involved in a program. Service is making a difference. Sometimes that difference is as simple as being polite to the clerk at a Walmart at the end of long day when there's a long line and everyone ahead of you is griping at the clerk.
No matter what you do or don't do, you make a difference to someone somewhere. I like the reference to not being caught in the cookie-cutter mentality. Sometimes service is making sure there's a meal on the table and sometimes service is grabbing your child's hand and taking them for a walk in the rain.
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Post by waldenwriter on Sept 22, 2009 17:08:01 GMT -5
Waldenwriter Another word for knowledge is discernment. When you understand (know) (discern) where people are coming from and what makes them tick, it goes a long way to helping (service) them. There is a serious need in our world for discerning people to help the rest of us understand, empathize, relate to those around us. So many disputes and arguments can be neatly disarmed when we can see things from the other person's viewpoint and it takes a discerning person to do that. That's an interesting point. I do seem to pick up on people's feelings from their manner and/or tone of voice a lot. I guess I'm just observant that way. Like I said before, I'm hypersensitive to detail. Missions isn't always about leading peple to Christ. At the risk of splitting hairs, that's evangelism, which all Christians are called to do, not just missionaries. What separates the missionary from everyday Christians is the ability to cross barriers, either cultural, social or spiritual. You're at a university with folks from all different walks of life. You have the opportunity to use your knowledge to see those international students in a way no one else can and simply be there for them. Not every student has a place to go on weekends, holidays or summer vacation. Not all of them understand our figures of speech and slang. And a lot of them have different responses for social situations that can lead to misunderstandings on both sides. That's a good thought too. I think it would be hard to do, though, since I'm so introverted and also lack independent transportation. Which brings us to service, which is not always about doing things or being involved in a program. Service is making a difference. Sometimes that difference is as simple as being polite to the clerk at a Walmart at the end of long day when there's a long line and everyone ahead of you is griping at the clerk. Oy, I know I'd appreciate that after all that griping! Some days at work are just so stressful. I do try to be polite to others as a rule, and even when I am somewhere and have a complaint I try to be polite about it. No matter what you do or don't do, you make a difference to someone somewhere. I like the reference to not being caught in the cookie-cutter mentality. Sometimes service is making sure there's a meal on the table and sometimes service is grabbing your child's hand and taking them for a walk in the rain. That's an interesting way to look at it. I think we have these cookie-cutter stereotypes of spiritual gifts (like that being a missionary means dropping everything and going to Africa) and don't think about the other opportunities out there. I definitely want to make a difference to someone through my writing, much like Hisami (see the quote in my signature), or in other ways as well.
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Post by dragonlots on Dec 26, 2009 13:23:56 GMT -5
Here’s what I’ll tell you about the ‘spiritual gifts’ test – they aren’t always accurate.
The main reason is that religious leadership today are trying to quantify something they really don’t understand. Reminds me of the personality test given to those trying to find out what kind of work they’d be good at. For instance, the test showed I’d be a good accountant but I’ve already done this type of work and hated it!
The ‘spiritual tests’ are much the same. My test showed I’d be a good administrator meaning I can run things. Where I’m using this ability is running a secular Science Fiction group and sometimes at work. There’s no place for me to do this in a church. But then, my ‘mission’ area, which I didn’t even score in, is among SF fandom because God needs Christians here.
Another error in the test is it mistakenly quantifies the ‘gift of tongues’ as the ability to learn foreign languages. Uh, wrong, according to the Bible. Tongues is a personal prayer language used to build up the inner spiritual strength and an outward example of the internal reality of salvation. I myself speak in a tongue. Since there was reason for me to know, long story I won’t go into, I learned mine is a south African dialect. I pray in tongues, sing in it and when told to speak verbally in it and interrupt. When I do that it is a message from or to God and used to build up others in the body of Christ.
I have also used prophecy – meaning speaking a message from God. Not to be confused with the ministry of a Prophet. They’re different. Prophecy is like tongues with interpretation – used to build up the believers.
Word of knowledge, word of wisdom, discernment of spirits work hand in hand. Word of knowledge is God telling you something you have no way of knowing by your five senses. Word of wisdom tells you what to do with what God just told you. Discernment of spirits lets you know if you’re dealing with a demon or even if the person is a Christian and they haven’t given any indication they are. I do this one a lot. Every job I go into I ferret out the Christians and start building a relationship between all of us so we can support each other.
Faith – a biggie. It’s more of an extra serving than most of us have. Miracles – I think are pretty self explanatory and healing.
Now, I have used all of these? Yes. Every Christian can when needed. These are gifts of the spirit.
What tends to happen is they get mixed up with gift ministries. You know preachers, evangelists, teachers, prophets., apostles, These are separate from the spiritual gifts. Can folks in these ministries operate the gifts? Sure. Are they one in the same – no.
I’ve got a really good background both in teaching and practical application, so if anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask. I’m also an ordained minister, in the event someone wants to know my credentials.
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Post by journeyman on Dec 26, 2009 15:48:48 GMT -5
dragonlots, that pretty much sums up what I was going to say! I would add that some of the "spiritual gifts" tests out there are really trying to fit people into roles in church programs rather than recognizing the manifestations of the Holy Spirit. Also, tests might very well disappoint people who long for the recognition of a five-fold ministry, i.e. preachers, evangelists, teachers, prophets, and apostles. To them i would say that the most exciting thing in the world that a believer experiences is operating in the Holy Spirit powered gifts. I have seen church greeters literally hold the powers of darkness at bay through spiritual discernment and focused prayer as they welcome people to a church meeting. Operating in the Spirit also means experiencing a richer, deeper spiritual life that is denied to a Christian who is blinded through unbelief. Ultimately, operating in a spiritual gift not about human-powered labor, but allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us for God's glory and not our own.
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Post by Kristen on Dec 29, 2009 21:38:53 GMT -5
dragonlots and journeyman, you make good points about those inventory tests. I've taken a bunch of them just to see how they compare, and I've gotten almost as many different answers as there are tests. They're most useful in that thinking about the answers to the questions makes you look deeper into yourself.
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Post by pixydust on Feb 2, 2010 3:49:02 GMT -5
Perfect explanation, dragonlots!
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