"Spiritual Gifts - Discovering Your Fit for Service. Good Samaritan Episcopal Church May 3, 2015 Forum Presented by Deann Ayer

Transcription

1 "Spiritual Gifts - Discovering Your Fit for Service Good Samaritan Episcopal Church May 3, 2015 Forum Presented by Deann Ayer

2 Forum Overview Service as the big picture goal We will focus on our unique passions, spiritual gifts, & personality/ personal style to determine our fit for service. The impact of spiritual gifts Comparing and contrasting spiritual gifts Biblical passages about spiritual gifts context & lists The importance of remaining open to the Spirit s guidance in our lives, regardless of what our gifts seem to be Exploring your gifts (Homework = Spiritual Gifts assessment) A preview of the Saturday workshop Questions & Discussion

3 A little bit about me as a case study Discovering my fit for service has been an on-going journey involving assessment, observation, & experience. Education and Professional/Ministry Background = focused on education and ministry Communications/Marketing/Sociology; elementary education; Christian Education/Youth Ministry; chaplaincy training Tutor, elementary school teacher, and GED teacher Worked in church and non-profit settings in a low-income, urban community in Washington DC for 15 years (homeless shelter, public housing community, youth ministry, college and career exposure program) Youth ministry, Community Life Coordinator (WCF); Families and Community Minister, St. Andrew s by-the-sea Community Engagement Coordinator for ECS, managing communications, volunteers, in-kind donations, and events. Passions Personal/spiritual growth, healthy relationships, helping people reach their potential Fun, adventure, celebration of people Social justice, serving marginalized people, cross-cultural understanding Networking/making connections/building bridges/win-win situations Creating/building new experiences, opportunities, etc. Spiritual Gifts Apostleship, Evangelism, Faith, Hospitality, Wisdom, Giving Personal Style/Personality Personal Style Task and People Oriented, Unstructured (flexible) Myer s-briggs ENFP (Extrovert-Intuitive-Feeling-Perceiving) Strengths Finder Individualization, Achiever, Strategic, Responsibility, Connectedness I am wired to enjoy exploring spiritual gifts and discovering how our unique, God-given combination of passions, gifts, and personality determine our best fit for service.

4 The purpose of service: to glorify God and build up others -The Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37-40) - present your bodies as a living sacrifice which is your spiritual worship. (Romans 12:1) - whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 4:11) - to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-12) Why explore our spiritual gifts, passions, fit for service? so we will be fruitful/effective and fulfilled in a meaningful place of service

5 Considering the where, what, and how of service *Passion answers the where question ("Where do I serve?"). It is the God-given desire that compels us to make a difference in a particular ministry, context, around a specific issue, etc. -What need is of ultimate importance to you? *Spiritual Gifts answer the what question ("What do I do when I serve?"). Spiritual Gifts are special abilities distributed by the Holy Spirit to every believer according to God's design and grace for the common good of the body of Christ. *Personal Style answers the how question ("How do I serve?). It looks at the ways in which we are energized (task or people oriented) and organized (unstructured or structured). -Other personality assessments such as Myers Briggs, etc. are helpful here as well.

6 Several big picture thoughts *Take a broad view of yourself and consider each specific area we will explore. *What fits in one season of life may not necessarily fit in others. *Knowing our gifts doesn t guarantee that we can predict what God will call us to do. *These tools are intended to be helpful, not stressful or restrictive. Get into a curious, discovery, exploration mode, and have FUN with this process!

7 Diving into Spiritual Gifts Over the centuries, people have been amazed and astounded when believers have utilized their God-given gifts. -Acts says that the early believers turned the world upside down! (Acts 17:6). The testimony of these early Christians was that of God s people proclaiming the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit and confirming it with holy lives. -You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me (Acts 1:4-5, 8) When we use our gifts, God s power is displayed.

8 Comparing and Contrasting Spiritual gifts are often confused with: Natural talents/ abilities/skills The fruit of the Spirit Christian roles Christian disciplines Spiritual Gifts

9 Natural Talents (cooking, sports, decorating, woodworking, etc.) Natural Talents/Abilities Given at physical birth God-given to all people Spiritual Gifts Given at spiritual birth God-given to believers A talent can be transformed by the Holy Spirit... Manager >>>into>> Leadership/Administration Salesperson >>>into>>> Evangelism Singer >>>into>>> Creative Communication Carpenter >>> into >>> Craftsmanship Both natural talents and spiritual gifts need to be identified and developed and can be used by God!

10 The Fruit of the Spirit But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Galatians 5:22-23 Fruit of the Spirit BEING qualities inward characteristics of the believer s heart Attitudes By-product of healthy walk with God Necessary for effective ministry Spiritual Gifts DOING qualities taskoriented functions that God has called & equipped each believer to perform Aptitudes Supernatural abilities given by the Holy Spirit Necessary for effective ministry

11 Church Roles Ministry Role Pastor Sunday School Teacher Church Leader Church Leader Church Leader Indicates general role Spiritual Gifts Teaching, Apostleship, Leadership, Shepherding Encouragement, Hospitality, Shepherding, Teaching Apostleship, Evangelist, Shepherding, Leadership Administration, Leadership, Wisdom, craftsmanship Administration, Faith, Hospitality Indicates specific functions

12 Spiritual Disciplines Solitude, silence, reading and meditating on Scripture, praying, fasting, sacrificial giving, simplicity of lifestyle, etc. Christian Disciplines Spiritual Gifts All should be practiced in a believer s life Builds up, strengthens, enables growth in the individual believer Some of the many ways we receive grace Everyone should exercise the disciplines A few will be practiced in a believer s life Builds up, strengthens, enables growth in the body of Christ the Church The specific, God-given ways we are to extend grace Everyone should express their Spiritual Gifts

13 Biblical Passages and Context Romans 12:4-8 For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

14 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

15 Ephesians 4:11-13, The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ..But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body s growth in building itself up in love.

16 A body with many parts Excerpts from I Corinthians 12:12-27 (The Message) You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts limbs, organs, cells but no matter how many parts you can name, you re still one body. It s exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said goodbye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. A body isn t just a single part blown up into something huge. It s all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together. If Foot said, I m not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don t belong to this body, would that make it so? If Ear said, I m not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive; I don t deserve a place on the head, would you want to remove it from the body? If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it. What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own. Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, Get lost; I don t need you? Or, Head telling Foot, You re fired; your job has been phased out? The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don t, the parts we see and the parts we don t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance. You are Christ s body that s who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your part mean anything.

17 God s work in our lives is dynamic *The lists of spiritual gifts in the different passages are not identical. It is likely more helpful to view the gifts not as a hard-and-fast list of 23 and only 23 gifts, but instead as the sorts of things but not the only sorts of things the Spirit does in our midst. *Our focus should be on sensitivity to God s Spirit, helping others to be sensitive to the Spirit, & creating space for the Spirit s work among us however that appears. Instead of forcing what we are enabled to do write, lead worship, sing, dance, listen, etc. into one of the 23 gifts, we should encourage others to do what God s Spirit is enabling and empowering them to do. *Maybe instead of asking each other What gift do you have?, we should ask What is God s Spirit enabling you to do? In principle every human potentiality and capacity can become charismatic (a gift of the Spirit) through a person s call, if only they are used in Christ - Jurgen Moltmann

18 More on relying on God as our guide and source of strength as we serve Taking a spiritual gift inventory test can help you understand where you re strong and where you re weak. It can even help identify how God has used you in the past. But we shouldn t allow it to limit our options as to how God desires to use us in the future, for God s purposes are based upon His strengths, not ours alone. He may take you into areas of service in which you re naturally weak to reveal His strength and bring glory to Himself. Once we identify our gifts through an inventory, etc., we can be tempted to make decisions about service based on the test results rather than God s leading. Our service to God should flow from a dynamic relationship with Christ and His guidance in our life on a daily basis. He s far more interested in you knowing Him than He is you knowing your abilities. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5 (NLT) All this being said, God created you with your unique abilities, and He does want to use them. Prayer, experience, reflection, and an openness to the Spirit s leading will allow you to serve in ways that glorify God and are a blessing to you and others.

19 A List of Spiritual Gifts (NetWork) *Spiritual Gifts answer the what question - "What do I do when I serve?". *Definition (NetWork) = special abilities distributed by the Holy Spirit to every believer according to God's design and grace for the common good of the body of Christ. Spiritual Gifts Administration Giving Mercy Apostleship Healing Miracles Craftsmanship Helps Prophecy Creative Communication Hospitality Shepherding Discernment Intercession Teaching Encouragement Interpretation Tongues Evangelism Knowledge Wisdom Faith Leadership

20 Exploring Your Gifts All good gifts come from God. (James 1:17) No two members of God s family are identical. Each has a different contribution to make. All Christians receive the Spirit. Gifts are given to all Christians, to each one, and every gift is important. There is an urgent need for your gifts to be exercised in your personal life, congregation, community, and the world. The church seeks to help people identify their spiritual gifts, so they can learn how best to contribute to God s mission and ministry. Discerning your gifts/spiritual gifts assessment tool Spiritual Gift Assessment Personal Traits Assessment Spiritual Gifts Observation Assessment *Share experiences using gifts

21 Follow Up Workshop "Spiritual Gifts, Passion, and Personality Your Spiritual Gifts in Action" Saturday, May 16, 9am-12pm This workshop will build on today s forum. We will Discuss and apply the results of your spiritual gifts assessments. Explore your passions and personal style and how they fit with your gifts and help inform areas of service that might be a good fit for you. Consider motivation for service. Sit in groups and have more time for interaction/discussion. *Folks who couldn t make it to the forum are welcome to come to the workshop. The handouts and assessments are available on-line and should be completed before the workshop.

22 Teasers for Next Time Passion What can you talk about all night? What is your What if? What energizes you and makes you feel alive? What problem, issue, or need regularly gets your attention? Personal Style/Personality What energizes you? (task or people oriented) How are you organized? (unstructured or structured). Review Myers Briggs, Strengths Finder, etc.

23 Questions & Discussion

24 Resources Discover Your Spiritual Gifts the Network Way by Bruce Bugbee, Zondervan, Jesus Creed blog, Thoughts on Spiritual Gifts by Scot McKnight, August 31, Network The Right People In the Right Places For the Right Reasons by Bruce Bugbee, Don Cousins, and Bill Hybels Study Guide for Discover Your Spiritual Gifts the Network Way by Bev Marshall-Goodell, Grace United Methodist Church, Tiffin, Iowa Questions of Life by Nicky Gumbel, Alpha North America, What You Do Best in the Body of Christ by Bruce Bugbee What s So Spiritual About Your Gifts? by Henry Blackaby