There are several lists of spiritual gifts within the pages of scripture: Romans 12, I Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4. The gifts delineated in Romans 12 (prophecy, service, teaching, encouragement, giving, administration, and mercy) have often been called the motivational gifts – the spiritual gifts given to man to unify and edify the church. Paul compares the gifts to the parts of a body. The parts of the body have different functions – the hand is different than the foot and the eye has a different function than the ear – and yet all the parts combined make a healthy body. The spiritual gifts, although quite different from one another, when used in harmony can result in a healthy church (the body of Christ on earth). The seven gifts listed in Romans 12 demonstrate the diversity of strengths and yet emphasize the potential power when these gifts are utilized in tandem with one another.
As Christ followers, we have different gifts according to the grace given us (Romans 12:6). It is God in His sovereignty that distributes these gifts. They are gifts, tokens of grace, and cannot be earned, purchased, obtained or learned outside of God’s empowerment. However, Romans 12 makes it pretty plain that we are responsible to use our gift(s) and exercise these God-given strengths for the benefits of others and for the glory of God.
There are man-made assessments designed to help believers discover their gift(s). These inventories attempt to explain the gifts and to provide insights into what they might look like in the day-to-day experience of Christians. They often will provide a list of strengths and dangers associated with each gift (the proper use and the potential abuse of the gifts). Typically these self-evaluations will result in scores, or indicators, in each of the seven gifts giving the participant an idea of their giftedness. Some may have one dominant gift, others may have tendencies toward several gifts.
AS I began to reflect recently on these gifts, I began to see why the leaders with whom I work lead differently. Christian leaders lead through their giftedness. The mindset and actions of one leader might be different (not necessarily better or worse) than another because of the way that God has wired (gifted) them. When we come together around the administrative table, if each leader speaks from their spiritual giftedness, we have the ability to be unified and better equipped to make spiritual decisions. Each spiritual gift provides a different perspective on situations, issues, and agenda items. As the team allows the gifts to express the various dimensions of a problem/solution, decision making will be more effective. That decision making might be a more complicated process and might demand more patience and open-mindedness, but the results will produce a healthier organization.
I am not an expert on spiritual gifts and I have never seen the gifts defined in terms of leadership, but in the next few blogs, I would like to explore how these gifts might impact a leader’s perspective regarding the people and the tasks of his/her ministry.
There are many facets that make up the complicated entity called man. To understand who we are as individuals is a challenge. There are personality tests that describe us as animals (beaver, lion, golden retriever, or otter) in order to capture the characteristics of four basic temperaments: Choleric, Sanguine, Melancholic, and Phlegmatic. Many have taken the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) which measures the preferences people have in the way they perceive the world and make decisions. This inventory involves four dichotomies that lead to a potential of 16 combinations: Introvert vs. Extrovert; Sensing vs. Intuition; Thinking vs. Feeling; and Judgment vs. Perception. A recent emphasis in leadership literature is the discovery of your strengths and focusing your efforts on improving your strong areas (for example Now, Discover Your Strengths by Buckingham and Clifton). A book like Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath shares an explanation of 34 areas of strength and provides an online assessment to help readers discover and apply those strengths in their lives.
As a Christian it is important to understand how God has created us and wired us as individuals. A key to this understanding is relational. How do we relate to God and how do we relate to one another. Man was made to worship God, but he was also made for community. Discovery of strengths and giftedness should not primarily be an introspective exercise for a self-centered benefit, but rather a personal assessment in order to better impact the world in which we live. Discovering how has God put me together is really only valuable if I use that discovery in ministry.
The spiritual gifts to be explored in coming postings are prophecy, service, teaching, encouragement, giving, administration, and mercy. I hope to address two basic questions as I explore these gifts. How does a leader lead through the context of each of these gifts? What are some pitfalls that gifted leaders need to avoid that might be unique to their perspective?
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