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Spiritual gifts are given for service
We understand the following essential points derived from the Bible in relation to the spiritual gifts that God gives to his children:
- Every Christian has at least one spiritual gift; generally two or three.
- Everyone should use his or her gifts to serve others in the church.
- No one has all the gifts, so we need each other.
- God decides who receives what gift.
We have always understood that there are spiritual gifts. But recently we have become even more aware of them. We have recognized that almost every member wants to be involved in a ministry (“ministry” refers to all ministries and not just pastoral work). Every Christian should bring his gifts to serve the good of all (1 Cor 12,7, 1st Peter 4,10). This awareness of spiritual gifts is a great blessing for each individual and the communities. Good things can also be abused, and so a few problems related to spiritual gifts have arisen. Of course, these problems were not unique to any particular church, so it is helpful to see how other Christian leaders have dealt with these problems.
The refusal to serve
For example, some people use the term spiritual gifts as an excuse not to serve others. For example, they say their gift is in the lead and therefore they refuse to do any other love ministry. Or they claim to be a teacher and refuse to serve in any other way. I believe this is the complete opposite of what Paul intended to say. He explained that God gives gifts to people for service, not for refusal to serve. Sometimes work needs to be done, whether or not someone has a special gift for it. Meeting rooms must be prepared and cleaned. Compassion should be given in tragedy, whether or not we have the gift of compassion. All members should be able to teach the gospel (1. Petrus 3,15), whether or not they have the gift of evangelism; it is unrealistic to think that all members are only charged to serve what they are especially spiritually gifted to do. Not only do other forms of service need to be done, but all members should experience other forms of service as well. The various services often challenge us outside of our comfort zone - the zone in which we feel gifted. After all, God might want to develop a gift in us that we have not yet recognized!
Most people are given one to three main gifts. Therefore, it is best that the main area of service for the person be in one or more areas of the main gifts. But everyone should be happy to serve in other areas as the Church needs them. There are large churches that operate according to the following principle: “One should decide on certain services according to one's own primary gifts, but one should also be willing (or ready) to get involved in other secondary spiritual services based on the Needs of others ”. Such a policy helps members grow and the community services are only allocated for a limited period of time. These unsuitable services switch to other members. Some experienced pastors estimate that parishioners only contribute approximately 60% of their ministry in the area of their main spiritual gifts.
The most important thing is that everyone gets involved in some way. Service is a responsibility and not a matter of "I will only accept it if I like it".
Find out your own gift
Now a few thoughts on how to find out what spiritual gifts we have. There are several ways to do this:
- Giveaway, surveys and inventory
- Self-analysis of interests and experiences
- Confirmation from people who know you well
All three of these are helpful. It is especially helpful if all three lead to the same answer. But none of the three is error free.
Some of the written inventories are simply a self-analytical method that helps show what others think of you. Possible questions are: What would you like to do? What are you really good at? What do other people say that you are doing well? What needs do you see in the church? (The last question is based on observation, where people are usually particularly aware of where they are able to help. For example, a person with the gift of compassion will think the church needs more compassion.)
Often we do not know our gifts until we use them and see that we are competent in a certain kind of activity. Not only do gifts grow through experience, they can also be discovered through experience. Therefore, it is helpful for Christians to occasionally try different ways of service. They can learn something about themselves and help others.
by Michael Morrison
