"For the Kingdom of God does not consist in talk, but in power."
1 Corinthians 4:20
I love meeting Church planters and Church re-vitalizers! I believe that in every generation, God raises up folks with a passion and calling to "bring about the Kingdom" through the Church. I think of these church planters and church re-vitalizers (I am one of these) are the "special-forces" of the kingdom. These are the folks that God has gifted and called to bring people to faith, to grow churches and ministries, and advance the Kingdom of God. They often have vision and purpose that is both contagious and invigorating.
How do these folks achieve these purposes? God has granted them both the natural personality and temperament for leadership, as well as the spiritual gifts needed for the task. He them calls them to a specific place where they use these gifts to build the Kingdom.
God does not give these gifts or callings to all people. Why not? I have no idea. I do know that when God gives the call to a specific ministry, He also gifts us for the task.
So what does this mean? Even as I thoroughly enjoy working with these special forces of the Kingdom, I am completely aware that all types of people are needed to pastor and to lead the Church and other ministries. In fact, the special forces would have no chance of survival if there was not a complete support system behind their operations. All types of people are needed in the process of building the Kingdom!
Even though it is not my primary gifting and calling, I also thoroughly enjoy and appreciate those who have the calling and gifting to lovingly nurture and grow God's people. Some of these folks do not have the gifting and calling to see people come to faith through their stirring preaching or bold leadership, but they are vitally needed in the Kingdom!
In other words, when called to a ministry you need to know who you are and what the ministry opportunity needs in a leader or participant so you can determine with wisdom if you are good fit! As Paul describes,
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
1 Cor. 12: 4-7
For today's post, I want to focus on the phrase in the middle of Paul's statement on spiritual gifts, "There are varieties of service and activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all." In 1 Corinthians 12-14, Paul writes to a church where jealousy, envy, and ignorance have brought about division within the body. It appears that this church has a variety of gifted folks. In fact, Paul describes more and different types of gifts in writing the Corinthian church than he mentions in writing to any other church in the NT.
The problem is that this church wants to see some gifts and callings as greater than others. From the context, we can see Paul argues such thinking is ridiculous! Everyone and every gifting/skill set is needed! All the different types of gifts are needed in ministry, and in the varieties of service in which we find ourselves. The key is to serve where we are gifted and called while also affirming and encouraging others to service in different areas according to their gifting and calling.
So how do I know my gifting and calling? How do I know when I fit into a certain ministry? First and foremost, we need to know who God has made us to be. We need to understand how we relate with people. We need to understand how we process and view the world. We need to be self-aware!
The problem is that too many of us have no idea how to answer these questions! Instead, we wish we could be like (...whoever...) because we love how they do what they do. We admire them, so we wish to be like them.
I had a good friend in seminary who came to school from North Carolina with his wife who was studying to be a psychologist. He had loved his pastor in college and he wanted to be like him. He wanted so much to be a pastor who could impact people's lives like he had witnessed.
He began in the M.Div. program, which is a degree to train for ordained ministry. After a year, he was miserable! His grades were very good, because he was bright. Yet, he had no peace and joy in the work. Before coming to seminary, he was an accountant. After months of forcing himself to study theology, Greek, and such, he found himself nightly in the library studying tax law. He found it fascinating (I cannot even imagine!). Finally, he called his old firm and asked if they had a position in Boston. He shared that he needed to get back to work in something he loved. That was a Thursday afternoon. The next Monday, he began to work at the Boston office of his accounting firm for $80,000 a year (remember this was the mid 1990s)!
What can we learn from this? First, it pays to be an accountant! Second, he was trying to force his way into a life and ministry to which he was not called and gifted. The result was misery and a lack of success. When he finally came to his senses, the Lord opened other doors and blessed his work. In fact, he later applied for law school, did extremely well, passed the bar, and became a tax lawyer. Last I heard, he was also working toward a political career.
If you are not good at understanding yourself, I encourage you to find a trusted friend, pastor, or counselor to help you gain some self-understanding. Take some personality tests. Take some tests to help you discover your spiritual gifts. Get out in a variety of ministries and environments to see what brings you life, joy, and success.
God is the one who prepares us for life and ministry. His Spirit leads us to fruitful fields of labor. We should strive to discover where and how God is leading us while at the same time be encouraging and acknowledging that others are called to different tasks.
May the Lord lead us and guide us to use our gifts and personality to pursue His calling for us!
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