Churchwide Updates: Discover By Doing
How do we discover our spiritual gifts?
I have often been uncomfortable with spiritual gifts inventories. In a good-faith attempt to take the truth of Scripture and apply it to the lives of Christians, spiritual gifts inventories were created to help people discover their gifts so they can minister from a place of giftedness. These tests often compile lists of spiritual gifts found in the Bible and create an instrument to allow Christians to identify how God has gifted them to serve in the local church. Like other things in the Christian life, I am confident many faithful followers of Jesus Christ have found these tests to be helpful.
However, I also feel that these diagnostic tests sometimes oversimplify a complicated and even mysterious process in hopes of creating a one-size-fits-all approach. The goal is to efficiently enable large groups of people to discover their spiritual gifts and plug into a position of service in their church.
Something often overlooked in such inventories is the role of the faith community in helping other Christians discern their giftedness and sense of calling. I have experienced this to be the case in my own life. I vividly remember the exit interview I had with my supervisor in Cape Town, South Africa. I was completing an 18-month assignment with the International Mission Board, and my supervisor indicated he did not think I was particularly gifted as an international missionary. He didn’t give me very low marks, but he also didn’t recommend that I consider international missions as my lifelong calling. This was a clarifying moment for me.
When I returned to the United States, I enrolled in seminary and started to prepare for ministry, unsure of where the Lord was calling me to serve. In the years that followed, I took on various ministry roles, including campus ministry internships. I wondered if college ministry might be where God was calling me. However, in the Lord’s providence, I eventually made my way to Mountain Brook Baptist Church to serve as the Minister of Students. I never dreamed I would be the Senior Minister of our church in those early days of ministry. However, as I have grown in ministry over the years, I have discovered a love for pastoral ministry, and our congregation has affirmed its belief that God has indeed called me to this role during this season of my life. I have discovered my sense of calling and giftedness by doing ministry and listening to the discernment of others.
As you think about how the Lord is calling you to steward your gifts for the building up of others in our congregation, I would encourage you to begin taking small steps of obedience. Rather than waiting to serve only after you’ve discovered your spiritual gifts, be open to the possibility that God may choose to help you discover your gifts as you do ministry. Take opportunities to serve and listen to the Spirit of God and the wisdom of other Christians in the church. You may discover gifts and a sense of calling you never would have seen in yourself.