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Using Your Spiritual Gifts - Not Just 'Another Thing to Do!'
Dear Friends,
One thing that has been confirmed for me since I began working in this ministry at NPC , is that we are very busy people. Perhaps some of you are so busy that you won’t even finish reading this article. Since the Spiritual Gifts Workshop has been offered, about 200 friends and members of NPC have taken it. That means that a majority of you haven’t taken it. Some have told me that they haven’t taken it because the course is too long or offered at the wrong times. Some have admitted that they haven’t taken it because it is just one more thing to do to in an already busy life. Let me share with you how I have benefited from taking it.
Rather than adding one more thing for you to do, the discovery, development and deployment of your Spiritual Gifts should:
∙ Confirm what you may already know in your heart.
When I took the class I discovered that God has given me the gift of ‘Teaching the Faith’. At the time, I was just beginning to give a few lectures at the Tuesday Bible Study. I spent hours studying, writing, editing and practicing my lectures. It was hard but enjoyable work. At times I questioned whether I should continue lecturing because the process didn’t come easily. Once I took the class and received the results of the inventory, it erased my doubts and I felt confirmation that I should continue teaching.
∙ Encourage you.
Rather than be a burden to know that God was expecting me to do a certain thing for his kingdom, it encouraged me that I was walking ahead on the right path. I felt renewed energy and enthusiasm as I studied, prepared for and delivered each subsequent lecture. When God gives us a gift, it doesn’t mean that we should already be able to do it with ease and success. Some gifts require specialized training and development. We have a lifetime to develop and use our gifts and grow as we do so.
∙ Free you from the burden of having to ‘do it all’ rather than focusing on your gifted areas.
As part of God’s family we are all expected to do a certain amount of work outside our gifted area. For instance, I don’t have the gifts of ‘Helping’ or ‘Servanthood’, yet many of the tasks I do both in this ministry and as an active member of NPC fall under these headings. I am happy to do this. On the other hand, I was asked a few times to serve in roles at NPC that would have required me to use gifts that weren’t my strong ones. After praying about it, I felt the freedom to decline these offers. I knew that God wanted me to spend my time in serving Him by developing and deploying the special gifts he had given me, rather than spreading myself thin in weaker areas. Rather than feeling that I was now ‘off the hook to serve’, this gave me renewed promptings from God that I should be actively engaged in developing the gifts he had given me.
∙ Bring you great joy!
When we use our gifts and feel God’s confirmation and encouragement, we should be able to serve with joy. Rather than being ‘one more thing to do’, when we serve in our gifted area we should feel enthused and energized. Sometimes we may feel tired, but it is a ‘good tired’. Before I took the workshop I had experienced times of frustration as I had unknowingly served in roles outside my giftedness. Now I can look back on those times and understand better why I felt the way I did. Even now, when I serve outside my giftedness, I am better able to serve with joy because I know that the majority of my service for God is within my gifted areas!
One Last Thought:
As I was having a follow-up interview this fall with someone who had taken the Spiritual Gifts Workshop, this person told me that a family member had warned them before the interview, not to sign up to do anything. Many of you may be afraid that once having taken the class, that I will twist your arm into a major role of serving within the church. While it is true that your Gifts, Personal Style and Passion will be entered into the NPC data base, I don’t have the gift of arm twisting. Once you have discovered your Spiritual Gifts, it is between you and God how you will develop them and deploy them for God’s kingdom. (I am here to help you in the development and deployment process if you would like.) While it is true that it is God’s design that each of us uses our gifts together in ministry here at NPC , it is also true that we are to be lights out in the world. God wants us to use our gifts loving and serving all people as we step out into our busy lives outside the walls of the church. You may already be using your gifts in your family, with your co-workers and out in the community. So, please don’t be afraid to take the class! The Spiritual Gifts Workshop may just be the spiritual boost you need.
Robin Peck, NPC, Director of Equipping and Evangelism
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