It is my firm belief that we all have a
primary gift that shapes us as a child of God.
It is my heart’s desire that we better understand the way that God has
designed and redeemed us and not just us, but our fellow believers in the body
of Christ to grow in unity and diversity
“Don’t frustrate, appreciate!!” is what I tell
my kids often in our home. Wisdom, understanding and discernment go a long way
in the body of Christ.
Today we are looking at ‘the functional gifts’ in Romans 12:6-8.
Time and time again the greatest downfall
in churches is being centered around uniformity instead of being distinct and
seeing how beautiful diversity can be in making us a ‘whole church’!
Let’s dive in!
The
Gift of Prophecy
The word prophet literally means to ‘tell
forth’. It is one who not only
perceives, but proclaims as well.
A person with this gifting can assimilate
new truth very quickly. They can
accurately identify the good and hate the evil. They are able to see everything
as black or white with no gray. They are eager to see their own blind spots and
are quick to pick up on others as well which can lead to heavy
introspection. They desire above all
else to see God’s plan worked out in all situations. Their downside is that they are usually very
hard on themselves and forget to celebrate the progress that is being made
along the way.
A prophet type personality will get tired
very quickly with being in maintenance mode.
Their principle is design and they often bring to light what others fail
to see. They have a strong role in
bringing a sense of God’s light and revelation to the lives of others.
John the Baptist, a clear example of this,
was a man who preaching repentance of sins, and courageous to challenge even
the King as necessary. His main fervor
was to prepare the way for the Messiah, helping people to understand its
imminence.
A person today with this bent who visits
someone in the hospital may looks like this.
They will come to the person’s bed and with compassion and yet with a
sense of firmness, proceed to quote scriptures of truth regarding healing. “You should not be here, this is not
right!” They might ask the person about
their blind spots and really challenge them to faith.
A prophet does not struggle with faith.
The CONTEMPLATIVE instinct
This person love to meet God in the quiet
of their inner life. The key word for
them is listening and they love to meditate and listen to the whispers of God
who meets people in solitude..His still small voice. They wish that worship would be more quiet
than noise and they appreciate the importance of the spiritual disciplines like
fasting, meditation and prayer.
‘Where is everybody?’ they ask and this is
probably the greatest weakness of our Western culture, we don’t like silence. Prayer for them is a two way conversation and
often it is more listening than speaking.
The warning to this person is the danger of
withdrawing so much that they do not become useful in their community.
The Gift of Servant
The word servant in the Greek means
diakonia where we get our word deacon from, addressing physical needs
This person easily recognizes practical
needs and is quick to meet them, especially enjoying hands on projects, jobs
and functions. They are usually more interested in meeting the needs of another
rather than long range goals, and may become pushy or interfering in eagerness
to help. They also have a strong need to
feel appreciated and yet they have an inability to accept praise. They have a hard time saying no and can also
display a victim spirit as seen in the life of Martha, sister of Mary and
Lazarus.
When the servant gifted person enters the
hospital room, they immediately start to fluff the pillows, tidy things up a
bit, and ask, “Is there anything that I can do for you?” Their intent is to assist in this critical
time of need. They will take a piece of
paper out; ask for things that they can do at the ailing person’s home for
them. They thrive on the fact there is
clear need. They also can tend to be
very competitive and unless they learn how to serve in a healthy way, they can
become enablers or have a “rescue” mentality.
They must learn to empower others.
A servant has no struggle with obedience.
I am reminded of a Christian comedian who
joked about people being told, “You have a servant’s heart” shortly after
followed by the request, “Now, go and stack some chairs” lol
The
servant has a kingdom instinct.
This person cannot seem to catch their
spiritual stride unless they are labouring in the fields of ministry. These people are the doers of the Word. They will regularly attend worship services,
read their Bible and pray, yes, they do all these things. However, they will
also tell you that they feel closest to God, most dialled in, joyful in Christ
when they are ministering to others.
They truly feel God when they are being used as a channel to accomplish
His purposes. The danger here can be
their own sense of self-sacrifice to the point of neglecting their family as
well. They also can be seen by others as
pushy and frustrated with the lack of response of others. The desire in them to minister to the
physical needs of others may seem as a lack of interest in spiritual things.
A clear example to me of the servant
gifting was revealed to me when I was a youth pastor in B.C. I never forget what one of my former youth
said to me, “I have never felt closer to Jesus’ as he was handing out hot
chocolate to homeless people on Vancouver’s east end.
The Gift of Teaching
The word teacher comes from didasko and is
the person who a strong ability to explain truth to others.
The person with this quality doesn’t just
accept teaching at face value, but will painstakingly work through the process
to bring greater understanding. They
want truth in a logical, systematic manner and enjoy word studies and
reading. They are concerned that truth
be established in every situation. They
have strong convictions of facts, and can tend to neglect the practical
application. They are self-disciplined,
and usually only has a close circle of friends. They can lean towards being
dogmatic in their beliefs and come across as legalistic. They aren’t too keen on intuitive impulses as
much as seeking the evidence from Scriptures.
Biblical examples of this trait are Aquilla
and Priscilla who taught the great scholar Apollos (Acts 18:1-4; 24-26) a more
full understanding of the gospel of Jesus.
Another great example is the Bereans in
Acts 17:11 who searched the Scriptures daily.
“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received
the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether
those things were so.
When the teacher-natured person visits the
ill person in the hospital, they walk up to the bed and begin to ask questions
like: “What did the doctor say was wrong?
Did you get a second opinion on the diagnosis?” What they desire is information, so that they
can add their assessment. They love good
conversation, and find it all fascinating.
The STUDENT instinct
This person is the deep thinker and the key
word for them is truth. They are the
ones who ask the question, but why and prove it from Scripture. Their greatest quest is truth and they want
to see it on paper! To them beauty is a
carefully crafted document that states beliefs, doctrines, you name it. They see great theology coming from the study
of creeds and doctrines. They feel that
those who have their theology most correct are the closest to God. They would love to be in endless Bible
studies and prayer to them is an expression of correct theology. They are easily given to analyzing worship
songs to make sure they are saying the ‘right things’ about God. The worst insult to them would be to hear,
‘that’s heresy!’ The warning to them is the danger of becoming arrogant and
unloving and being more concerned with being right than giving honor to others.
The Gift of Encouragement (Exhortation)
The word exhortation comes from the word
parakaleo, one who comes alongside, who comes near, the name is also used of the Holy Spirit
This person loves to encourage others to
live victoriously. They look for a
visible response when they are speaking, teaching or preaching to others. They far prefer to apply truth rather than
research it. For them, truth is God’s
source of true encouragement, and we must get it into the hands of
everyone. They are very quick to accept
other people as they are without judging them.
They want to clear up problems with others quickly. They often interrupt others in an eagerness
to give opinions or advice. They tend to
be “cut and dried” in prescribing steps of action.
Barnabas is a clear picture, since his name
even means “encouragement”. This he
demonstrates by the show of his passion to stand by and under gird young John
–Mark when he failed Paul and Barnabas in their first missionary journey. He even allowed the Paul-Barnabas team to
split up over his insistence upon encouraging Mark. As a result, he took Mark down to Jerusalem
and introduced him to Peter and some of the other leaders. Over the years, his encouragement paid
off. Mark went on to write Peter’s
account of the life of Jesus, and even Paul later specifically asked for Mark’s
assistance. Barnabas’ ministry of
exhortation to Mark bore fruit.
When the exhorter visits the hospital
patient, they begin by telling stories that might cheer the person up. Everything that the patient says, reminds the
exhorter of another story, and both laugh the time away. The exhorter will come equipped with
scripture and often messages from other people.
He has tendency to insist that the person feels better right away, not
wants this problem to persist and let’s move on!
The EXERIENTIAL instinct.
This person wants to ‘feel’ the presence of
God and to respond with the full range of emotion and physical expression. The key word for this person is joy. They love spontaneity, emotion and
conversational prayer. They would like
to have very little leadership in worship and let God lead worship and everyone
participate. It is the most responsive
instinct to the Holy Spirit and the energy that He gives. This person is also best suited to cross
cultural contexts. They are big hearted
and generous and very nice to be around.
Their prayer is praise and the worst insult they could hear is ‘This is
boring.’ The warning for this person is
possibly lacking in doctrinal grounding.
They can come across as being shallow and
time alone with God in the major battlefield for the exhorter.
The Gift of Giving
A person with this temperament freely gives
of money, possessions, time, energy and love.
They love to give without other people knowing about it. They want to feel they are a part of the
ministry to which they are contributing, and see that the finances are being
handled with wisdom and with good sense.
They have a very strong work ethic and are often successful. Hospitality is one of their strong areas as
well. On a downside, they may try to
control how contributions are being used and focus more on the They may upset
family and friends with unpredictable patterns of giving.
We find a number of good examples of giving
in Acts and one in particular is Lydia.
Acts 16:14-15
14 Now a certain woman named Lydia heard
us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God.
The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. 15 And when she
and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, "If you have
judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." So she
persuaded us.
When the give visits the infirmed in the
hospital, they always come bearing a gift to encourage. It is usually something thoughtful, showing
time has gone into its planning, presentation and timing of delivery. They desire for the patient to be reminded in
a tangible way that they are loved.
The AESTHETIC instinct
This person comes most alive when worship
is done in an environment of beauty, order, tradition and and artistic
integrity. The key word for them is
majesty. They think that the way things
look and how they sound are very, very important. They really can appreciate architecture that
is designed specifically for worship.
They love symbolism, color, art, poetry and great music. They are uncomfortable with a lot of
repetition or songs that might seem fluffy.
The Gift of Leadership
This temperament, or gift, is highly
motivated to organize that for which he is responsible. They can express ideas and organization in
ways that are easily understood. They
prefer to be under authority, in order to have authority. They love to work on long-range goals and
projects – they are visionary with a broad perspective. In time, they can develop callousness due to
being the target for criticism. They
tend to drive themselves that can easily lead to neglect of personal and family
needs.
Biblical examples of this gift in people are Joseph (Genesis 30-40);
Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1-7); and King David (1 Samuel 16-31). We see David early in his life caring for his
father’s sheep, protecting them well.
When opportunity came for him to see another predator attacking God’s
sheep, Israel, in the form of Goliath, he naturally moved to protect and deal
with the giant. He organized the
outcasts together into an army, and eventually, he organized a nation, both
militarily and in worship.
When the leader trait visits the hospital, they take out a pad of paper
and proceed to inquire of what may need done at the patient’s home and family
life. They will say, “I will get some
people to take over your responsibilities while you are here in the hospital.” They will check on the insurance of the
patient, the doctor’s advice, and how all the pieces must fit together in the
next weeks of the person’s life. By the time the leader leaves, there is a
clear plan for the next season of the patient’s life.
The RELATIONAL
instinct
Finally, this person feels that God is most
present when people experience bonding together for fellowship or worship or
encouraged through mutual support. They
are heartbroken when there is conflict.
They love meeting in small groups where people honestly share their
personal stories and don’t mind tears, hugs or late night prayer meetings. They appreciate how Christ was so people
conscious. They feel that people are the
business and introduce people to others and build them up as well. They feel that when interaction is happening
The warning for them is losing their focus
on Christ and valuing more their own relationship with God
The Gift of Mercy
This temperament had tremendous capacity to
show love, always looking for the good in other people. They are attracted to people who are hurting
or in distress. They take care with
words and actions to avoid hurting others.
They try to avoid conflicts and confrontations. They tend to be
indecisive, and are often prone to take up another person’s offence.
Biblical examples of this are John the disciple of Jesus; Ruth (book of
Ruth); Rachel (Genesis 29-31); and Joseph, the father of Jesus (Matthew 1:16-24;
2:13). In the case of Joseph, you see
great compassion toward Mary, when she was pregnant with the Son of God. This is extravagant grace on the part of
Joseph to continue to embrace her, and not shame her or hurt her in any way.
When the person with this dominant
trait walks into the hospital, they begin to softly weep with compassion,
seeing their loved one in such a state. They will come close and comfort them,
wiping their forehead and speaking soft words of sympathy. They will stay endless hours to keep the
patient company, supporting in any way possible.
The ACTIVIST instinct
This person sees all of Christ following as
an activity of service. Their key word
is involved. They love to take action
with God and commune with Him about what is so needed in our world. They have great compassion for the
disadvantaged and poor. They are angry
about oppression and have a sense of urgency to introduce Christ to
others. They are committed to changing
His world and love to connect with other activists, to plan, to think
globally. Prayer for this person is a
tool or weapon to advance the kingdom of God.
The worst insult they could hear is ‘you are lazy or a hypocrite’.
The warning for this person is that they
rarely relax and can experience burnout.
They are also susceptible to becoming shallow with others.
The Takeaway
We all possess a natural inclination for
two or three spiritual instincts, we might have a curiosity about a few and
what’s left over...well, we have a hard time believing that they have any value
at all. However, maturity in faith comes as we become conversant in all the
languages of worship as Christ was!
Jesus showed us the heart of the prophet, he wouldn’t mince words. Mark wrote of him that very early in the
morning he would arise and meet with the Father and commune with Him, He was
the servant who washed His disciples’ feet.
He was the one who taught from His life and unpacked His teachings with
His disciples. He was the one who gave
the words of encouragement…I will send a comforter in my place. He showed us the greatest act of giving in
showing no greater love than this that a man lay down his life for his friends,
he led by his example and he had mercy to all who call on His name!
My thanks to Doug Heck for his work on the
redemptive gifts
www.totalchange.org and Arthur
Birk.
