1. Teacher - The capability and desire to serve God by making clear the truths of God.
- Characteristics: Loves to research, greatest joy is sharing insights, wants to know context, makes a complicated concept more easily understood.
2. Shepherd - The capability and desire to serve God by overseeing, training, and caring for the needs of a group of Christians.
- Characteristics: Knows the lives of people in their group, willing to help people avoid spiritual pitfalls, always there for people
3. Exhorter - The capability and desire to serve God by motivating others to action, especially with an eye toward practical solutions for the individual or the church.
- Characteristics: Able to connect people with a job that needs to be done, more willing to offer solutions rather than mere sympathy, offers positive, sincered, specific feedback, loves 'how-to' workshops.
I don't share this stuff to "show off." EVERYBODY has spiritual gifts!! It's in finding them that we gain our joy in ministry. No one gift is better than another. We need ALL the gifts to reach out to the world.
One thing I haven't figured out yet, though. How do I do MORE of what I love (see above) and less of the gifts that don't come naturally to me (administration, for example.) Am I, as a youth minister, allowed to do that? Or am I shirking my responsibility?
Hmmm...some major thoughts to chew on...
How about you? Have you ever done a spiritual gifts assessment? What are your gifts? (See Romans 12 and Eph. 4 for a good list.) Are you joyfully serving God?
