God Calling II: Gifted for a Purpose

I Corinthians 12:1-11, 28-31; Ephesians 4:1-13

In these verses, you find where most of the spiritual gifts we have studied are found in the scriptures. I find it interesting that sometimes the church has shaped the gifts that it will allow to function. For instance, Pentecostal and Charismatic churches lift up speaking in tongues, interpretation, and discernment of Spirits much more than United Methodists and Presbyterians. On the other hand, teaching, service and other gifts will quickly rise to the top. Another way we have shaped the gifts is that church members tend to put generosity, service, hospitality and encouragement and are not as prone to put visionary leadership, proclamation, and other leadership gifts. That's because we have given those responsibilities over to the clergy and staff of the church. This distinction is not supported by either our study or the scriptures. Because this spiritual/natural gifts study has been about discovering our gifts for service both inside and outside the church, we must broaden what gifts we will nurture and develop. This will allow us to truly be a force for Christ outside the walls of the church, and the ministry inside the church will be greatly enhanced. For the truth is that your clergy and staff do not have a monopoly on the spiritual gifts of leadership and administration. I will glory in the day when our committee and team chairs have administrative gifts. When that happens, we won't overload them with so many things to do, because they have delegated the ministry not only among the people of their teams or committees, but also out into the congregation at large. I'm always amazed at the number of people in the church who are leaders in their secular positions, but feel absolutely unqualified to share those leadership gifts in the church. There's seems to be an implicit message being given that says those leadership gifts are not welcome. We only want doers. When we open the church to leadership gifts beyond the clergy and staff, then the leadership deficits they have (and all of us have them!) are compensated for by the complementary leadership gifts in the congregation. Then we don't have to look for superman or superwoman or Jesus clones in pastors and staff people. We can learn to lead in complementary relationships.

Furthermore, because some of the gifts have been so sensationalized, we have not welcomed some of the very needed gifts of the Holy Spirit. Why can't United Methodist Churches be places where the gifts of healing, deliverance, prophecy and miracles flow? The Spirit is quite able to work in the flavor of the people who are sharing, as long as we are open to the Spirit's work. I am daring to say that healing doesn't have to look the same in every setting, nor deliverance, nor the prophetic or the miraculous. In fact, if we slow down the clock and allow God time to work, not just in instantaneous results, we will see that God is doing those things in our midst, and how much more would that be the case if we were open to that happening in and through us? Because here is a little secret question I have in my head. How do we know that the way these gifts are operating in our day are the same as they were in the first century? Was speaking in tongues the same then as it is in the 20^th century charismatic movement?

That leads me to a further consideration. Is the list in these chapters exhaustive? Could there be other gifts that the Holy Spirit would cultivate to bring the ministry of Christ alive in this generation that are not in these first century lists? I think there can be, but we will need to bounce them off scripture to see if these really are of God or not. I was taught early in my faith that "the Holy Spirit will not force itself" on us. And I think for the most part that is true. There are a few notable exceptions. So our openness to be used and to allow the gifts to function both inside and outside the church does make a difference. What would happen if we truly let the Holy Spirit loose to make us true extensions of Christ? We fear it would make us strange. Or is it that we fear it would make us new or a little less "in control?" The Holy Spirit doesn't have to be spooky, but the Spirit does need the freedom to operate in us.