Posts tagged ‘spiritual’

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February 2, 2012

The Motive Gifts

This weekend on Friday night and Sunday morning while gathered around the tables after sharing a meal together, Washington Plaza Baptist engaged in a study of spiritual gifts based out of Romans 12:1-8.

Why did we do this?

  • It’s the season of Epiphany after all– the time of the year when we think about Christian discipleship in meaningful ways. Without “knowing thy self” we are left clueless to really know what our calling is to serve others.
  • It’s also a unique season in the life of our church’s history. After three years of spiritual growth and lots of change in the faces that we see each week, it seemed necessary for us to do some re-grouping. Who are we as a community? How has God called us to serve?

Learning about and discussing spiritual gifts seemed like a great fit for these two goals.

How thankful I was to Beth Dotson, a friend and former teacher of mine to come and lead the special weekend events all the way from Tennessee! Her presence was a blessing to all of us.

If you missed the action this weekend or just want to know more about this motive gift study that we’ve been up to, here’s the summary. You can also take a test online by clicking here. Feel free to email me if you want more information. (Pastors and other church leaders: I highly recommend this study!)

MOTIVE GIFTS: Romans 12:1-8

Each motive gift (basic God-given inward drive, motivation or inclination) and may be symbolized by a figure to help focus its nature. 

1.         Prophecy: An eye.  Declaring truth and insight with the aim of evoking     repentance and restoration.  The ability to “see”, to discern, where people or    programs really are.  The motivation to make motives right.  TRUTH.

2.         Serving:  A hand.  Giving practical assistance and help.  The ability to both see and do things which need to be done.  The motivation to demonstrate      love by meeting practical needs and giving assistance. ACTION.

3.         Teaching:  An ear.  Clarifying truth.  Primary emphasis on the Word.  The  ability to impart knowledge and to lead others into revealed truth.  The motivation to search out and validate truth which has been declared.  CONSISTENCY, COMPETENCY, AND THOROUGHNESS.

4.         Exhortation:  A tree.  Stimulating spiritual growth; lovers of people.  The  ability to encourage people to grow and to successfully meet the     experiences of life.  The motivation to stimulate the faith and personal  maturation of others.  GROWTH.     

5.    Giving:  A gift.  Giving and motivating others to give.  Special sharing of  material assistance.  The ability to handle and give assets.  The motivation to see the work of God and the ministry of others go forward and succeed. STEWARDSHIP.       

6.         Leadership:  Profile of a face.  Organizing people to complete a goal, giving administrative and leadership aid.  The ability to see long-range goals and to facilitate others in the right tasks.  The motivation to coordinate the activities of others to achieve common goals.  TASKS AND RESULTS.

7.         Mercy:  A heart.  Personal support, empathy, with primary compassion for spiritual and emotional rather than practical needs.  The ability to feel where people are and to identify with and relieve those who are is distress.  LOVE.

 

 

GIFT

 

 

 

DEFINITION

 

 

 

NEEDS MET

 

 

WHAT IT DOES

 

 

PERCEIVER

(PROPHET)

 

 

Declares the will

of God

 

Spiritual

 

Keeps us centered

on spiritual principle

 

SERVER

 

Renders practical service

 

 

Practical

 

Keeps the work of ministry moving

 

 

TEACHER

 

 

Researches and teaches the Bible

 

Mental

 

Keeps us studying and learning God’s Truth

 

 

EXHORTER

 

 

Encourages personal progress

 

Psychological

 

Keeps us applying spiritual truths

 

 

GIVER

 

 

Shares material assistance

 

Material

 

Keeps specific needs provided for

 

 

 

ADMINISTRATOR

 

 

Gives leadership and direction

 

Functional

 

Keeps us organized and increases our vision

 

 

PERSON OF COMPASSION (MERCY)

 

Provides personal and emotional support

 

Emotional

 

Keeps us in right attitude and relationships

 

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January 23, 2012

Say What You Need to Say

“What brings you deep joy?”

“What stirs up in your happiness that is long-lasting?”

“How do you feel God has gifted you for service in the Body of Christ?”

Such have been questions our adult Sunday morning class has been considering over the past two Sundays in our “Congratulations, You Are Gifted!” class. January in worship and in all aspects of church life is focused this year on calling and spiritual gifts. We’re even having a special community gathering on Friday night (and Chili Cook off too) to talk over all of this in an informal setting. We’re claiming that the life of discipleship is all about first knowing ourselves and in the authenticity of God’s gifts to us serving others accordingly. Biblical texts such as I Corinthians 12-14 and Romans 12:1-10 have been keys to this study.

Yet, what I have found in teaching is many folks really don’t know what brings them deep joy and some have never studied spiritual gifts before. So, we’ve been starting with the basics. Beginning with detecting clues about what makes each of us tick, what moves us and what our aspirations for our future might be.

We began the discussion Sunday with everyone sharing their answers to some fill in the blank questions. One of these was: “Movies, songs, books, art, experiences that have touched me the most are…”

Though I didn’t answer it in class, if I did, I would go to first to the song, “Say”  sung by John Mayer. It is a ballad I sometimes listen to on Sunday mornings in effort to gear myself for preaching. It is good not to be afraid to say what I need to say. It is good to be filled with confidence that no matter what God will find a way to speak through me. I’m sure Mayer was not thinking of the preaching task when he recorded this, but for me, he is:

Take out of your wasted honor
Every little past frustration
Take all your so-called problems,
Better put them in quotations

Say what you need to say [x8]

Walking like a one man army
Fighting with the shadows in your head
Living up the same old moment
Knowing you’d be better off instead,
If you could only . . .

Say what you need to say [x8]

Have no fear for giving in Have no fear for giving over
You’d better know that in the end
Its better to say too much
Than never to say what you need to say again

Even if your hands are shaking
And your faith is broken
Even as the eyes are closing
Do it with a heart wide open

Say what you need to say [x24]

I look forward to what the next two sessions of our “Congratulations, You Are Gifted” class will offer all of us. My hope is that all of us find a way to “Say what we need to say” about our own lives and begin to live into our calling and spiritual gifts as a community.

Posted in church life, discernment, Personal | Leave a Comment »

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December 13, 2011

Religious Litmus Test

American Christianity deeply troubles me.

It’s not because average attendance in mainline denominations is dwindling more and more by the year.

It’s not because more and more folks are self-describing themselves “spiritual but not religious.”

It’s not because some sociologists are saying that the influence and prominence of religion in American public life is also declining.

(Not that these things aren’t worrisome and in need of smart, creative voices of hope to guide us, like this one to what is next).

Rather, it is how we as Christians across the theological spectrum relate to one another.  It’s no secret that Christians are often the most unkind to one another. It is as if our community life is not framed over the love commandment and to do unto others as we would want done to us.

But, what bugs me even more than this is the unofficial practice of religious litmus testing of theology, determining whether or not we “approve” or “validate” or claim the others’ faith as real. And, if the others’ faith is not “real” according to our standards then refusing to engage them.

It comes out in the particular questions we ask one another: “What is your church like?” “Or what is your pastor’s name?” or “Are you welcoming (i.e. do you like gay people)?”

It comes out in rolling of the eyes and looks away in disgust.

It comes on whether or not you watch Fox news or MSNBS and refer to it regularly in conversations.

It comes in the application questions for scholarships, employment and funding from Christian organizations. Buzz words like “I prayed about” “I accepted Christ as Lord” or even “I feel called” are used to validate the strength of faith.

As our culture grows more and more geared toward sound bites, if something is not done about it, our religious litmus tests for one another will grow to be something we don’t even do quietly anymore but openly without shame. Consider how mainline denominations are parting more and more as we speak now on issues related to women in ministry, progressive theology and gay rights.  If a church doesn’t pass the litmus test, they are often thrown out of a local associations as this Baptist church in North Carolina recently experienced, for example.

There’s a song we sing at Washington Plaza every Sunday at the conclusion of services called Make Us One.

Make us one Lord, make us one. Holy Spirit, make us one. Let your love flow. So the world will know we are one in You.

It’s a chorus we love around here and my hope for my larger community of faith in the Christian tradition and otherwise– those who agree with me and those who think I’m a heretic for what I do in being a pastor. After all we’re just human beings, ashes to ashes and dust to dust, right? Do we really think we have that much power over the fate of one another in the end? Let’s put away the tests.

Like my grandma used to say, when all else fails, “Just be nice.”

Posted in Being Baptist, church life, social issues | 1 Comment »

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