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Sun 11 Mar 2012

Spiritual Gift Questionnaires And Courses: Can We Do Better?

Posted by Helen Calder under Prophetic Teaching, Spiritual Gifts
[2] Comments

Spiritual Gifts CoursesEach one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. (1 Peter 4:10-11)

I was baptised in the Holy Spirit in the 1970’s and immediately became familiar with gifts of the Spirit, including healing and prophecy.

As time went on, gift questionnaires began to emerge as a fresh emphasis on spiritual gifts swept through the church. [1] From the start, I loved this aspect of identifying the unique God-given treasure in each individual.

However, the outcomes were not always comfortable. When The Hunk and I took a spiritual gift assessment, my husband came up with a top result of Apostle-Missionary.

That gave me a big fright—I thought, ‘who—and what—have I married?’ Not surprisingly, during the next two decades my husband’s ministry included itinerant ministry, sending missionaries, and raising resources for missions and humanitarian aid projects in Asia.

I have learned that when it comes to spiritual gifts, the Holy Spirit knows what He is doing.

Benefits and Limitations of Spiritual Gift Questionnaires

Since the 1990’s, many spiritual gift courses have emphasised ministry placement in church life; teaming up the ‘what’ of spiritual gifts with the ‘where’ of service. As a result, churches have benefited by the increase in members engaging and serving in the life of the church. [2]

But I now ask, ‘Have we reached the optimum in our stewardship of spiritual gifts, or is there more?’

Over the past few decades I have observed some positives and negatives resulting from running spiritual gift courses in church life.

Benefits of Spiritual Gift Assessments and Courses

1. Teaching the church concerning spiritual gifts is Biblical—the Apostle Paul gave instruction about the spiritual gifts, their purpose, practice and benefits (1 Cor 12-14, Rom 12)

2. It enables Christians to become aware of and learn about gifts of the Spirit

3. It encourages believers to identify and use the particular gifts God has invested in us

4. A spiritual gifts course assists church leaders in releasing people into service in the church, i.e. ministry placement (especially helpful in larger churches)

5. A spiritual gifts course can help bring direction to Christians who do not have clear guidance about a suitable next step in where to serve in their church or in ministry

6. Spiritual gifts assessments can foster appreciation for others’ gifts, as well as how we function together as a church body

7. When church members serve in the area of their God-given gifts, the church can flourish and grow (Eph 4:7-16)

Limitations of Spiritual Gifts Courses

1. Spiritual gifts courses are a great introduction to gifts—however they tend to lack specific teaching on how to nurture and grow individual gifts over a period of time

2. Many courses are outcome-focused on ministry placement in the church—however, our Spirit-empowered gifts can also be utilised in our everyday lives and in evangelism

3. A spiritual gift is a turbo-charged version of a basic attribute that should be operating in the life of every believer (hospitality, evangelism, hearing God’s voice, prayer, praying for the sick, and so on)

A danger of focusing on spiritual gifts and ministry placement is that Christians who believe they are not ‘gifted’ in an area (such as prayer or evangelism) opt out and leave that aspect of Christian life to those who have a spiritual gift.

This may result in weak or immature development in some believers.

4. No questionnaire could cover every possible spiritual gift—and could potentially stifle the unique giftedness in some individuals, and the creativity of the Holy Spirit [4]

5. Many spiritual gift analyses do not make an allowance for gifts that are present but are not currently being used in a ministry environment, or are yet to emerge. Therefore the outcome of a questionnaire produces an incomplete picture.

Adapting our Approach to Spiritual Gift Assessments

What could happen if we took note of potential weaknesses resulting from running spiritual gift courses and assessments in church life into account—and adjusted for them?

Here are some things to take into consideration:

For Churches and Leaders

  • Encourage ministry leaders to identify, release and develop spiritual gifts in the people within their areas of responsibility
  • Teach on the role and ministry of the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts in the context of our everyday lives and evangelism as well as in church life
  • Learn about spiritual gift development. Provide opportunities for individuals to take specific steps forward in the growth of their spiritual gifts [5]
  • Identify possible areas of weakness where ‘departmentalisation’ in an area (e.g. prayer, evangelism) has resulted in church members opting out of an important aspect of Christian living. Provide encouragement, resources and training on these key areas to the whole church, e.g. through Cell Groups
  • Realise that spiritual gift questionnaires will not give you the complete picture of an individual’s gifts or calling. Consider providing opportunity for gift assessment and personal review at regular intervals.

For Individuals

  • Take assessments regularly. This will help identify newly emerging gifts, as well as changes in gift-mix (the unique combination of your spiritual gifts) and gift prominence
  • Realise that not having a spiritual gift doesn’t mean that you cannot function and grow in that area, e.g. every believer has a responsibility to pray for the sick, hear God’s voice, exercise hospitality, and so on
  • Embrace the personal blessing that identifying and learning about spiritual gifts can bring. You have a unique and valuable contribution—and no one else can take your place.

Do you have any further observations or questions about spiritual gifts assessments? I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment in the comments box below. If the comments box is not visible, click on this link and scroll down.

Notes:

[1] C Peter Wagner was a leading proponent of this, and his resources have been regularly updated. I recommend:
WAGNER, C.P. Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow 2005. Ventura: Regal Books.

[2] God gives us spiritual gifts—Holy Spirit-empowered abilities—that are uniquely suited to the life mission and ministry pathway that He has prepared for us. (Eph 2:10) I discuss briefly the commonly asked question, ‘which comes first: the call or the gifts?’ in this post:

http://enlivenpublishing.com/blog/2010/08/31/a-dialogue-on-spiritual-gifts/

[3] Here are two examples I have personally benefited from:

1. Willow Creek Network course

Bruce Bugbee, Don Cousins, Bill Hybels, Wendy Seidman

http://www.willowcreek.com/wca_prod.asp?invtid=PR26038

A great book related to this is:

BUGBEE, B. What You Do Best In The Body of Christ. 1995, 2005. Grand Rapids:  Zondervan.

2. STEPPS to Ministry by Michelle Sanders

This course, originating here in Australia, takes into account

  • Spiritual Gifts
  • Talents
  • Experience
  • Passion
  • Personality

STEPPS also provides for a ministry track and placement in church life. For further information contact Michelle Sanders at michelle.kscope@hotmail.com

[4] Wayne Grudem defines a spiritual gift as ‘any ability that is empowered by the Holy Spirit and used in any ministry of the church.’
GRUDEM, W.  Systematic Theology.  1994.  Nottingham: Inter-Varsity.

[5] For a clear outline of gift development in the area of prophetic and prayer-related gifts, see my e-book, ‘Grow Your Prophetic And Prayer Gifts’ or read a summary of the stages of growth in the following post: How To Develop Your Prophetic Gift Pt 2: Understand Your Season

Related posts:

You Don’t Need A Special Gift To Be A Supernatural Christian

Give Yourself (And Your Spiritual Gifts) Permission To Shine

A Checklist For Developing Your Spiritual Gifts

© Helen Calder Enliven Blog – Prophetic Teaching

On team with David McCracken Ministries: Prophetic Ministry That Empowers The Church

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Tue 31 Aug 2010

A Dialogue On Spiritual Gifts

Posted by Helen Calder under Spiritual Gifts
[9] Comments

    • Why identify spiritual gifts?
    • Are spiritual gifts given permanently to Christians, or are they given as needed for the duration of a ministry assignment?
    • What are the benefits and limitations of spiritual gift questionnaires, or should they be used at all?
    • Can we receive new spiritual gifts if we have been Christians for a long time?

These are some of the questions we look at today as I continue my discussion with Charlie Forrest*, a pastor from Auckland, New Zealand. Charlie’s comments are in blue italics, followed by my own responses.

Would you like to add your own thoughts to this conversation? Feel free to join us in the comments section of this post. (If the comments box is not visible, click on this link and scroll down).

Charlie:You talk about identifying [spiritual] gifts, I understand what you are saying but for me my whole understanding in this area has changed, I would be interested in your comments on this.
I believe that the gifts lists given in the Bible are lists of examples, not the complete list, there are a far greater range of gifts than listed

Charlie, I agree with you that the gifts lists given in the New Testament are not meant to be a complete list of gifts available to Christians [1]:

  • Each of Paul’s lists in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12, for example, have some gifts that are not included in the other of the two passages
  • Different gifts are also hinted at by Paul in other places (1 Cor 7:7, 1 Cor 13:3)
  • In another passage, Peter avoids lists altogether and broadly divides gifts between speaking and serving gifts. (1 Peter 4:10-11)

Many Christian leaders today concur with this, including other gifts such as worship, creative ministries, and intercession in gift analyses, even though these are not specifically listed as gifts in the New Testament.

Charlie:The context in Corinthians is not about teaching about the gifts themselves but the right usage of them, so Paul gives some examples and explains the usage of them.

Yes, this is a great point.

Identifying spiritual gifts through questionnaires and assessments has become very popular in many Christian circles today. **Are you in disagreement with this practice, Charlie, or just noting its drawbacks?

I personally endorse the practice of identifying spiritual gifts. However, I believe there are significant limitations that we should take into account. For example:

Benefits of Identifying Spiritual Gifts

  • Honours the ministry of the Holy Spirit and His gifts
  • Helps Christians become aware of and learn about spiritual gifts
  • Encourages us to be good stewards of the particular gifts God has invested in us
  • Assists leaders in releasing people into service in the church, i.e. ministry placement (especially in larger churches)
  • Helps bring direction to Christians who do not have clear guidance about a suitable next step in where to serve in their church or in ministry
  • Provides appreciation for others’ gifts and how we function together as a church body

Limitations of Identifying Spiritual Gifts

  • No questionnaire could cover every possible spiritual gift—and could potentially stifle the creativity of the Spirit if we use a closed approach
  • Does not identify gifts that have not yet emerged
  • Most gift analyses do not make an allowance for gifts that are present but are not currently being used in a ministry environment
  • Tends to be outcome-focused on ministry placement in the church—however, our Spirit-empowered gifts should also be utilised in our everyday lives and in evangelism

I believe if we took these issues into account we could greatly increase our effectiveness in identifying and releasing spiritual gifts.

Charlie:Secondly the Lord will release whatever gift we need according to the circumstances we are in if we are open to Him to do that.
For example I did not feel I was an evangelist, therefore when in India I always looked for others to preach the evangelistic message. Last time the Lord rebuked me on this and said, when you stand to speak I will release that anointing and gift, and He did. Since then I have seen this in a number of situations, He releases what is needed.

So true, Charlie! I agree. Obedience to the Holy Spirit always takes precedence over our own preconceived ideas of what spiritual gift we may or may not have. God anoints obedience.

I also agree that God can and will release a gift to us at a time when it is needed—whether momentarily, or for a longer season of time when we have a ministry assignment. I have experienced this myself.

Charlie:The gifts are the gifts of the Holy Spirit, belonging to Him. As we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, he gives what is needed. Yes we will be more use to operating in some gifts than others, maybe a core gift mix, but maybe that is because of experience or faith to use them.
How many people are open to the Lord to continually release new gifts into their lives? Or do we limit ourselves to what we have and become comfortable in them?

These are all great points, Charlie. There is a lot to be said about gift-mixes, which I will leave for another time.

Overall, your questions highlight two contrasting perspectives that I noticed when I was researching the topic of spiritual gifts for my book, ‘Grow Your Prophetic And Prayer Gifts’:

  • The viewpoint that spiritual gifts are invested permanently into a Christian believer (predominant in Charismatic/Pentecostal circles)
  • The belief that gifts are released as and when needed for God-given assignments (ministries or callings)

Personally, I agree with aspects of both these perspectives. (It reminds me of the question, ‘Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?’) I do believe that gifts are invested in a Christian, like a kind of spiritual DNA, and that these are related to our calling.

‘For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.’ (Eph 2:10)

However, I also believe, that gifts can emerge throughout our lives. Charlie, I totally agree with you that we should be open to receive (or should that be, ‘unwrap’) new gifts throughout our Christian walk. I had been a Spirit-filled Christian for more than 17 years when a gift of intercession manifested strongly in my life for the first time.

We will continue the discussion in the comments section, but before we do, I would like to share this reflection from my book, ‘Grow Your Prophetic And Prayer Gifts.’

‘When the Apostle Paul—then Saul—became a believer, Jesus spoke to him about his call. His gift of teaching and preaching was evident from the outset of his conversion (see Acts 9:3-22). Years later, he was still ministering as a teacher at the church in Antioch when the church leaders heard from God that it was time to send him and Barnabas out from the church as missionaries. We see at this time gifts of evangelism and miracles, along with the ministry of apostle, emerging in Paul’s life. His first recorded miraculous sign is in Acts 13:8-11. It is not until later, in Acts 19, we read of many ‘extraordinary miracles’ of healing being worked through Paul.

Gift emergence and development happened progressively in Paul’s life and it will happen that way in ours too.’

For more information on the development of spiritual gifts, check out my e-book, ‘Grow Your Prophetic And Prayer Gifts’ by clicking on this link.

[1] Recommended Reading

The following resources I found especially helpful in my studies on spiritual gifts:

BUGBEE, B. What You Do Best In The Body of Christ. 1995, 2005. Grand Rapids:  Zondervan.

GRUDEM, W.  Systematic Theology.  1994.  Nottingham: Inter-Varsity.

WAGNER, C.P. Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow 2005. Ventura: Regal Books.

*Charlie Forrest pastors New Hope Fellowship in Auckland, New Zealand. Charlie has many years leadership involvement in missions with Asian Outreach and is also a Bible College lecturer. Charlie and his wife Brenda are responsible for launching The Hunk and I into missions ministry around 23 years ago.

Related posts:

Spiritual Gift Questionnaires and Courses: Can We Do Better?

A Dialogue On Prophecy And Intimacy With God

God’s Multi-Layered Gift: Salvation, Holy Spirit Baptism, Spiritual Gifts And You

How To Overcome Blockages In Your Prophetic Gift: Identify Your Season

Give Yourself (And Your Gifts) Permission To Shine

© Helen Calder  2010   Enliven Blog

Now on team with David McCracken Ministries

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