Changing the Language of Spiritual Gifts
Spiritual gifts can be a tricky subject to talk about. Especially when we don't use this kind of language in our everyday lives. When people think of spiritual gifts, our minds go directly to my "church gifts." The problem happens when we start separating our gifts and talents into "church gifts" and "not church gifts."
Spiritual gifts can mean a lot of things to me, especially when we really think about our lives as mission. I love sports, and it wasn't until I was offered a coaching position that I learned that I have a love for coaching young athletes. So what does this have to do with spiritual gifts? I think coaching for me plays into a spiritual gift of mine. How so? I get to teach, lead, serve and disciple these athletes in various ways. In reality, it is not only my athletes that I get to do these things for. I get to teach, lead, serve, and disciple my athletes, parents, and the crowd. Not saying I am superman for all these people, but I get to honor God with my gifts through the act of coaching basketball.
What am I getting at? Simply put. I believe our passions and hobbies can be classified as spiritual gifts. Make sure we get what I'm saying. They "can" be, but no always are. But I think this kind of language that helps people see their mission easier. I thought sports were something I was done with after college. I never imagined I would coach. I even started coaching for myself, as a way to stay connected to the sport. I never imagined in what ways I would learn to love and serve until halfway through my first year.
Working at different churches I have had the privilege of hearing and meeting some amazing servants of God. I met this man who took his love of tinkering and uses it to mentor young kids after school. He uses his skills of small engine repair, wood working, and random odds and ins, to give these kids a small trade, help them stay out of trouble, and just mentor and make a lasting impact. His love of tinkering is a spiritual gift in my opinion.
I heard a story of a lady who started knitting gifts for the local nursing home. She would knit anything from socks, scarves, etc for gifts. This lady loves to knit, and had so much extra around, she made it a goal to get enough done for the local nursing home. Amazing! She took her hobby and used it to make a difference in someone's life.
These are just a couple stories. I know that I have more, and I bet you can probably think of a few. It is a great way to stay passionate about God's mission. Now there are times we are asked to help someone from the church deshingle their house, and I'll be the last person to be excited for it, but we do it anyway because that is the church. But we should not place spiritual gifts and serving God in places that fill us with dread. We shouldn't feel that we must give up our vacation time, our weekend, our money, or resources in order to feel that we served. We should also feel free to use our gifts, passions, and hobbies as spiritual gifts. Give freedom to have fun serving in the church. We have these different gifts for a reason. We all have passions for different reasons.
We celebrate our differences by sharing them with others, and we do that best when we glorify God through them.
Spiritual gifts can mean a lot of things to me, especially when we really think about our lives as mission. I love sports, and it wasn't until I was offered a coaching position that I learned that I have a love for coaching young athletes. So what does this have to do with spiritual gifts? I think coaching for me plays into a spiritual gift of mine. How so? I get to teach, lead, serve and disciple these athletes in various ways. In reality, it is not only my athletes that I get to do these things for. I get to teach, lead, serve, and disciple my athletes, parents, and the crowd. Not saying I am superman for all these people, but I get to honor God with my gifts through the act of coaching basketball.
What am I getting at? Simply put. I believe our passions and hobbies can be classified as spiritual gifts. Make sure we get what I'm saying. They "can" be, but no always are. But I think this kind of language that helps people see their mission easier. I thought sports were something I was done with after college. I never imagined I would coach. I even started coaching for myself, as a way to stay connected to the sport. I never imagined in what ways I would learn to love and serve until halfway through my first year.
Working at different churches I have had the privilege of hearing and meeting some amazing servants of God. I met this man who took his love of tinkering and uses it to mentor young kids after school. He uses his skills of small engine repair, wood working, and random odds and ins, to give these kids a small trade, help them stay out of trouble, and just mentor and make a lasting impact. His love of tinkering is a spiritual gift in my opinion.
I heard a story of a lady who started knitting gifts for the local nursing home. She would knit anything from socks, scarves, etc for gifts. This lady loves to knit, and had so much extra around, she made it a goal to get enough done for the local nursing home. Amazing! She took her hobby and used it to make a difference in someone's life.
These are just a couple stories. I know that I have more, and I bet you can probably think of a few. It is a great way to stay passionate about God's mission. Now there are times we are asked to help someone from the church deshingle their house, and I'll be the last person to be excited for it, but we do it anyway because that is the church. But we should not place spiritual gifts and serving God in places that fill us with dread. We shouldn't feel that we must give up our vacation time, our weekend, our money, or resources in order to feel that we served. We should also feel free to use our gifts, passions, and hobbies as spiritual gifts. Give freedom to have fun serving in the church. We have these different gifts for a reason. We all have passions for different reasons.
We celebrate our differences by sharing them with others, and we do that best when we glorify God through them.
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