by Buddy Lipscomb, Elder

It has always amazed me that even though there is much talk in the Bible concerning Spiritual Gifts for many years it was not a subject discussed in churches. It is no wonder that during all those years the growth in lives of people lacked what was really needed to serve God and see fruitful results. The main emphasis was to get people in the door (Evangelism). The first I heard of gifts was back in 1991 when the pastor of Bethany Place led the entire church through a study of them. When we completed learning about the various gifts each of us took a Spiritual Gifts survey. It was through that instrument that I found out that I had the gift of teaching and gifts associated with it like discernment and wisdom. Every survey I have taken since then have only confirmed that God has given me that gift.

So, what is a Spiritual Gift? It is a special ability given to each man and woman, by the Holy Spirit, the moment he or she becomes a Christian. It is to be used for the glory of God and service in His kingdom. Although some of the gifts may be used in the secular world they are primarily for the benefit of the church. A person may be a teacher in the school but, more importantly, he is to share what God says in His Word. 

You may be asking how to discover your gift. There are several ways to find your gift or gifts:

·     By serving

·     Listening to others who see those qualities in you

·     Looking at the lists of gifts as found in I Corinthians, Romans and 1 Peter.

·     Take formal training such as the opportunity we provide at Bethany Place.

There were some surprises that I discovered as I did a deeper dive into the subject. First, not everyone has the same gift. Next, no one person has all the gifts. Two reasons that these facts are important in the body are. If a person spreads himself too thin trying to do too much, he will likely experience burnout. The way the body of Christ works is for each person to do his/her part. If a church is growing it should quite evident it has all the gifts needed to carry on ministry.

Once you have found your gift, God expects each of us to put it into practice. Discovering these two aspects has made the whole process very satisfying for me over the years. Growing out of that initial discovery God’s word has become a passion for me. Ezra 7:10 has become a guiding light in my walk with the Lord.

The three points that are found in the verse are:

·     Study

·     Practice

·     Teach His word

Knowing who I am gives me a great deal of satisfaction because I believe I am doing what God called me to do. Hopefully, more and more of the church will take seriously God’s work and discover how to go about it.  

If you want to talk more about this subject, please let me know.