Some years ago, when Michael Jordan was asked to step forward to receive the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award, he refused to walk out to center court….alone. He had previously spoken to each member of the Chicago Bulls, and when Commissioner Stern invited him out to receive the coveted award that says you’re the best of the best, the entire Chicago Bulls team walked out with Michael Jordan. This podcast/blog is rooted in the belief that Christian men want to win—they want to accomplish their mission for Christ. This episode continues to examine the way God has endowed every Christian with spiritual gifts to empower us together, as teammates, to spread Christ’s kingdom of righteousness over earth.
The single purpose of the church of Jesus Christ is to make kingdom disciples, those trusting Jesus’ atoning death as the payment for our sins, those captured by a whole-hearted devotion to Christ, and those seeking to be like Christ in their heart attitudes and behavior. As we grow into fully devoted followers of Christ, we need the seven spiritual gifts we’re studying to be deployed to help us in the INTERNAL PROCESS of the body building itself up. The prophet helps us see our sin. Servants meet practical needs in the Body demonstrating to the world how Christians love one another. Truth teachers protect the Word of God inside the community as it does its work to transform us. Exhorters keep our focus on godly character. Givers challenge believers to tithe while they, themselves, provide crucial financial resources for the church to flourish. The leader sees what INTERNAL ministries are needed, like a new men’s Bible study or a mission’s committee that is functioning well. The mercy shower pours out compassionate understanding that keeps the church members loving each other well. As we understand what each gift contributes, we are seeing the character of Christ. This INTERNAL work of the gifts is vital.
But the ultimate mission of disciples is not INTERNAL but EXTERNAL. Former Senate Chaplain, Dick Halverson, tells of how he changed his thinking about the church, The work of the church us outside the establishment. Outside the church. In the world. And it takes every member to do it. Nowhere in the Bible is the world exhorted to “come to church.” But the church’s mandate is clear: she must go to the world (The Timelessness of Jesus Christ).
This podcast addresses those INDIVIDUAL spheres of life for men—furthering Christ’s agenda in our marriages, families, workplaces, neighborhoods, churches, nation and world. Often our spiritual gifts shape the way we go about pursuing Christ’s agenda in these spheres. In fact, our spiritual gifts may have determined our vocational choice and pursuing our vocation well may be the best way to employ our spiritual gifts.
However, this EXTERNAL focus, about which Dr Halverson writes, is not always individual, but includes joining forces with others in the Body of Christ to bring kingdom justice, restoration, and mercy in the world that we, Adam’s descendants, have been charged to shape. The ways Christians are doing this today is endless, helping lead vacation Bible school, working as a volunteer in a pregnancy center, helping in sports ministries to the lost, providing free legal services in poor communities, being part of the ministry team in support groups for widows, the divorced, & those with addictions, after school clubs for kids until their single moms get home from work, ministries addressing sex trafficking, prison ministries, etc.
So, using our spiritual gifts is vital to our kingdom disciple making calling—both internally building each other up and externally showing Christ’s redemptive power of restoration over the earth. This is especially true with the category of gifts we examine today—the cluster of gifts (Rom 12) given TO GET THE JOB DONE: leadership—charting the course and recruiting others, serving—assisting others to reach their goals, and giving—providing resources necessary to reach those goals.
LEADERSHIP: PROISTAMI—to stand before (Rom 12:8)
Although the spiritual gifts of Romans 12 were not poured out upon believers until Christ ascended into heaven (Eph 4:8), the Greek word for the Romans 12 gift of PROISTAMI—to lead certainly describes Nehemiah’s giftedness in leading the Israelites to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. So those characteristics do accurately describe this gift.
Characteristics of The LEADER
1. He has the ability to visualize what needs to be done. Nehemiah hears that the remnant of Jews left behind in Jerusalem when Nebuchadnezzar took the Jews captive into Babylon is not doing well. Nehemiah can see what needs to be done—rebuild the wall. He prays and begins to formulate a plan. Leaders see something that is lacking—that needs doing. They are not motivated to manage existing things—but put to put in place something that should be but isn’t—like starting a pregnancy center, planting a church, starting a men’s Bible study, making the playoffs next season, leading a church committee well. When the task is finished, the leader looks for the next task that needs doing to honor Christ.
2. He has the ability to form a concrete picture of what resources it will take to reach the goal. After Nehemiah prayed for and received the right opportunity to present his plan, King Artaxerxes seemed open to it. Nehemiah shows that he had thought through what he needed to succeed in the plan, saying immediately, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.” (2:5-8).
When he gets to Jerusalem, Nehemiah, under the cover of darkness, inspects the broken-down wall to make his assessment of what the project will take (vs 12-16).
3. He has the ability to inspire his followers to each have a part in the project. Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build” (2:17).
We find out later that Nehemiah’s plan was brilliantly thought out. The project started with the priests rebuilding the Sheep Gate. The priests (those looked up to) set the example and built the gate closest to their homes. It appears that Nehemiah assigned each part of the wall to those who lived closest to it.
4. He knows how to break down a task into parts that keep the team motivated. Not only did Nehemiah assign rebuilding the wall to those who lived closest. He told them first to build it only to half its planned height, (in my view lest they be discouraged—like eating an elephant). So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work (4:6).
5. He understands how vital his unselfish commitment to the goal is to his followers. King David began his fund-raising campaign to finance building the temple by first making a huge financial commitment himself. Nehemiah ruled Jerusalem twelve years and never took a paycheck. In fact, out of his own savings, he fed 150 people every day at his table.
6. In the face of adversity, a leader adjusts his course and inspires his team to press on. When Israel’s enemies planned an attack, Nehemiah heard about it, gave his team a strategic plan, and challenged them, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes” (4:14).
Vulnerabilities of Those Having This Gift
- Leaders may be so focused on their goals that they fail to see the need to nurture those closest to them. LEADER fathers may not see the need to shoot hoops with their sons. Project-focused LEADER wives and mothers may not realize the strength their feminine heart provides their family simply by being with them.
- Christian leaders can gain a following through the power of their leadership gift, without earning that following through godly character. Outward ministry success can look like God is blessing them, even while their hearts are drifting far from Christ or from their wives. A LEADER must stay focused on his heart’s love for Christ as his highest priority and must have a brother engaged with him in his everyday walk with Christ, who is asking accountability questions and with whom the bond of friendship is too strong to lie.
- Leaders can sometimes move on to the next project too quickly. One wise observer of his entrepreneurial leader remarked, “We launched a new ship every week. Before it got fifty yards from shore it had already sunk.”
SERVING (DIAKONIA)
This is the inward motivation to express Christ’s love by meeting practical needs. SERVERS love the touch of the physical—like paint brushes, car engines, baby wipes, table decorations, boxes to be unloaded and put away. As we saw two weeks ago, this Greek word (DIAKONIA) is the word used by the Apostles in Acts 6 when a dispute arose over the distribution of the food. The twelve summoned the full number of disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up the preaching of the Word of God to SERVE (DIAKONIA) tables” (vs 2). SERVERS’ contributions to the Body often go unnoticed. As Scottie Pippen, who was with Jordan for all six championships deserved to be on center court with Jordan—SERVERS deserve center stage attention. Almost nothing would get done for the kingdom apart from them. And they are given the high calling of SHOWING us JESUS—who refused to count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant.
Characteristics of The SERVER
1. Their primary motivation is to express Christ’s love for others by caring for their physical needs. Although Timothy’s position in the church was that of a teacher, he seems to portray the heart motivation and strengths of a server. For example, Paul refers to him in Phil 2, For I have no one like him (Timothy), who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.
2. Their radar quickly notices practical needs that they have a godly desire to meet.
3. SERVERS love to take care of practical needs to free those with teaching and leadership gifts to deploy their upfront gifts. Paul describes Timothy this way, But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has SERVED with me in the gospel.
4. They are content to stay in the background without getting upfront attention. But because they rarely get visibility, they have a special need for others to express appreciation for them. Paul gave Timothy more praise than any other assistant.
5. They like specific, shortrange tasks to accomplish and are frustrated by long term, or repetitive projects. Paul gave Timothy more precise instructions than he gave to anyone else. Paul also called Timothy to endure as a good soldier and to continue in the calling he had been given by God.
Vulnerabilities of Those Having This Gift
- Potential resentment towards those who don’t seem to notice other’s practical needs.
- Becoming discouraged or eventually resentful when not appreciated.
- Can get so busy meeting practical needs that he neglects his God-given priorities—like the guy who is always fixing his neighbors’ cars, but neglects spending the time he needs to with his wife.
- Sometimes feels spiritually inferior. SERVERS don’t have upfront gifts or “Word” gifts like prophet, teacher, or exhorter.
- Because they are hard workers, they are often rewarded by being put in charge of projects. But servers find it hard to delegate so they may burn out.
GIVING (THE ONE WHO CONTRIBUTES)
Those with this gift play a vital role in God’s plan to finance the work of ministry. GIVERS have a central role in all three parts of God’s plan to finance kingdom advancement: That plan is: 1) Christians who tithe. Just this commitment alone, is foundational because God often blesses GIVERS with above average income. 2) God’s plan is sacrificial giving to meet a special crisis. In the first-century church environment, where how Jewish the gentiles needed to become was a very big controversy, God allowed the Jewish Christians in Palestine to go through severe famine. The gentile church gave extravagantly to alleviate the Jewish Christian’s suffering, binding the two groups’ hearts together. GIVERS lead the way in such sacrificial giving. 3) The third part of God’s provision to provide financially for his church to have kingdom impact is by giving some in the Body of Christ the gift of GIVING. A non-kingdom person would look at the ridiculous amount of their income that they give to support ministry and think they are crazy. But to GIVERS, it is financing kingdom ministry that matters most.
Characteristics of The GIVER
1. They usually have the ability to bring in above average income.
2. They are personally frugal to free funds for kingdom work.
3. They resist pressure appeals for funds; they give quietly to kingdom projects. There is some evidence that Matthew had the gift of giving. His is the only gospel that records Jesus teaching that we should give in secret.
4. GIVERS tend to have strong faith. When I was in church planting, the elder on our session who so often called us to trust God when facing difficult financial challenges, was one who exhibited the characteristics of a giver.
5. They are relentlessly committed to ministries that move the kingdom forward, especially overseas missions work. One of those whom, I believe has this gift said to me a few years ago, “I think I am going to retire in about twelve months to have more time to travel to be with my family. I’ve been able to figure out how to do that without reducing my giving to missions AT ALL. It appears that his biggest concern about retiring was not reducing his standard of living but potentially having to reduce financial support to kingdom work, which is so important to him.
Vulnerabilities of Those Having This Gift
- Their personal frugality, especially if they have an old mortgage, can make them insensitive to how much it actually costs pastors and others in ministry to buy a house and raise a family today.
- Their frugality must be balanced by a recognition that to some extent time and money are interchangeable assets. The church secretary can use an 8-year-old problematic computer. She could either spend time nursing it along or spend the money to get updated technology. Choosing NOT to spend the money is choosing TO spend the time. This obvious truth is not always apparent to the frugal.
- They get upset (rightly in my view) by pastors who do not talk about money and tithing enough. They understand that financial giving is a great blessing. Jesus says, “Where your treasure is, you can be certain your heart will be there to.” Investing my financial treasure for the kingdom causes my heart to follow--and GIVERS understand that reality.
I want to close with the true story of a church committed to getting everyone using their spiritual gifts inside and outside the church. Frank Tillipaugh writes
Over the years dreamers in our church have been used by God to conceive, establish, and run a host of ministries. Lay people envision the objective, devise the training, do the recruiting and direct the ministry. As long as they do not get into moral or doctrinal trouble and don’t ask for money, the church leadership leaves them alone. In that rather free wheeling climate, a street school, medical clinic, Christian mediation service, and ministries in the following areas have developed: step-families, jail, street, refugees, senior adults, physically disabled, alcoholics and more (Unleashing Your Potential).
Shouldn't we all be unleashing the kingdom power that Christ has given us as this church is, by its members understanding and deplyoing their spiritual gifts?
For Further Prayerful Thought
- What characteristic of LEADERS stood out most to you? Does anyone come to mind, who would appear to have this gift? What did you notice about the vulnerabilities of those who have this gift?
- What characteristic of SERVERS stood out most to you? Does anyone come to mind, who would appear to have this gift? What did you notice about the vulnerabilities of those who have this gift?
- What characteristic of GIVERS stood out most to you? Does anyone come to mind, who would appear to have this gift? What did you notice about the vulnerabilities of those who have this gift?
