Spiritual Gifts

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Spiritual Gifts

Introduction

It is often difficult to separate literature on spiritual gifts from material on the bigger picture of Member Involvement through Gift-Based Ministry. Many resources on spiritual gifts, including inventories, are focused on gift discovery, but do not deal extensively with how to take members from the point of discovery to ministry involvement. The resources in this guide fit better into that category.

Many church leaders desire more comprehensive approaches that combine gift discovery with systems for mobilizing members into ministry, as well as how to organize ministry systems on the congregational level. These are listed in a completely separate resource guide on Ministry Involvement and Gift-Based Ministry. Certainly these two areas are related, and anyone interested in this topic will probably consult both guides. See also the related guides on Greeting and New Member IntegrationManaging Volunteers, Ministry Teams. and Missional Lifestyle, Discipleship, and Spirituality.

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MINISTRY RESOURCES

Follow the links to the resources below for more detailed summaries. See also the list at the bottom of the page on related Ministry Resource Guides.

Biblical and Theological Perspectives on Spiritual Gifts

Theology is a missing component in today’s discussions on spiritual gifts. Many approaches center around self-discovery, self-affirmation and self-fulfillment. These are healthy in themselves, but at times these emphases place a layer of self-interest over our interpretation of the New Testament witness on spiritual gifts. In contrast, passages such as 1 Corinthians 12-14, Ephesians 4 and Romans 12 reveal a focus not on spiritual gifts but upon spiritual persons, i.e. spirituality expressed through servant-minded dedication to fulfilling God’s mission and building up the body of Christ.

Certainly spiritual maturity is partially contingent on each person using his or her gifts. Also, the ineffectiveness of today’s church is due in part to a failure to unleash the body of Christ into Spirit-directed ministry through the gifts of the people. That said, our pursuit of gift-based ministry should be governed less by frustration or self-interest and more upon a sound theology of servanthood. Toward that end, I suggest the following resources.

I have listed them in two categories: 1) Theologies of the Work of the Holy Spirit, which place spiritual gifts in a larger theological context; and 2) Theologies of Spiritual Gifts.

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Theologies on the Work of the Holy Spirit:

Theologies of Spiritual Gifts (in suggested order):

Other Works on Spiritual Gifts:

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Spiritual Gifts Inventory, Print and Online (for purchase)

Top Recommendations:

Other Recommendations:

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Spiritual Gifts Inventory, Web-based (free)

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Related Ministry Resources

See Other Ministry Resources on Ministry Involvement:

See Other Ministry Resources on Church Leadership and Renewal:

See Resources on Over 100 Areas of Christian Ministry:

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