Spiritual Gifts in the Church

Who will be first to mark the trail for others?

Trail Blazers

Clinging to the promises by faith they hike on not realizing none has been down this trail before.

Trail Blazers

They hold that which lights the way for others. You have seen them in the face of those you barely had time to get to know. It’s not that they were moving that fast, but that they were so focused on that which leads them down the trail that they hardly heard you. Your voice came to them small and distant compared to the voice of the One which draws; tugs, pulls and seems to propel them. It doesn’t matter how fast they walk because this is a new trail. Imagine that?  

And, they know and are held in rapture of the construction. Like laying a freeway, it paves the way for others to follow.

Trail Blazers

You can recognize them because they only talk about one subject. Like only hiking on one trail, we only blaze one at a time. Everywhere they knew which way to go because they recognize their way; it is like colors. They may travel the blue road or the red road, so when they come to a fork in the trail, they simply follow the one with the most hues of their color. It is easy because of their concentrated focus.

Trail Blazers

Their job isn’t too smooth the trail for others, but to mark it. So, don’t expect them to remove the stones in your path. It might be a little rough as you walk behind them and you will still have to remove that which hinders your feet, but at least they provided a means to a place that never existed before.

Trail Blazers

Just say, “Thanks”.

[Excerpts from Growing Ministry to Seed].

Today authority has come to the house that our Grand Father has left for the family of God. They tried to overtake this house, and others put off the truth regarding whose was whose; but even though you were not totally sure and acted on faith, because you struck out by faith on the journey, this house has become under your authority. 

What is this house, Father?

Fine question, daughter. It is a place of rising up ministry in truth. 

Ministry becomes by several ways. 

1. Some come up with a nice idea that they feel will benefit others. They may have gifts and talents which they know can assist others, so they set out to ‘serve’. Many musicians and singers perform and sing because they have beautiful voices or have been skillfully trained to give a fine presentation. ..and they do. Their presentation is to men. They lift praise to God; but their performance is to give joy to men. 

2. Some are born into service of a ministry because of their lineage. Their parents inherited a Church or a field; so it is expected that the children will also join them at a specific time. They merge with the idea from early childhood and grow into the ministry like a plant being raised in a specific lighting condition. They are raised to be the intention of the parents. Many priests are raised to become priests from early childhood. They do what others expect them to do because that is all that they know to do. They are driven by the expectations of others and guilt of what will happen if they defer from the path which has been laid out prior to their birth. Many grow a ministry and fear its death, so they force their children to continue with the ministry. They assume to ‘pass the torch’ to their sons or daughters. What they have done is force their expectations on their children assuming to ‘assist’ God to fill the ministry positions. And, what of those who enter into the positions accepting the positions? They are motivated by responsibility just like a father works a job to provide for his family. Their responsibility may be to God, the Parish, the Congregation or the target of the ministry. It is a ministry birthed from obligation. 

3. There are ministries driven by need. Someone may see many hungry children and, because he sees the need for them to be fed, he arranges a ministry which provides food to the children. Two needs may be met: One of the ministers having a ‘ministry of worth’ while the other is the children becoming fed. 

4. Ministries have a hierarchy of laud among themselves. We rank the ministries according to our own system. Perhaps someone who preaches and leads thousands to salvation demonstrating change in their lives by having them walk to the front of the altar is a greater ministry than someone who scoops mashed potatoes onto a plate of a homeless person downtown once a week. Is the one who is in front of the congregation or the press release more important than the one who isn’t? You see, sometimes individuals may be prodded by God to do specific ministries which seem less important (in our eyes), but defer to do those because they are given a ‘greater’ opportunity to serve. Is it a greater ministry to preach to more?  It is a known fact that if several Pastors are gathered together for a function it is a matter of minutes before they are asking one another how big their congregations are…and the ones with the largest congregations become the ‘highest’ in the mind of the rest present. In the world, the director is more important than the workers, so it seems reasonable that those who have seemed to be given greater responsibility by having a larger following (congregation) would be of a higher place in our mind. 

[Excerpts from Growing Ministry to Seed].

And, there is ministry which is birthed by God. It grows from a seed implanted within our heart. This seed only germinates when it is fed with spiritual plant food. These seeds are so small, that, often we can ignore them bending our attention on larger seeds planted by our parents, our training or our obligations. But, they are easy to spot…if you know what to look for.

1. They are birthed from the love of their relationship with God. Kids are birthed when a union occurs between two. When we allow our heart to become unified with the heart of God, He imparts His ideas to us. They do not come to our mind, but our heart. God does not direct His children by giving us great ideas! He directs by tugging at our heart. We must then filter the urges through our mind and into the consciousness of our brain. If we allow our heart to be attached to His, then there will be a nonstop barrage of tugs; or information regarding what His ideas are regarding everything in our lives. God speaks. His voice never stops. We fail to be led by His voice when we cannot hear it clearly. However, often we cannot hear the voice of God because we are trying to hear with our physical ears or our mind rather than our hearts. 

2. They are birthed from dreams and visions and quiet time in prayer with God. Only when we quiet the other voices (the world, our mind, and other people) can we think to hear what God wants us to do. 

3. The plans of God for ministry must correlate with Scripture. He will not encourage us to steal from our brothers and sisters to give to the children. Always, always, always, His plans for ministry correlate with the ‘already spoken words’ within the Bible. If someone tells me that God is leading him to neglect his responsibility for his family (financially or otherwise) for the sake of spending the resources on ‘ministry’ then I know right away that this is not from God. God does not interrupt Himself. If God says that men should care for their families (A man who cares not for his own family is worse than an infidel—is what the Scripture says) then He will be interrupting His own words by sending a man onto a mission field, or expend all his finances or time building a congregation at the expense of his own family. This is very important and a subtle trick of the enemy which invalidates the testimony of the ministry as it grows. I have seen a wife who feels she should support her husband in the ministry go to work to support the family or accept a life of poverty when the husband totally devotes himself to ‘what he tells her that God has called him to do’. Whenever I see this issue, I send the man (usually it is a man) back to reconsider the voice of the leading. It may be he heard the call from God, but perhaps the timing is a problem. Men: If you have a family it is wrong to cause them to be in want while you pursue ministry. It is in direct violation of Scriptures. Sometimes it is a timing issue; while other times the man needs to figure out how to work a regular job at the same time as doing the ministry which he feels God has called him to. Please do not misunderstand, I am not against women working to assist in the care of a family or ministry, however I am against men doing ‘their call’ while the wife supports the family. It is not her job, but his. 

4. Ministry is grown like a plant. It is not manufactured like a product. A plant is grown from a seed, watered and nurtured within a specific environment. God gives the idea; you get the training and instruction along the way. He gives the idea to lead a congregation in a specific country (for example) and then you go to school to learn what is needed to be able to do it; Become proficient in the local language and educated in all it takes to direct a congregation within that area of the world. This takes time and perseverance. God will not give all the plans at once for our lives. That is why we need to follow Him along the way. I say, “Walking with the Spirit is like swimming in the river. Not a lake. It flows.” What that means is that He may give some information regarding your needed training, etc. then as you progress, He causes a turn in the river and moves you in another direction. Did He change His mind? No, He just continued you along the progression of the ministry. You see, the way God works with ministry is that He is not as interested in the final graduation of the ministry as in what happens along the way. We should be ministers already within our lives and others should be able to see the demonstration of God’s miracles as they watch us grow into whatever His desire for us is. 

5. True ministry bears fruit. Ministry which is produced rather than grown is obvious to all because it does not bear fruit. The unique aspect to Christian ministry is that lives are changed when we do what God wants us to do. Everything called ‘ministry’ should draw others to God. That is the primary purpose of God. If lives are not changed…which causes them honor and serve God, then it is not a MINISTRY. We may feed the poor, but if we give them food without sharing the goodness of God’s mercy, they will not see any correlation between receiving the gift and God. There will be no reason for them to give thanks to God for the food if they feel it came from some other source. Ministry which is manufactured is like buying a business package franchise. With a franchise a price is paid and everything is provided which is needed to ‘build the businesses. Many chain restaurants are built from local investors purchasing a franchise. The complete instructions are given to make the building, hire the employees and make the food specific ways so that everything will turn out the same as the initiator of the original franchise option. Some Churches follow this business example ‘building’ new congregations in areas where they ‘prospect’ to build a Church. They purchase land and build a building according to set patterns and follow a specific plan attempting to achieve similar results as the first Church. And, sometimes, when we visit those ‘franchised’ congregations, they seem plastic; like they have been manufactured rather than ‘alive’ like a plant grown from a seed. 

6. The one who has been given the vision for the ministry has the mantle. What that means is that God empowers the same person who He gives the vision to. If He wants you to be a choir director, then when you embark upon classes to learn music, He will give you an ear to hear the notes and replicate them. The gifts (which are given) to an individual match with the anointing and the calling (see Why the Glory Departed and Sharing Prophetic Gifts in the Church books-part of the series of the Seeds in the Garden).  Some of the visions which God gives are very difficult and require special training. We may be tempted to find someone who already has skill in a specific area to lead the ministry while we oversee. Be careful because God gives the holder of the vision a special dispensation of grace to lead. The individual who has been taken under the authority of the empowered one may not have the grace to lead. He may be skilled (as a Pastor or song leader) but not empowered within the same ministry because he has not been called to do it. It is tempting to find already trained individuals because we want to ‘push the vision’ or ‘force the bulbs’ into blooming because we want to see the blossoms early. Aaron was snagged by Moses to become his ‘mouthpiece’ when Moses was called to speak to the Pharaoh in Egypt. Aaron was Moses’ brother. But, remember that Moses was the one who spent the time on the Mountain with God learning to hear His voice and become His friend; not Aaron. Moses had the grace and ability to lead the Children of Israel out of Egypt; not Aaron. He was the one given the parameters and criteria for their release from captivity because of his relationship with God. Take note when you read the story that after they departed from Egypt, when Moses left Aaron in charge and went up to seek guidance from God, Aaron did not know what to do when they returned to worshiping the gods which they had left in Egypt. They built a golden calf and began to worship it under the authority of Aaron. He did not have the training, the calling or the authority to know what to do. It had not been given to him at the same amount of what had been given to Moses. Therefore, be careful not to put individuals into positions within your assigned ministry within areas that they have not been given the grace to do. 

7. Ministry which comes from God takes a miracle to achieve. Remember that we are talking about growing a spiritual plant! If it is possible to grow our own ministry (using a franchise or our own money) then it does not need faith to happen. Seeds of ministry are grown by faith. God shows us a picture of what He wants to happen and we believe it. No ministry given from God can possibly grow into a plant unless it is fed a diet of faith. It has to be regularly infused with new vision and faith to believe what He told you continues to be true…and going to happen. 

8. The plant must be trained and trimmed. God is the vine dresser and we are the vines. Our ministry is simply an outgrowth of our relationship with God. We are like a plant growing and God comes along and shapes and trims us. Whenever He sees an area where we are getting out of balance, He cuts us off (from that thing or that person). If He sees a healthy relationship then He sets us up to grow in that direction alongside the other individual. 

9. Ministry does not grow the same way as secular business. A business is grown to produce products or service for a profit. It is set up in an area with the prospect that people will be drawn by their need. After proper advertising, people come, have their need met and the business makes a profit from those who have their needs met. Usually when we think of profit, we assume the word means a rise in income with monetary gain. But, please be reminded that many seek fame and a ‘name for themselves’ rather than riches.  I had a dream recently. The ‘minister’ was rebuked in the dream by God because he was finding those who are backwards in their home loan and setting up cheap loans for them earning a profit for himself from the formation of the loans.  You see, he is accused of doing wrong under the guise of ‘helping those in financial distress’. He helps them to profit himself by pocketing some of the cash that they pay with the loan.  Does he help them? Yes. But, he helps them with the wrong purpose. His purpose is to pad his own pocket with money from those who are already poor. Many realize that Churches with larger congregations pay their Pastor a bigger salary. Is that a reason to grow a big congregation? Should we help the poor (with ministry to their soul) while we take their money? We need to be very careful with this. I really see no difference between financial gain and fame. Do we grow a ministry to make a name for ourselves? 

10. True ministry makes us uncomfortable. In order to do the things of God, we must lean on His grace to enable us to do them. When I first began having Publisher’s Parties I looked for someone to do the introductions of the authors. After some time, I realized that it was actually my job to stand on the stage and introduce the authors and their books (because that is what I do with the publishing company). I am somewhat stutter-y when I am called upon to take to the stage and need a great deal of grace to get in front of a lot of people. I asked God about this…and even took some speech classes. What He finally told me about it was, “Yes, you look very uncomfortable on the stage and others notice it. They see how hard it is for you. That means that they also see how much grace you need to be able to do it and that you are willing to do it for My glory. It will motivate them within their own ministries because, when they see what I can do for you, then they will realize I can do similar things for them.” 

[Excerpts from Growing Ministry to Seed]. 

How big do you think God is?

Mine grew yesterday.

When I spent the day with someone else.

My God grew yesterday.

Taller, wider, and deeper than deep,

My God grew yesterday in ways never thought possible

My go grew yesterday.

When she told me of pain, anger, desperation, and loneliness

My God grew yesterday.

When she told me of abandonment, misery, grief, remorse

My God grew yesterday.

And, I saw the signs, I really should have known That my image of Him would grow

When I found the God seeing books, the tarot cards, and the demonstration of intimacy with nature on the sills of the 60-year-old house. Surrounded by clam shells lining the walkways amid rose bushes and cement garden animals.

I really should have taken my clue. My God was going to get bigger.

I really should have known.

My God grew yesterday

I really should have known

Amid dusty throw rugs and plastic flowers dimmed by sunlight of days gone by.

My God grew yesterday.

For the life she lived has now grown dim. At least that’s what they said. But, let me tell you friend, they were wrong, I know that for sure because My God grew yesterday.

Because God is eternal, and so is her life. 

Otherwise that God couldn’t grow at all. 

As we get old, He would get small.

But, but that’s not the case, or I wouldn’t have had to face 

That my God needed to grow.

Because through the trinkets in her house, through the faded blouse,

my God continued to grow.

Because with each story of days long ago Came the pain, 

the remorse and the show

Of the incredible kindness of a loving Father who tenderly extended His hand during episodes in her life as it was all within His plan

And, my God grew yesterday. I’m here to say.

Because she walked me through her life, year by painful year. 

A step at a time she told me the rhyme.

How her image of God had grown.

And, she showed me through her eyes the faithfulness of His 

Who cared for her all along

It wasn’t her wits, her friends, her education which made her strong But grace along, had come to shown.

Her how to survive in the face of defeat and pain, 

God had brought her gain Grace came through

Where there was none at all. When she was small.

My image of God grew with her yesterday.

In the face of her mother who died when she was a child

In the back of her father who deserted her later on.

In loneliness, hardships and broken relationships; love lost and spent. My God grew yesterday.

Because, when she met her sum, and added it all up

She had found herself at the end of the trail.

Face down with a fractured hip, she could only flail. 

Because no one but God knew she was there. 

What despair?

Fallen, alone and crying in the brook, 

she lay bent broken and completely shook.

And cried out to God.

So my image of God grew yesterday. 

Because, she tells me somehow, she knew.

The same God from before, That God she grew had grown to be her friend, as the days passed on by 

watching the years fly

And, she just knew 

He would not let her die as she lie

Face down in the mud at the end of the trial. 

She put up her sail and billowed out to Him. 

And, He responded to her plea

It wasn’t just a whim

And He plucked her from the mud and carried her safely home.

That God that grew; She got Him on the phone.

But how did she know? 

That is the mystery at hand

That God could bring help to her side

How did she know. 

Did She abide? I think so. 

And I’ll tell you the truth.

Lord God Almighty is not only for the youth.

He loves us all, and especially those grown old.

I know it for myself, today

Not merely something I’m told.

For that image of God can only

Grow when watered and fed day by day as we are led. 

Held in His hand, threaded through His plan.

This God of All. Surely He can And He does.

June 15, 2006

Written on the plane on the way home from taking care of my grandmother who had fallen and fractured her hip. I cared for her the week following her surgery.

[Excerpt from Faith on a Wing and a Prayer.]