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1 Pet 4:10-11 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. (11) If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
You'll notice from these verses that Peter divides all the gifts into two broad categories: speaking and serving.
And that these gifts come by grace, and that we are accountable as stewards.
Today, we're going to take a look at some miscellaneous gifts and ministries.
This is only a cross-section - it's not necessarily an exhaustive list.
You may find that you click with more than one of these ministries - that's not unusual.
I'm going to give you a brief description of each one, and some of their strengths and weaknesses - so we can better understand how to be good stewards.
This is a very practical hands-on ministry.
Every church needs lots of people with the ministry of helps - it's incredibly important.
Without it, the work of the church would grind to a halt.
People with the ministry of helps see something that needs doing - and they just do it.
Usually, I find that they have a gift of serving.
I think Jesus made it very clear that the highest calling a person can have is serving.
Mat 23:11 But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.
So, in one sense, we're all called to serve - but some have a specific gift (Rom 12:7 - translated ministry).
They have lots of strengths.
They are often hard workers, humble, generous with their time - nothing is too much trouble for them.
If you need to set up, they'll do it; if you need someone to clean up they're available; if you're looking for someone to serve, they're more than willing.
ILLUS - People with a servant heart often don't even think twice about serving others. (10-2-02) - I wear glasses to watch TV. I was sitting in my recliner and my glasses were on the cabinet about a foot away. Jokingly I said to my wife, who was sitting way across the other side of the room, "I can't reach my glasses. Would you pass them to me." She didn't even blink. "Sure," she said. And she did. I just looked at her and thought: I can't believe you just did that.
Every strength can easily become a weakness.
More than any other ministry - in my experience - people with the ministry of helps or a serving gift, have a tendency to say, "I don't have any special ability / gift."
This is the flip side of their humility.
They just do what comes naturally - but often don't understand that it's the result of a gift.
And an important one at that.
ILLUS - My mother had one of the most obvious gifts of serving I've ever seen. She'd mow your lawn, wash your dishes, clean your house. Yet she never thought she had anything in particular to offer.
This sense of not being very important often also gives rise to a real need to be acknowledged and thanked.
Sometimes they start to grumble and even leave churches because they feel unappreciated.
They can also find themselves getting a little impatient with others who aren't so quick to volunteer for practical jobs.
And so they need to recognise that not everyone has their serving gift, and the things that seem obvious to them aren't obvious to others.
1 Cor 12:28 And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.
This is not a very good translation [NKJV & NIV] of the Greek which is from a word "originally used of the action of a helmsman1" (The noun is used of guiding a ship - Acts 27:11 Rev 18:17).
And so it's accepted that a much better translation would be "acts of guidance2".
If we were to bring it into a modern setting, a much more accurate word might be "counsellor".
Being married to a fully qualified counsellor, I'm in a position to know.
They invariably marry extremely intelligent and good-looking men.
They often have great insight / discernment into what makes people tick, why they are the way they are.
They can see very clear cause and effect principles, so that they can look into the future and say, "If you do this, then this is what's most likely to happen".
Because my wife is an excellent counsellor, I asked her what the pitfalls were for this ministry.
She said two things: pride - resulting from people looking to you for guidance; emotional vulnerability which can lead to burnout - resulting from a tendency to get too involved in other people's problems.
What do they do? Surprisingly, they teach - they unfold the truths of God's Word so that people can understand them and put them into practice.
They are quick to pick up spiritual truths and concepts - and they have a knack of being able to make complex ideas understandable to others.
They help others to experience that feeling where they just want to say, "Oh, now I get it." Or: "Now that makes sense."
Teachers have great insights into God's Word.
They love to dig around in the Scriptures, to study, to increase their understanding.
ILLUS - They can read the same Scripture passage as the next person. The other person says, "Well, it doesn't say much to me." But the teacher has come out with 5 pages of notes, 7 Bible principles, 22 cross-references to other Scriptures, and half a dozen Greek words thrown in for good measure.
Teachers of course don't have any weaknesses - just kidding - I just didn't want you guys to know what they were.
Okay - one of the pitfalls for teachers is to extract more from the text than it was actually meant to yield.
ILLUS - Augustine (354-430) took the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) and interpreted absolutely everything3.
A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho = Adam
Jerusalem = the heavenly city of peace, from which Adam fell
Jericho = the moon, and thereby signifies Adam's mortality
Thieves = the devil and his angels
Stripped him = namely, of his immortality
Beat him = by persuading him to sin
And left him half-dead = as a man he lives, but he died spiritually, therefore he is half-dead
The priest and the Levite = the priesthood and ministry of the Old Testament
The Samaritan = is said to mean Guardian; therefore Christ Himself is meant
Bound his wounds = means binding the restraint of sin
Oil = comfort of good hope
Wine = exhortation to work with a fervent spirit
Beast = the flesh of Christ's incarnation
Inn = the church
The next day = after the Resurrection
Two denarii = promise of this life and the life to come
Innkeeper = Paul
Another weakness is the desire to see everything neatly packaged or reduced to a formula.
That doesn't mean that there aren't any formulas in the Bible.
For instance, Gal 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
This is basically a formula; what you sow = what you reap.
But you can't always do that - not everything can be so easily nailed down.
ILLUS - The tendency of some teachers to reduce divine healing to a formula, so that if you don't get healed, you've missed part of the formula. Which usually means it's your fault.
Another pitfall is the tendency teachers can have to be so immersed in concepts and doctrines that they forget that there's a real world out there - and what we believe has to be applied to real life.
ILLUS - I heard of one teacher who taught a great message on divine healing. Everyone was stirred up to believe God for great things to happen. He got to the end of his message and just sat down. The pastor went to the platform and said, "That was great. Can you pray for the sick now?" The teacher said, "Who me? No. I'm a teacher. I don't pray for the sick. Besides, I'm feeling sick myself. I'm going home to bed."
The word that's translated pastors in Eph 4:11 is the Greek word for shepherd.
In fact, all the other 17 times that word is used in the New Testament (except here in Eph 4:11), it's translated as shepherd.
So what does a shepherd do?
They look after the sheep - feed them, care for them, nurture them, nurse them.
The confusing thing today is that, many of those we call pastors, are not gifted or called to be shepherds.
They may be leaders, or teachers, or apostles.
In fact, research shows that for a church to grow, it's best that the leader is not primarily a shepherd.
That doesn't mean he shouldn't care about people - but if he's smart, he'll surround himself with others who can do what he's not called to do.
Shepherds care about people, they're interested in you - they have compassion.
They always seem to have time to spend with people - and they're very easy to be with.
Shepherds can find it difficult to make tough decisions because they're worried they might hurt someone, or they don't want to be unpopular.
They tend to take on people's emotional problems.
And I've noticed over the years, that because shepherds are usually very compassionate people, they can sometimes become an ear for the critics in the church.
And if they're not careful, they themselves become critics, or burn out because they can't say no.
To exhort means to encourage, or lift up.
They have a special knack of getting alongside others and encouraging them when they're down.
They're the kind of people who, when you talk to them, you always walk away feeling better.
They make you feel like you can do great things, and you're a great person.
ILLUS - Barnabas - originally named Joses - means Son of Encouragement (Acts 4:36). When everyone else was suspicious of Paul's conversion to Christ, it was Barnabas who took him to the apostles (Acts 9:27). He was the one who encouraged the church in Antioch (Acts 11:22-23). It was Barnabas who brought Paul to Antioch where his apostolic ministry was birthed (Acts 11:25).
He must have had a tremendous influence on Paul's future life and ministry.
The best way to sum up the exhorter's weakness: They sometimes don't see the rocks in the harbour.
They can have an unrealistic view of people.
ILLUS - (Acts 15:36-40) Paul and Barnabas eventually split over whether or not they should take John Mark with them. Paul said no. Who was in the right? Some say Barnabas. But I find it interesting that after this incident, Barnabas is never again mentioned in Acts. He took John Mark (who happened to be Barnabas' cousin - Col 4:10), went back home to Cyprus, and that's the last you hear of him.
I think Paul was right - John Mark wasn't ready till some time later (2 Tim 4:11).
But the great encourager, Barnabas, didn't see the rocks in the harbour.
Leaders have vision - they know exactly what they want to achieve.
And they have a fair idea of how to get there.
They have the ability to see into the future, know where they want to be - and be able to work out how to create the culture that will achieve it.
Discouragement - leaders want to achieve, and they want it to happen yesterday.
So if followers don't catch the vision - or things don't happen - as quickly as the leader expects, they can become discouraged.
There are also moral pitfalls.
In any war, the enemy targets officers and medical personnel.
In the church, that translates into leaders and shepherds.
So in one sense it's not surprising to see moral failures among pastors and church leaders.
Not surprising, but it is unacceptable - leaders need to strive to be examples of moral integrity.
Leaders can sometimes forget that they're servants - of God and the people.
Givers are generous with their money and resources.
They are hospitable and generous.
And even when they don't have a lot themselves, they're still willing to give.
Some people with a gift of giving need to work on how they control their money - it just runs through their fingers like sand.
They're good at giving - but they're also good at spending.
To be good stewards of these ministries, we need to capitalise on our strengths, and do our best to avoid the pitfalls.
Each of us needs to find out where God wants us to serve Him - and do it with all of our hearts.