I Know Some Servants …

With the Spiritual Gift of Leadership:

to stand before the people in such a way as to attend to the direction of the body with such care and diligence so as to motivate others to get involved in the accomplishment of these goals

Servant #1:  He was a pastor on the cutting edge.  He consistently wanted to try new ways of accomplishing ministry.  He knew the church could go so much further in making an impact in the world and their community and he wanted to take them there.  He was also a great motivator and builder of potential leaders.  Members of the congregation struggled with the little time he invested into pastoral care such as visitation and counseling.

Servant #2:  He was a a church planter.  He consistently wanted to see new churches developed.  Not long after a church got off the ground, he would find himself feeling hemmed in.  Members of the congregation struggled with his desire to move on and begin a new church.  They wanted him to stay even though he became increasingly frustrated.

Servant #3:  She regularly found herself in leadership positions throughout her years of ministry.  She enjoyed doing administrative work but became most impassioned when working on new ideas.  She enjoyed people but felt most fulfilled when she could work on goals to provide people with a path to becoming better equipped and more Christ-like.  Sometimes she served with ministry leaders who didn’t care if the ministry got beyond status quo and therefore they didn’t always understand some of the stands she would take on issues.

All of these servants had a God-given drive to take the church to new heights.  And, all of these servants were at times misunderstood or stifled in their pursuits by the expectations of others.

Lesson to be learned:

Let’s make sure we understand the difference between the gifts and not box people in to our ideas of what someone in a ministry position should look like.   If we want certain characteristics, let’s make sure we recruit the right person with the spiritual gift(s) most suitable for our priorities.  For example: 

Unless accompanied by other gifts or a certain personality, don’t expect someone with the gift of leadership to delve into the details of administrating his/her ideas or to focus in on the on-going needs of people.  Likewise, unless accompanied by other gifts or a certain personality type, don’t expect someone with the gift of administration to have the enterprising qualities of someone with the gift of leadership. 

Unless accompanied by other gifts or a certain personality, don’t expect someone with the gift of leadership to get involved in the nitty-gritties of people’s lives.  Likewise, unless accompanied by other gifts or a certain personality type, don’t expect someone with the gift of pastor to take a more global approach to ministry.

Leaders develop ideas.  Administrators develop strategies to accomplish ideas.  Pastors develop people to benefit from the ideas and strategies.