The topic of this study comes from some of my church encounters.
For example, many times church members will complain about the administrative lacks of their pastor. My reaction is, “Does your Pastor have the gift of teaching?” “Oh, Yes.” If he happens to be good at administration that’s a plus. But, according to Ephesians 4:11, it is not a requirement. Administrating gifts do not mature the saints. Only teaching gifts do. You really have a plus if your Pastor Teacher also has the gift of evangelism.
However, leadership gifts do exist. Dr. John W. Alexander wrote a book called “Managing Our Work”. He made it very clear that management is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. A church cannot exist without leadership (Romans 12:8). But usually a good Pastor Teacher does not have this gift and that is seen in Acts 6:2-4.
Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
I also discover churches with strange requirements. I have seen cases where a committee actually checks a potential Pastor’s conduct before he was born again. Such scrutiny overlooks the power of the cross of Christ which reminds us that the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from ALL sin.
Let me illustrate. Here’s a man with a very tainted past, but he is born again. Now, according to I Corinthians 12:7, God gives him the gift of evangelism. Some dwell on his before-conversion life style and state he shouldn’t be an evangelist. That’s actually over-riding the Holy Spirit. You mean God calls him to a specific work and then the committee (a group of the unwilling appointed by the incompetent) can reject the call of God on a life. That’s very dangerous!
By the way, all of this is the reason for Romans 14:4 and the reason it is very dangerous to touch one of the Lord’s anointed.
In summary, we must conclude that much of the disunity among the saints stems from a lack of understanding the doctrine of spiritual gifts. (Send for the book of CDs dealing with “The Gifts from God”, a series we gave on Songtime throughout December.)
Don’t try to exercise gifts you don’t have and don’t expect leadership to exercise gifts they don’t have!
Years ago Dr. Harold Fickett was Pastor of Tremont Temple in Boston. I asked him his secret because people were now filling the second balcony. He said, “I determined the spiritual gifts needed to build the Church. I realized I only had two gifts so we added staff who had the additional gifts needed.” The church grew.
Question: What spiritual gift or gifts did you receive when you were born again? Are you using them? The case of CDs, “Gifts from God”, demonstrate how to discover your I Corinthians 12:7 gifts! Call us and request it.