Spiritual gifts and individual talents are sometimes downplayed as being of secondary importance when it comes to the selection of a pastor. Just read many pastoral job descriptions and you will find that the requirement of a college degree often trumps many of the other prerequisites, to include spiritual gifts and individual talents. Many times the college degree does not even need to be related to the church or the ministry…just a degree is needed. What could be the reason behind this? For starters, churches normally want competent leaders and a college degree can be easily quantified. On the contrary, spiritual gifts and individual talents as well a person’s character are more difficult to measure. What kind of messages do many churches send to the world by requiring secular standards for a religiously-oriented vocation? Is the ministry limited to white-collar workers? Should blue-collar workers not even bother applying? So what importance does the role of spiritual gifts and individual talents play in the selection of pastors and church leaders?
What are spiritual gifts and individual talents? Scripture teaches that the Holy Spirit baptizes a new believer at the point when he or she acknowledges Jesus Christ as his or her personal Lord and Savior. When the Holy Spirit baptizes the new believer, commonly known as the baptism of the Holy Spirit, He uniquely gives to each believer a spiritual gift or gifts for the common good of the overall church. (Matthew 3:1-2, 11; I Corinthians 12:3-7) In similar manner, people are born with individual talents, or skills, that they normally use for the betterment of society. As people grow older and are given opportunities to try new things, they will normally gravitate toward certain hobbies, professions and/or interests where their natural-born skills can be applied in a constructive manner. Often times, people seek out mentors who help them find their God-given talents as well as their niche in life. As a result, we should have a much better world full of people who are passionate about doing things they love, be it working in a trade/profession, raising a family, helping others or some other contribution to society.
How do spiritual gifts relate to pastors and church leaders? In the Apostle Paul’s instructions to Timothy, the overall theme for an overseer’s qualifications focuses on a person’s character being above reproach. In addition, the text indicates that the overseer should possess the spiritual gifts of shepherding, teaching, and leadership. (I Timothy 3:1-5) What is the importance of a pastor possessing all or part of these spiritual gifts? The spiritual gift of shepherding, or guiding others, is when the Holy Spirit guides a believer to watch over the spiritual welfare of others and bring them into fellowship with one another. (Ephesian 4:11) The spiritual gift of teaching, or instructing, is when the Holy Spirit guides a believer to help others learn about the Word of God and applying it to their lives. (Romans 12:7; I Corinthians 12:28-29; Ephesians 4:11) The spiritual gift of leadership, or governments, is when the Holy Spirit guides a believer to diligently guide others and/or an organization by perseverance and adherence to the Word of God. (Romans 12:8; I Corinthians 12:28) In other words, spiritual gifts have nothing do with anything we can accomplish our own (e.g., training, schools), but rather the Holy Spirit empowering our lives as vessels of God’s work.
How do individual talents relate to pastors and church leaders? Basically, individual talents can be used in conjunction with spiritual gifts. Take for example, God chose David while he was a youth tending sheep and the Spirit of the Lord empowered him in applying his skills (or talents) for becoming the king of Israel. (I Samuel 16:1, 10-13) In the New Testament, Jesus Christ chose two fishermen – Peter and Andrew – and used their fishing skills with the words, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19 NIV) The same applies today, someone may have natural carpentry skills and God may empower that person with the spiritual gift of apostleship, or being an ambassador, for the purpose of spreading and relating the message of the gospel to individuals in different areas of the world. As a result, the person may decide to be a missionary carpenter building churches, hospitals, or like manner in another region of the world. Apply this same scenario to the function of leading a church and you will find an unlimited number of ways God can empower pastors with spiritual gifts via their individual talents, be it God-given natural talents and/or learned trades/skills.
In summary, one of the primary goals of the church is teaching people how God can change lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. In keeping aligned with this premise, we need to remember the importance of the example that the pastor sets for the congregation, in that the qualifications of the pastor tend to set the precedence for various supporting roles within the church. Therefore, we should avoid pigeonholing people based off their occupations, especially whether they are white-collar or blue-collar workers. Look at how the people in the synagogue judged Jesus Christ’s wisdom, referring to Him as a blue-collar worker – “What’s this wisdom that has been given him…Isn’t this the carpenter?” (Mark 6:2-3 NIV) Instead, we should try following the standards that God spoke through the Prophet Samuel concerning King David. “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (I Samuel 16:7 NIV)
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