A Class on Spiritual Gifts

It happened in a church not far from here. The church shall remain nameless in this story, mainly because someone in its membership made a mistake.  The reason I want to keep the church nameless is because its mistake would probably have been made by almost every church. 

Our story is about a church which was announcing the upcoming Bible Class Schedule for a new quarter, and one of the new classes was to be on the subject of spiritual gifts.  Whoever wrote the description of the class decided to make it interesting.  Here's the description from the church newsletter and notice about the class:

Classified Ad: Help Wanted

PUBLIC NOTICE:  First Nameless Church has immediate openings for FT, PT Service Technicians.  Positions are available for all levels of skills.  On the job training will be provided for some positions. Apply in person.

PERSONAL:  First Nameless Church is an EOE offering a positive work environment with excellent benefits including heavenly retirement compensation.  In addition, the church's CEO for many years has been voted "Best Boss to Work For."

Are you looking for more than just a job?   (Teacher's names omitted, too) will help you understand the biblical concepts of Spiritual Gifts and how they are an integral part of stewardship.  Come see how your God-given gifts, passion, and personal style work together to enhance your serving opportunities. Assessments available.  Affirmation guaranteed.  Satisfying rewards.

I sit here thinking this is probably one of the cleverest approaches to describing an upcoming class I have ever seen.  You are probably ahead of me when you start thinking some actually contacted the church seeking an employment position.  It happened.  At some point the question was asked, "Oh by the way, what is a spiritual gift?"

Now you know why I said the same thing could probably happen in just about any church.  That prompts me to ask the question, "Why do we choose to remain in the dark concerning spiritual gifts?"  What is so difficult to understand about our motivations or gifts of service which spiritually enhance our lives while producing positive results for the entire Body of Christ?

I have met some Christians whose gift is giving.  They just love to give.  They may give money, or their time, or support a ministry, or countless other ways.  There are other Christians who have the gift of intercessory prayer.  They are always praying for someone.  Like these examples, there are those who are motivated to leadership, feeding the poor, visiting hospitals, teaching youth.....and the list goes on. 

Each of our gifts needs to be used in the work of the church.  The successful outcome of each one living the Christian life, especially in the area of exercising their gifts, brings harmony and love and growth in the local church.  All  under the authority of Jesus Christ, we involve ourselves in serving each other, those in the world around us, and the Kingdom thrives. 

Remember the verse from Ephesians we studied recently, "From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

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