Read an Excerpt
The Gifted Pastor
Finding and Using Your Spiritual Gifts
By Kenneth H. Carter Jr. Abingdon Press
Copyright © 2001 Abingdon Press
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4267-7386-0
CHAPTER 1
Spiritual Gifts and You
I will pour out my spirit on all flesh.
(Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17)
No one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit.... To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
(1 Corinthians 12:3, 7)
God has addressed us and continues to do so. To know that God addresses "me" is to know that God has spoken to me or to you, calling you by your unique name. It is to know that our response determines our destiny.
(Gordon Cosby)
Every Follower of Jesus Christ Has a Spiritual Gift
This core truth is a corrective to many of our false assumptions about gifts, about ministry, about life. Some of us might believe that a few persons are truly gifted and that the rest of us are not so endowed. If we believe that we are in that number, among the gifted, we can become elitist; and without knowing it, we convey an arrogance. If we do not believe that we are gifted, we view ourselves as deficient, void of talent or ability.
Some of us believe that only a few persons are ministers and the rest are recipients of services, or spectators. If we count ourselves among the ministers, we overfunction, overextending ourselves; and we even grow resentful or burn out. If we sense that we do not have a ministry, we become passive (waiting to receive the ministry from someone else) or critical (sensing that our role is to evaluate others in ministry).
Some of us live in ways that deny our true gifts, our natural abilities and passions. We reenact the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. We disparage any accomplishments in our past, we lower our expectations in the present, and we question future possibilities. At times, we are also unaware of the gifts of others. We find it difficult to trust persons around us to be competent or compassionate, and we are skeptical about their motivations and intentions.
This core truth—that every follower of Jesus Christ has a spiritual gift—is one that a pastor must reflect on, for it will shape his or her whole life and ministry. Gordon Cosby's discernment, that our destiny is bound to this question, is not an overstatement. Do we believe that every follower of Jesus Christ has a spiritual gift? Do we believe that we as pastors have been given spiritual gifts?
Our answers, of course, are lived out in the everyday practice of ministry. As we struggle with these questions we must acknowledge three important issues, ones that are foundational to this discussion and to day-to-day ministry. First, we may be called to give up control, or at least the illusion of being in control. Second, we progress in the spiritual life as we see people in their uniqueness. And third, we take steps toward the discovery of our own gifts, for we as pastors are also among the followers of Jesus!
Out of Control
If we are honest, as pastors, our hesitancy about the language and practice of spiritual gifts begins with the issue of control. When we begin to call forth gifts in others, we begin to lose control, or the illusion of being in control. Gifts are shaped by God's call, the needs of God's mission, the sufferings of individuals and communities. Gifts do not fit neatly into our plans and schemes for ministry. Gifts flow from individuals who have been created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26).
Gifts are freely offered, by definition. They cannot be coerced or controlled, managed or manipulated. While this may seem a negative consequence of spiritual gifts, it actually helps us to lose our illusion of being in control. The loss of this illusion reminds us of a liberating truth: that God is in control. Our functional atheism ("I am at the center of this ministry or mission") is counter to a conviction that God is in control. A belief that God is in control, in turn, shapes our practice of sabbath, grounds our understanding of stewardship, and speaks a word of judgment against our tendency to overfunction. As Edwin Friedman, the family systems theorist often noted, our tendency to overfunction usually leads others to underfunction. Theologically, our trust in the God who is in control leads to the practical reality that others will share their gifts, if given the opportunity. Max DePree suggests that "understanding and accepting diversity enables us to see that each person is needed. It also enables us to begin to think about being abandoned to the strengths of others, of admitting that we cannot know or do everything."
The pastoral ministry has taught me this truth in a couple of ways. For a number of years I have participated in Cursillo and Walk to Emmaus retreats. Aside from being wonderful experiences of grace, the weekends remind me again and again about the gifts of the laity. The retreats also teach me something about control: If a layperson can direct a Walk to Emmaus, he or she can also manage a church. And if the laity will manage or lead the church, pastors can serve as spiritual directors! If I am willing to give up some degree of control, or the illusion of control, I can practice in my own area of giftedness.
I have also developed a practice of sharing leadership in confirmation with lay leaders (in smaller churches) and with other staff (in larger churches) and have been drawn to the use of mentors with young people preparing for profession of faith and membership in the church. I am amazed at the dedication of the laity in teaching, serving, counseling, and guiding processes that lead youth into a closer relationship with God. I find young people are drawn to the individual differences among a variety of leaders, and I often sense that the gifts of different persons complement each other.
Like most pastors, I am sometimes prone to "do it myself." My experiences in these areas are sometimes chaotic and surprising. But life is chaotic and surprising, and so is ministry. My desire to be in control is not helpful to me or to others; it limits the scope of the mission, and there is a personal and professional cost. When pastors overfunction, we are not willing to live "out of control." When we sense that everything does not depend on us, we live into the good news of the hymn, "leaning on the everlasting arms." God is in control.
Seeing People in Their Uniqueness
To see others in their uniqueness is a contemplative act. To see others in their uniqueness is to see their lives as sacred texts, texts as complex as biblical narratives we study and expound. To see others in their uniqueness is to search for another's potential for holiness. When we have lost the illusion of control, and allow God to be God, we begin to work with the deadly sin of hubris. Eugene Peterson writes helpfully that "it is in this context of being most responsible, being obedient, that we most easily substitute our will for God's will, because it is so easy to suppose that they are identical." This hubris breeds an insensitivity to the uniqueness of others. Every pastor, to some degree, is infected with it.
To see others contemplatively is a difficult spiritual discipline for pastors. We develop, over time, a capacity to see people in more functional ways: she would be a great Sunday school teacher, he would be an excellent trustee (and yes, we do tend to stereotype people!). We begin with a role that needs to be filled, with a task that awaits completion. In this way we skim the surfaces of groups, understanding others only superficially as we search for a potential match.
When pastors are gathered in one place for an event, the discussion proceeds in this way. A larger group will be in a conversation, and there is talk about numbers in worship, goals met, accomplishments on the horizon. And we are mostly being truthful in these conversations. Then the groups break apart, naturally or perhaps by design. A different conversation emerges: We reflect on the difficulty of ministry; we confess our failures; we voice our uncertainties; we question our motivations.
The pastoral ministry is difficult. Indeed it may be that being a pastor is somewhat analogous to climbing a mountain: It is difficult and strenuous; there is often a temptation to give up; the destination ahead is not always apparent; and there are lots of folk at the base of the mountain offering advice. As the journey proceeds uphill, the companions become fewer; but there is an increasingly meaningful shared experience that is powerful and helpful. Peter Metcalf writes of the parallels of starting a business and climbing a mountain:
You can't know what a climb is like without actually doing it. Everything else is just training ... and if you decide there are no alternatives and you absolutely commit yourself to something, it is amazing how you can not only keep going way beyond what you thought you could do but also convince yourself and others that you can do anything.
Consider two images for serving in ministry with others: skimming the surface of a body of water or climbing a mountain. At times we have linked person and task, individual and role; but the relationship has been a shallow one: The gift is not a match with the mission, a passion is not present, a depth is missing.
The alternative is to see individuals in their uniqueness. To see persons as sacred texts is to know their histories as well as we know the texts that we teach and preach. In this way pastoral ministry becomes a contemplative act, as we see the potential for holiness within each person. In the Wesleyan tradition this has been described as the journey toward perfection, the renewal of the imago dei (image of God). The journey is one that demands all that we have. It is not unlike companionship with others on a strenuous uphill journey.
Individuals, of course, are diverse in nature and interest, in temperament and calling. I have caught myself leaving a parish, entering into a new one, and carrying along some plan or program that flourished in the last place, in which I am now an expert—or at least to a modest degree! More often than not, my scheme when transplanted into the new setting, no matter how clever or well intentioned, does not fit the new congregation. I have not taken the time to see individuals in their uniqueness, or to become acquainted with the culture in which these persons live.
To take the time to be a contemplative pastor is to listen. Dietrich Bonhoeffer noted that:
It is God's work that we do for our brother or sister when we listen to them. Christians, especially ministers, so often think that they must always contribute something when they are in the company of others, that this is the one service that we have to render. They forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking. Many people are looking for an ear that will listen. They do not find it among Christians, because these Christians are talking when they should be listening. But the one who can no longer listen to his brother or sister will soon no longer be listening to God either.... This is the beginning of the death of the spiritual life, and in the end there is nothing left but spiritual chatter and clerical condescension arrayed in pious words.... Anyone who thinks that his time is too valuable to spend keeping quiet will eventually have no time for God and his brother or sister, but only for himself and for his own follies.
To hear the stories of our people is to pastor in a contemplative way. If we have become deaf to the still, small voice (1 Kings 19) of God, Bonhoeffer would argue, it may be that the voices among which we serve have also become muted. In the Scriptures, the gifts of the spirit are always connected to call (see especially Ephesians 4). The call of God is to search for the uniqueness of the Spirit at work in the lives of God's people.
To contemplate the unique gifts of others requires that we step away, at times, from our own agendas. I once knew a woman who was a gifted therapist. Our congregation was in the formative stages of beginning a lay caregiving ministry that required mature leaders gifted in areas like listening, bereavement, and spiritual growth. I asked her to consider a leadership role, and she thoughtfully declined. "I am a therapist all week," she responded; "I love working with Girl Scouts. That is where God wants me to be." My initial disappointment gave way, in time, to an appreciative acceptance. In the balance of her life she had found her way to serve through her daily vocation and in the church.
The Discovery of Our Own Gifts
As pastors, we live in the tension between the need for self-definition and the need to learn from others. It is absolutely essential that the pastor have a clear sense of where she or he is headed. In the theological tradition this is often defined as authority; in literature on church growth it is called visioning or vision-casting; in the language of family systems it is self-differentiation. The effective pastor has a growing range of authority. The effective pastor has an increasingly sharpened sense of vision. The effective pastor is able to define herself while remaining connected to the congregation. The effective pastor knows who she is!
There is a tendency to become enamored with models of leadership, church growth, and ministry that are hailed as successful or innovative. These models can be found in a number of settings, including the suburbs of Chicago, Los Angeles, and Dallas; and they are worth exploring. Both Willow Creek Community Church (Chicago) and Saddleback Valley Community Church (Los Angeles) have developed spiritual gift resources that are exceptionally well crafted. But these two churches should not be held up as examples of congregations to emulate. They are highly unusual churches, planted in particular contexts, with remarkable leadership. Pastors who attempt to build Willow Creeks or Saddlebacks will, for the most part, bring frustration to themselves and a sense of failure to their people.
As pastors continue in the journey forward, we will discover a mission that is shaped by a variety of factors: the uniqueness of others and their gifts, the history and the culture of the congregation, and our own gifts. The effective pastor must learn from others, but clearly takes responsibility for his own identity.
Here the issue of spiritual gifts takes on crucial importance for the pastor. If the pastor is not aware of her own gifts for ministry, she will be tempted to strive for the gifts of others. Much of the literature on ministry in our culture is written by individuals who have the gift of leadership. Their prescription for all that afflicts the church is more effective leadership. I want to suggest that there is an error in the diagnosis and in the prescription: not every problem can be solved by more effective leadership, and not every pastor has the gift of leadership.
Instead, there are a variety of gifts (1 Corinthians 12), and the presence or absence of those gifts create particular congregational cultures. It could be that a congregation suffers from a lack of shepherding, or from inadequate teaching, or from a failure to evangelize, or from an excessive emphasis on tongues. "When the only tool we have is a hammer," Abraham Maslow is credited with the saying, "we treat everything as if it were a nail!" Our responses to others will always flow out of our gifts. The first step is to discover what those gifts are!
As you read this book, I invite you to reflect on the material in dialogue with your own ministry. How do you respond to the sermons? Do they seem liberating or confirming or guilt producing? Do the suggested practices seem familiar and possible or foreign and impossible? Are you drawn to the inventories as a way toward greater self-understanding? Does this seem to be an area that would help you to more faithfully serve others?
A couple of suggestions might help at this early stage. The Christian tradition, in its discussions of ordained ministry, has often spoken of an inner call and an outer call. You sensed an inner call to ordained ministry, and that decision filled you with grace and hope. But there was also an outer call. Lay members of the congregation of which you were a part sensed that same call; they perceived an emerging call in you, and other pastors did as well.
Perhaps you might return to the intersection of inner and outer call in the discovery of your own gifts. Do you sense a particular area of ministry or a set of tasks that seem to fit who you are and why you are drawn to this way of life? Is an inner call to give focused attention to the task of preaching met with a response that your preaching is helpful to individuals and faithful to the text? Is an inner call to visit with particular persons often connected to an outer call of gratitude?
Could our frustrations in ministry, indeed our propensity to burn out, be the result of our inability to hear the inner call to ministry? I once served four churches in a beautiful rural setting, where I followed a very popular and beloved pastor. He was in the latter stages of service; I was at the beginning. He left that assignment to enter into full-time evangelism. In my first two years I gave a great deal of energy to the work of evangelism. I tried to become an evangelist to those congregations, but I could not see much visible fruit. Instead, I was exhausted. I was trying to function, in sustained and ongoing ways, outside of my gift. I was not an evangelist. I was also not being honest with the people. And in attempting to offer a gift that I did not possess, I was not sharing what in fact I could give to them.
One afternoon I began to reflect on the pastors who had served those four churches. I went back over a period of thirty years, and many of the faces of the prior pastors came into focus. One was an excellent administrator. One was an activist. One had a compassion for missions. One was a shepherd. It occurred to me that if each of us would give our true gift to these people, they would indeed receive all that they needed, over time.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Gifted Pastor by Kenneth H. Carter Jr.. Copyright © 2001 Abingdon Press. Excerpted by permission of Abingdon Press.
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