Chapter One
I Don't Have Gifts, Do I?
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.
There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.
There are different kinds of working,
but the same God works all of them in all men.1 Corinthians 12:4-6
When Lily, Suzy, and Reni were in elementary school, they were all invited
into the "gifted program." As their friend Zooey put it, that seemed to mean
they were "way smarter than the rest of us kids." Every time Zooey watched
them leave the regular classroom to go do some special activity, she would
slump down in her desk and think, I wish I were gifted.
So when Lily, Suzy, and Reni took Zooey to church with them, and the
Sunday school teacher started talking about the "spiritual gifts" people have,
Zooey groaned and thought, Here we go again. I'm gonna be in the UN-gifted
group.
But the teacher made it sound like everybody had at least one spiritual gift.
Zooey couldn't help it-she had to raise her hand and set this lady straight.
"I'm not gifted," Zooey told her. "I'm in the dumb group."
That's when the teacher set Zooey straight. The gifts she was talking about
were nothing like that special, "only-certain-people-get-invited" program at
school. When it came to these gifts:
Everybody has one or more.
The gifts don't have anything to do with how smart you are or how
talented or pretty or rich.
They aren't the kind that make you special-they are supposed to be
used to help the body of Christ-the church-grow and be more and
more wonderful.
That was all Zooey had to hear. She was ready to find out what her gifts
were and go for it!
How about you? Do you want to know what these gifts are? Would you like
to find out which ones God put in the "you" package before you were born and
learn how you can use them? If so, this is the book for you. It comes with a
warning label, though:
READING THIS BOOK MAY CAUSE
EXCITEMENT, JOY, AND SUDDEN BURSTS OF ENERGY!
If you can handle that, you're ready to begin. Let's start with what God
says about this whole spiritual gifts thing.
How is This a GOD THING?
In the very early days of the Christian church-way back before there were
church buildings with steeples and congregations with pastors or even youth
programs or choirs-Paul wrote letters to the various groups of Christians,
telling them what he was learning from God about how they should live
together. He told the people of Corinth, for example, that each one of them had
something important to contribute to the life of their Christian community. He
called those something-important things spiritual gifts.
People being human the way they are, the fussing and
arguing started right away.
"I can speak in tongues, which is a whole lot more
important than you just teaching a class."
"Oh, yeah? You don't have the
gift of prophecy, so don't go
thinking you're all that!"
So Paul had to set them
straight. He said, "There are
different kinds of gifts, but the
same Spirit. There are different
kinds of service, but the same
Lord. There are different kinds of working, but
the same God works all of them in all men"
(1 Corinthians 12:4-6).
Each person's gifts
were special, because
each person's gifts had
come from the same
place-God. Not only
that, but each person's
gifts had to be used for the whole community, or the whole community was
going to fall apart.
Just to make sure they understood that, Paul used
the human body as an example. He said, "The body is
a unit, though it is made up of many parts" (1
Corinthians 12:12). You've got your feet, your hands, your
ears, and your eyes, and each one of them has its own
job to do. Paul said, "If the whole body were an eye,
where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole
body were an ear, where would the sense of smell
be?" (1 Corinthians 12:17).
About that time, the people of Corinth probably were starting to feel
pretty lame about competing with each other over their gifts, but just
in case they were tempted to go at it again, Paul wrote, "God has
arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted
them to be" (1 Corinthians 12:18).
So what were these gifts Paul was talking about? There are
several lists of spiritual gifts in the New Testament, but we'll be talking
about just the ones that you're likely to find in yourself right
now. Later in your life, you may discover God-given gifts for
use in the church that will mature as you do-so we'll leave
those for you to read about when the time comes. There
definitely are gifts you can use and develop now, even if you're as
young as eight years old. They're given different names in the
Bible, but to make sure they're easy for you to understand, we're
going to call them:
Speaking Gifts-teacher, encourager, perceiver
Serving Gifts-server, giver, compassion child
Gifts that Involve Speaking and Serving-leader, administrator
As we go along, we'll explain what each of these gifts is, and you'll be
able to see which ones best describe you. Before you do that, though, you
need to know one other very important thing the New Testament tells us:
"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully
administering God's grace in its various forms" (1 Peter 4:10).
For you, that means two very important things:
1. The gifts we're talking about are not the kind you keep to yourself or
show to just a few close friends. Spiritual gifts are given to you by God to
be used in the Christian community to help it grow. Being able to juggle
four raw eggs without dropping a single one may be a gift, but it isn't
a spiritual gift. You might use that gift once in a while to entertain your
youth group or get all the toddlers in the church nursery to stop wailing,
but every church doesn't have to have an egg juggler. Every church does,
however, need people who teach, encourage, and just seem to know how
others are feeling. Every church needs servers, givers, and people with
compassion. And where would any church be without leaders and
administrators? (If you don't know what some of those words mean, hang in
there. We'll explain everything!)
2. Most books are meant to be read by yourself. This one is different! You'll
get the most out of this book if you get a few of your friends to read it
at the same time so you can do the "Just Do It" activities together. After
all, we're talking about gifts you'll use all your life to serve a group of
people. So why not learn about them and practice with them as a group?
If you can't think of anyone who would join you, go ahead and read and
enjoy it on your own, but pray and keep your eyes open. Bringing people
together to do good stuff for him is one of God's best gifts!
Check Yourself Out
You'll notice that when we talked about the spiritual gifts, we placed them
into three groups:
Speaking Gifts
Serving Gifts
Gifts that Involve both Speaking and Serving
Before we talk in other chapters about exactly which gifts you have, let's
find out which of the three groups your gifts fall into. You may find out that
you have gifts in two or even all three of the categories-or you may see that
all your gifts seem to cluster in one area. Just remember that whatever you
discover, that's the way God wanted it when he created you. Finding your gifts
will be like hearing God whisper one of his "you-secrets" right in your ear.
Each statement below has three possible endings. Put a check or a star next
to every ending that is true for you. That means, in some cases, you might
check more than one ending. Be really honest-don't check anything just
because you think it's what you "should" do. (There are no "shoulds" in this
quiz!)
If there is a group project to do, I like to
a. _____ show other people how to do it.
b. _____ get in there and actually do the work.
c. _____ organize the whole thing.
If a room needs to be cleaned after the group project is done, I would
a. _____ say how it ought to be done.
b. _____ get a broom and start sweeping.
c. _____ figure out who could do what part of the cleanup.
If a friend or brother or sister has a problem, I
a. _____ give advice.
b. _____ do something to make the situation better.
c. _____ go through the solution step-by-step.
If there's an argument among my friends (or a heated discussion!), I want to
a. _____ give my opinion.
b. _____ do something to stop it.
c. _____ help everybody see how it could be resolved.
I think I can help my friends when
a. ____ they're confused about God things.
b. ____ they're sad.
c. ____ they have trouble getting along with people.
Often I
a. ____ read a good book.
b. ____ make something with my hands.
c. ____ make lists of all the cool things I want to do.
When I'm upset I
a. ____ keep other people from seeing how I feel.
b. ____ show my feelings to other people.
c. ____ figure out who I should show my feelings to before I do it.
If my friends and I were going to put on a play, I would want to
a. ____ act in it.
b. ____ do the behind-the-scenes stuff (like costumes and makeup and
scenery).
c. ____ come up with the ideas and direct it.
When it comes to making decisions, I
a. ____ make them very quickly and easily.
b. ____ have a hard time deciding what to do.
c. ____ do a lot of thinking before I decide, but when I do, it's easy.
I like to work with
a. ____ myself.
b. ____ one person at a time.
c. ____ a whole group of people.
Count the number of a's, b's, and c's you checked and write the totals here:
a's ____
b's ____
c's ____
Before we talk about what those numbers mean, remember this: No group
of gifts is better or more important than any other group. The "body of
Christ" needs toes as much as it needs lungs!
You might have a two-way or even a three-way tie, or high
numbers in more than one group. That just means you
have gifts in more than one area-so read
all the ones that are about you.
If you scored five or more in the "a"
group, you have some Speaking Gifts. That
means that you have a gift for using
the spoken word to teach people how
to do things or understand hard stuff,
to encourage people when they're
bummed out or not sure of
themselves, and to help people see
what's right and what's wrong.
You have no trouble saying
what's on your mind.
You're probably
okay with speaking
in front of a group of
people, once you get
over a small case of the jitters. And when people need somebody to talk to,
you're one of the first people they'll turn to. Those are all gifts you can use
to help keep the body of Christ on the right track.
If you scored five or more in the "b" group, you have some Serving Gifts.
That means you would rather do than talk, work behind the scenes than be in
the spotlight, show it than say it. You may have a gift for carrying out
instructions, being generous, or knowing what other people need. You get a kick out
of doing things to surprise or help people. You like to be the helper. And it's
a pretty sure thing that you're already doing what needs to be done to solve a
problem before most people even know there's a problem! Those are all gifts
you can use to help keep the body of Christ running smoothly.
If you scored five or more in the "c" group, you have some Gifts that
Involve Both Speaking and Serving. That means you are a natural leader or
that you are good at planning and making sure the plans are carried out. You
can get other people to do things without thinking you're too bossy. You not
only have great ideas but you get things done. And there's no doubt that you
know how to bring people together and get them working as a team. Those are
all gifts you can use to help keep the body of Christ growing.
NOTE: Even though the chapters in this book are divided into the three
kinds of gifts, read all of them, even if you think you have no gifts in a
certain area. It's a good thing to understand all the gifts, just as it's important to
understand your whole body.
GIRLZ Want to Know
* ZOOEY: I like this whole spiritual gifts thing. I just found out I'm a
server, like, in a big way! But, see, I don't go to church. Do I still have
gifts then? Can I still use them?
You definitely still have your gifts, Zooey. They came with you, just like your
gray eyes and great smile. And in some ways you can use them even if you
don't belong to a church. As a server, you can be generous and
compassionate with your own friends and family and do all kinds of wonderful things for
them. But the best thing you can do for them is help them get closer to God,
and before you can do that, you need to be close to God-and the place to
learn to do that is in a church, which is just a Christian community. If your
family doesn't want to go to a church, ask your friends who do belong to one
if you can go with them. Then pray that the enthusiasm and the love and all
the other good stuff you bring home with you will inspire the rest of your
family to go with you. That's the best service of all!
* LILY: I love my gifts! I tied three ways, and I am so ready to go
right to work in my church. But I know my mom and dad are going to
say, "Slow down, Lily. You can't run the place yet!" How can I use my
gifts if people think I'm just a kid?
Kids are way important to the life
of a church. People don't just wake
up one day as adults and say, "Okay.
Time to use my gifts. I'm a
grown-up now." The kid years are really
important for learning how to use
those gifts-and you don't just
learn by sitting around watching
everybody else. You learn by doing.
Look for the opportunities to do that
are appropriate for your age group.
Since you have speaking gifts,
can you volunteer
to read out
loud in your
Sunday
school
class? Ask
for parts in
pageants and
puppet shows that require learning a lot of
lines? Look for chances to read to the preschoolers or help with Vacation Bible
School? When it comes to your serving gifts, you can really go for it when
the Sunday school has a food drive, or you can be the first one on the bus
when your class takes cookies to a nursing home. As for your speaking and
serving gifts, think of some projects you would like to see the kids your age in
the church do (like write letters to some of those folks you met at the nursing
home), and present them to your teacher.
No, you won't be directing the entire choir or organizing a church supper for
four hundred people, but what you can do is just as important-and there will
be plenty of time for those four hundred-plate dinners later!
* SUZY: I have a lot of serving gifts-at least, that's what the quiz
said-but I'm way too shy to ever really do any of those things in my
church. Do you think God is disappointed in me?
God definitely understands where you're coming from. If you'll recall, he
actually picked out shy people to do some mighty big jobs-like Moses, for
example. Whatever gifts God has given you, he has also given you what it
takes to use them. It may not feel like you can raise your hand and volunteer
to take up the collection on Youth Sunday, but you can. It just takes a little
praying and a lot of believing that God is right there beside you, giving
you little tricks to help you along - things like, "What is the worst that
can happen, Suzy? Dropping the collection plate? So what! You just pick it
up and keep going! You'll be embarrassed? Oh, maybe for a few minutes,
but both you and everybody else will forget before you know it. Just do it,
Suzy -you're going to love it when you do."
(Continues.)
