WHAT'S NEXT? CHAPTER 7 - Serve God in Particular Ways

                                              CHAPTER 7 - Serve God in Particular Ways


              In Chapter Five we discussed finding out and using your spiritual gift but this chapter will get a little more specific about how and might relate a little more to using it outside the Church to draw people to Christ. I was first introduced to this concept through Rick Warren's book The Purpose Driven Life. He introduced an anacronym SHAPE and this is how it is explained;

    S - Spiritual gift (discussed in Chapter 5) In other words, if God hasn't given you the gift of administration or organization, you may not be the one to put together a project with many moving parts. But let's say someone puts together an evangelistic meeting at the fair grounds and you have the gift of evangelism, you will want to be there to counsel people that come forward.

   H - Heart  - We instinctively are drawn to certain things and not others. Certain activities you are passionate about and enjoy doing where others aren't and therefore you would be effective and successful in those endeavors where others wouldn't bet. Let's say you like to run and you have the gift of mercy. You may want to help your church put on a fun run raising money for HIV sufferers. Don't get upset if the majority of believers aren't as pumped as you are. They don't have the same gift or heart. It's OK.

   A - Abilities - You have developed over the years certain abilities that others don't have that can benefit the body and bring people to Christ. I've known Christian baseball players who offered a free clinic at the park for kids to improve their skills. At the break they shared their testimony. I've known car mechanics who opened their shop after hours for a free oil change for single moms and widows and passed out tracts to those they served.

   P - Personality - Maybe you are shy. In the above example you would change oil or print up the flyers for advertising while someone else passed out tracts. Your personality determines where you would minister and every position is just as valuable

   E - Experiences - If you have been divorced or an addict you would probably gravitate toward recovery ministries. Maybe you had an abortion or were abused. Your experiences in life will naturally lead you to those ministries.

     Paul tells us to run the race as a metaphor for living the Christian life and Christians tend to view it in a faulty manner. They picture it like we are all on a race track and some unfortunately are way ahead of the Christian slackers. This view unfortunately leads to judgmentalism and discouragement. Really, the correct paradigm is we are all dropped off in the center of New York City and told we have a lifetime to find our way to the Jersey Tunnel and exit. Some would go via Broadway because they like music and acting. Some would go via the museums because they like art or history. Some might go past Cornell university because they like education. Some might go the route of the UN building because they are interested in international affairs. The list is endless but this is how Christians permeate a city. The only way you can go wrong is to stand still.

      Have fun living the greatest adventure you could ever know with the freedom to be you that is found in Christ!