Dear Friends in Christ,
"Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uniformed" 1 Cor .12:1
For may years in my Christian journey I was terribly uniformed about spiritual gifts especially the more controversial gifts such as prophecy, speaking in strange tongues and the interpretation of tongues. Even healing was viewed more or less as "last rites" rather than "first rites". Without question I was a true "cessationist". Simply put, I believed that the so-called power or miraculous gifts listed in 1 Cor. 12:7-10 ceased in the first century and certainly speaking in strange tongues was right out of the Anglican ball park and just simply not part of a more enlightened twentieth century faith. Indeed, I was truly most uninformed!
Well, praise God for the "Charismatic Renewal" which began to sweep across all denominational lines some forty years ago and ultimately swept me, a 60's drop-out from Anglican parish ministry, back into full time ministry in a small two point rural parish in Manitoba. Ultimately I came to realize that God's gifts can be bestowed on any of us as God desires and not as we might wish to equip the church, the Body of Christ in fulfilling a vibrant ministry of mission. I rediscovered a whole list of gifts for today' s church in such chapters as Romans 12:6-8, I Cor. 12: 8-10, Ephesians 4: 11-16, and I Peter 4:8-11. God's Word indeed reveals a wonderful variety of spiritual gifts ranging all the way from prophecy to administration.
My heart is truly warmed during my cross country travels whenever I discover mission-minded Anglican parishes actually helping parishioners to discover their God given gifts for ministry. Paul sets the tone for us when he says "Make love your aim and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy" (1 Cor: 14-1). At the time of writing I am preparing to spend an evening in an Anglican parish helping the parishioners discover their spiritual gifts. The easy-to-use spiritual gifts questionnaire I employ is entitled "Finding Your Spiritual Gifts" by Peter Wagner (1) In this gift discovery exercise you are asked to complete 125 questions by indicating what statements posed are true to your life. You simply tick a number for each question on a scale from 0 to 3. In tabulating the scores, the participant discovers in the three or four highest scores their possible spiritual gifts which can then be confirmed by sitting down and sharing the results with another parishioner or two who know you well. The gift range in this questionnaire includes 25 possible gifts for ministry, all biblically based with a description of each gift.
Anyone interested in exploring this particular gifts inventory further, please feel free to contact me. Sound biblical teaching tells us that all spiritual gifts are given to enable the church as the Body of Christ to function effectively. Everyone has at least one gift so no one should feel discouraged. Spiritual gifts are not designed for "loners" but for members of the body of Christ, working, worshipping, and serving together in a variety of ministries as the Lord leads.
May Peter have the last word: "As good stewards of the various gifts given you by God let each use the gift received in service to one another" (1 Peter 4:10)
Rt. Rev. Malcolm Harding
Every Blessing,
- Bishop Malcolm Harding.
Bishop Malcolm is the ambassador of ARM Canada and was formerly the Episcopal bishop of the diocese of Brandon.
He can be reached at 204-726-5738, E-mail: mharding@mts.net
The Rt. Rev. Malcolm Harding
Bishop, Diocese of Brandon
Episcopal Visitor to ARM