Using Our Gifts...

        Today I continue my series of posts that fleshes out the mission of Mountain Lake Church. One of our "5 G's" that puts handlebars on our mission of belonging and becoming is something we call "Using our Gifts". I am convinced that one of the most misunderstood and abused subjects in the Bible is the subject of spiritual gifts. Once again, I am convinced after discussions with THOUSANDS of Christians over time, that very few of us understands the subject of spiritual gifts.
        Some of the most foundational teaching about spiritual gifts is found in 1 Cor. 13-14. Many people think that 1 Corinthians 13 is primarily about live. It's not. It's about spiritual gifts and the most important spiritual gift from god's perspective. Then, in 1 Corinthians 14, I believe in one verse, God summarizes all of His heart in regards to spiritual gifts: "So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church" (1 Corinthians 14:12 NIV). In other words, the Bible de-emphasizes long lists of spiritual gifts and emphasizes the fact that WHATEVER gift we think we have, the most important thing we can know or learn about spiritual gifts, is that they should always be used to build up the church!
        At Mountain Lake, we define USING OUR GIFTS as: "Meeting the needs of others through the church." In the New Testament, the emphasis is not on which gift we HAVE, but HOW and WHO we give the gift to! Have you ever wondered how the New Testament Church made it with out a  spiritual gift inventory test? Have you ever wondered why the New Testament gives us no instructions on how to IDENTIFY our spiritual gift? Could it be because,  from the early church's perspective, most of us already know what we're good at and what we're NOT good at; and ALL of us can see where the greatest needs on the church are! Our efforts shouldn't be spent trying to figure out what our number one gift is, as much as it is identifying the number one NEED in our church is and seeking to fill it, based on the talents and gifts that God has given us! What's the most important gift? Loving God by loving people enough to serve them. Enough to lay down our life for them. Enough to sacrifice for them. We can be good at LOTS of things, but if we don't love our spiritual brothers and sisters by meeting their needs through the church, we are a clanging cymbal.
        So in our church, we don't take any spiritual gift inventory tests. We just tell people to start serving in the greatest area of need, and God will reveal their gifts to them! Doesn't the Bible tell us that if we'll be faithful with what we have, that we'll be given more, and if we're NOT, what we HAVE will be taken away from us? Yes it does. At our church,  we don't allow people to tell us that they're too spiritually mature to serve the "entry level" ministries. We correct people if they say that serving coffee, or parking cars, or the children's ministry  is "not their gift". The greatest spiritual gift is love and love meets the needs of others through the church. "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10 NKJV).     We encourage people to use their gifts through one of our various volunteer teams and allow God to use them mightily in WHATEVER area they choose!
    My question to you is: Are you pursuing and utilizing the most important spiritual gift in the world? Are you seeking to love people by meeting their needs through the church? If not, of all people, you are the one missing out! Get busy meeting the needs of others through your church today!