Small group gatherings highlight multiple aspects of the spiritual community, and none more so than the unique gifts given by God to individual people for specialized roles and responsibilities. Spiritual gifts are more deeply discovered, enjoyed, and shared in the environment of close relationships — perfect for the small group.
Rare is the gathering of people who share the exact same mix of gifts, and this by God's design. He intends for us to be serving and supporting each other through spiritual gifts, as seen in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 - parts of the body, each doing as intended, with the entire group benefiting and God being honored.
While many have explored the use of spiritual gifts in the small group setting, I'd like to focus this article on the benefit of the discovery process within the small group relationships.
Spiritual gifts are taught and assessed usually in a classroom or seminar situation, and this has seen great success. Thanks to many developers of quality biblical materials and assessments - people such as Bruce Bugby or C. Peter Wagner — good teaching and tools for this process of discovery with spiritual gifts is readily available.
Yet I've seen and benefited from the experience of a small group interaction in this process.
In the Small Group: I first experienced this when asked to teach on spiritual gifts and the process of discovery in a women's small group study. Once we all got past my presence in an entirely feminine setting, we starting working on the business of learning and working through the assessments.
We included in this experience a comprehensive gift assessment similar to that developed in "Network" and other materials, and used a modified or "lite" version of the Myers-Briggs Temperament Inventory, linking these together with measurements of personal time available and experiences/interests.
PERSONAL INTERACTION: What I found different and interesting in this small group, compared to the larger "class/seminar" settings where I usually presented spiritual gift materials, was the intense interaction that mixed reality, coaching, encouragement, feedback, and personal stories unlike any large-group environment ever enjoyed. I watched these women offer immediate positive feedback to each other, possible only because they were already familiar with each other as small group members.
Michelle, one of our group leaders, commented on that truth: "The experience within a small group vs. seminar is the people know me in the group and can confirm and/or question the results [of the assessments]. Also the group members can help clarify how to use and apply my giftedness based on past discussions or interests."
When anyone questions an assessment result, the others can quickly reflect truth, encouragement, or supporting arguments — this enhances the experience to new levels of learning and interaction.
SHARED CONSULTING: One of the elements we've included in this process of discovery is the element of "shared consulting," not just one-on-one but using the entire group to think of options and possibilities for each person. Using a large poster board or overhead projector, we write each person's assessment results (one at a time) on the board. With that "snapshot," we begin to imagine the ideal ministry outlet for that mix of gifts, personality, time, and interests. Rather than depend on one or two consultant's creative thinking or limiting lists of ministry openings, we involve the entire group. And they present a much larger view and bigger range of options, more than I could ever hope to do.
Diana, a small group member, points this benefit out: "The most enjoyable part of the group was being able to affirm when the study pointed out gifts really visible to the rest of us, and then dreaming of ways we could use them."
DREAMING: Yes, dreaming is part of the process. Too often we limit ourselves in ministry and service because we fail to imagine the best but fall back on the obvious in our vision. Rather than try to fill already defined spots of ministry, I urge people to dream without limitations and imagine the "best case scenario" to use their gifts for God's work. Close our eyes, let go of barriers of time or money, and imagine what would get us excited day-by-day in the use of the spiritual gifts.
But in the daily grind, pressures of schedules, families, and "stuff," it's hard to stop and dream about what "might" or "could" be. It's hard to find time to pause and "day dream" about what God may want from us — our schedules are not built for that kinds of luxury. That is a major problem for some, and I urge people to think, dream, and imagine what God might be prompting each to do with their gifts. It takes extra time, even in the group study time, but worth the work.
ACCOUNTABILITY: One last point: the benefit of the group process is the follow-up accountability. The group members are aware of the assessments, aware of the options defined, aware of the fellow group members, and can check progress on a personal and regular basis to encourage and support.
Our congregation at Valley Christian Church will shortly be dependent upon gift discovery process available only in a small group or small church (our terminology for Sunday school classes) settings — the results seen thus far have been that extraordinary.
[Valley Christian has reviewed multiple gift discovery materials and tools, and compiled "the best of the best" into a five-week study which includes a spiritual gifts questionnaire, simple Myers-Briggs Personality Temperament Inventory, listing of experiences and interests, and quantifying spiritual maturity and time availability — all compiled into a profile or "snapshot" to serve as a guide during the consulting process. Those wishing to pursue a more detailed study of gifts are encouraged and directed to "Network," "LifeKeys," or other more complete resources. No discovery tool was "perfectly right" for our congregational setting, and is usually true with any materials. We carefully and sensitively modified and created our own — and you can too.]
In the small group setting, there can be so much more personal attention to individual strengths, concerns, and hindrances, as well as a flexibility to spend additional time on some parts of the teaching and less on others (depending on the individual and group needs).
The best part of small groups, the personal relationships that develop over time, can be one of the best assets when it comes to spiritual gift discovery and development. While the process can normally be challenging and fun, within the small group, this experience can also become a great shared interaction of significant proportion.
