89 Personality/Ability Tests #1

Two years ago I took a class at church which used a book called Network; the right people, in the right places for the right reasons, by Bruce Bugbee, Don Cousins and Bill Hybels (Zondervan, 1994). The concept is that believers glorify God and edify others if they serve in the areas in which they have both a passion and spiritual gifts, specifically those listed in various New Testament passages of 1 Corinthians, Romans, Ephesians, 1 Peter, 1 Timothy, and a smattering from the Old Testament (dealing with creativity, which seems to have been left out of the NT). Passion and spiritual gifts are enhanced by a personal style, according to the authors.

There were people in our church who actually changed their ministries based on this book. My own "gifts" didn't come as a huge surprise to me or others, but just to be a little bit obstinate, I've been having great fun serving God in areas in which I barely register on these types of tests--hospitality and helps. My areas of strength are Wisdom, Administration and Prophecy, and my passion is purposeful, intellectual activity, and my personal style is unstructured tasks.

Trust me, folks. Wisdom and Prophecy are not spiritual gifts to covet, assuming the various tests I took in this book are correct. You will not get invited to more parties, you will not be consulted about important issues more often, and no one will open your e-mail because of that. Even the gift of Administration will just get you dirty looks if you suggest a better way to organize something.

No thank you. Serving God in the nursing home or by providing a small dinner party for people who need fellowship meets the criteria of Matthew 25:42-46 for meeting Jesus face to face in this life and eternal life.