The topic of spiritual gifts can be a beneficial aspect of pastoral ministry. The teaching context would include 1 Peter 4:10,11, Eph. 4:11-12; and 1 Cor. 12-14.
Personal discipling/ counseling could facilitate the disciple’s appreciation, recognition and deployment of his/her gift(s).
A model that I have found very helpful over the decades considers the seven gifts Romans 12:3-8 as “motivational gifts.” In other words, each of us as believers has one of these seven gifts as a primary motivational gift. With that motive/orientation you may have one or more “ministry gifts”… and the use of these abilities may sometimes show up in a “manifestation gift.”
Here are some resources that unpack this approach:
(click the link on each of the seven for more detail)
An online (and downloadable) survey is at:
Books using this model include:
- Discover Your God-Given Gifts, by Don and Katie Fortune
- Understanding Spiritual Gifts
https://store.iblp.org/understanding-spiritual-gifts.html - Channels of Blessing, by Dr. Bobby Mullins (in print or ebook): http://www.masterdesign.org/mullins.html
And note Charles Stanley’s sermons on the seven (motivational) spiritual gifts :
If the discipler appreciates the importance of spiritual gifts in life and ministry, he may discover this topic to be more scriptural and beneficial than the popular four personality categories (as used in the DISC profile).
JBW
Revitalizing Pastors 