{"id":599,"date":"2008-11-20T00:01:45","date_gmt":"2008-11-20T00:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2008\/11\/practical-instruction-on-the-use-of-spiritual-gifts-part-3.html"},"modified":"2008-11-20T00:01:45","modified_gmt":"2008-11-20T00:01:45","slug":"practical-instruction-on-the-use-of-spiritual-gifts-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/11\/practical-instruction-on-the-use-of-spiritual-gifts-part-3.html","title":{"rendered":"Practical Instruction on the Use of Spiritual Gifts, Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 10 of series: Spiritual Gifts in the Body of Christ
\n<\/em>Permalink for this post<\/a> \/ Permalink for this series<\/a>
\nAccording to biblical teaching on spiritual gifts, each and every Christian should expect to be gifted by the Spirit for ministry. This should be true every time the church gathers together. But, as I mentioned in my previous post, the large size of many churches inhibits the ministry of the Spirit. If you have even a couple of hundred people in your Sunday worship service, odds are that you aren\u2019t going to make time for each person to exercise one or more spiritual gifts. Therefore, as I said in my last post, most of us will exercise spiritual gifts in other contexts, in small groups, classes, or when we\u2019re out in the world.
\nYet it\u2019s not just the size of today\u2019s churches that gets in the way of the work of the Spirit. We are also saddled by assumptions about ministry that keep \u201cordinary\u201d Christians from ministering in the power of the Spirit. I\u2019m thinking of clericalism<\/em> and professionalism<\/em>.
\nThe Problem of Clericalism<\/strong>
\nClericalism is the idea that certain people, the clergy, are specially gifted and empowered to do ministry. Those we call priests or pastors or reverends or ministers or fathers or preachers are the real ministers who are gifted by the Spirit. The rest of the people\u2013just the lay people\u2013are the receivers of ministry, but not the ministers. Clericalism reigned in the established church for centuries, though it was less prominent in independent or free churches. Even Protestants, who rejected the Roman Catholic version of priestly clericalism, developed their own brand before too long.
\nIn the last century fifty years, however, the church has begun to rediscover the ministry of all of God\u2019s people. We have seen in Scripture the truth that all of God\u2019s people are called into and gifted for ministry. Though churches might still have ordained clergy, their role isn\u2019t to do all the ministry, but to encourage and empower the laity to do the ministry. As most of you know, I\u2019m now the Senior Director of Laity Lodge, a ministry devoted to helping lay people discover who they are as ministers of Christ, both in the church and in the world. (Photo: Laity Lodge on the Frio River in the Hill Country of Texas, an autumn photo. We do a lot outside of the retreat center, including our website, The High Calling of our Daily Work \u2013www.thehighcalling.org<\/a><\/em>.)
\nNevertheless, clericalism continues to haunt the church, keeping non-ordained Christians from living their lives as ministers of Christ. It is fueled, in part, but the emotional needs of the clergy, who like to be in control of ministries and who often have a strong emotional need to be needed as \u201cthe minister.\u201d Clericalism also draws strength from the fact that many lay people would just as soon not be involved in ministry. They\u2019re too busy, or sometimes even too lazy, to be bothered with the call of Christ to serve him. It\u2019s so much easier to assign ministry to a member of the clergy and pay that person to do the ministry.
\nThe Problem of Professionalism<\/strong>
\nIn my experience, as clericalism loses its choking grip on the church, it is being replaced by a similar syndrome: professionalism. In this perspective, the church isn\u2019t divided up into the divinely-called clerics and the non-called laity. Rather, the division falls between the professionals and the non-professionals. Professional ministers are trained, educated, experienced, and paid. They do the ministry, not because they have cornered the market on calling and gifting, but because they are the resident experts.
\nThis reflects my own experience as a Christian “professional.” I am a seminary-educated, trained, ordained Presbyterian \u201cminister.\u201d When I was in parish ministry, many people deferred to me because I was \u201cthe pro.\u201d In some ways I was happy to play this role. I liked being \u201cthe minister.\u201d I enjoyed being appreciated. And I was happy to be the recipient of people\u2019s deference.
\nBut, a church’s professionalism can inhibit believers from getting involved in ministry, and therefore from exercising spiritual gifts. If churches pay the “experts” to do ministry, and if these professionals do it with flair, how can we expect “normal” Christians to get involved?
\nMany faithful churchgoing folk remind me of myself during my first few games of little league. I wasn’t an especially talented player, so I quickly found myself warming the bench. Soon I just didn’t expect to play and my expectations usually were fulfilled. One night I took my usual spot on the bench. Before too long, the darkness of the dugout and the lateness of the hour lured me to sleep. Toward the end of the game as I was snoozing away, I heard my name being called as if in a dream: “Mark! Mark!” As I began to stir, I realized that I wasn’t dreaming. The coach was calling me. I was being put into the game as a pinch-hitter. It would b my first official appearance in little league! But sleepiness didn’t help my batting much. Three quick strikes later, I returned to my spot in the dugout, mortified with shame and swearing that I would again never be unprepared to play.
\nIf you are not expecting to get into the game, you will probably not be ready when the Holy Spirit calls you up to bat. So let me give you advance warning. God has not put you on his team so that you can warm the bench and watch the pros play. He has called you into the game. He will empower you to play with effectiveness. But first you have to get off the bench. You need to commit yourself to a ministry or to a fellowship in which you will be free to minister. As you become more accustomed to functioning in spiritual gifts, you will realize that the Holy Spirit wants to use you, not just in official church gatherings, but in all times and all places.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 10 of series: Spiritual Gifts in the Body of Christ Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series According to biblical teaching on spiritual gifts, each and every Christian should expect to be gifted by the Spirit for ministry. This should be true every time the church gathers together. But, as I mentioned…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spiritual-gifts"],"yoast_head":"\nPractical Instruction on the Use of Spiritual Gifts, Part 3 - Mark D. Roberts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/11\/practical-instruction-on-the-use-of-spiritual-gifts-part-3.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Practical Instruction on the Use of Spiritual Gifts, Part 3 - Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Part 10 of series: Spiritual Gifts in the Body of Christ Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series According to biblical teaching on spiritual gifts, each and every Christian should expect to be gifted by the Spirit for ministry. This should be true every time the church gathers together. But, as I mentioned…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/11\/practical-instruction-on-the-use-of-spiritual-gifts-part-3.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-11-20T00:01:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Practical Instruction on the Use of Spiritual Gifts, Part 3 - Mark D. Roberts","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/11\/practical-instruction-on-the-use-of-spiritual-gifts-part-3.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Practical Instruction on the Use of Spiritual Gifts, Part 3 - Mark D. Roberts","og_description":"Part 10 of series: Spiritual Gifts in the Body of Christ Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series According to biblical teaching on spiritual gifts, each and every Christian should expect to be gifted by the Spirit for ministry. This should be true every time the church gathers together. But, as I mentioned…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/11\/practical-instruction-on-the-use-of-spiritual-gifts-part-3.html","og_site_name":"Mark D. Roberts","article_published_time":"2008-11-20T00:01:45+00:00","author":"Mark D. Roberts","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/11\/practical-instruction-on-the-use-of-spiritual-gifts-part-3.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/11\/practical-instruction-on-the-use-of-spiritual-gifts-part-3.html","name":"Practical Instruction on the Use of Spiritual Gifts, Part 3 - Mark D. Roberts","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#website"},"datePublished":"2008-11-20T00:01:45+00:00","dateModified":"2008-11-20T00:01:45+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/11\/practical-instruction-on-the-use-of-spiritual-gifts-part-3.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/11\/practical-instruction-on-the-use-of-spiritual-gifts-part-3.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/11\/practical-instruction-on-the-use-of-spiritual-gifts-part-3.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Practical Instruction on the Use of Spiritual Gifts, Part 3"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/","name":"Mark D. Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}