WRITE Week 5
Leaders Outline
1. Abilities, Concerns, Interests [from Leading Lives that Matter by Lee Hardy]
· Before they share you will want to do some framing both about the exercise as well as what the second part of Track 2 will be about
· Hardy talks about how in order to know what God wants for our lives we need to be attentive to who we are [p.99] and that the facts about ourselves are indicators of divine intent [p.93]
· Hardy also says we discover our calling, we don’t invent it
o McLaren: “Behold is, in this sense, a word uttered first to our own souls: ‘Look and see,’ we say to ourselves. ‘Notice. Be aware. Watch. Appreciate. Maybe – just maybe there’s more going on here than you’ve ever seen before.’ But behold is more than talking to ourselves. As we summon ourselves to attention, we acknowledge to God what God has been trying to show us is finally coming into focus.” [p.193]
· Hardy: “We were not born with job descriptions on our backs. Our vocational aptitudes have to be discovered in that process by which we come to know ourselves.” [p.94]
· They will have filled out the worksheet ahead of time, but you will want to remind them of what these three things are:
o Abilities: Natural Talents + Learned Skills
§ What are the natural talents you display? [teaching, dancing, singing, scientific thinking, artistic talents, etc.]
§ What are the skills you have gained throughout your experiences? [project management, trade/craft skills, child development, gardening etc.]
§ What are you qualified to do?
o Concerns: Other-directed concerns
§ In what ways to do care about the well-being of others? [emotional health, physical health, personal safety, spiritual growth, nurture, living conditions etc.]
o Interests: Innate Interests and Appreciations
§ What are the things that you like? [music, literature, nature, science, physical activity, history etc.]
· A note here: none of these things should be too surprising to them – it is more about helping them to nail things down and be observant
2. Self-Assessment Handout
· Explain that they will fill these out over the next few weeks
· This is about getting the big picture – no one of these tests define us, they begin a conversation
· Each of us is unique – God made us different
· This is about owning the life God has given us, stewarding our gifts, talents, and abilities, and being attentive
3. Exercise: Ephesians 4v7,11-16
· Read the passage [it is on the Pentagon handout]
· Ask them what stands out to them – some points to highlight:
o It is Christ who has appointed us, not ourselves
o We are called to these roles so that together we all might
§ reach unity in the faith
§ reach unity in the knowledge of the Son of God
§ become mature
o This is about becoming secure and mature in our faith
o Jesus is the head of the body – we are extensions of him in the world
o Together we speak the truth in love, and grow and build ourselves up in love
o This is all about service, growth, maturity, and love
o Each one must do their part – we are interdependent and need one another
· Lee Hardy: “For God did not create us as self-sufficient individuals. We all have needs which we alone cannot meet. By necessity we live in communities of interdependent individuals. And we are to make use of what talents we do have to serve others as they, in turn, serve us. Together we build up society as a mutual support system.” [p.94]
· You can draw in Hardy’s General + Particular Calling
o The general calling is to grow in the characteristics of a Christian [the fruits of the Spirit] – we do not pick and choose between these
§ We are all called to maturity, love, growth, service
o We each have a particular calling to bless one another
o We are interdependent individuals, meaning that God has designed us to need one another, we can’t be all things on our own behalf
§ “For here the Spirit fits each member of the body of Christ differently for specific work: we are not expected or able to do all things, but only the things which God has enabled and called us to do.” [p.92]
· This transitions you into the Pentagon
4. The Pentagon: Fivefold Ministry
· The first thing you want to do is explain about the test – it is more diagnostic [reveals what the current state of affairs is] vs. determinative [defining who you are]
o It is recommended that you take this test about every 6 months
o It reveals what ‘muscles’ you are currently flexing – which may or may not be in line with how you are wired
o This is a test to see where we are in life [base, phase, or bad fit]
o NOTE: the results people may have will not necessarily be in line with their actual base ministry – you will have to help them sort this out – expect people to be a little confused!
· Frame for them the basics of the Fivefold Ministry [use the Pentagon handout – it has them all listed in the back]
o All 5 reflect ministry of Jesus [Jesus is the only one who is all five of these! We are only ONE]
o Draw a line with an arrow on both ends and write the five ministries at the top and on the bottom Developer on the left and Pioneer on the right
o Be sure that when you explain each of them you include what each one is NOT [see notes below]
o It is also helpful to explain the difference between Gift vs. Role
§ They may have a teaching ability, but not necessarily a ‘Teacher’
§ I always explain it by using the analogy of building a house vs. your tool belt
· Your base ministry is the work you have been given to do - the big task [building a house]
· The gifts and abilities are the tools that you need to do that work
5. Developers + Pioneers
· Explain that there is a spectrum for these five ministries
· Pioneers: Enjoy Change, Stress of doing new things exciting [not threatening], Reach beyond current circumstances
o These are people who like to create, get things started, have big ideas
o Can feel confined if they have to build on something that already exists
o They like to see things get started and get off the ground
o Apostles + Evangelists are the furthest on this spectrum
o Prophets span between the two
· Developers: Committed to stability, continuity, conservation, grow + develop plans, implementation and processing, see things to the end
o They like to see things through
o Often don’t like to start with a blank canvas, but want to make things better
o It is not that they are ‘admin’ people or that details excite them – it is seeing something come into completion
· Often tension between these two elements
o They can work against each other if they are not careful – but they need one another
6. Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, Teacher
· They will have the description of each of these on the back of the Pentagon handout – be sure to read that through with them. But here are some points to emphasize:
· APOSTLES: The Visionary of the Church
o These are the further on the pioneer spectrum
o This does NOT mean someone who wants to live in foreign countries, nor are they super leaders
o Apostles love beginnings, but quickly tire out or feel frustrated if they have to deal with details
o The image I always give is Apostles gather the troops, motivate people to charge a hill, but while the group is half way up the first hill they look up and see the Apostle is already six hills ahead of them
o The challenge for apostles is they can keep changing direction and course
o They get bored easily – can be seen as non-committal
o They see the big picture, 30,000 feet
o We need them to remind us that there are new things to try and explore, that we shouldn’t just settle down
o The challenge for the apostle is they can derail progress on their big ideas because they do not always value follow through
o They also don’t always realize what it really takes to get something off the ground – they love ideas
· EVANGELISTS: The Gatherers + Inviters
o An evangelist is NOT someone who accosts other people, preaches on the street corners, or is pushy about their faith
o In fact – that is the exact opposite of an evangelist
o They are people who are natural includes – they thrive on being around people who are different from them
o Evangelists are highly relational people – they enjoy coming alongside others – but they need momentum and movement
o Evangelists get frustrated when people stall out or don’t want to change
o We need evangelists because they remind the church that there are lots of people out there who are different and need to be welcomed
o They can become very frustrated with the institutional church because it feels very much like it is made up of all the same types of people
o They adapt easily to context and need things to be current and relevant
o The challenge for evangelists is they can disconnect from the sources that fill them and encourage them
· PROPHETS: The mid-wife of the Church
o Prophets are NOT people who can predict the future or hear voices
o Prophets are keenly tuned in to what God is doing in the present
o They are like a mid-wife – the baby is already there, they are just calling attention to it and what the moment needs
o Prophets tells us what time it is [Walter Brueggemann]
o They are often out-of-the-box thinkers, seeing creative solutions or approaches
o One of the challenges for a prophet is what seems obvious to them is not obvious to others
o Prophets help us see God in the world – and they often do this through creative means [though they do not have to be artists]
· TEACHERS: Revealers of truth
o Many people have a teaching ability or even have a teaching occupation, but this does not make them teachers
o What excites teachers is when people interact with content and it helps them make new connections in their lives
o Teachers are not necessarily researchers, though they very often can be, nor are the necessarily public speakers [though they often are as well]
o Introverted teachers tend to like thinking and gathering of information [research]
o Extraverted teachers like to communicate information [speaking]
o Teachers often draw on their own personal experiences or understanding to help people make sense of their lives
o Teachers are NOT just about information, though they like new info, they want people to know God in new and deep ways
o The church needs teachers to help us keep exploring who God is and applying this understanding to our lives
o Teachers need to be careful because they can live in the world of ideas without applying it to their own lives
· PASTORS: Those who care for the Church
o Pastor is NOT someone who has gone to seminary and holds a degree
o Many people with the TITLE pastor do not have the ministry of pastor
o Pastors are people who care deeply
o They are the people you want to visit you when you are sick, in the hospital, having a difficult time
o They are also relationally wired, but their primary concern is that someone feels cared for, heard, understood – they are not necessarily discouraged by lack of momentum
o The challenge for pastors is they can be drawn in by wound-identified people who will drain them – they do not always have good boundaries
o They are the closest to the center of the institutional church, and therefore can particularly frustrate apostles and evangelists
o They remind us that we are just called to go out and help everyone else – that we all need help and care
7. Base Ministry
· We are all called to ONE base ministry
· It is the place where we get our energy
o We don’t feel drained by this activity for the most part
o It comes naturally to us – still requires effort but not difficult for us
· This is the ministry we have been given to reflect Jesus in the world
o This is what it means for each of us to do our part
o You don’t give yourself your base ministry – it is a gift
o You will always have this as your base
8. Phase Ministry
· Phase ministries are used to stretch us and are dependent on grace from God
· They are only for a time, then return to base
· A phase ministry requires us to use skills and abilities that do not come naturally to us
· We know when a phase ministry is coming to an end when we can do all the same amount of work, put in a bunch of effort, but we do not have energy, motivation, and we are not accomplishing as much